Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, the U.S. Army’s surgeon general, has submitted his resignation, becoming the third official to lose his job after disclosures last month of substandard care for injured soldiers, the Army announced today.
Major General Gale Pollock, the current deputy surgeon general, immediately assumed the top post, the Army said in a statement. Kiley was the Army’s top uniformed medical official and commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington between 2002 and 2004. Walter Reed is the focus of the disclosed problems.
Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren asked for Kiley’s resignation yesterday, a senior Defense Department official who asked not to be identified told a group of reporters at the Pentagon.
Kiley, 56, was under intense congressional criticism for alleged leadership failures in allowing outpatient services and facilities at Walter Reed to deteriorate, until the shortcomings were exposed last month in stories by the Washington Post.
During a House oversight committee hearing last week, Kiley acknowledged gaps in care for casualties of the war in Iraq and other combat operations. The care and housing at Walter Reed “has not met our standards,” and is being corrected, Kiley said at the hearing.
It wasn’t just the incompetence. It was his staggering arrogance.
I usually love military commanders. I like their presence, their confidence, the fact that they are sharp and on the ball and straightforward.
This guy was just an insufferable prick. Adios, Kiley. You won’t be missed.