Shinseki for VA Secretary: A Bold Choice

During the campaign, President-elect Obama promised to make veterans' issues a priority if elected. While campaign promises are a dime a dozen, I sincerely hoped that our veterans and their families could rest assured that the tremendous challenges they are currently facing would finally be addressed. One of the key first steps to tackling the critical issues of our newest generation of veterans was for the new Administration to appoint its choice for VA Secretary, and I've frequently called on President-elect Obama to do just that. Today, on the 67th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I am pleased to announce that the President-elect has made a historic selection: General Eric Shinseki has been tapped to be the new Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

General Shinseki has a record of courage and honesty, and I believe he is a bold choice to lead the VA. As a wounded and decorated combat veteran and the first Asian American in U.S. History to be a four-star general, General Shinseki has the potential to be an effective and dedicated advocate for veterans of all generations. He is a man that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. IAVA looks forward to supporting him to implement the historic change that is needed at the VA.

But General Shinseki has a monumental task before him. One in five veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are facing serious mental health injuries like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression. Wounded veterans are waiting months, sometimes years, to receive disability benefits. The struggling U.S. economy is hitting new veterans especially hard. And the new GI Bill, which will make college affordable to every veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, must be implemented by August 2009. To address these issues will require real leadership that encourages active VA outreach and transparency. We recommend General Shinseki to move quickly to add Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to key positions in his senior staff.

So far, the new Administration has been saying the right things about veterans' issues. President-elect Obama has talked about eradicating homelessness among veterans, addressing the high unemployment rates, and making adequate mental health care available to our troops and veterans. Michelle Obama has also called military families one of the issues she cares most about. But we'll be watching carefully to make sure these campaign promises are kept. And we look forward to working closely with General Shinseki and the new Administration to ensure every veteran in this country gets the care and support they have earned.

Comments

[luckyt]

I hope that all the promises are kept, President Obama is up against years of a pretty solid propaganda machine within the VA that blames all its problems on the Democrats. Veterans in general are taken a back because of the steady brainwashing techniques that are allowed on military facilities. for example at the Tampa VA every month they distribute a paper "The Veterans Post" which is a divisive hate, war mongering, conservative paper that has been attacking the President elect. This is a political paper and should not be allowed on government facilities. The Huffington Post should look into this.

[RWBneck]

I am not aware of one person's qualifications over another for this position. But I do know that the main issue/problem that needs to be corrected at the VA is ACCOUNTABILITY. Not just from the head of the Department, but for the VA employees that veterans have to interact with on a daily basis. There needs to be an effective means of performance-based checks and balances within the organization. Without accountability, it won't matter how much money you throw at it.

[paulrieckhoff]

Thanks for all the comments, and all the support! Lots of work ahead, please stay updated and involved at www.IAVA.org!

Best,

Paul.

[lisakaz2]

KO just featured an interview with Shinseki's advisor at the National War College. He said that Shinseki was incredibly bright as well as tough. KO added that VA is the second biggest job overseeing ppl after DoD. It sounds like the PE picked a good guy.

[wrabbitt]

Does it really matter who they get to head the VA? It still has to be "Efficient" meaning that the money you don't spend is more important than the money you do spend! Whether its for substandard care like we are getting now, or even worse care in the future! We raised our hand to support America, and, congress and the senate have cut plans to help any Vet! Place someone in charge thats been there! A veteran with both legs shot off, or one who has lost an arm in service to uncaring,penny pinching, unfeeling political bullshit artists. Then maybe Veterans will care as much about America after they serve as we did before we served!

[RussellH]

II am delighted with his appointment! While keeping Lieberman in his committee chair position shows Obama's magnanimous character, this appointment shows his recognition of Bush administration evils, especially Rumsfeld's treatment of Shinseki's call for larger troop deployments. While retribution may not be in Obama's vocabulary, he is quick to recognize one of the many deceits leading to the Iraq debacle and correcting it.

[johnie2xs]

Regarding a couple of the Veteran problems stated in this piece;

1) Since cost is always an issue, why coulodn't a call go out to Mental Health Professionals be asked to
be more forthcoming in offering some "prop-bono" help?

2) Is it beyond the Military to open it's arms and welcome homeless Vets to come live, and receive care
at any of the innumerable Installations all around the country?

Is this thinking just too far outside the box?

[RonNYC]

Obama should have picked Paul and put in Shinseki as SOD.

[lisakaz2]

Interesting. Did Paul want the job?

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Mr. Rieckhoff is a great patriot and fabulous advocate for veterans, but based on Mr Rieckhof's own listing of the problems the head of the VA choice with face I believe Shinseki who was once Chief of Staff and has years of executive experience is the best choice to effectively administer these necessary changes.

[Plotius]

This is a great appointment but I think Paul would be a great choice too!

[RonNYC]

Obama should have picked Paul and fired Gates and put in Shinseki as SOD.

[OldKnute]

Dear Paul,

I agree on all counts!

Gen. Shinseki will always put,,,, America First,, and the Veteran First. He has the skills to Prune Back,,, the,,,, TOP Loaded,,,, VA system too, just as he did in his military career.

I think he is a perfect choice.

Duty,,,,, before Politics!

As you say.

All the best

Knute

[shel3364]

IAVA's blessing is endorsement enough for me.

[Mnemanth]

Mr. Moderator: Let's try again...
Shinseki- the man who brought us the Striker and the beret.
Two complete failures.
Wonder what kind of "transformation" he has in mind for the VA?
Sorry not everyone buys into this guy being the second coming.

[123andy]

It is a good choice, it is the right choice, it is a great choice, but what makes it bold? Is anyone opposed to it? Lets get the language back to normal folks

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

The Washington Times just wrote a scathing article trying to discredit Shinseki so the right wing is no fan of him at all. He is a bold choice for that reason alone.

[ChiGuy]

To be honest, Shinseki's name never entered my mind as I was pondering this appointment.
Perhaps because of their more prominent visibility, the two names that continually ran through my mind were General Wesley Clark, and Iraq War veteran and director of the Illinois Dept. of Veteran Affairs, Tammy Duckworth.

In retrospect, were I to rank them according to preference, I would definitely put Shinseki's name at the top of the list followed by Duckworth's.

Veterans have long deserved, but lacked, a forceful voice at the top of the V.A..
Here's hoping that the General continues to be unafraid to let his opinions be known.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

I really hope Obama appoints Duckworth under Shinseki or he chooses her for his staff. That is if she is not chosen to be IL Senator to replace Obama.

[Herkybird]

ChiGuy you and I think alike! The fact that Obama's choice is a Vietnam vet pleases me. I had in mind Chuck Hagel, or perhaps Jim Webb...or even Tom Daschle but Tom has a job now. Tammy would have been a good choice if she could push her way through all the political BS. As a Nam vet myself I know that the new appointee has still got to restore alot of the benefits we lost over the years. That is not to
lessen the severity of our current vets. In fact there are alot of similarities between the two groups. Nam vets are now the WWII vets when the Nam war ended. President-Elect Obama not having been a veteran
made a good choice. Better than Bush-Cheney for sure. And they are not veterans either. And before you even go there....Nam Vets will eat you alive on Dubya!

[flashlegs]

I think the general is a good choice. I can only hope he will clean house at the VHA. The administrators there are entrenched selfservers who put themselves and other employees over the patients they are supposed to be treating. They run their clinics without medical ethics. They stonewall all complaints.

[DoctorWhoDat]

Paul, Your stamp of approval is good enough for me.