European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 24, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 24 2007 stars and stripes Page 13 reported cases of sex assault up in military by Loyta c Baldor the associated press Washington reports of sexual assaults in the us Mili tary increased by about 24 per cent last year and More than twice As Many offenders were punished there were nearly 3000 sexual assault reports filed in 2006 com pared with almost 2400 the Previ Ous year a Pentagon report said wednesday action was taken against 780 people from court martial and discharges to other administrative remedies the cases involved members of the were victims or accused of the assaults the Mili tary counts rape Rio consensual sodomy indecent assault and at tempts to commit any of those As sexual assault though the 17page report contained no data on How Many of each were reported this is the third year the Mili tary has compiled these sexual As Sault statistics the reporting methods have changed each year however making comparisons of the annual reports difficult of the 2947 sexual assaults re ported last year 756 were initially filed under a program that Al lows victims to report the Inci Dent and receive health care or counselling services but does not notify Law enforcement or com Manders the restricted confidential re porting program allows the Vic Tiisto consider pursuing an investigation later that was done in 86 of the 756 cases last year data for 2005 included Only the restricted cases for half the year according to the new report More than 1400 investigations into sex assault cases dating to 2004 were completed last year in slightly More than half command ers took no action most often be cause the charges were no sub Stan tinted or lacked evidence when action was taken More than on third or 292 individuals were court articled an additional 243 received nonjudicial punishment and 245 either were discharged or received some other administrative action nonjudicial punishments can in clude reprimand letters or demotions Pentagon officials have said that sexual assaults often go unreported they have attributed the Rise in number in part to the vigor Ous Effort to encourage victims to report the crime the report provided a break Down of some of the assaults say ing that 756 of the victims were members of the military however numbers for the categories listed 285 were in the army 247 in the air Force 144 in the Navy 48 in the marines and one was in the coast guard added up to 725 no explanation was Given for the discrepancy Dod checks Home for military retirees by Steve Vogel and Michael e Ruane the Washington Post Washington reports of a rising death rate and rooms spattered with blood urine and fees at the armed forces retirement Home prompted the Pentagon on wednesday to begin investigating conditions at the veterans facility in Northwest Washington the government accountability office warned the Pentagon this week that Resi dents of the Home May be at risk in Light of allegations of severe healthcare prob lems residents have been admitted to Walter Reed army medical Center with the most serious Type of pressure sores and in one Case with maggots in a wound according to a Gao letter sent to the de sense department Timothy Cox the chief operating officer for the retirement Home said wednesday that the accusations Are without Merit and he blasted the Gao for making inflammatory allegations without investigating them the reports came from medical person Nel who treat residents at the historic Veter ans Home formerly known As the us sol Diers and airmen Home the facility run by an Independent Federal Agency under the jurisdiction of the department of defense is Home to More than 1100 enlisted retirees Many of them veterans of world War ii Korea and Vietnam the Pentagon sent a team of four doctors on an unscheduled visit wednesday morn ing to View the conditions and speak to officials and residents the team was appointed tuesday in response to the letter sent a Day earlier to Secretary of defense Robert Gates by David Walker the comptroller general for the general accounting office the letter reported allegations that inspectors received during its oversight and monitoring of the Home mandated by Congress in 2005 according to walkers letter the allegations include a rising number of resident deaths an increase in the rates of admission to Walter Reed Resi Dent rooms be fouled with human waste and veterans suffering from bedsores Gao believes that these allegations should be examined because afro Resi dents a vulnerable population of elderly enlisted military retirees May be at risk Walker wrote Ricky Washington Post George de Monfor Proksa originally from Poland has lived at the armed forces retirement Home in Washington do for Many years and has nothing bad to say about it those who raised questions about the medical care have suffered retaliation from the private company that manages the veterans Home the medical personnel told Gao investigators during a tour of the Home wednesday Cox confirmed that a resident had been found in August with maggots in a leg wound Cox said the Man was noncompliant and combative and did not want his dressing changed Cox said the dressing should have been changed anyway eight employees were eventually fired because of the incident he said the Man who was 87 later died of causes unrelated to the wound it was an isolated incident Cox said Cox said the reports of human waste in the rooms May have stemmed from an out break in february of the highly contagious nor virus which infected More than 100 residents when youre sick with vomit ing and diarrhoea sometime you miss the John he said Cox said the Homes death rate has gone up from about 13 to 15 a month but he attributed the Rise in part to a new hospice program in addition the Home received an influx of veterans after Hurricane katrina dam aged a sister institution for Navy veterans in Gulfport miss Cox said the Washington Home now has 150 residents requiring assisted living twice As Many As before the Hurricane Sens Carl Levin Mich and John Mccain Ariz sent a joint letter to Gates on tuesday saying they were dismayed by the Gao letter and calling on defense to immediately undertake an Independent investigation a group of veterans living there filed a Federal class action suit against the Home and the defense department in 2005 claiming budget cuts have harmed care for residents court ordered mediation talks Are to begin next month said Martin Cody a resident several residents interviewed wednes Day said they were generally Happy some complained of Long lines at the medical clinic in the mornings and said they thought the Home lacked enough doctors you cannot make everybody Happy said George Demontfort Proksa 82 a Veter an of the polish air Force and the us army who has lived at the Home 19 years youll always find people who will be mis Erable a audit shows maintenance issues at clinics by Ann Scott Tyson the Washington Post Washington a review by the department of veterans affairs of 1400 Hospi tals and other Veteran care facilities re leased wednesday has turned up More than 1000 reports of substandard conditions from Leaky roofs and peeling paint to Bug and Bat infestations As Well As a smaller number of potential threats to patient safety such As suicide risks in psychiatric wards the investigation ordered March 7 by a Secretary Jim Nicholson found prob lems such As rugs loaded with bacteria from patient accidents ceiling and floor tiles with Asbestos that need to be re moved As Well As exposed pipes and other fixtures from which mental patients could hang themselves we Are committed to being up front in identifying issues and we Are managing to Correct them said Louise Van Diepen chief of staff for the veterans health administration i am pleased that we Are managing it aggressively and most represented Wear Andrear issues As opposed to the Walter Reed situation Van Diepen said referring to the squalid conditions of an outpatient care building at Walter Reed army medical Center which prompted the a review a officials said that with such a Large network of nearly 150 million Square feet of space and serv ing 1 million patients each week it was not surprising to find ongoing maintenance concerns they judged that 90 percent of the items were routine while 10 percent involved More serious problems and that the departments million maintenance budget this year should address the shortcomings plans for fixing the facilities were also outlined with some taking Days or weeks and others requiring years of extensive renovation of buildings dating to the 1920s in some facilities the need for repairs were widespread for example at a facility in Little Rock Ark 30 percent of the patient areas Walls and Halls require repair Patching and painting staff at other facilities raised concerns about patient safety the Hospital in Ama Rillo Texas listed problems with fire and smoke alarms while several others de scribed leaks that created either Mold or the potential for Mold in addition to air Quality problems