The Pony Express passes Walter Reed

Whether you are in the field, deployed, or at a Temporary Duty Station the biggest morale booster is always mail call. In basic training, mail call signaled the end of a long and stressful day, and was our only contact with the outside world. The same holds true for deployments and other military duties.

Getting mail from loved ones is always a morale boost.

The Strib has a story today that is disturbing on many levels.

Soldiers at Walter Reed were not receiving their mail.

The Army said Friday that it has opened an investigation into the recent discovery of 4,500 letters and parcels -- some dating to May 2006 -- at Walter Reed that were never delivered to soldiers.

And it fired the contract employee who ran the mailroom.

Recall that it was Donald Rumsfeld who had a fetish to privatize most activities at Walter Reed.

I would hope that the investigation includes whether or not outgoing mail was impacted as well.

Finding out that these problems were because of a privatized mail room are even more disturbing. My old Bradley Driver, Matt Maley, ended up in the mail room while we were in Germany, because of an injury and surgery. I remember the vetting process to get him in there as well as the intimidating stature of those in charge of the mail room.

Accountability was there.

In the Bush Whitehouse, accountability is a 20 point word in Scrabble. Hence, problems with US Attorney's, no-bid contracts, access to Veterans care when VA members are getting $30,000 bonuses...and on and on and on.

2006 marked the time when Americans were sick of political leaders marching carte blanche across the Bill of Rights and our Constitution. Scandals like Walter Reed and the US Attorney dealings may not have come to light without the 2006 Democrat victories and a resurgence of democracy.

2008 looks to be a continuance of the 2006 trends towards holding out elected leaders accountable.

I sure hope Congress doesn't mail subpoena's over to Walter Reed...