Washington - One of the country's top civilian military officials, Francis Harvey, abruptly stepped down Friday as secretary of the US Army amidst a widening scandal over health care management for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Harvey's resignation appeared to be connected to an immediate crisis over care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in the nation's capital, US President George W Bush ordered a system- wide investigation into possible problems at other facilities.
In an unusual move, Bush released his weekly radio address nearly a day early to announce the probe and lament the 'bureaucratic delays and living conditions' that have been uncovered at Walter Reed.
The facility came under intense scrutiny after a series of articles in the Washington Post newspaper showed decrepit conditions such as mold and holes in the walls at a building that houses outpatients and detailed the problems of some soldiers seeking treatment.
'This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country, and it's not going to continue,' Bush said. 'This country has a moral obligation to provide our servicemen and women with the best possible care and treatment.'
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates announced Harvey's resignation, then expressed his disappointment in the leadership at Walter Reed, one of the country's main health care centers for the military.
'I am disappointed that some in the army have not' maintained proper levels of care at the hospital, Gates said. 'From what I have learned, the problems at Walter Reed appear to be problems of leadership.'
On Thursday, the man in command of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command that includes Walter Reed, Major General George W Weightman, was relieved of his duties.
A replacement was then named who has been implicated even more in the scandal, Lieutenant General Kevin C Kiley, who as Weightman's predecessor at the facility had been the target of years-long complaints about conditions at the hospital. It was not clear if Harvey was involved in naming Kiley to the post.
Since the US invaded Iraq four years ago, nearly 24,000 soldiers have been wounded. More than half returned to duty within 72 hours, but the remaining 10,500 had more serious injuries.
The death toll stands at 3,160.
Due to improved battlefield medical practice, survival chances despite loss of limb and severe head injuries have grown, but many veterans face long uphill battles to recover former lives.
Gates has also established an independent panel to investigate conditions at the US military hospitals and deliver a report in 45 days. It was not clear if that panel's work would be included in the commission Bush announced.
Bush said his panel would 'find out whether similar problems have occurred at other military and veterans hospitals.'
Harvey was appointed by US President George W Bush in 2004 to oversee the army's one-million-strong manpower, personnel, Reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications, and financial management.
Walter Reed hospital has been in business since 1909, and was named after a leading army surgeon who tackled such infectious diseases as typhoid and yellow fever that had taken such a large toll in the US Civil War of the 1860s.
A special commission has agreed with the Pentagon's proposal to close Walter Reed as part of modernization moves, but US Congress has not yet approved shutting the storied facility.
In 2003, doctors at Walter Reed successfully operated on then- secretary of state of state and former Army general Colin Powell, who had been diagnosed with prostrate cancer.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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