Army's Kiley Ousted in Walter Reed Furor

Army Surgeon General, Lt Gen. Kevin Kiley, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Tuesday, March 6, 2007 file photo, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Army announced the retirement Monday, March 12, 2007, of Kiley in the latest fallout from the controversy over outpatient care of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, FILE) (Susan Walsh - AP)

Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, current deputy surgeon general, assumed Kiley's job while a permanent replacement is sought. Kiley remains on active duty during the retirement process, which could take up to two months.

Some lawmakers welcomed Kiley's departure.

However, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Kiley's firing alone won't solve the problem. "With the installation of new leaders, the real test will be making sure that the work fixing problems actually gets done," he said.

Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said Kiley "did not seem to understand the scope of his job."

And Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Kiley's tenure had been "riddled with serious blunders."

"We still lack a system that meets the needs of our troops from the battlefield to the local VA and everywhere in between," said Murray, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership.

Amid the focus on Walter Reed, VA Secretary Nicholson on Monday ordered his department's clinics to provide details about their physical condition by next week to determine if squalid conditions found at Walter Reed exist elsewhere.

Nicholson has been under pressure to reduce claims backlogs and improve coordination at the VA's vast network of 1,400 hospitals and clinics, which provide supplemental care and rehabilitation to 5.8 million veterans.

In another sign of the administration's effort to contain political damage, President Bush asked Congress Saturday for $50 million in emergency war funding to improve the medical treatment and rehabilitation of service members.

The conditions at Walter Reed were detailed last month by The Washington Post. Since then, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has forced Army Secretary Francis Harvey to resign. Gates was displeased that Harvey had initially chosen Kiley as interim commander of Walter Reed, officials said privately at the time.

Bush has appointed a bipartisan commission to investigate problems at the nation's military and veteran hospitals. Separate reviews are under way by the Pentagon, the Army and an interagency task force led by Nicholson.

The Army moved within days of the Post story to paint and fix some of the outpatient rooms. Officials also have added caseworkers, financial specialists and others to work with soldiers' families on problems such as getting disability pay and obtaining loans.

"We've made a good start, but much remains to be done," Geren told staff members Monday. "I share in your conviction that we will do whatever it takes to do it right."

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Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.