Walter Reed Medical Center to Be Closed

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By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 38 minutes ago

 

 

 

WASHINGTON - A federal commission voted Thursday to close Walter Reed Army

Medical Center — the crown jewel of U.S. military hospitals — as part of the

Pentagon's sweeping proposal to restructure bases across the country.

 

Located in the nation's capital, the century-old hospital has treated presidents

and foreign leaders as well as veterans and soldiers, including those returning

from the Iraq war.

 

Most of its work would be relocated to a more modern, expanded hospital in

Bethesda, Md., to be renamed Walter Reed in a nod to the old facility's

heritage.

 

The nine-member panel was deciding the fate of a host of big-ticket items

Thursday. Later in the day it was to begin debating the Air Force's plans,

arguably the most contentious of the group, as it steamrolled through hundreds

of Pentagon proposals at a brisk pace after four months of study and

preparation.

 

Among decisions earlier Thursday, the commission voted to close the Brooks

City-Base in Texas, which is home to the School of Aerospace Medicine. Tang, the

orange drink created for astronauts, was developed at the base in the 1960s. The

medical school will relocate to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

 

Endorsing the Pentagon's vision of streamlining support services across the

armed forces, the commission also signed off on most recommendations to merge

several education, medical and training programs. The Defense Department calls

this " jointness " — the services combining their strengths, rather than working

separately, to save money and promote efficiency.

 

Under the Walter Reed plan, most of the staff and services would move from the

old hospital's main post to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, to

create the expanded facility. The remaining personnel and operations would move

to a community hospital at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

 

Walter Reed's care is considered first-rate but the facility is showing its age,

the commission found.

 

" Kids coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, all of them in harm's way, deserve

to come back to 21st century medical care, " Commission Chairman Anthony Principi

said Thursday, adding that the hospital is old. " It needs to be modernized. "

 

One-time costs, including construction and renovations, would total $989

million. The Pentagon would save $301 million over 20 years, the commission

said. The current hospital has about 185 beds, but the expanded facility would

have 340.

 

Principi said he expected to finish all voting no later than Friday, a day

earlier than planned. The commission must send its final report to President

Bush by Sept. 8.

 

The president can accept it, reject it, or send it back to the commission for

revisions. Congress also will have a chance to veto the plan in its entirety but

it has not taken that step in four previous rounds of base closings. If

ultimately approved, the changes would occur over the next six years.

 

On Wednesday, the panel breezed through proposals to shutter hundreds of small

and large facilities in all corners of the country, moving ahead of its

schedule.

 

After finishing the joint-service proposals, the commission was moving next to

the Air Force plan, much of which includes recommendations to shake up the Air

National Guard, a highly controversial effort. The Air Force also proposes

closing both Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and Cannon Air Force Base

in New Mexico.

 

It was unclear how many Air Force proposals the commission would get to

Thursday. It was possible some wouldn't be considered until Friday.

 

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