The Army's Vice Chief of Staff General Richard Cody admitted on Wednesday there has been a “breakdown in leadership” at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His comments came three days after the Washington Post revealed that hospital rooms at Walter Reed were infested with mouse droppings, cockroaches, stained carpets, rodents and black mold. We speak with a former Walter Reed patient; the wife of another patient, and a Salon.com reporter who documented the problems at Walter Reed two years ago. [includes rush transcript]

A top Army general admitted on Wednesday there has been a “breakdown in leadership” at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The comments of General Richard Cody, the Army's Vice Chief of Staff, came three days after the Washington Post revealed that hospital rooms at Walter Reed were infested with mouse droppings, cockroaches, stained carpets, rodents and black mold. General Cody said no one has been fired or relieved of command because of the neglected facility but he vowed that the Army would immediately fix the problems.

General Richard Cody, the Army's Vice Chief of Staff.

While the Washington Post’s investigation has attracted the attention of President Bush and top Army officials, it is not the first time the press has exposed problems at Walter Reed. Two years ago, Salon.com began publishing a series of articles by Mark Benjamin on how soldiers receiving outpatient treatment for mental wounds were suffering from a shocking pattern of neglect.

Mark Benjamin. National Correspondent of Salon.com, speaking on Democracy Now! in March 2005.

At the time, Walter Reed officials refused to discuss Salon’s findings. Instead, they issued a statement saying “We are satisfied that there is a very high level of patient satisfaction with their treatment.” Mark Benjamin joins us now live from Washington DC. And Joining us by phone from Knoxville, Tennesee, is retired Army veteran First Lieutenant Jullian Goodrum. He was treated at Walter Reed for two years. Also joining us by phone from Chesterfield, South Carolina is Annette McLeod, wife of National Guardsman Dell McLeod, who was treated for almost a year at Walter Reed.

• Mark Benjamin. National Correspondent at Salon. He wrote a series of articles on the treatment of soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Facility in 2005 and 2006.
• Annette McLeod. Wife of Dell McLeod, a soldier who was treated at Walter Reed for almost one year. Dell is a former Corporal in the National Guard. He was being treated for a serious brain injury, as well as several other conditions. He was just recently given a medical discharge, after 19 years of total service.
• First Lt. Jullian Goodrum. Army Veteran of 16 years. He was medically discharged as a First Lieutenant. He was a treated at “Ward 54” in Walter Reed for two years. Ward 54 treats all mental/psychiatric patients.