thedrifter
09-09-07, 06:17 PM
Walter Reed flap slows ex-surgeon general’s retirement
By William H. McMichael - bmcmichael@militarytimes.com
Posted : September 17, 2007
The Army will not process the retirement request of its former surgeon general until it completes a review of last winter’s Walter Reed outpatient-care scandal, officials say.
That news, and confirmation that Kevin Kiley no longer wears the three stars he wore while serving as the Army’s top medical officer, serve to refute the allegation that Army Secretary Pete Geren has kept Kiley on active duty so he can attain three years as a three-star general and retire at that rank, as the liberal Washington think tank Center for American Progress Fund claimed Aug. 28.
In the March 12 news release announcing Kiley’s resignation, the Army said his request had been submitted to Geren, then the acting secretary. But that request has not reached Geren’s desk. Army spokeswoman Maj. Anne Edgecomb said it remains on hold in the Army’s General Officer Management Office until the Army’s Walter Reed review is complete.
“Secretary Geren has not received nor rejected Major General Kiley’s retirement request,” Edgecomb said.
Meanwhile, Kiley works on special projects for Army Medical Command, Edgecomb said.
In addition, since Kiley is, by law, once again a major general, he will not retire with three stars.
Kiley was appointed to the job Sept. 30, 2004, and served less than three years before submitting his resignation March 11. By federal law, officers above the grade of O-4 must serve that long in an equal or higher grade to be eligible for voluntary retirement at their highest grade.
But as the law also requires, Kiley lost his third star 60 days after stepping down from the surgeon general slot and reverted to his permanent rank, said Edgecomb, who said the actual date of record was March 20.
Kiley was one of three Army leaders who took the fall for the Walter Reed debacle, which followed published reports that recovering veterans being treated at the Washington, D.C., facility were stuck in run-down housing and faced long delays over administrative issues such as pay and benefits, lost records, and medical evaluations. The news caused a wave of commissions, reports and bureaucratic overhaul.
Critics said Kiley long knew of the problems at Walter Reed but failed to take action to improve matters. His resignation followed the firings of Walter Reed commander Maj. Gen. George Weightman and Army Secretary Francis Harvey.
Harvey relieved Weightman on March 1 and selected Kiley as his temporary replacement. The following day, Harvey was forced out as Army secretary. On March 11, Kiley submitted his retirement paperwork to Geren.
Ellie
By William H. McMichael - bmcmichael@militarytimes.com
Posted : September 17, 2007
The Army will not process the retirement request of its former surgeon general until it completes a review of last winter’s Walter Reed outpatient-care scandal, officials say.
That news, and confirmation that Kevin Kiley no longer wears the three stars he wore while serving as the Army’s top medical officer, serve to refute the allegation that Army Secretary Pete Geren has kept Kiley on active duty so he can attain three years as a three-star general and retire at that rank, as the liberal Washington think tank Center for American Progress Fund claimed Aug. 28.
In the March 12 news release announcing Kiley’s resignation, the Army said his request had been submitted to Geren, then the acting secretary. But that request has not reached Geren’s desk. Army spokeswoman Maj. Anne Edgecomb said it remains on hold in the Army’s General Officer Management Office until the Army’s Walter Reed review is complete.
“Secretary Geren has not received nor rejected Major General Kiley’s retirement request,” Edgecomb said.
Meanwhile, Kiley works on special projects for Army Medical Command, Edgecomb said.
In addition, since Kiley is, by law, once again a major general, he will not retire with three stars.
Kiley was appointed to the job Sept. 30, 2004, and served less than three years before submitting his resignation March 11. By federal law, officers above the grade of O-4 must serve that long in an equal or higher grade to be eligible for voluntary retirement at their highest grade.
But as the law also requires, Kiley lost his third star 60 days after stepping down from the surgeon general slot and reverted to his permanent rank, said Edgecomb, who said the actual date of record was March 20.
Kiley was one of three Army leaders who took the fall for the Walter Reed debacle, which followed published reports that recovering veterans being treated at the Washington, D.C., facility were stuck in run-down housing and faced long delays over administrative issues such as pay and benefits, lost records, and medical evaluations. The news caused a wave of commissions, reports and bureaucratic overhaul.
Critics said Kiley long knew of the problems at Walter Reed but failed to take action to improve matters. His resignation followed the firings of Walter Reed commander Maj. Gen. George Weightman and Army Secretary Francis Harvey.
Harvey relieved Weightman on March 1 and selected Kiley as his temporary replacement. The following day, Harvey was forced out as Army secretary. On March 11, Kiley submitted his retirement paperwork to Geren.
Ellie