Army Wives star Kim Delaney bungles speech at miltary event

Army Wives” star Kim Delaney was given the privilege of speaking at an event honoring U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia Thursday night, but mangled the prepared speech so badly, she had to be escorted off the stage.
Appearing disheveled, slurring her words and smiling at inappropriate times, at times the Philadelphia native and former “NYPD Blue” star appeared to have trouble reading the teleprompter.
Delaney spoke of her “struggle(s),” claiming to have “served in active military duty family for five years.”
VIDEO: Watch part of her speech on MYFOXPhilly.com.
“I’ve seen soldiers come home with painful life altering injuries borne of their time and service,” Delaney said.
The audience sat shocked, as she rambled on about her “broken heart” before eventually adding the caveat, “It’s all make believe. I do that as a job. It’s make believe. I have the luxury to do all of this on a television show.”
Finally, another guest began speaking and Delaney was unceremoniously escorted off the stage by a woman wearing a headset.
Several U.S. officials were at the award show and three former U.S. presidents made video tributes.
Delaney has long struggled with issues of substance abuse. She was arrested in March 2002 for drunk driving. In 2003, she spent time in an Arizona clinic to treat alcohol addiction. In 2005, she lost custody of her teenage son Jack Cortese after he testified in court that she had put his life in danger by drunk driving. More recently, Delaney checked herself into Promises, a rehab center in Malibu, CA in 2006.
But Friday morning, Delaney seemed in fine spirits on “The View” as she sat with fellow former “All My Children” stars reminiscing about the show’s final episode.