US Army secretary removed amid veterans' scandal

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) US Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired Army Secretary Francis Harvey as the Bush administration scrambled to respond to an outcry over poor treatment for veterans at the Army's top hospital.

As the embarrassing controversy over care for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan raged for a second week, Gates said he thought the problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington were related to leadership.

''I am disappointed that some in the Army have not adequately appreciated the seriousness of the situation pertaining to outpatient care at Walter Reed,'' Gates said.

''Some have shown too much defensiveness and have not shown enough focus on digging into and addressing the problems.'' Gates said Harvey, the top civilian at the Pentagon overseeing the Army, yesterday offered his resignation. Senior defense officials said Gates requested it.

The announcement came the same day President George W Bush ordered a wide-ranging review of all US veterans facilities and a day after the Army fired the head of the medical center, Maj Gen George Weightman.

Problems at an adjunct building of Walter Reed Army Medical Center were brought to light by a Washington Post investigation published last month. It found recuperating soldiers were living in a dilapidated building infested with mice, mold and cockroaches.

The Washington Post reports were particularly embarrassing because Bush and senior defense officials have repeatedly visited the wounded in the hospital to show their concern for those who served in battle.

''This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country and it's not going to continue,'' Bush said in his weekly radio address, taped on Friday and released before its usual Saturday morning delivery.

House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, ''The resignation of Secretary Harvey over the substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center is further evidence of the administration's inability to competently discharge its responsibilities to those most deserving of the nation's attention.'' Harvey, in an interview with The Washington Post, said: ''We let the soldiers down. I'm the head of the Army. What can I say?'' The House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee scheduled a hearing on Monday at Walter Reed and has called on Weightman to testify.

NEW PERMANENT COMMANDER On Thursday, after Weightman was removed from his post, the Army said its surgeon-general, Lt Gen Kevin Kiley, would take temporary charge of Walter Reed.

Defense officials said Gates was not satisfied with Harvey's choice of Kiley, a former commander of the hospital who had been accused of ignoring earlier complaints about outpatient care.

''I am concerned that some do not properly understand the need to communicate to the wounded and their families that we have no higher priority than their care and that addressing their concerns about the quality of their outpatient experience is critically important,'' Gates said yesterday.

Kiley served only one day, as the Army yesterday named Maj Gen Eric Schoomaker as permanent commander of Walter Reed.

Schoomaker is brother to the Army's top military official -- Chief of Staff Gen Peter Schoomaker.

Bush said he would name a bipartisan panel to review medical care for military veterans. The White House said the review would be separate from a similar investigation ordered by the Pentagon.

The president, who learned of the problems by reading the newspaper, said he was deeply troubled by the reports. He said while most of the people working at the hospital were dedicated professionals, ''some of our troops at Walter Reed have experienced bureaucratic delays and living conditions that are less than they deserve.'' More than 10,000 US troops in the Iraq war and more than 600 involved in the Afghan conflict have been wounded so seriously they were unable to return to duty within 72 hours, according to Pentagon statistics.

REUTERS PDM RK1035