[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 51 (Monday, December 22, 2003)]
[Pages 1827-1829]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to Medical Personnel at Walter Reed Army Medical Center

December 18, 2003

    Thank you all very much. Thanks for the warm welcome. Laura and I 
are thrilled to be here at the Army Medical Center. We're thrilled 
because this is a place of love and healing and great compassion. This 
center has a great history and an important mission, and that is, you 
are serving those who serve our country. In this time of war--and we are 
at war with an enemy that hates what America stands for--the good people 
of Walter Reed are giving the best of care to the men and women who have 
been wounded in action. During a difficult time in their lives, they 
count on you. You give them the kind, professional care and decency and 
hope they deserve. And on behalf of America, I thank you for your 
service.
    Laura and I have had a great visit here. I know I'm not supposed to 
get out of my lane and give medical reports--[laughter]--but I can 
report that Colin Powell received great health care here and he is doing 
very well.
    I want to thank General Kiley and Babs for your hospitality again. I 
appreciate Colonel Jaffin. I appreciate Colonel B.J. Mielcarek. She is--
she's been kind of looking after my body on occasion too. [Laughter] 
Fortunately, she's got a lot to work with. [Laughter] But she's in 
charge of the physical therapy services. We've just come from her 
department where we saw some incredible work being done and some brave 
soldiers who are working hard to get to 100 percent.
    I appreciate Colonel Saulsbery, deputy commander for nursing; 
Colonel Greenwood; Colonel Fitzpatrick. And thank you all. I really 
appreciate the hard-working staff, the docs, the nurses, the people who 
make this fantastic facility operate in a way that makes me proud and in 
a way that will make every American proud when they learn your story.
    Each one of you has got a demanding job, and it's a tough job here. 
I've seen your work firsthand. I know how tough it is. But I also know 
that you count it as a privilege to look after some exceptional 
Americans, people who are willing to sacrifice for their country.
    When I spend time with members of our military, I'm impressed by the 
idealism and the concern for each other and the strong sense of duty 
that our soldiers feel. Members of the Armed Forces are now serving in a 
great cause, serving in an historic time. Peace and security of our 
fellow citizens depend upon their bravery and their willingness to 
serve. In so doing, our soldiers accept the dangers and the hardships 
that this cause sometimes requires. You know them well. I'm coming to 
know them. They're the finest of our citizens.
    If you spend any time with these young men and women, you know that 
whether it's on the battlefield or in the hospital, our men and women 
are always thinking of one another. Even after being wounded, they often 
speak about returning to their units. And these aren't idle words. These 
are words that come from people who have seen the true nature of combat. 
I'm proud to be their Commander in Chief. I'm proud to lead such fine 
men and women who are willing to sacrifice for their country.
    There's something else the wounded say, and they say it often, and 
they say it clearly. They praise you all, and they praise the incredible 
health care they receive here at Walter Reed. The doctors and nurses 
here are superb and dedicated and tireless. The administrative staff and 
the patient advocates and the chaplains are incredibly committed 
Americans and compassionate souls. You show concern for the patients, 
and you love their families as well. You give attention to the medical 
needs, to the emotional needs, and to the spiritual needs of those 
recently removed from the battlefield.
    I want to thank the volunteers at Walter Reed. Many of you are 
veterans. Many of you have known war injuries of your own. You're a 
source of inspiration and your good advice for people who are in 
recovery. The country is grateful for your service in the past, and your 
country is very grateful for your continued service to help lift the 
spirits

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of those who have been wounded on the battlefield.
    Military medicine is a model of professionalism and organization. It 
starts with the combat medic, the combat medic who is on the scene, the 
first health care a wounded soldier receives within moments of the 
injury. Patients are then treated by forward surgical teams and at 
combat support hospitals. I found it interesting that Walter Reed has 
more than 60 of its staff serving in the Iraqi theater today. You've 
moved your great medicine from this fantastic facility to the 
battlefront so that our soldiers get instant professional care.
    Our wounded troops might next go to Landstuhl Medical Center in 
Germany, where they receive fine medical treatment before being 
delivered into your hands. Our fellow citizens must understand that 
every stop that a soldier makes from battlefield to Walter Reed is 
manned by a staff trained in every skill of trauma medicine.
    This morning, I had a chance to visit, as I said, B.J.'s shop, which 
is the physical and occupational therapy facilities. Walter Reed is 
second to none in this kind of medicine. You're using the latest 
prosthetic technology to help patients overcome great challenges and 
resume their lives. I know firsthand--I remember coming here a couple of 
months ago to pin the Purple Heart on a fellow who lost both legs and 
one arm. Today I saw him walking. What makes this story even more 
profound is, he lost both legs and one arm not as a citizen of the 
United States but as a soldier fighting for the United States. Today I 
saw a citizen of the United States walking.
    Americans would be surprised to learn that a grievous injury such as 
the loss of a limb no longer means forced discharge. In other words, the 
medical care is so good, and the recovery process is so technologically 
advanced, that people are no longer forced out of the military. When 
we're talking about forced discharge, we're talking about another age 
and another army. This is a new age, and this is a new army. And today, 
if wounded servicemembers want to remain in uniform and can do the job, 
the military tries to help them stay.
    This country takes--asks a great deal of the men and women who serve 
our military. We're asking a lot of them, particularly in the first war 
of the 21st century. We put a lot of fine troops into harm's way to make 
this country more secure and the world more free and the world more 
peaceful. We ask them to face great dangers to meet a national need. In 
return, we have made a commitment. We have made a commitment to the 
troops, and we have made a commitment to their loved ones, and that 
commitment is that we will provide excellent health care--excellent 
care--to anybody who is injured on the battlefield.
    Here at Walter Reed, all of you are making good on that commitment. 
You're saving the lives of liberators. You're healing the defenders of 
our country. You're comforting the champions of freedom. For that, every 
single person who works here has the respect and the gratitude of our 
entire Nation.
    All of you here today are engaged in a great cause, a noble cause, 
an important cause for our country and for freedom and peace. By your 
good work, you're helping to protect America. And for that, your 
Commander in Chief says God bless, and thank you.
    Happy holidays. Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at noon in the Lawrence Joel Auditorium. In 
his remarks, he referred to Maj. Gen. Kevin Kiley, USA, commanding 
general, North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army 
Medical Center, and his wife, Babs; Col. Jonathan Jaffin, USA, 
commander, Walter Reed Health Care System; and Col. Billie Mielcarek, 
USA, chief of physical therapy, Col. Patricia A.H. Saulsbery, USA, 
deputy commander for nursing, Col. Jim Greenwood, USA, deputy commander 
for administration, and Col. Thomas M. Fitzpatrick, USA, deputy 
commander for clinical services, Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The 
Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language 
transcript of these remarks.

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