FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 21, 2007
CONTACT: Michael Houston, (212)-982-9699, michael[at]iava.org

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Group
Calls for Investigation Into Problems
at Walter Reed Hospital

NEW YORK - The nation's first and largest non-partisan organization representing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, IAVA, today called on members of Congress to review the actions of the Army and the Department of Defense at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., amid press reports that injured troops were returning from war only to face squalid living conditions and inadequate medical and mental health care at the facility.
 
Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said the organization's veteran membership was relieved that these problems have now captured the attention of members of Congress, but cautioned that more must be done to ensure that the problems do not persist once the glare of media attention fades away.
 
"Unfortunately, the Army and the Department of Defense saw no need to fix these problems until they were embarrassed by media reports," Rieckhoff said. "We hear a lot of talk about the need to support our troops, but conditions at Walter Reed show us that the talk does not match the reality."
 
Over the past several days, the Washington Post has exposed the horrendous conditions that recovering troops face as outpatients at Walter Reed: bureaucratic delays, overworked case managers and appalling living conditions, including black mold, cheap mattresses, rodents and cockroaches. Severely injured veterans are being shortchanged on disability payments they are owed, and mental health needs are not properly diagnosed.
 
Rieckhoff said veterans were pleased that Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) quickly drafted legislation that would improve the quality of care at the facility and increase oversight, and he called on other members of the Senate and House to sign on: "We commend Senators McCaskill and Obama for taking the lead on this issue. The items they have proposed, including improving the ratio of caseworkers to recovering veterans and establishing timelines for repairing substandard facilities, will go a long way towards fixing the inexcusable problems at Walter Reed. We hope we can count on other lawmakers to support this bill and stand with veterans in the coming days."
 
However, Rieckhoff said IAVA remains concerned that legislation alone will not be able to right the wrongs that have been done to injured veterans, who have been denied proper disability payments, or whose injuries the Army claims to have been ‘pre-existing': "Remedying the problems at Walter Reed is absolutely crucial, but this is really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems with veterans' care. Walter Reed is a hospital run by the DoD - this doesn't even begin to address the bigger concerns facing the under-funded and understaffed VA. Those issues are not in the spotlight right now, but they will be."

Rieckhoff said Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are particularly concerned by the lack of proper mental health care afforded to returning troops, as documented in the Post reports. IAVA recently released its 2007 Legislative Agenda, which includes recommendations for improving healthcare and readjustment services for new veterans.
 
"These veterans will show the emotional and physical scars of these wars for years and decades to come," Rieckhoff said. "Our nation will be judged by how we treat these veterans and their families as they struggle with the aftermath of war. We must ensure that the mistakes we have seen at Walter Reed will not be repeated, and that troops injured in these wars will be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve."

IAVA: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, is the nation's first and largest organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, representing more than 60,000 members in all 50 states. To arrange an interview with Paul Rieckhoff or any other IAVA member veterans, contact Michael Houston at (212) 982-9699, or email michael[at]iava.org. For more information, or to view IAVA's 2007 Legislative Agenda, visit www.iava.org.

# # #