Lapses in the care of wounded and injured warriors have captured national attention. Parts of our system have failed and this has shaken the trust and confidence the Nation has in our medical system. Soldiers and their families are the heart of our organization, and we will not fail them. As the senior enlisted leader of the United States Army, I realize we did not provide the treatment our Soldiers and families expect and we will fix those shortfalls. All Americans deserve to know that the Army is making corrections and improvements to outpatient and long term wounded warrior care.

I have served in today’s combat zone. I was the Command Sergeant Major of V Corps in Operation Iraqi Freedom I and took part in the invasion of Iraq. In my current duties as Sergeant Major of the Army, it is my job to travel the world, talk to Soldiers and family members and to be their advocate to the senior leadership of the Army. The Army has the finest medical care professionals in the world, and their passion is saving Soldiers’ lives. From the point of injury, through triage, stabilization and evacuation to the medical centers, our Soldiers are surviving traumatic injuries that would have been fatal on past battlefields. However, the current system that brings wounded Soldiers back to duty or transitions them to civilian life and long term care, requires an overhaul to insure that it meets the needs of sick and wounded Soldiers and their families. The current system has become overly complex and bureaucratic and demands our attention.

Early last year, the Secretary of the Army realized there were deficiencies in the system and directed our Inspector General to look at this system across our Army. It was readily apparent problems in the system were compounded by increasing numbers of Soldiers entering the disability system, the consequence of the first five years of this long war.

The inspection found some medical facilities doing some great things, and we pass on best practices to all Army medical facilities. But the Inspector General’s comprehensive review also recommended key changes: the Army should update its regulations, improve timeliness standards for processing, standardize training of case managers and liaisons, implement quality controls and improve computer systems to better track Soldiers' medical information and status. It is important for people to understand, this was our Inspector General; this was us – the Army – policing ourselves, and we have gone to work on these recommendations.

In all other areas, too, the Army is taking decisive action. We are implementing an Army-wide action plan to improve care for Soldiers and their families based on the findings at Walter Reed. This action plan is focusing on four areas: Soldier accountability and health and welfare; infrastructure; medical administrative process; and information dissemination.

At Walter Reed, the Army assigned a top notch medical officer as new commander, created a new deputy commander position which has been filled by a combat-seasoned general, and created a new wounded warrior transition brigade led by combat veterans. We set up a one-stop assistance center, a centralized issue point to replenish uniforms, a centralized distribution system for donated goods, improved dining facility access, and moved all wounded Soldiers to better living quarters closer to the main hospital.

I have visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center countless times since becoming Sergeant Major of the Army in January of 2004. I am extremely proud of our top notch medical professionals and their dedication to providing first-class care to our wounded and injured Soldiers.

But the red tape challenge is not just at Walter Reed: it is nation-wide and cross-service. So, the Army also launched a team of medical and installation professionals to major medical centers to assess outpatient care to assess all of our facilities. Some of the immediate improvements made from early reports include establishing a patient advocate at medical centers and assigning and hiring more people to reduce the ratio of patients to case workers. We will continue to work with the rest of the Department of Defense, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and Congress, and are certainly participating in all the external reviews of this system so we can make these improvements nationwide.

This week, I met with Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson to discuss how we can improve the care of our wounded warriors and their families. We agreed that we must take advantage of this opportunity to streamline a system that has frustrated Soldiers, Veterans, Retirees
and families for decades. Secretary Nicholson is a man who is passionate about providing world-class care for our active duty Soldiers and veterans. We are committed to working these issues together and improving the system.

I want all veterans of every generation to know the Army 'gets it,' is taking action, and fighting to regain your trust and confidence. Our Soldiers and families deserve the best inpatient and outpatient care we can provide. We know that if the system is not perfect, it is not good enough. As Soldiers, we vow to never leave a fallen comrade. This applies not only to the battlefield, but in the hospitals and outpatient clinics as well. As the Senior Enlisted Leader in the Army, I will work to ensure we remain true to that vow.