Amazing

Looks like all it took to start improving conditions for convalescing veterans at Walter Reed's Building 18 (background here) was a massive cover story by the Washington Post: "Walter Reed Army Medical Center began repairs yesterday on Building 18, a former hotel that is used to house outpatients recuperating from injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan and that has been plagued with mold, leaky plumbing and a broken elevator. … Yesterday, [the facility's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman] said a broken elevator in the building had been repaired and soldiers were working to improve the outside of the building, including removing ice and snow. The slippery conditions have kept some soldiers in their rooms. A garage door that has been broken for months will soon be repaired as well. … Walter Reed and Army officials have been 'meeting continuously for three days' since the articles began appearing, Weightman said. A large roundtable meeting with Army and Defense Department officials will take place at the Pentagon early this morning to continue talks about improvements in the outpatient system, he added. Weightman said the medical center has received an outpouring of concern about conditions and procedures since the articles appeared and has taken steps to improve what soldiers and their families describe as a messy battlefield of bureaucratic problems and mistreatment. 'We're starting to attack how we'll fix and mitigate' some of the problems, he said."

Imagine that.

So, here's the thing: They've shown they're motivated not by a genuine concern for the well-being of wounded veterans, but instead by public embarrassment. That means they'll only keep at making improvements as long as a spotlight is on them. And that means the press has to keep the spotlight on them. And that means we have to remember to put pressure on the press to regularly check up on the situation, once this falls out of the headlines.