1 in 5 Army hospital heads suspended just in last 2 years

One in five Army hospital leaders suspended in two years: What's behind the discipline?
By Adam Ashton
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Published: September 22, 2014

The Joint Base Lewis-McChord general who lost his command earlier this month is one of eight senior Army medical officers around the world who've been suspended or relieved of command over the past two years.

That means nearly one in five major Army medical facilities has had a commander suspended during that time.

It's an eye-grabbing amount of public discipline for an Army often criticized for being too slow to remove commanders in high-profile positions rather than dismissing them when controversy arises.

It's unclear if a theme unites the eight suspensions; each was carried out for a distinct reason.

But some officials with recent experience in Army medicine are concerned that the suspensions point to broader problems as the system recovers from 13 years of ground war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The discipline could stem from an increasing demand for health care services, they say, or from oversights in preparing top doctors for leadership positions.

"The ones that I know are very good people who have done very well in their careers, otherwise they wouldn't be hospital commanders," said Dr. Elspeth Ritchie, a former colonel and Army psychiatrist who is now chief clinical officer for the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. "The way I put this together is that there's an enormous amount of need that has overwhelmed the system."
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