Walter Reed says repair has started on housing

WASHINGTON — Walter Reed Army Medical Center began repairs Monday on Building 18, a former hotel that is used to house outpatients recuperating from combat injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan and that has been plagued with mold, leaky plumbing and a broken elevator.

The facility's commander, Maj. Gen. George Weightman, said Army staff members inspected rooms at the building and that repair orders for half the rooms had been completed. He said that mold removal had begun on several rooms and that holes in ceilings, stained carpets and leaking faucets were being fixed.

Walter Reed, the nation's premier military medical facility, has turned into a holding ground for wounded soldiers during 5 ½ years of sustained combat. Almost 700 outpatients suffering from physical injuries and psychological problems live on the 113-acre military post or in nearby quarters. Many linger there for 18 months or longer as they move through the Army's numbing bureaucracy.

Stories from The Washington Post that appeared yesterday and today in The Seattle Times described conditions at Walter Reed that reflect the indifference and neglect that many of the wounded say they experience at the center.

Monday, Weightman said a broken elevator in the building had been repaired.

Spec. Jeremy Duncan, whose room has a moldy wall that was featured in one photograph in the Post series, has been moved to another room while workers make repairs. Duncan will be able to return to his room when the work is completed, Weightman said.

Walter Reed and Army officials have been "meeting continuously for three days" since the articles began appearing, Weightman said.

A large roundtable meeting with Army and Defense officials will take place at the Pentagon today to continue talks about improvements in the outpatient system, he added.