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Secretary of the Army, Francis Harvey, Dismissed

The US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, dismissed Secretary of the Army, Francis Harvey, after the mistreatment of injured veteran was exposed. The incident began with a series of articles posted by the Washington Post. The exposed the fact that a portion of American soldiers injured in battle in Afghanistan and Iraq, are hospitalized in unsuitable conditions, in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington. The repot said that the medical center was infested with cockroaches and rodents, and that it is impossible to assist the soldiers due to walls of bureaucracy.

The articles raised waves of public outcry throughout the American public, which sees the mistreatment as betrayal of the country`s soldiers, who have paid with their health to protect the United States. The Bush administration acted swiftly, punishing those responsible, at first George Whitman, who managed the medical center, after which, Gates implored Secretary Harvey to resign his post, which eventually lead to his leaving.

"I am disappointed that some in the Army have not adequately appreciated the seriousness of the situation pertaining to outpatient care at Walter Reed. Some have shown too much defensiveness and have not shown enough focus on digging into and addressing the problems," Gates said in a press release. "Our wounded soldiers and their families have sacrificed much and they deserve the best we can offer." President George W. Bush said in his weekly radio address to the state that the mistreatment of wounded US soldiers is unacceptable to him, and is unacceptable to the American people and will not continue.