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Walter Reed Hearings; Deadly Bus Crash

Aired March 05, 2007 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Percent of males, 43 percent of females say they do. One-third of the teens surveyed also said they never got any safety training.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.

HOLMES: Live this hour, Army accountability. Lawmakers grill generals over the treatment of soldiers. We're covering the hearings.

COLLINS: A baseball coach dealing with twin traumas. Surgeries after a bus crash and the deaths of four players. We'll talk with the coach's father.

HOLMES: All their son need was a tooth pulled, but no insurance meant no dentist and now the boy is dead. It's Monday, March 5th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Our top story this morning, Army generals facing major questions this hour. What went wrong at the army's premier hospital. Right now members of Congress are at Walter Reed Army Medical Center -- you see a live shot here -- holding a hearing. The focus this morning, reports of substandard conditions for America's wounded warriors.

We want to get straight to CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. She is following the hearing for us today.

Barbara, if you would, set the stage for us. Who are we going to hear from today?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the hearing is going to start off by hearing from the troops. We will hear from the wife of one soldier who suffered serious injuries and his wife will testify, we are told, about the lack of continuing outpatient care that she believes her husband got.

Then we will hear from a man, Staff Sergeant John Daniel Shannon. He is a man who had his skull and his eye socket shattered by an enemy bullet in Iraq. Went to Walter Reed. And when he moved into the out patient care system, he says he was left to his own devices to find his own way through the bureaucracy at Walter Reed. This is expected to be very grim testimony. But it will be the second panel where things will likely get contentious.

COLLINS: Right.

STARR: At that point, Heidi, we are going to hear, we expect, from Lieutenant General Kevin Kiley, Army surgeon general who was the commander at Walter Reed for most of last year. Major General George Weightman, who replaced General Kiley. General Weightman already relieved of duty. General Kiley in the hot seat because he was in command at Walter Reed when many of these problems occurred and it's going to be very difficult to see how he will be able to hold on to his job at this point, frankly.

Many Army people already saying behind the scenes that Kiley may have to go. No decision on that, Heidi, but General Kiley has said he wants to stay in the job, he wants to be part of the solution. That is what he has told other generals, we understand. It's going to be hard to see how he can do that when so many of the problems occurred on his watch.

COLLINS: Yes, that's true. And, Barbara, maybe you can provide us a little insight on all of that. Tell us a little bit more, if you could, about Lieutenant General Kiley. He's been working with these facilities for upwards 25, 30 years?

STARR: Well, yes. And, you know, I don't think anyone here believes that any of these Army generals had anything other than the troops' welfare in their thoughts. But clearly they failed. What the Army is saying is it became overwhelmed by the number of wounded that were coming through the system. Especially in the last year to 18 months, as the violence increased, as the attacks grew.

You know, the number -- the only good news out of all of this is the number of wounded are growing because troops are living off the battlefield. But they are grievously wounded and these are young people who need significant medical care and are going to need it for the rest of their lives. In many cases, it's also putting a very big burden on the Veterans Administration system.

But what the congressmen are saying and what many American people believe is, to say that the system was overwhelmed doesn't really cut it at this point. That's not an excuse that most people want to hear. They want to hear the solution. They want to hear the fixes. And the army is well aware that this hearing, even as it unfolds in these opening minutes, is likely to be extremely contentious. One army general telling me earlier that the army is prepared for a very, very bad day now.

COLLINS: Yes, that's understandable. And, quickly, Barbara, before we let you go, if you could, talk a little bit about the care that these men and women do receive overall at facilities like this. This is outpatient. Maybe it would be helpful to talk a little bit about that.

STARR: Well, let's help people understand. When a wounded troop arrives back in the United States, they go mainly to Walter Reed, to Bethesda Naval Hospital, down to San Antonio where there's another major military medical hospital, or out to the West Coast.

They spend some considerable time in a hospital ward as an inpatient, getting that acute trauma care that they need. They may go through several surgeries. They get rehabilitation. They are very well looked after during this time frame when they are inpatient on the ward. I don't think anyone disputes that.

What we are talking about is once they move into an outpatient status. You see these pictures of some of the outpatient facilities that were at Walter Reed. The system is over loaded, Heidi. There are hundreds and hundreds of these wounded troops that spend months, if not a couple years, in this outpatient status. Many of them suffer from amputation, from burns, from traumatic brain injuries. They need care. They need rehabilitation. They go through months of constant appointments with their medical team.

But these kids are in these places that are not places where they're closely supervised. They don't have the support structure. They don't, we have found, have people looking after them. They are in their most vulnerable state. They may not understand the Army bureaucracy. And a lot of it becomes very adversarial as they try and get their medical situation resolved. The Army says they're going to try and do better. This hearing is going to be a real turning point.

Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Excellent, excellent breakdown. Barbara Starr, we so appreciate your thoughts on that as we continue to look at live pictures there of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where we will be watch it closely to bring you any information that we can today.

Thanks, Barbara.

STARR: Sure.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, U.S. troops in Afghanistan first targeted by the Taliban, now outraged civilians are reeling against U.S. troops. And the reason being Afghan authorities are blaming U.S. troops for two deadly incidents. They say a U.S. air strike overnight mistakenly killed a family of nine. Coalition officials say the bombing targeted insurgent fighters, though.

An investigation is underway right now into that incident and also a weekend incident. In that incident, Afghan leaders say American opened fire on a crowd after being trapped in a Taliban ambush. The toll there, at least eight civilians dead, more than 30 wounded. The Pentagon says it's premature to blame U.S. troops for the civilian deaths.

COLLINS: Normalizing relations. The goal of U.S. and North Korean officials scheduled to begin meeting later today in New York. The discussions coming out of last month's six-party talks, North Korea agreed to start shutting down its nuclear program for billions of dollars in energy and financial aid. The next round of six-party talks set for March 19th.

HOLMES: Also, new developments this hour into that disturbing story out of Michigan where a woman was killed and dismembered. Now the Macomb County sheriff says Stephen Grant has confessed to killing his wife, Tara Lynn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF MARK HACKEL, MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN: I think he understood there was a lot of mounting pressure. He understood that the investigators and law enforcement were not letting up on this issue. And I think it led him to realizing, you know, I've got to get this off my chest because I have to make some admission or at least let you know exactly what took place. And he did just that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: A human torso was found Saturday in the family's garage. Grant was captured the next day about 250 miles from the home. He has been hospitalized for hypothermia and possible frostbite. The sheriff there expects Grant to be released from the hospital later today and possibly face arraignment tomorrow.

COLLINS: A grief-stricken Alabama town saying final farewells to loved ones lost. Funerals are being held today for some of the eight students who were killed last week in a tornado. Thursday's twister slammed into Enterprise High School, trapping students in the rubble. The town of Americus in neighboring Georgia also battered by the same storm system. Two people lost their lives there. Disaster recover centers being set up in both Enterprise and Americus.

HOLMES: Well, it seemed like we just had a nasty spell of weather. I don't know, it's been, what, weeks we've been dealing with nasty stuff, haven't we, Chad? Are we settling down a big finally?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Want to go ahead and bring you back to this now. These are the hearings we've been telling you about this morning. You're looking at Sub Committee Chairman John Tierney. This is the hearing to investigate the allegations of unacceptable care and living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. This is the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

And as Barbara Starr has been explaining to us this morning, first we will be hearing likely from some of the wounded soldiers and their families. That will be the first part of two panels. The second panel likely to be the Department of Defense and Army officials, where we have heard that we'll hear from the U.S. Army surgeon general, the former commander of Walter Reed, and several others. Let's go ahead and listen to the chairman in his opening comments.

REP. JOHN TIERNEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: And closure process, contribute to unacceptable conditions at building 18 and elsewhere. And with a Defense Department budget of $450 billion and more, this is not a case of there not being enough money to take care of our wounded soldiers. This is a case of a lack of proper prioritization and focus.

More and more evidence is appearing to indicate the senior officials were aware for several years of the types of problems that were recently expressed in the excellent reporting by "The Washington Post" reporters. These are not new or sudden problems. Rats and cockroaches don't burrow and infest overnight. Mold and holes in ceilings don't occur in a week. And complaints of bureaucratic indifference have been reported for years.

More over, this committee under former Chairman Davis and Chairman Shays have been investigating over the past several years problems faced by wounded soldiers, including those at Walter Reed. And I want to thank those members for their leadership so far.

I also want to thank Congressman Peter Welch from Vermont and others who insisted that this committee have its first hearing out here at Walter Reed so we could see firsthand the conditions at question.

Where does the buck stop? There appears to be a patent developing here that we've seen before. First deny, then try to cover up, then designate a fall guy. In this case, I have concerns that the Army is literally trying to whitewash over the problems. I appreciate the first steps that have been taken to rectify the problems at Walter Reed and to hold those responsible accountable. We need a sustained focus here and much more needs to be done.

I also, unfortunately, feel that these problems go well beyond the walls of Walter Reed and that there are problems systemic throughout the military healthcare system. And as we send more and more troop into Iraq and Afghanistan, these problems are only going to get worse, not better. And we should be prepared to deal with them.

Let me conclude by thanking all the soldier who are able to be with us here today for their sacrifice on all of our behalf. We all agree that our soldiers deserve the best possible care, so let's give them that respect and gratitude that they rightly deserve. They have earned it with their dedication, with their patriotism and with their sacrifice. With that I yield to Mr. Shays or Mr. Davis for his opening statement.

REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, (R) CONNECTICUT: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I'm going to defer my statement. I know we've got a short agenda. And we'll just have one on each side. So I welcome Mr. Davis for making our statement.

REP. THOMAS DAVIS, (R) VIRGINIA: Thank you, Mr. Shays.

And let me thank Chairman Waxman and Chairman Tierney for agreeing to convene this hearing at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. COLLINS: All right, as those hearings are underway and the opening comments have been made by the chairmen, we are going to continue to monitor it. Want to make sure we direct you, if you are interested in everything that's being said there, to go to Pipeline. You can do that by going to cnn.com/pipeline. You will be able to watch those events happen live. Although we will be monitoring it here and bring you anything that we feel you should go ahead and see if you can't get to that.

We'll be back on those.

HOLMES: Also, I need to tell you about this horror on the highway. Millions saw this terrifying image. Well, can you imagine seeing it and knowing your son is on that bus? A deadly accident. A son's recovery and a father's devotion. That's ahead here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: A gathering storm, a father's growing concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw the devastation, I was just crushed. I knew she was dead. I just -- everything was destroyed. There was no way that anybody could live through that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Fear and faith in the midst of a storm. A story of survival in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: Also, a child's death from a simple toothache?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We must learn from this appalling failure of our broken healthcare system and we must fix it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, lawmakers vow and a mother's anguish. That's also ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Squaring off in Selma. The Democrats' big names staking their claims on an African-American battle ground. That's ahead coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Baseball team members who survived the crash of that charter bus here in Atlanta say they are as close as brothers. And the leader of that tight knit group is Coach James Grandey Jr. He was sitting up front in the bus when it crashed on Friday, killing six people. He is now still in the hospital recovering from his injuries and surgery. His dad joins us now, James Grandey Sr. with us.

Sir, I appreciate you coming in. I know it's been tough time for you and the family, but thanks for giving us a minute. Just tell us, first, how is your son doing? How serious were his injuries?

JAMES GRANDEY, FATHER OF BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY COACH: He had severe fractures in the face area. At least three on the right side of his jaw. The orbital bones, the cheek bones. Underwent surgery for those yesterday. Came through that well.

Got his jaws wired shut and will probably remain that way. I kind of laughed at the doctor yesterday. He said it would probably be wired shut for at least six weeks or the loss of 25 pounds, whichever comes first.

And he also has an injury to his right ankle, which they have stabilized now. I'm not sure exactly what the prognosis is going to be for that. But considering everything that happened that day, we're very, very fortunate.

HOLMES: And he was sitting at the front of that bus, we know. And what has he been able to tell you about the accident and what he remembers?

GRANDEY: You know, he doesn't remember a lot. He remembers that about an hour before the wreck he had told the boys to -- to shut the VCR off and it was time to go to sleep. He himself was sitting on the right side of the bus with his back against the window and his legs stretched across the aisle into a seat. And he was actually asleep when it went off the road.

HOLMES: Now how did he get word that -- I mean he was out of it, I guess, a bit. He had some serious injuries. How did he get word that four of his players had died?

GRANDEY: That came later. When we arrived Friday afternoon, the hospital staff advised us that -- not to tell him. I knew that when I went in and he asked me, when I said I didn't know because we were on the plane, I knew that he knew I was lying. And so then the athletic director and football coach and men's basketball coach joined us and I -- we had a meeting and I said, you know, he knows you know. And they agreed to grow in and tell him.

HOLMES: What's he been talking about now? As serious as his injuries are, I understand that some of the first things he's worried about are his boys, his players.

GRANDEY: This -- there's no seniors on this team. These are the kids that James recruited. And these are his kids. And from the day -- from the moment we got there, his concern is, how was the team doing and writing out names, you know, for us to tell him how they were doing. And that's -- and I've heard stories about -- we'll have to see whether they're true or not, but I've heard these stories about his concern for his team members and that's him. These were his kids.

HOLMES: How are you taking the aftermath now of hearing so much of this highway, how it was set up? Are you -- have you gotten -- I know you've got other concerns. Everybody does. But does it anger you a little bit how you hear that this highway might have been a bit confusing there have been so many accidents there before? GRANDEY: I can't say that it really angers me but, in all honesty, I would rather not address those issues at this time.

HOLMES: All right. So what's next for your son? When is he going to be able to get out of the hospital and get him home and maybe get coaching again? I know he wants to.

GRANDEY: Well, you know, and I hope there will be discussions and what's going to happen from here on out with the program this year. It will be up to -- when he gets back, between him and the school administration. I do know that he talked to several of his players and to the athletic director that if there is anyway possible, once the injuries start to heal, that they can get on the field this year, he thinks they need to do that. I personally think they need to do that. But again, that's a decision not for me but for somebody else. And, quite frankly, if they do that, I think it will help in the healing program. But -- and he told us yesterday that whether there's one game, two games, three games, he wants to get back on the field this spring.

HOLMES: Well, sir, we will certainly be there and certainly hope they get back on the field. And when they do, we will be there. James Grandey Sr. His son is the coach and recovering. Please give our best to your son and the team and all the people of Ohio in that community.

GRANDEY: We do. And I want to thank everybody here in Atlanta and across the nation. The outpouring of support for not only my son but everybody that's been involved has just been phenomenal. I've never seen anything like it. And it's just -- I want to express my family's appreciation to everybody because -- and to CNN because, quite frankly, folks, if it wasn't for CNN, we wouldn't have gotten here as quick as we did and I want to thank you all for that.

HOLMES: Well, sir, good luck to you. Again, give everybody our best. Thank you, sir.

GRANDEY: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right, Heidi.

COLLINS: Want to quickly get you back to Washington, D.C. now and listen in on some of the testimony that this man, he is the first wounded soldier to speak before the committee. Staff Sergeant John Daniel Shannon sharing his story. And let's go ahead and hear what he has to say.

STAFF SERGEANT JOHN DANIEL SHANNON: Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to share my experiences with this committee.

TIERNEY: Thank you, Staff Sergeant.

Mrs. McLeod?

ANNETTE MCLEOD, CPL WENDELL MCLEOD'S WIFE: Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for holding this hearing today. My name is Annette McLeod and I am testifying today because my husband, Wendell, has been through the nightmare of the Army medical system. I'm glad that you care about what happened to my husband after he was injured in the line of duty because for a long time it seemed like I was the only one who cared. Certainly the Army did not care. I didn't even find out that he was injured until he called me himself from a hospital in New Jersey.

When the Army realized it had made a mistake and sent him to Ft. Dix instead of Walter Reed, they transferred him months (ph) later. On September 23rd of 2004, Wendell was deployed on the Iraqi border and Wendell said he (INAUDIBLE) artillery out of (INAUDIBLE) South Carolina. He had been a soldier with the National Guard for 16 years when he was activated for this deployment.

About 10 months into his tour, he was hit in the head by a steel cargo door of an 18 wheeler while performing an inventory. The injuries were serious enough that he had to be evacuated to Germany under heavy medication. And after a hospital mix-up I just mentioned, he was sent to Summer Hills Apartment Complex least (ph) at Walter Reed.

I took a leave from my job and went to see him in the capacity of a non-medical attendant with Army approval. This was in August of 2005. When I arrived to care for him, I found that he had no appointments scheduled with any Walter Reed staff. He had been assigned a social worker. Aside from the evaluation he received after his injury, the Army had just left him at Summer Hills without any evaluation opportunities and therefore no treatment.

I complained and had him transferred to the Malone House where he could get some help. He had back and shoulder injuries and mental problems. After being admitted to the Malone House, he was tested for brain function and comprehension. I remember how medicated he was when they gave him the test. Later the Army said the tests were inconclusive because he didn't try hard enough. We waited for four months to get those results.

He is a high school graduate. As I said before, he served in the National Guard for 16 and a half years. But the Army refuses to acknowledge that he suffered a brain injury. He freely (ph) told the Army that he was a Title I math and English student in grade school, meaning that he need extra help with reading and math, but the Army has taken this information and used it against him. Over the months we have listened in disbelief as the Army interpreted Title I math and English to mean that he has a learning disability. He was considered fit enough to serve in the National Guard for 16 years. He was fit enough for deployment, but now they are saying his mental problems he had before he went to Iraq.

In January of 2006, he was sent to a neurological care facility in Virginia for 10 weeks at my urging. Before he transferred, he received steroid shots in his back for his back injury. I was assured by the Army that this was the first of many treatments. But for 10 weeks while he was in Virginia, he didn't receive any more shots. Before leaving for Virginia, he was put on cholesterol medicine, which he had no trouble with before, that require blood work every month to monitor his body's response. The required blood work was never performed. And he developed an allergic reaction to the medication, which he sustained live damage and gained 25 pounds during those 10 weeks.

Back at Walter Reed, a doctor ordered an MRI to check his condition of his shoulder. But the case manager refused to do the MRI. Her reason was that it would cost the Army too much money. And the only follow-up for Wendell's back injury was the decision of the Army that he suffers from degenerative disk disease, a pre-existing condition that they claim was unrelated to injuries overseas.

On October 28th, the Army and the National Guard retired him. He suffers from episodes of anxiety, forgetfulness and very bad mood swings. He walks with a cane and with a limp.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, American soldiers are injured every day in operations overseas. Every day family members learn that their loved ones are coming home to them different than when they left. I am here for Wendell, but I am also here because family members should not have to go through this. With a loved one that we have already been through. I thank you again for the opportunity to tell my story.

TIERNEY: Thank you, Mrs. McLeod.

Specialist Jeremy Duncan has opted not to give a statement, so much as to respond to questions. And since we're moving on into the question and answer period now and we'll be under the five-minute rule alternating from one side to the other, I thought Specialist Duncan and I might start just by asking you, if you're willing to talk about it, could you tell us and this panel a little bit about what chain of events led you to become a patient at Walter Reed.

SPC JEREMY DUNCAN, WOUNDED VETERAN: I myself was deployed in Iraq, in Samarra, with the 101st, 3rd Brigade Reconnaissance, doing patrol, came across an IED. I got blown up. And I came here and since then I've had no problems with medical care getting fix from the problems I've had.

TIERNEY: What were the nature of your injuries?

DUNCAN: I had fractured my neck, almost lost my left arm. I got (INAUDIBLE) lost left ear and lost sight in my left eye.

TIERNEY: Now I think many of us first learned of your situation by reading "The Washington Post" and the description of the physical conditions of building 18 and the area where you were staying. Can you tell us on the record here today about those conditions in your room in building 18.

DUNCAN: The conditions in the room, in my mind, were just -- it was unforgivable for anybody to live -- it wasn't fit for anybody to live in a room like that. I know most soldiers have -- they're just coming out of recovery, have weaker immune systems. The black mold can do damage to people and holes in the walls. I wouldn't live there, even if I had to. It wasn't fit for anybody.

TIERNEY: What did you do to try to get the room fixed?

DUNCAN: I contacted the building manager and informed them that there was issue with my room. They told me to put it in the system for a work order. I did that. A month went by. I asked him to do it again. He said put it back in the system. That went on two or three times.

And finally I had my chain of command from Fort Campbell who came and visited me. They seen it. They made some phone calls. The person over here at Walter Reed. I don't know where it went. And they still never got fixed. That's when I contacted "The Washington Post."

TIERNEY: And after "The Washington Post" article was published?

DUNCAN: I was immediately moved from that room, and the next day they were renovating the room.

TIERNEY: Do you have any personal thoughts about other ways that could be implemented to assist soldiers that are new to the facility here?

DUNCAN: As in what...

TIERNEY: In how to assist them in the services, the information and getting that process working better than it apparently did for you?

DUNCAN: Just keep following through and keep bugging them about it, let them know, just let them know until finally somebody gets sick of it and it finally gets done.

TIERNEY: Mr. McLeod, you had a situation of attempting at least to bring attention to Dell's condition and situation. Would you share that with us? Did you make known that you had some issues with this treatment and care? To whom did you go, and what were the results of that?

ANNETTE MCLEOD, CPL. WENDELL MCLEOD'S WIFE: I was very persistent. I went to his case manager. She even got tired of dealing with me. I would -- I went as far as the commanders. I went to the generals. Anybody that would listen to me, I would talk.

TIERNEY: Who is the commander here at that point in time? Was it General Farmer?

MCLEOD: General Farmer.

TIERNEY: Did you go to General Farmer and express to him the difficulties?

MCLEOD: Yes, sir, I did. I was on his -- I was at his office door several days. And each time they turned me around.

TIERNEY: And How do you mean turned you around?

MCLEOD: They told me he did not have time to talk to me. There was other situations present at the time also. He knew of the situation. He knew of some of the conditions, and each time I went to him, they told me that he did not have time. He knew the situation. There was nothing he could do to help me.

TIERNEY: At some point in time did you have a chance to meet with General Weightman?

MCLEOD: I did. We were sitting in Burger King one day and we were enjoying the day. He had a day of leave. And so we were sitting there and General Weightman walked up. In my recollection, he's a fine, honorable man. He had nothing to do with our situation. He was, in my perspective, being punished because he caught the tail end of it. Mr. Weightman, in my opinion, he was just shoved into a situation that was already there, and because somebody had to be the fall guy, he was there. He's never done anything to me. He never knew about my situation. When I asked him questions, he was more than willing to give me answers that I needed.

TIERNEY: I've got about a minute left here. We have a rather antiquated system on time watching over here because our lights aren't working.

But, staff sergeant, I want to ask you, I know at some point you took your matters into your own hands in trying to assist people that were just coming new to the facility. Would you tell us a little bit about what you did and what caused you to take action?

STAFF SGT. JOHN DANIEL SHANNON, WOUNDED VETERAN: Well, after the young service member died two doors down from me, New Year's of '05, I had been looking at the system as it stood. And we were having, at that point, up to 100 -- or over 200 personnel in one platoon, run by one E-7. That's typically that type of level of authority's in charge of 30 or 40 personnel. And they had no E-6s -- my job -- underneath them to help them keep accountability of personnel. And at that point I started asking my platoon sergeant the at the time to give me 25 percent of the people in the platoon and let me help track them, because he -- they work long hours just trying to keep track of everyone.

The primary problem with the system, starting with the hospital, is it takes days for the paperwork to catch up with the medical holding company to let them know just that someone has gone outpatient to the Malone House. I'd already been going to my ward on a daily basis to see who was coming and going. When I asked for a squad leader position they moved me over to work with a Sergeant First Class Alexander, in the OIF, OEF platoon at the time -- an outstanding NCO, by the way.

And we implemented a program and eventually received 10 personnel to work underneath us, that we checked every ward in the hospital every day, receiving the patient report from the aero medevac office here in the hospital to let us know incoming and outgoing personnel.

We would meet with incoming personnel, identify ourselves, give them business cards, let them know if they had any questions they can contact us. We implemented a program to provide escort from the hospital over to the Malone House, and the primary thing, some go to other hospitals. We identified those that were staying here and going outpatient to the Malone House. When we identified them, then we were able to contact them in the Malone House and give them at that time a proper in-processing.

MCLEOD: Thank you very much.

TIERNEY: You're welcome.

Thank you -- Mr. Shays.

REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding these hearings. And thank you, our witnesses, for coming and testifying under oath.

you met with us before, and you told us a number of stories that will be very helpful to this committee.

I want you, Sergeant Shannon, to just describe one example of the kind of attitude you encountered more often than you should have when you came and asked for information five minutes before an office opened up. Do you remember that story?

SHANNON: Yes. I have an anger problem. And I think this is common across the board with patients at the hospital. It's something these people are going to go through to some degree or another. And forgive me, I've been told there's a time problem and I'm taking quickly.

SHAYS: You needn't talk quickly -- take your time.

SHANNON: OK. In the course of the work I did at the hospital, I became very familiar with how things worked in the hospital. I became a person that would take a new soldier around and show them where they needed to go, who they needed to talk to, because if I didn't have the answers at that point I can send them in the direction they needed to go.

SHAYS: I'm just going to interrupt you -- you described that that was quite common that the soldiers helped other soldiers because they weren't getting the help from a case worker or whomever.

SHANNON: Yes. There just wasn't the staff for it at the time. The staff has increased significantly since that time. But still, not enough staff. But at that point I was showing a new soldier who was also a patient in ophthalmology down to the office. And it was five minutes before they opened, and I just needed to ask the lady if a certain doctor worked there. And she looked me up and down, in my opinion, like a piece of dirt, and said, come see me when we open. I won't repeat what I said to her. I cussed a blue streak. And took everything I had not to jump over the counter and smash the printer she was just using to copy...

SHAYS: Do you feel that that was more typical or an unusual kind of experience?

SHANNON: The human nature indicates that in the course of any given day, in spite of your productivity, you will have the easiest day you can have, OK? What needs to not be forgotten here is that there's a human issue involved in these guys, and the problem -- and I apologize, I talk a lot these days, takes me a while to get to the point.

There's a hospital policy that regardless of hours -- this is a written policy at this hospital, regardless of whether they're on the clock or not, they will always provide assistance to patients when they require it. I found that out because my wife worked here.

SHAYS: That's the policy -- you didn't feel it happened?

SHANNON: No.

SHAYS: Let me ask you this. Almost all of you have said the help you received from the doctors when you received help was outstanding.

SHANNON: Yes.

SHAYS: Would you agree, sergeant -- I mean, Specialist Duncan?

DUNCAN: Yes, sir.

SHAYS: Mrs. McLeod, would you agree with that, or would you...

MCLEOD: Fifty percent, yes.

SHANNON: OK. Let me ask you this -- you got the sense that you were being pushed out of the active army, the military facilities to the VA. Describe to me your attitude about that and why -- what positions you took.

Let me start with you, Specialist Duncan. You don't choose to leave the military.

DUNCAN: I'm not leaving the military at all, sir.

SHAYS: OK. And this is something amazing to me. You told the military you had no intention of retiring. What was their reaction?

DUNCAN: They were kind of shocked. At first they were like, well, we don't think you can stay in because of the conditions I had. But like I said, some of the doctors here helped me find the actual regulations on my conditions, and I meet the requirements to stay in, so therefore I'm staying in.

SHAYS: So you don't have an issue of getting help with the VA. So let me -- but first, thank you for wanting to stay in. Thank you for having to argue to stay in. Thank you for your incredible service, all of you. And, Mr. McLeod, thank you, sir.

But let me have both of you tell me whether you would prefer to have VA help or have help (INAUDIBLE).

MCLEOD: In our situation, the VA has absolutely been wonderful to him. But he was only referred to the VA just because they refused him treatment here.

My goal was to have him to receive his treatment, because I felt that he would receive better treatment while he was on active duty, because they stand first priority.

SHAYS: Thank you, because I only have 30 seconds left -- Sergeant Shannon.

SHANNON: I will receive care anywhere I could get it.

SHAYS: But what are you waiting for right now? Describe us to what you're waiting for right now.

SHANNON: I'm waiting for the plastic surgery to be done to make my face capable of receiving a prosthetic eye. And then they will start the procedure to start the prosthetic eye. They've given me an option to have the VA do it. I have the right to have it done before I retire. And as a workaholic, I'm not taking 30 days off from a job to have surgery done.

SHAYS: You tell us your biggest concern. What's your biggest concern right now?

SHANNON: My biggest concern?

SHAYS: Yes, sir.

SHANNON: My biggest concern is having the young men and women that have had their lives shattered in service to their country get taken care of. That's my biggest concern.

SHAYS: Thank you.

TIERNEY: Thank you, Mr. Shays.

Mr. Waxman?

REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CHMN., OVERSIGHT CMTE.: Staff Sergeant Shannon, that's your biggest concerns, and it's got to be the biggest concern of all Americans. I think that people are shocked when they heard about "The Washington Post" story of the deplorable conditions here at Walter Reed. And some of the reactions to those news reports have been, we never knew things were out of hand.

Now, I can't understand that when we get officials who say they just didn't know things were happening that were so shocking, because I have -- and I'm going to ask the chairman to make it part of the record -- I have a long list of -- stack of reports and articles that sounded the alarm bells... COLLINS: You have been listening in to the hearings that are taking place at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. We have listened in to several different wounded soldiers and their families. First off, Staff Sergeant John Daniel Shannon, the gentleman with the eye patch, awaiting, you heard him explain how his greatest concern right now is getting the medical attention that he needs to be able to eventually receive a prosthetic eye.

Also heard from Annette McLeod. She's the wife of a Corporal Wendell "Dell" McLeod, and then also Specialist Jeremy Duncan with the 101st, came out of Iraq with injuries there. Just trying to bring you most of this that we can. And we will continue to monitor that situation and bring you anything, interesting developments as they come to us.

HOLMES: Something else us we're monitoring, and starting to get more word on, is this video you're seeing here, some new video just in to us. But you're watching a member of a bomb squad. Apparently this is in Miami Beach. This is coming to us via our affiliate WFOR. But a suspicious package found. That is it,a cardboard box of some kind found outside of the Cuban Hebrew Congressional Temple there in Miami Beach. Now it caused enough of a concern that the bomb squad was called out.

We don't know yet if this situation has been taken care of. This is video we have been monitoring here. But you can see the bomb squad member here walking around the suspicious package and keeping an eye on what's happening. I'm assuming they're testing it and trying to see what's up with it. But I don't know if this situation has been taken care of yet or not. But this is the scene, the video we saw a short time ago. Police have certainly sealed off this area, and trying to figure out exactly what this package was, if it, in fact, is anything dangerous or simply suspicious in a lot of cases that we do see.

But again, this is at the Cuban Hebrew Congressional Temple in Miami Beach, and this suspicious package was found right outside of there. We are monitoring this situation. And as we get more information trickling into us we will quickly pass it on to you.

COLLINS: I want to go to Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. This is another story we're watching today. Boy, up, down, all around -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're like in the spin cycle, I think, on wall street. Over the past week, guys, investors had a weekend to mull over the worst week for stocks in four years. But it's not only Asia's sell-off on investor's minds today. I'll have details when the NEWSROOM continues.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES) COLLINS: Meanwhile, we want to make sure we get back to the hearings, Walter Reed Army Medical Facility. We are going to get back to that in just a few minutes here. But for now, apparently we want to move on. A stormy sky and a father's growing concern. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIERNEY: When I saw the devastation I was just crushed. I knew she was dead. I just -- everything was destroyed, and there was no way that anybody could live through that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Fear and faith in the midst of a storm. A story of survival, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

Stick around, everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We have been following all morning long some of the hearings taking place about the situation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and want to bring you some of the testimony that happened just moments ago. You will hear the response to a question that came to Annette McLeod. She is wife of Corporal Wendell Dale McLeod about the situation and what happened to her husband.

Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. TOM DAVIS (R), RANKING MEMBER, OVERSIGHT CMTE.: Mrs. McLeod, let me start with you. You went up the chain many times, didn't you?

MCLEOD: Yes, sir.

DAVIS: You finally called this committee, you were so upset.

MCLEOD: Sir, I will talk to anybody that will listen. And it took the aid of another soldier who actually heard me cry, saw me cry one day. And he said, this is a number -- make a call. And that's when I called (INAUDIBLE), and then you know my story, because you've dealt with me.

Had I'm not had any other recourse, I wouldn't be here today. The thing of the matter is, Mr. Hardy made a statement the other day that really bothers me. He said that he hoped "The Washington Post" was satisfied because they ruined careers.

First let me come on record by saying I don't care about your career, as far as anybody that is in danger. That doesn't bother me. All I'm trying to do is have my life, the life that I had and that I know. My life was ripped apart the day that my husband was injured. And then having to live through the mess that we lived through at Walter Reed has been worse than anything I've ever sacrificed in my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Again, those comments coming from a question, this was Annette McLeod. She's wife of Corporal Wendell "Dale" McLeod. We will continue to follow those developments for you out of those hearings and bring them to you.

HOLMES: Vying for votes -- two presidential candidates mark history and lay claim for the future. That's coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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