Many people, including U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, and other members of Congress, naturally are disturbed by an account in The Washington Post of shortcomings in meeting wounded soldiers' needs at the outpatient units of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Investigations by the House Veterans Affairs and Armed Services committees surely are called for.

The physical conditions of some of the buildings -- holes in the walls, worn-out furnishings, rodent infestation, black mold -- ought to be fairly easily remedied. That they haven't been could lead one to wonder if the Army is reluctant to invest resources in Walter Reed. The medical center is on the base closure list and not expected to be open after 2011.

The planned closure would be a poor excuse for neglecting the needs of war-wounded men and women who live at the center while treatment for their injuries continues. But that isn't the likely cause of the most serious outpatient problems.

It seems that the facility simply is overwhelmed with the number of residential patients recovering on site. There currently are about 700 housed in the sprawling outpatient facilities and nearby Army-leased hotels and apartments. There have been as many as 900 -- far more than before the Iraq war. They outnumber patients in the hospital itself by 17 to 1.

The nature of the problems recounted in the Post report suggests lack of preparation to meet the needs of the men and women in residential care. The rundown condition of some of the buildings hasn't been the principal source of their frustration. Rather, it has been the lack of essential information and absence of assistance in sorting out overwhelming red tape involved in receiving care.

Soldiers suffering from brain injuries, loss of limbs, post-traumatic stress disorder and many other serious, long-term injuries have required more help than they've received.

The war in Iraq, of course, is the principal reason there are so many soldiers in residential care at Walter Reed. Another reason is a change in Army policy. Where it once treated severe injuries and then transferred patients to the care of Veterans Affairs, it now keeps them in Army care much longer.

The newspaper wasn't telling the Army anything it didn't know. Walter Reed has acknowledged the problems and is taking steps to address them. Ongoing congressional oversight can help.

In the long term, it will be Veterans Affairs that provides the medical care of those seriously wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. We appreciate Donnelly's interest in following up on local clinic plans. Word from the congressman that a clinic in Elkhart County could be open as early as 2008 is very welcome.

Everyone in government these days, especially those opposed to the war in Iraq, is quick to declare support for the troops. It is the groundwork laid now, such as in the construction of well-placed, much-needed VA clinics, that will keep that support in place for years to come -- when it will be every bit as important as it is during a controversial war.