A Hellish Homecoming for Our Soldiers

Wounded soldiers shouldn't have to live in squalid outpatient facilities or fight red tape, and a panel that's investigating conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center needs to focus on both issues.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates named the independent panel after stories in The Washington Post revealed dreadful outpatient care conditions at the hospital. Secretary Gates, who promised to hold those responsible accountable, said he was disappointed that the Army didn't identify the problems itself.

Indeed, it's hard to understand how the Army failed to do so. Moldy walls, mouse droppings and dead cockroaches aren't hard to spot. Such conditions should never have been tolerated in the first place, but cleaning and repairing the facilities should be the easy part of the fix.

The bureaucratic labyrinth that soldiers have been forced to navigate is even more demoralizing. Soldiers and their families told The Washington Post about paperwork that was lost over and over again -- the main reason for extended stays in outpatient care -- and red tape that entangles everything from making a doctor's appointment to getting a replacement uniform.

Worst of all is the difficulty seriously wounded soldiers encounter when trying to get disability compensation. Army review boards, according to The Washington Post reports, look for reasons to deny requests, blaming physical mental ailments on preexisting conditions.

Soldiers who come home to heal shouldn't be wounded further by what must seem like an indifferent response to their sacrifice. Secretary Gates and the Department of Defense must live up to their pledge to do the right thing for the wounded after they leave the hospital.