Prodded by Washington state lawmakers, the Fort Lewis commander took action this month to improve the care and living conditions for soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Friday.
According to the report, Lt. Gen. James Dubik:
n Ordered that all soldiers be allowed to see their medical records.
n Promised that soldiers could have their cases reviewed by a physician and a lawyer.
n Moved to establish a hot line for complaints controlled by the Army’s Inspector General.
The Post-Intelligencer wrote that Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., sent a letter of concern this week to Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren after he and two other lawmakers met March 10 with 30 wounded soldiers at Madigan, south of Tacoma.
According the the Post-Intelligencer, the letter to Geren said that “case managers were primarily interested in protecting the Army’s interests — not the soldier’s health.” It also said that “soldiers have faced retribution for raising concerns” with the medical evaluation process and an “inability to get their concerns to their commanders.”7th Army, Germany, from June 2003 to July 2005, commanding the 1st AD for 14 months in Iraq.
