Army Secretary Francis Harvey abruptly stepped down today as the Bush administration struggled to cope with the fallout from a scandal over substandard conditions for wounded Iraq soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. AP file photo

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the departure of Harvey, 63, today and made clear it was directly connected to the problems at the facility in Washington.

"I am disappointed that some in the Army have not adequately appreciated the seriousness of the situation pertaining to outpatient care at Walter Reed," Gates said in a statement to reporters at the Pentagon. "Some have shown too much defensiveness and have not shown enough focus on digging into and addressing the problems."

The commanding general of Walter Reed, Major General George Weightman, was relieved of command yesterday. The Army said in a statement that the service's senior leadership "had lost trust and confidence" in Weightman's leadership abilities to correct the problems at the facility.

Those problems were detailed by the Washington Post, which reported in a series of articles that dozens of recuperating soldiers and Marines live in dirty and pest-infested housing at the facility and that hundreds have faced daunting bureaucratic obstacles to obtaining follow-up care for their injuries.

NEW COMMANDER NAMED

The Army named Major General Eric Schoomaker as the new commander for Walter Reed. Schoomaker, currently commanding general of the Army's Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the brother of outgoing Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker.

The Army yesterday named Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley to run the facility temporarily. Kiley headed Walter Reed from 2002 to 2004; the Post reported yesterday that he was informed as early as 2003 of the outpatient problems at the facility.

Earlier today, President Bush announced plans to appoint a bipartisan commission to review the care given to wounded troops. Another independent panel established by the Defense Department is already investigating conditions at Walter Reed.

The latest moves came as congressional Democrats indicated they will seek to focus attention on the situation at Walter Reed. A House oversight subcommittee that is planning a hearing on the problems at the facility for March 5 announced it is issuing a subpoena to compel Weightman to testify.

A Senate panel plans a hearing on the issue for March 6.

COMMENTS FROM SENATORS

One Democratic senator, Patty Murray of Washington, said the departures of Harvey and Weightman weren't sufficient to correct the problem.

"This action is a good step toward ridding the Bush administration of those who've failed our troops and veterans," Murray said in a statement. "But our troops need more than rolling heads. They need a comprehensive plan and decisive action to fix the problems at Walter Reed and the scores more plaguing the administration's health-care system for our returning heroes."

And Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, called for Kiley to be fired, saying he "knew of the problems and then diminished them when they became public." She said Kiley was "responsible for the command culture that caused these problems."

Sen. Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat who is contending for his party's 2008 presidential nomination, announced plans to introduce legislation ensuring that all wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive proper care. Obama said he his proposal was motivated by the Post articles about Walter Reed.