The GOATS

When Abu Ghraib prison torture by us hit the news, a one star, female, military police commanding General was relieved of that command. No one higher.
Now the two star Commanding General at Walter Reed military Hospital has been relieved. No one higher, but congress is demanding that the temporary general put into his place also be relieved---he was the hospital commander six months ago before being promoted to three star.
I suppose he must have done a good job six months ago! He also lived across the street, in a mansion, from the cruddy worn out hotel where we kept our out-patient wounded.
That is as high as the firing will go, I think.
When Rumsfeld retired he was called the best Secretary of Defense we had ever had. Some now say, the worst.
When opportunity is afforded people of responsibility they should only be rewarded if they were highly successful and took all responsibility for their commands.
Time in service and fakey fitness reports, with nothing in them but military phraseology, should not be rewarded with anything more than they have already received.
Until we get back to that, the serious leadership problems we have in the military will not go away.
Bad Presidents can also kill good men's careers.

The last one is gone, Dollaraday

Submitted by Basmati on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 12:04pm.

I think the Walter Reed scandal has been dealt with appropriately. The four people most responsible for this fiasco are no longer in charge:

• the abyssmal Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has resigned
• the politically tone deaf Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey "resigned"
• the current Walter Reed commander Major General Weightman was fired
• the primary culprit Lt. General Kevin Kiley was permitted to tender his retirement papers today (after blaming the media last week in his congressional testimony)

Another Republican scandal cleaned up by the Democratic Congress.

login to post comments

$, you need to remember

Submitted by bad_ptc on Thu, 03/01/2007 - 7:52pm.

that sometimes your rating is based on how well you can keep something hidden.

login to post comments

bad: Agree

Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Fri, 03/02/2007 - 10:02am.

How well something can be kept hidden is meaningful to some.
That is the core of the military problem, as well as corporate problems if I may say so!
People are rewarded for helping others get ahead in a devious atmosphere. If something is being accomplished towards a moral goal, then it can be a good thing, as Martha says.
I won't deny that in a battlefield situation where life and limb are immediately at risk, that throwing the book out the window can be legitimate. However, it is now taken all the way to the Pentagon offices, I'm afraid.

login to post comments