March 27, 2008


On behalf of the more than 105,000 members of the Association of the United States Army, I write to urge that you not support H.R. 5029 as it is currently written. This legislation would designate the new medical facilities being constructed at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland as the “National Military Medical Center” eliminating the name Walter Reed from the title.

H.R. 5029 is in direct contravention to the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) Report approved by the Congress that established the “Walter Reed National Military Medical Center” at Bethesda after relocating the medical services of Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the campus of the National Naval Medical Center.

Walter Reed was an Army physician who rose to global prominence when he discovered the role of mosquitoes in transmitting yellow fever. He worked and taught at both civilian and military facilities in Washington, D.C. until his death.
Political and military leaders agreed that the hospital built in the District a few years later should bear his name. Indeed, that name has come, over the years, to symbolize world class medical research, training, long term and acute care for generations of military personnel and their families. Indeed, the BRAC acknowledged that heritage and stated that the Walter Reed legacy would be preserved in the plan for the new facility.

The Walter Reed name must not disappear when consolidation occurs. I urge you only to support the 2005 legislation that placed Walter Reed in the title of the “National Military Medical Center.”

GORDON R. SULLIVAN
General, USA Retired