"new " Secretary Of V.a. Selection

[Capt.]

Finally, after much outcry from vets like me,news, other watchdog groups, calling congressmen, senators and the President, Jim Nicholson has resigned with an unrepented heart I might add. Confessing that He has done no wrong.....and boasting of his "accomplishments??????", Mr. Nicholson ignorantly leaves an already troubled system in state of mass confussion and 100's of thousands vets in limbo. O.K. so now what happens and what you can do....YES , YOU. I know , you are tired and it won't help and I have better things to do like sit on the porch swatting flies and blah blah blah. Here is what I did yesterday. I called the Presidents comment line 202-456-1111. An operator will come on the line once you prompt and you can talk to a REAL person at the White house. I was polite and to the point explaining that I was a Veteran and member of several large Veteran Groups that were watching how the President would handle the selection of the next V.A. Secretary and how the Dept would run over the next year . That I was very pleased with Mr. Nicholsons resignation and that I also was asking Mr. President to please select someone who will immediately step in and try to get some of the problems resolved , such as back log of claims, FAIRNESS in decisions of claims, shortening the decision and rating time periods. I also pointed out that there was STILL TIME TO HELP BOOST MR. PRESIDENTS VERY LOW RATINGS by doing the right thing. I also very politely noted that I would be watching and if I feel there is nothing being done to help then myself and many others in these VA groups would make possibly a party change at the polls in the next election. The operator, a man, said that he thanked me for serving my country , (that was unexpected) and he said that he make sure that the President received the comments. Today it will be several senators and congressmen. Remember that I was POLITE and to the point..... "a soft answer turneth away wrath". It will make a difference , just like the response that caused Jim Nicholson to step down. It will take you and I to hopefully get someone in that could make a difference for the next year. When you bring up the "boost his ratings" idea you will get their attention.After all , it is all about ratings===== votes....God Bless, C.C.

[Pete53]

The only new Secretary of the VA that I was happy with in the first place was Sec Brown and he went to the dark side rather quickly. Sec Principi was a pleasant surprise and since 1991 and my personal experience was the best. He actually even answered his own email and in my opinion was proactive in helping Veterans including some major changes including ChampVA for life.

To think that Veterans will have a say in President Bush appointment is somewhat ludicrous. I suspect that this late in the game it will be some VA hack brought up from the bowels of the VA itself.

[Berta]

I would nominate Chesty Puller-but he is dead-

How about Colonel Oliver North, Norman Schwartzkoph, or Colin Powell,-

They need some one who can take command presense!

Obviously knowledge of VA case law does not appear to be a job requirement to become the Sec.They need to know how to cut through the BS and kick ass.

And the new Sec themselves should amend the VCAA- if I dont hear back from Senator Schumer soon I have a list of other reps that might propose my amendment.

The VCAA,our ultimate Duty to Assist- due to ROs, has become a scam as big as the Nehmer retro crapola.

And is costing probably more than the millions that did -to deserving veterans.

My former Prof , A Major in the USMC- he could do this job and I would help him-

He would be superb as his criteria of excellence is way beyond what we have seen so far-and he has the Leadership qualities that a Secretary of VA MUST have.

He wouldnt even have to relocate-he works at Quantico now.

Yeah-I though Jesse would be great- his tenure was a disappointment- and Principi emailed me back twice himself- a good man in my opinion-

I wish he could come back to VA but I dont think he would ever do that.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Berta

[john999]

Whoever gets the job needs to have the mission and resorces to overhaul the VA and fix the problems. Bush needs to go before we can get mandatory funding and a pro-active secretary. The only thing entering the somewhat dim mind of our fearless leader now is how to pass the buck on Iraq. He does not give a rat's ass about the wounded warriors of past and present generations. If this is too political I apologize but I think it is the facts.

[SLEDGE]

In my opinion,

If the new secretary is not a veteran, that's two strikes against him or her as I see it.

If the new guy has never been through the VA claims process, strike 3.

I believe we have already seen how the current administration, and all of the others in my lifetime, feels that veterans deserve to be treated.

I also believe that the only way for vets to be taken seriously is by voting out the liars and by being prepared to do it again until a bunch of somebodies in congress get a revelation.

If we have to, we should be prepared to crank up our own political party and use it to suck votes away from the established parties.

We could even put our own people into the mix on Capital Hill.

We already know that our government will not change until WE force changes upon it.

sledge

[betrayed]

I dont hear back from Senator Schumer soon

I didnt know that DOO DOO could talk ;)

[jbasser]

Remember that the VA Secretary is a political appointee. The Next person will also have a short tenure. I think Ollie or Norman would be a great choice. Personally I would like to nominate Berta.

Anyway the new person needs to be an expert in Damage Control for that seems to be the Job Description.