President Apologizes For Walter Reed Scandal

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush on Friday vowed to "fix the problem" at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and apologized for substandard conditions that were found there.

"The problems at Walter Reed were caused by bureaucratic and administrative failures. The system failed you, and it failed our troops. And we're going to fix it," he said.

His comments came after a tour, his first trip to the facility for war veterans since the problems were exposed by a series of reports in the Washington Post.

The tour included the main hospital and a building where soldiers were transferred after they were vacated from the facility's Building 18. That building had moldy walls, rodent infestation and other problems that went unchecked.

The president said his conversations with those who had been in Building 18 left him "disturbed," and he said that the system had failed the troops.

Bush also made a point of distinguishing the conditions at Building 18 from the overall quality of medical care members of the military receive.

"None of the problems that we have uncovered can overshadow the great work you do here. That's what you have to know. It's a special calling to serve those who serve our country. It requires a unique person to come here on a daily basis and to heal the hurts of those who served our country," he said.

Bush said important steps, including the replacement of military leadership in charge of the hospital, have been taken already.

"We're not going to be satisfied until everybody gets the kind of care that their folks and families expect. And that's what I expect," he said.

Three separate programs to improve conditions have been established.

An independent review group formed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates is examining conditions at Walter Reed and the National Naval Center in Bethesda, Md., and will recommend ways to improve the medical care they provide.

An interagency task force, led by Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson, will identify potential gaps in the services wounded troops receive as they return from the battlefield.

A bipartisan presidential commission, co-chaired by former Sen. Bob Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, is conducting a comprehensive review of the entire system for providing physical and emotional care to troops injured in this war.