Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Named on Pearl Harbor Anniversary

Sixty-seven years after the invasion of Pearl Harbor, President-elect Barack Obama announced his choice for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, General Eric H. Shinseki, and stressed the importance of the position he would hold. "We owe it to all our veterans to honor them as we honored our Greatest Generation," the President-elect said. "Not just with words, but with deeds." (Quoted from the Obama-Biden Transition Web site, change.gov.)

 

Shinseki was wounded in action while serving two tours of combat in Vietnam and is the first Asian-American to reach the rank of four-start general.  Shinseki also served as the 34th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, from 1999 to 2003.

 

John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), reacted to the announcement by calling Shinseki “a promising choice” for the position of Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Obama-Biden Administration.  The December 7th announcement of Shinseki as VA Secretary-designate has garnered positive responses from many other groups and from Senators across the political spectrum including Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, and Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

 

General Shinseki will be working with President-elect Obama’s National Security team, which includes the following announced designates:

 

-- Defense Secretary Robert Gates to be retained

-- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to be Secretary of State;

-- Governor Janet Napolitano to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

-- Retired General Jim Jones to be National Security Adviser

-- Eric Holder to be Attorney General of the U.S.

-- Susan Rice to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations