Panel Rebukes Walter Reed Condition

Walter Reed Army Hospital conditions for wounded Iraq veterans must be completely overhauled, a Washington panel says.

The independent committee issued a sweeping rebuke of what it called leadership failures, inadequate training and staffing shortages, the New York Times said.

Headed by former Army secretaries Togo West Jr. and John Marsh Jr., the panel said a high standard of care for evacuated troops collapsed when they became outpatients.

Citing a breakdown in health services, the report called the assessing of soldiers’ disabilities inconsistent and confusing.

It urged stepped-up treatment, training and more research on traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by thousands of troops in Iraq.