U.S. Army fires Commander of Walter Reed over concerns about leadership abilities

Mar 4 2007

Maj. Gen. George Weightman was fired as commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center because the Army said it had lost confidence in his leadership abilities, the Washington Post reports.

Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, surgeon general of the Army and commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command, will temporarily assume Weightman's duties at Walter Reed (Vogel/Branigin, Washington Post, 3/2). In a statement, Army leadership said it had "lost trust and confidence" in Weightman's ability "to address needed solutions for soldier outpatient care." The decision to relieve Weightman reportedly came from Army Secretary Francis Harvey and has been endorsed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates (Burns, AP/Long Island Newsday, 3/2). Weightman had held the post since Aug. 25, 2006 (Cloud, New York Times, 3/2). Kiley previously held the position (Goldstein, Kansas City Star, 3/2). The Army also has taken disciplinary action against four lower-level staffers involved in outpatient care at Walter Reed (New York Times, 3/2).

Care at Other Medical Facilities
Navy and Marine Corps leaders on Thursday testified at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on the quality of care received by wounded soldiers at their medical facilities. Navy Secretary Donald Winter, Chief of Naval Operations Michael Mullen and Marine Corps Commandant James Conway said they had reviewed their medical facilities and found no problems similar to those present at Walter Reed. Mullen said that "very few" sailors needed the type of long-term outpatient care needed by many recovering soldiers at Walter Reed (Kreisher, CongressDaily, 3/1).

Broadcast Coverage
Several broadcast programs reported on Weightman's dismissal. Summaries appear below:

• ABC's "World News": The segment includes comments from Weightman, Gates, Kiley, Steve Robinson of Veterans for America and Obama (Kurley, "World News," ABC, 3/1). Video of the segment is available online. Expanded ABC News coverage of conditions at Walter Reed is available online.
• NPR's "All Things Considered": "All Things Considered" host Michele Norris discussed Weightman's firing and other issues related to Walter Reed with NPR Pentagon correspondent Guy Raz (Norris, "All Things Considered," NPR, 3/1). Audio of the segment is available online.
• NPR's "Morning Edition": The segment includes comments from Army spokesperson Paul Boyce and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) (Raz, "Morning Edition," NPR, 3/2). Audio of the segment is available online.
• NBC's "Nightly News": The segment includes comments from Kiley, Gates, McCaskill and Robinson (Miklaszewski, "Nightly News," NBC, 3/1). Video of the segment is available online.