Fired Walter Reed head takes over at Detrick

Former Walter Reed Medical Center head Maj. Gen. George Weightman testifies March 5 before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing in Washington to discuss care and conditions of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Weightman has been named commander of Fort Detrick and the biological weapons defense research there.


Fired Walter Reed head takes over at Detrick
By David Dishneau - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 13, 2007 21:47:33 EST

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — The two-star general who was fired as the head of Walter Reed Army Medical Center amid reports of shoddy treatment of wounded soldiers has regained favor and will oversee U.S. biological weapons defense research as commander of Fort Detrick in Frederick, the Army said Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, a physician currently assigned to the Army surgeon general’s office in Falls Church, Va., will command both Fort Detrick and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command headquartered there, Department of the Army spokesman Paul Boyce said.

Cynthia Vaughan, spokeswoman for the army surgeon general’s office, said the change of command would probably occur later this month. Col. Jonathan Jaffin has been Fort Detrick’s acting commander since March 3.

When Weightman was fired from the Army’s flagship hospital March 1, the Army said senior officials “had lost trust and confidence” in his leadership abilities to solve the problems at Walter Reed. Boyce said Army leaders reached a different conclusion about his suitability for Fort Detrick after reviewing Weightman’s efforts at Walter Reed and in the surgeon general’s office to improve care of soldiers, veterans and their families.

For instance, during Weightman’s brief tenure at Walter Reed, the ratio of staff to soldiers improved from one-to-125 to one-to-25 or 30, Boyce said.

“The U.S. Army leadership has reviewed senior leadership responsibility and accountability surrounding the care of soldiers and family at Walter Reed ... and they have confidence in Gen. Weightman’s ability to command the U.S. Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick,” Boyce said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_weightman_071113/