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So said a soldier's wife on her husband's convalescence at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. This week the Washington Post has featured powerful front page stories on poor conditions at Walter Reed. Recovering troops, often suffering from PTSD, live amid rodents, black mold, failed electricity, and chaotic, anarchic conditions while trying to heal from war. The articles have started a nationwide discussion and have actually forced policy change. I think they are a major turning point for our nation, much in the way Hurricane Katrina's damage ripped open the structural flaws of life in New Orleans. "Building 18" might take on the meaning of the 9th Ward.
Today, the Washington Post reported that the Army has announced changes to the decrepit buildings. Mil bloggers to liberal bloggers agree Walter Reed needs repair. Unlike Katrina, though, because Walter Reed services Iraq war veterans, this issue is overtly political.
Conservative mil blogger Andi brings up an interesting case. She has spent time at the hospital, and questions the timing of the story and its ultimate aim:
Are the problems revealed by the Post reporters real? Yes, indeed they are. See this first-hand account. But, as with most things that the media expose, there is much more to the story than meets the eye.
When the story broke, my inbox began chirping. Many people know that over the past two years, I've spent a lot of time at Walter Reed. What did I think? How could this be? Look at what the MSM is doing. Have you seen this? Is it true?
Any reasonable person reading the WaPo story would be outraged, as they should be, but after I read the story, I accurately predicted what would soon follow. While there is merit to this story, I knew that this issue would become a hot, political baton used by some to beat the Bush administration, and our military, over the head. I'll bet the Washington Post did too. Read these comments, search the web. How long before grandiose speeches on the House floor reference this story as one reason for us to "pull out?"
When will we be able to treat issues such as this in a non-political fashion? Not doing so diminishes their importance and shows our bias is more important than fostering change.
On the left, former John Edwards blogger Shakespeare's Sister writes
Looks like all it took to start improving conditions for convalescing veterans at Walter Reed's Building 18 was a massive cover story by the Washington Post: "Walter Reed Army Medical Center began repairs yesterday on Building 18, a former hotel that is used to house outpatients recuperating from injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan and that has been plagued with mold, leaky plumbing and a broken elevator. … Yesterday, [the facility's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman] said a broken elevator in the building had been repaired and soldiers were working to improve the outside of the building, including removing ice and snow. The slippery conditions have kept some soldiers in their rooms. A garage door that has been broken for months will soon be repaired as well. … Walter Reed and Army officials have been 'meeting continuously for three days' since the articles began appearing, Weightman said. A large roundtable meeting with Army and Defense Department officials will take place at the Pentagon early this morning to continue talks about improvements in the outpatient system, he added. Weightman said the medical center has received an outpouring of concern about conditions and procedures since the articles appeared and has taken steps to improve what soldiers and their families describe as a messy battlefield of bureaucratic problems and mistreatment. 'We're starting to attack how we'll fix and mitigate' some of the problems, he said."
Imagine that.
So, here's the thing: They've shown they're motivated not by a genuine concern for the well-being of wounded veterans, but instead by public embarrassment. That means they'll only keep at making improvements as long as a spotlight is on them. And that means the press has to keep the spotlight on them. And that means we have to remember to put pressure on the press to regularly check up on the situation, once this falls out of the headlines.
Iraq has caused our nation to be so deeply cynical that a positive policy reaction to a press expose is viewed as a political football. I guess this isn't
