After hearing the general's testimony. After knowing what the SecDef was selling the country at the time....and having to understand the risks of not towing the party line....
Ignore the Ranger Tab. Forget about the combat action ribbon (or whatever the Army equivalent is) that's on his chest. Don't consider the awards for valor (in combat, not in a staff assignment). Dismiss his Purple Heart.
Do you really believe that he wouldn't stand up to some bureaucrat in one of his hospitals if he knew they were falsifying records?
Shin deserves our patience and support.
Sidenote: Take the time to read General Shinseki's bio on Wikipedia. This is not the record of a man that ignores problems.
I remember him mainly for pushing the 8 x 8 Stryker concept through.
ReplyDeleteI guess the principle question is not what he would do if he knew, but why didn't he know.
ReplyDeleteThese are not potatoes or trucks at risk, these are military veterans, the best of the best.
Did Shinseki ever talk to veterans in Phoenix? Looks like maybe not.
A commander is responsible.....etc.
And a responsible commander doesn't depend upon what his lackeys tell him.
General Dempsey prides himself on talking to actives on his sojurns, for example.
Gotta do it. You never know what you'll learn.
Make the rounds. Talk to the troops/customers. Learn. Never stop learning.
The VA, at the top, knew about this faulty scheduling scam four years ago.
ReplyDeleteVA Memo, Apr 26, 2010
Subject: Inappropriate Scheduling Practices
-from Department of Veterans Affairs
Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management
-memo posted by Arizona Democratic Veterans and Families Caucus
The memo's author, William C. Schoenhard, the Veterans Health Administration’s Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management, has testified before Congress before on other matters as here.
I remember Shin as the only guy in a top position to openly challenge Rumsfeld's and Wolfowitz' delusions about going into Iraq and getting the job done with 60 000 troops. Took a lot of guts to speak his mind the way he did back then. Add to that his outstanding military record (he didnt get his purple heart by being shot by accident on a shooting range, like some other general) and you get the picture of a guy who definitely wouldnt stand for anything like the accusations made against him.
DeleteI understand the families wanting someone to be held accountable and i'm sure Shin won't back away from his responsibilities. But I would also like to remember those with a short memory that there have been documented cases of malpractise, for example at Walter Reed, long before Shin took over VA ... So maybe the ones who actually broke the whole system of medical care for vets are just covering their own asses now and looking for a guy to take the fall ... And who better than Shin would fit that profile, especially considering the fact he didn't give the expected support to those in charge of this mess, back in 2003.
Anybody saying otherwise should just stop talking out of their ass !
it seems like you and I (talking about Hecate) are on a lonely island when it comes to supporting Shinseki. that's a shame. i'm looking at this and all i see is political opportunism dressed up as caring about veterans. i don't know whats going on with our culture but this is just more gotcha politics. its a shame.
DeleteI don't know how good or bad Shinseki is. I personally remember him as the guy who made the Army switch to black berets so my thoughts of him aren't fond.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, though, the VA is f*cked up from top to bottom. I have family that works there and their stories are terrible. I feel sorry for ever is in charge of that place. It's truly broken from the bottom to the top and back down again.
Can't argue with you about the VA being f*ed all the way down and back ... Just a little side-note, sort of food for thought: there are 7 millions vets from Vietnam era eligible for VA care. And now you having more and more vets from post 9/11 period. So the system itself, with inappropriate funding and rooted in DC type bureaucracy, has disaster written all over it.
DeleteDoesn't mean the guy who took over from those who did nothing for years and years is to blame for stuff that seems to have happened mostly in Phoenix, Arizona ... what a coincidence ! Nuff said ...
Editorial: Army Times says VA's Shinseki must step down
ReplyDelete...Simply put, things are getting worse, not better, in VA medical care. Veterans are the victims of systemic incompetence, negligence and possibly malfeasance.
ok. you want me to tell you the stone cold truth here? its real simple. if you've been following whats going on with the VA hospitals more than two minutes then you know several good intended but horrible things are colliding at the same time.
Delete1. Vietnam vets started getting pissed because the war on terror vets were getting lauded with praise and that kind of trash. they suddenly started saying what about us and then you saw a flood of vets that previously hadn't been part of the system flood in.
2. those older vets that weren't part of the system but accepted in had increased illnesses requiring even more care.
3. they started putting in claims that increased the budget for the department.
4. all of the above increased the workload....additionally...
5. you had a bunch of the gulf war vets showing up for care because they're young but busted and need the help.
6. the bad economy has also pushed many vets that would rather use employer provided health care to use the VA as a money saving gesture.
7. the services have started walking former servicemembers from the medical facilities on base, straight to the VA.
8. these types of complaints have existed for years. only a person that hasn't been paying attention would think that this is new.
this isn't getting worse, the news is simply looking for a scalp to hang on the wall and the Obama administration lacks enough moral courage, lacks the fortitude to stand by a great guy and fix the problem.
watch what happens when Shinseki is fired. do you think you'll see improvements? no, the story will die and everyone will pat themselves on the back for helping vets without doing a damn thing of substance.