Army surgeon general ousted amid Walter Reed scandal

Story Highlights

• Army sought Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley's retirement
• Kiley was in charge of Walter Reed from 2000 to 2004
• Wounded vets were living in substandard conditions at hospital outbuilding
• Presidential panel investigating military health care

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley has lost his job as Army surgeon general, another casualty of the care scandal at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren asked for Kiley's resignation, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates approved the action, a senior Pentagon official said.

In its official announcement, the Army said Kiley had requested retirement.

Kiley had been made temporary head of Walter Reed, the Army's top hospital, after Army Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman was ousted in the wake of a series in The Washington Post that found soldiers living in deplorable conditions.

However, he was quickly replaced by Gen. Eric Schoomaker amid criticism that Kiley, who was head of Walter Reed from 2000 to 2004, had been aware of the problems at the facility.

Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey, who had placed Kiley in temporary command of Walter Reed, resigned March 2 in wake of the scandal.

Kiley, who was also commanding general of Army Medical Command, submitted his request to retire on Sunday, the Army said in a news release.

Geren announced Kiley's request to retire and said Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, current deputy surgeon general, will take over Kiley's duties until a permanent replacement can be named. That selection requires the approval of the president and confirmation in the Senate.

Geren told employees at Walter Reed on Monday that "recent events focused on shoddy facilities, failures of leadership," and added that the disability system "has become a maze, overly bureaucratic, needlessly complex."

"A soldier who fights the battle shouldn't have to come home and fight the battle of bureaucracy," he said.

"We must move quickly to fill this position -- this leader will have a key role in moving the way forward in meeting the needs of our wounded warriors," Geren said in a statement Monday. "We have an Army Action Plan under way under the leadership of the vice chief of staff, Army Gen. Dick Cody, and the surgeon general has a critical role in the execution of that plan. I am confident Maj. Gen. Pollock will ably lead the Army Medical Department during this transition period."

"I submitted my retirement because I think it is in the best interest of the Army," Kiley said Sunday, according to a Pentagon statement. "I want to allow Acting Secretary Geren, General Schoomaker, and the leaders of the Army Medical Command to focus completely on the way ahead and the Army Action Plan to improve all aspects of soldier care. We are an Army Medical Department at war, supporting an Army at war -- it shouldn't be and it isn't about one doctor."

At a Senate hearing last week, Kiley said he was aware of care issues at Walter Reed but not of specific problems, according to an Associated Press report.

"As we've seen, in the last couple of weeks, we have failed to meet our own standards at Walter Reed. For that, I'm both personally and professionally sorry," AP quoted Kiley as saying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

President Bush last week asked former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and former Cabinet Secretary Donna Shalala to lead a panel on care for those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their reports are due June 30.

CNN's Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report

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