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US Army secretary axed over run down veterans hospital

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired Army Secretary Francis Harvey on Friday as the Bush administration scrambled to respond to an outcry over poor treatment for veterans at the Army's top hospital.

As the embarrassing controversy over care for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan raged for a second week, Gates said he thought the problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington were related to leadership.

"I am disappointed that some in the Army have not adequately appreciated the seriousness of the situation pertaining to outpatient care at Walter Reed," Gates said. "Some have shown too much defensiveness and have not shown enough focus on digging into and addressing the problems."

Gates said Harvey, the top civilian at the Pentagon overseeing the Army, offered his resignation. Senior defense officials said Gates requested it.

His dismissal left the door open for more personnel changes, as investigations continue and Congress prepares for hearings next week.

The announcement came the same day US President George W. Bush ordered a wide-ranging review of all US veterans facilities and a day after the army fired the head of the medical center, Major General George Weightman.

Problems at an adjunct building of Walter Reed Army Medical Center were brought to light by a Washington Post investigation published last month. It found recuperating soldiers were living in a dilapidated building infested with mice, mold and cockroaches.

The Post reports were particularly embarrassing because Bush and senior defense officials have repeatedly visited the wounded in the hospital to show their concern for those who served in battle.

"This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country and it's not going to continue," Bush said in his weekly radio address, taped on Friday and released before its usual Saturday morning delivery.

House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "The resignation of Secretary Harvey over the substandard conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center is further evidence of the administration's inability to competently discharge its responsibilities to those most deserving of the nation's attention."
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