Cold War Veterans Blog

Thoughts on General Shinseki's VA Confirmation Hearing

by Joe Bello NY Metrovets

Tomorrow morning retired General Eric K. Shinseki, the former Army chief of staff and President-elect Obama's pick for Veterans Affairs Secretary will appear before the U.S. Senate’s Veterans Affairs committee for his confirmation hearing.

If confirmed, Shinseki, who lost part of his right foot in the Vietnam War and earned two Purple Hearts, will take control of the federal government’s second largest agency along with having an opportunity to address many “ground-level veterans” concerns, while putting his stamp on an agency that many believe has for too long been a sprawling, broken bureaucracy.

The confirmation hearing, like others should be shown on C-Span however if you can’t watch it; Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's (IAVA) Todd Bowers will be at the confirmation hearing blogging live. You can check it out at: http://www.iava. org/.

While I agree with many assessments that General Shinseki must demonstrate knowledge on a host of issues of concern to veterans, he must also show a quick sense of direction while providing some strong, steady leadership. However, while the buck will stop with him, let us all agree that he (as one man) cannot do this alone.

Like President-elect Obama, he must put together a strong, highly dedicated staff that will not be afraid to give him honest, tough answers and in some cases think outside the box to find solutions to current and future problems. He must also not be afraid to ask questions of the community. While he will have policy’s to change and enact, bringing the community into the process on some issues will show both respect and that he is listening to the community.

An additional challenge for General Shinseki will be facing a culture that is quite different from the military. An article I read today pointed out that the instinct in the Army is to always support the chief (that basically goes for any service). That’s not going to be the case with veterans and the VA and General Shinseki must be able to, while correcting programs like the VA-DoD Seamless Transition, remain in both form and substance, completely independent of the Pentagon.

And General Shinseki has already taken those first steps. In a recent 54-page disclosure obtained by The Associated Press, General Shinseki said he will step down from the corporate boards of defense contractors to alleviate potential conflicts of interest. This is a good start and shows that General Shinseki is ready to roll up his sleeves and go to work. Other items in the 54 page disclosure included General Shinseki's pledge to:

- Cut down six-month waits for disability benefits in part by switching from paper applications to "an integrated, all electronic claims processing system."

- Initiate an "independent, thorough" review to ensure that the VA will not delay rollout of millions of dollars in new GI benefits in August.

- Work more closely with the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Labor and the Small Business Administration to increase economic opportunities for veterans and reduce homelessness.

So Iet’s watch and see what General Shinseki has to say and if he is confirmed by the Senate, let us all offer the hand of camaraderie and wish him the best in trying to get the “chaos” at the VA strengthened out. He will need it.