Army Surgeon General Kevin Kiley resigned in the wake of the Walter Reed scandal, the third high-level official to fall as the Bush administration struggles to defend its management of the Iraq war.
Kiley’s removal comes as a President Bush, Congress and the Pentagon are investigating the deplorable conditions of the outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington.
Kiley, who headed the Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 2002 to 2004, was roundly criticized for his handling of the problems uncovered by The Washington Post.
Kiley further angered congressional members at a March 5 hearing when he was asked why he didn’t notice the problems at the rundown outpatient apartments.
“It’s been pointed out: I live across the street. But I don’t do barracks inspections at Walter Reed in my role as MEDCOM commander,” he testified.
Rep. Tom Davis called Kiley’s resignation a step forward to addressing the problems at the hospital that cares for thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Gen. Kiley did not seem to understand the scope of his job,” the Virginia Republican said. “If he had paid more attention, he wouldn’t be in this position right now. This was no way to treat American heroes.”
Kiley said in a statement Monday that he submitted his retirement because he wanted to allow officials to “focus completely on the way ahead.”
Bush appointed a panel to investigate the problems, and separate reviews are under way by the Pentagon, the Army and an interagency task force led by Secretary of Veteran Affairs Jim Nicholson. Two top officials were removed earlier this month. Army Secretary Francis Harvey resigned and Maj. Gen. George Weightman, who was in charge of Walter Reed since August 2006, was ousted from his post.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
