DoD pledges to overhaul disability claims
By Hope Yen - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 17, 2007 11:45:51 EDT

Under criticism for poor treatment of injured U.S. soldiers, the Defense Department announced new measures Tuesday to provide more health screenings, improve its record-keeping system and overhaul an unwieldy disability claims system.

Testifying before a House of Representatives’ panel, Michael Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense, and Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, the Army’s acting surgeon general, acknowledged a need for major changes in the outpatient treatment of wounded soldiers and veterans.

They expressed confidence in a new leadership team overseeing Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the flagship treatment center for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan after disclosures of shoddy treatment in February and urged lawmakers to be patient.

“We believe we have the right people and the right mechanisms in place to make sure that all soldiers who are in a transitional status — our warriors in transition — are managed with care and compassion, and that they and their families are receiving the care they so justly deserve,” Pollock told a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee in prepared testimony.

The new initiatives come following a blistering report last week by an independent review group that found money woes and Pentagon neglect were to blame for many of the problems at Walter Reed.

Ellie