tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post117310916261256918..comments2023-11-03T09:36:22.100-04:00Comments on In From the Cold: So, What's the Story?George Smileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07049707648660651119noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-1173349356973086422007-03-08T05:22:00.000-05:002007-03-08T05:22:00.000-05:00Been reading a LOT of editorials and other copy ab...Been reading a LOT of editorials and other copy about the “closing” of Walter Reed. Absolutely stunning the extent to which people believe Walter Reed is to be "closed" since it is "on the BRAC list."<BR/><BR/>Walter Reed IS on the BRAC list (click here), but, NOT to close. It is to be realigned (don't forget: there is an "R" in the term BRAC just like there is a "C." The realignment will in part provide a brand-new, state-of-the-art hospital. The services and treatment available to patients are NOT closing! BRAC will realign primary and secondary care at the current Walter Reed to a new hospital at Fort Belvoir, Va., and most everything else in the old facilities, including tertiary care, to an upgraded Bethesda facility.<BR/><BR/>Only once the Bethesda and Fort Belvoir facilities are up and running with the services realigned from the old WRAMC will the old campus on Georgia Avenue close. Even the name Walter Reed – as in, “Walter Reed National Military Medical Center” – will still be very much up and running. Key point is that none of the care services talked about in the hearings the last few days be “closed.” But, I’m afraid a lot in the general public are certainly left with the impression that the hospital’s services are on the chopping block. That is NOT how the current BRAC legislations reads – the term “close” isn’t used in the same way it is for such installations as Fort Monroe, Va., which IS to be closed.<BR/><BR/>“Closure” of Walter Reed is being referred to a great deal more in an alarmist fashion than in any fashion that truly helps get to the bottom of the issue today’s hearing was about. My experience tells me that assertions that “being on the BRAC list” make it hard to attract and keep good staff are similarly alarmist. I believe that is due more to the privatization and A-76 challenges WRAMC has faced, and has its roots back much further than 2005 when the current BRAC changes were announced.<BR/><BR/>The intent of the entire BRAC process is that it be immune from political manipulation. It will take congressional debate on the floor – opening up the entire law, not just that pertaining to Walter Reed – and, thus, I believe create a great many more problems than it would solve to try and delete reference to Walter Reed, particularly when one considers that the problems people think they would solve aren’t really there in the first place. Walter Reed being on the list is only a problem related to the current situation if we’re talking about its services going away, but, we’re not. I believe that, if we’re not careful, we’re going to waste a lot of time dealing with “Walter Reed on the BRAC list” in the name of finding and solving problems that have little with the BRAC list at all.Don Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08839413217858837330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-1173123932437938882007-03-05T14:45:00.000-05:002007-03-05T14:45:00.000-05:00I've seen too many horror stories happen with acti...I've seen too many horror stories happen with active duty to rely on government health care. Remember, it's all the lowest rate, by the lowest bidder.....I am active duty at Langley AFB, VaAFeskimohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13197078159310976421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-1173117834564690302007-03-05T13:03:00.000-05:002007-03-05T13:03:00.000-05:00Rose--I'm certainly glad you're experience with th...Rose--I'm certainly glad you're experience with the VA was positive, and you received the care you needed. Unfortunately, there are still too many horror stories associated with the VA, including the one cited in today's WaPo article. Arguing over who is going to bath a disabled vet--in front of his family--is inexcusable, plain and simple. And, while the VA has probably improved over the last decade or so, it still has a long way to go.<BR/><BR/>That's why I think we need a serious debate about health care for active duty military personnel and veterans. Early in my military career, I worked as an Air Force medic, and saw my own share of medical nightmares. Obviously, no system is perfect, but I'm not ready to annoint the military system (or the VA) as the solution for our nation's health care problems. <BR/><BR/>Finally, I'm also a little tired of Congressional grandstanding on this issue. Many members of Congress are regular visitors to Walter Reed--and I'll bet that some received complaints about Building 18--but no one raised a peep until the problem turned up in the Post. And sadly, most members of Congress will lose interest in the issue after they score a few points at the hearings this week. <BR/><BR/>Again, thanks for your service, and I'm glad that the VA system worked for you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12712369389411084085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10820485.post-1173111960099750232007-03-05T11:26:00.000-05:002007-03-05T11:26:00.000-05:00I am currently a resident in a Veteran's Home afte...I am currently a resident in a Veteran's Home after having undergone treatment through the VA for PTSD and Depression, long overdue some 40 years after the Tet Offensive that cap stoned my military 2nd tour in Vietnam with a lifetime of illness. <BR/><BR/>My blog has attracted the stories of many veterans such as myself and other sufferers from PTSD who were victimized by elements of society other than the VA system of medical and mental treatment. I, for one, became trapped in the Military Industrial Complex for 36 years working on weapons systems that are saving lives today but with such high security clearances that I dared not get treated for fear of losing my career:<BR/><BR/>http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com/2006/11/odyssey-of-armaments.html<BR/><BR/>When my disorders became life threatening I was entered into the VA System for treatment in Minneapolis. It saved my life and I am now in complete recovery and functioning as a volunteer for SCORE, as well as authoring books and blogging the world.<BR/><BR/>When I was in the VA system I was amazed at how well it functioned and how state of the art it is for its massive mission. Below is a feature article from Time Magazine which does a good job of explaining why it is a class act:<BR/><BR/>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376238,00.html<BR/><BR/>I had state of the art medical and mental care, met some of the most dedicated professionals I have ever seen and was cared for by a handful of very special nurses among the 60,000 + nursing population that make up that mammoth system. While I was resident at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis I observed many returnees from Iraq getting excellent care. <BR/><BR/>I do not say the VA system is perfect but it is certainly being run better on a $39B budget than the Pentagon is running on $494B.RoseCovered Glasseshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14959248140987830086noreply@blogger.com