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Statement of Subcommittee Chairwoman Susan Davis Military Personnel Subcommittee Hearing on the Army's Medical Action Plan and Other Services' Support for Wounded Service Members

February 15, 2008

"The purpose of today's hearing is for members to get an update on the implementation of the Army's Medical Action Plan (AMAP) and hear how the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force are caring for their wounded warriors.

"At our last hearing on this subject back in June of last year, the Army's Vice Chief of Staff, General Cody, suggested that we have him back in October and January to testify on the progress of the AMAP towards Full Operational Capability. Circumstances precluded such follow-up hearings, and we understand that General Cody has just returned from Iraq in the past few hours, but we will nonetheless push forward so that we may learn how far the AMAP has come, and how far it still has to go.

"I also want to be clear that while we have spent a great deal of time focusing on the Army, we remain concerned about how the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force are ensuring that their wounded warriors, and their families, receive the appropriate care and support needed. This subcommittee started to raise concerns about the quality and completeness of care provided to wounded warriors back in 2005, and we will continue to focus on this issue.

"This hearing marks the first time Vice Admiral Adam Robinson, Surgeon General of the Navy, has come before our panel. Admiral, congratulations on your not-so-new job, and welcome. I should also mention that while we have had these Army leaders testify about Walter Reed before the Subcommittee previously, today they are here in new roles.

  • Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker, formerly the Commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, became in December the Army's new Surgeon General; and
  • Brigadier General Michael Tucker, formerly the Deputy Commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, is now the Army's Assistant Surgeon General for Warrior care and Transition.

    "In his opening statement for the last hearing, Dr. Snyder remarked on the power of focus. That's how throughout the revelations at Walter Reed and its aftermath, almost all involved parties (wounded soldiers, family members, commissioners, and advocates) had nothing but good things to say about the quality of inpatient care wounded soldiers have received at military hospitals. The Army's Medical Action Plan has strived to set up new structures to focus on the unmet needs of wounded warriors so that hospitals could continue their focus on patient care.

    "Our challenge and our responsibility is to make certain that the military as a whole, and not just the military health care system, remains focused on the recovery and rehabilitation of our wounded soldiers and their families."



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