WASHINGTON -- Saying they have lost their trust in the officer who heads Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army said Thursday that the two-star general in charge of the facility has been relieved of command.

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Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, who was commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command as well as Walter Reed hospital, was relieved of command by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.

In a brief announcement, the Army said service leaders had "lost trust and confidence" in Weightman's leadership abilities "to address needed solutions for soldier outpatient care" at Walter Reed.

News reports of squalid conditions in some of the facility's buildings caused an uproar in Washington last week.

Last week, Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody visited one building highlighted by Washington Post report, Building 18, and were dismayed by what they saw.

"We were absolutely disappointed in the status of the rooms and found the delays and lack of attention to detail to the building's repairs inexcusable," Cody said.

Building 18 is where many soldiers discharged from the psychiatric ward are sent to recover, sometimes for months. The Post story described patient quarters there where parts of the walls are torn and weighted down with black mold. A staffer told reporters she brought Roach bombs to work. There was a mice infestation. And families described what they saw as a never-ending maze of bureaucratic entanglements as they sought care and support for their loved ones.

"Despite frequent visits to Walter Reed facilities, informal and formal discussions with patients and their families and the medical staff, I have never been made aware of Building 18, its condition or complaints by any of our wounded warriors over the last five years," Cody said.

"That is not an excuse by any shape or form. Clearly, we've had a breakdown in leadership and have bureaucratic medical and contractual processes bog down a speedy solution to these problems.I can assure you that the appropriate vigor and leadership is being applied to this issue, and we will correct any problems immediately," Cody said.