Weightman takes blame for Reed scandal

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Source: ArmyTimes

"We didn't deliver what they needed and we didn't hear their cries for help," said Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was fired March 1 as commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. "I'm not here to let down patients. I'm here to take care of them."

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"I'll tell you what affected me the most," Weightman said of their testimony. "It's the frustration I heard from these patients and their families with our system. And I'm responsible for all that."

Weightman explained what he thought went wrong at the Army's premier hospital in an hourlong interview. There were breakdowns in leadership; a support staff too small to handle needs of a large outpatient population; hiring challenges tied to the closure of Walter Reed in 2011; a medical and physical disability board maze designed for a draft-era army, not for wounded volunteers fighting to stay in service.

Weightman also cited what he perceives as a sharp decline in support for the war among military families. That can raise a family's anger at terrible injuries to loved ones and lower tolerance for bureaucratic hassles as they seek proper care and support.

Read more: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/03/gns_weightman_032007/