Privatization of Veterans Medical Services May Have Caused Bleak Neglect at Walter Reed

An internal memo divulges that the Defense Department systematically replaced federal workers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center with private companies for facilities management, patient care, and guard duty beginning in 2000. President Bush's "competitive sourcing" initiative, which began in 2002, accelerated the process. The company of a former senior Halliburton official enjoyed a $120-million contract at Walter Reed. The memo indicates that officials at the highest levels of the U.S. Army Medical Command were informed about the dangers of privatization, even as skilled government workers were leaving Walter Reed in droves, yet they did very little to prevent the problems that exploded in national media after a February WaPo exposé.

It would seem that if you support running government like a business, then you don't support proper medical care for our wounded soldiers.