I am appalled that the higher levels in the Army are blaming the problems at Walter Reed on the non-com's in charge of the buildings (At Walter Reed, 'We're Going to Fix It'. General Says He Will Oversee Repair of Soldiers' Lodging, Washington Post, Thursday, February 22, 2007; Page A06)
Who put those people there? Who trained them -- or didn't? Who failed to provide oversight? What ever happened to Command Responsibility?
As at Abu Ghraib, the senior officers look as if they will get off scot free while the squaddies carry the can.
This is one more example of an underlying malaise in Government today: there is no accountability. George Bush must be held responsible for creating the climate in which this failure of accountability occurred. He must do something to reaffirm managerial accountability or he can expect no good results from his new Iraq policy.
The author is a retired leadership researcher.
Sent to the Washington Post
3 comments:
I was wrong. As of today the Commander of Walter Reed, Major General George Weightman was relieved of his command.
I was even more wrong. the Secretary of the Army resigned today. At last some top officials are being held accountable.
And more wrong. Today the Surgeon General of the Army was forced into retirement. He was one who blamed the lower level persons for the problems.
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