From the Government's Brilliant Idea Department

The government that gave us $800 hammers and a bridge to nowhere has cooked up an equally great plan for taking care of troops with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -- put the recovering troops next to a firing range!

From the Washington Post:

Across the street from their assigned housing, about 200 yards away, are some of the Army infantry's main firing ranges, and day and night, several days each week, barrages from rifles and machine guns echo around [Army SGT Jonathan] Strickland's building. The noise makes the wounded cringe, startle in their formations, and stay awake and on edge, according to several soldiers interviewed at the barracks last month. The gunfire recently sent one soldier to the emergency room with an anxiety attack, they said.

How loud is all that shooting across the way?

Apparently loud enough to cause deafness among the brass.

Complaints from wounded warriors have fallen on so many deaf ears up the chain of command that a family member turned to the Washington Post for help. Remember the Post -- the paper that called attention to inattention at Walter Reed? (WaPo)

Veterans Day: An Air Force Memorial

My dad and his Uncle Herbert were Airmen. They got a memorial in 2006. We present this video memorial for them -- and all other veterans -- this Veterans Day. [This video originally ran on Veterans Day 2006]

Nicholson Out -- New Photos Take Top Priority at VA

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson has resigned.

He presided over a $1-billion budget shortfall, miscalculations in the number of wounded vets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and the bungled handling of a lost laptop computer containing personal information of millions of veterans and active duty Service members.

Here at Watching Washington, he'll be best remembered as the guy who put that whole "we don't have enough money to care for vets" issue behind him to make sure his picture given top priority at every VA office and hospital. (NYT)

D-Day

Remembering June 6, 1944. This tribute originally appeared as our 2006 D-Day salute to the ordinary men whose extraordinary actions on a summer morning saved the world.

Edwards' Memorial Day Campaigning

Former Sen John Edwards (D-NC) wants Americans to spend Memorial Day weekend calling on Washington to end the Iraq War.

His campaign launched a website last weekend outlining his 10-point plan. He asks voters to greet veterans, send enlisted troops care packages and volunteer at local Veterans Administration hospitals. It's not sitting well with some veterans' groups:

"[Sen Edwards' idea is] as inappropriate as a political bumper sticker on an Arlington headstone." -- Statement from the American Legion

Senator Edwards argues the Iraq War has weakened America's status in the world. (Tulsa World)

VA Honchos Pocket Bonus after Bungled Budget

Remember those guys at the Department of Veteran's Affairs who ran up a billion dollar budget shortfall last year?

They're getting bonuses.

Big bonuses. Up to $33,000.

A year ago, they failed to account for an increase in wounded vets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The VA had to go to Congress and ask for emergency money to pay the bills.

The bonuses add up to $3.8 million.

Now, Congress has found out about the big bonuses going to some of the people there responsible for the problems.

Despite the budget fiasco, a missing laptop containing personal info on millions of veterans and active duty service members, and a 177 day wait for vets to get benefits -- the VA averages $16,000 annual bonuses. Those are the best in the federal government. The Office of Personnel Management reports roughly three in every four senior honcho at VA has gotten a bonus in recent years. (AP)

The Picture of Poor Health

A plan to clear up the red tape of military and veteran's health care died two years ago -- just as President Bush's nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs took office.

The VA employee working on the "Congingency Tracking System" told ABC News it'd been approved already. But was shelved when Jim Nicholson became Secretary.

ABC reports that as a result, seriously wounded troops, released from the military due to the severity of their wounds -- were released into the VA's sea of red tape.

The program only cost $1 million dollars to set up. But Sec Nicholson reportedly nixed it as being too expensive.

Sec Nicholson told ABC, he can't even remember the program.

But then, he had other things on his mind at the time.

The VA was dealing with a flood of wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, had run up a $1 billion shortfall, and -- as the Washington Post reported at the time -- they had a different priority.

A memo at the time stressed that pictures of Sec Nicholson had to be hung immediately in all VA offices and hospitals. Amid the crises the VA faced at the time -- the memo called the pictures "highest priority" and demanded daily updates on the status of hanging pictures.

It's not a pretty picture emerging of Sec Nicholson.

And this is the man President Bush tapped to head up immediate reforms to problems at Walter Reed.

Heckuva job. (ABCNews/WaPo)

Walter Reed's Critical Condition

The problems at Walter Reed are under control. Soldiers at the mold and red tape infested Building 18 have been ordered not to talk to the media anymore, and they're being punished for having told the media about problems in the past. If the media doesn't report on problems -- there are no problems, got it?

That's what the Air Force Times reports. Wounded soldiers now face inspection daily at 7:00 am -- something they consider a punishment since that's usually only done to raw recruits in basic training.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports top brass knew about the problems for weeks or months before the Post broke the story a little over a week ago.

They expressed surprise in public statements last week. But Steve Robinson, with Veterans for America tells the Post he brought up the problems at Building 18 back in 2003.

The Post cites complaints from soldiers raised in town hall meeting, "sensing sessions," and repeated Inspector General's reports. (WaPo, AFTimes)