I have never told anyone here this, but I am a veteran, and as such, I can tell you from experience that the deplorable conditions being reported about Walter Reed are not unusual when it comes to how military members are housed and cared for.
In fact, when there were a number of base closures state side in the early nineties, those abandoned buildings could not even be approved for homeless shelters because the safety and health conditions did not meet basic civilian standards, and yet they had housed military members for decades. Apparantly the standards for homeless folks are higher than for those who put their lives on the line every day.
I also know there are good men and women on the job who absolutely do not condone this neglect. For a personal story, look down:
I was stationed at Naval Air Station Keflavik Iceland for three years from 1992-1995, and while there, I lived in a standard military barracks. The ceilings in my barracks were falling down; the carpet was rotten and stank; the windows weren't sealed and let in cold air and snow. The heaters didn't work in most rooms,and on and on....
When the Secretary of the Navy came to visit and did a walk-through with our base CO, he was appalled and livid. He told the CO that if he didn't get our barracks ship shape, that he would find someone who could. In addition, he told our CO that he would be back in 6 months to make sure the problems had been fixed.
Needless to say, not a few days went by when workers came in, began ripping up carpet and slapping paint on the walls. Sure enough, six months later the Secretary, a good man, returned as promised.
This is the story of one base and one Navy Secretary, but it represents the larger issue of how our military members are treated. They're paid poorly, used to advance immoral political agendas, and discarded without thought when they leave the service. For this, what do they get? Do they get the best care we can offer them? We know the answer is no, and yet these problems are continuously treated as isolated incidents. They aren't. This is institution wide, and not every officer is as honorable as our Secretary of the Navy was.
With the bloated military budget, we ought to demand better use of our taxes and better treatment for our soldiers, sailors, and veterans.
I hope today's hearings get us closer to that moral imperative.