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Obama Eyes Shinseki For VA Top Spot

Image of General ShinsekiInsiders expect that President-elect Barack Obama will nominate retired Gen. Eric Shinseki to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

From CNN Politics.com
"Shinseki, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, has been the patron saint of Pentagon critics who say the former Army chief’s sage advice was ignored in 2003, resulting in too few U.S. troops being sent to Iraq after the invasion. Shinseki testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February 2003 that "something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers would be required" to pacify the country. The comment infuriated some Bush administration officials, and he retired just a few months later."

Shinseki served in a number of command and staff assignments in the Continental United States and overseas, including two combat tours with the 9th and 25th Infantry Divisions in the Republic of Vietnam. During one of those tours, he stepped on a land mine, which blew off the front of one of his feet.

Ret. General Eric Shineski has been awarded a number of decorations during his career. They include:

  • Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
  • Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
  • Navy Distinguished Service Medal
  • Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
  • Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
  • Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
  • Bronze Star with "V" Device (with two Oak Leaf Clusters)
  • Purple Heart (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
  • Meritorious Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters)

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December 7th, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized | 2 comments

2 comments to Obama Eyes Shinseki For VA Top Spot

  • Sam Ramsey SSgt USMC (Ret)
    January 20th, 2009 at 3:50 pm

    I welcome this appointment and am encouraged at all I have seen and heard about this man…he seems to have integrity and honor, and has a vision to rebuild the broken beaurocracy that is and has been the VA for some time.

    I was medically retired from the Marine’s…since leaving Active Duty, I have been severely mistreated by the very system that was founded by Abraham Lincoln to care for us.

    I have been treated like a common criminal and almost handcuffed at the ER as that was the only way I could get somebody to talk to me about my PTSD…I was retired with a 60% disability from DOD/USMC, yet the VA only granted me 20% disability citing the US Navy losing my and about 100 other records at MCAS Cherry Point in 97′.

    I can’t afford the medications I am prescribed by the VA, I don’t rate free meds as I am only 20% (how very convenient), and my retirement is offset by my disability pay from the VA as I didn’t have 20 years of service nor have the opportunity to serve that long…

    I am furious beyond explanation at the VA…I have had to enlist the help of a civilian lawyer, Congressman, and Senator trying to get my unemployability from the VA as I am officially 100% disabled by Social Security…and my family is paying for it..they’ve committed no crimes to be treated this way….criminals get treated better than Veteran’s…

    If whomever sees this feels compelled to help, please, do so…I am floundering in the beaurocratic nightmare called the VA…nobody cares about us….the system is severely broken, and we are viewed as just somebody they have to pay…that’s wrong…we served with honor and did the jobs that nobody else wanted to….we’ve seen Hell on Earth…only to have our very country that we vowed to protect and serve with our lives turn its back on us.

    Samuel J Ramsey
    SSgt USMC (Ret)

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