Friday, May 18, 2018

New VA Secretary Proposed






Trump Announces Veterans Affairs

 Secretary

  • 05/18/2018 
  • Source: TTN
  •  
  • by: TTN Staff
27 13 2  77

Trump Announces Veterans Affairs Secretary

BREAKING NEWS

President Trump has announced that Robert Wilkie will be his selection to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to Talking Points Memo.

Wilkie served on President Trump's transition team, and he served as assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs and special assistant to the president for national security affairs during the Bush administration.

According to his biography at the Department of Defense:
"Robert Wilkie is the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Mr. Wilkie is the principal advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense for Total Force Management as it relates to readiness; National Guard and Reserve component affairs; health affairs; training; and personnel requirements and management, including equal opportunity, morale, welfare, recreation, and the quality of life for military families."

. . .

 Wilkie served both Robert Gates and Donald Rumsfeld as Assistant Secretary of Defense from 2005-2009, and was the youngest senior leader in the Department. Prior to his first Pentagon tour, he was Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and a senior director of the National Security Council under Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Mr. Wilkie is a reserve officer in the United States Air Force Reserve assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff. Prior to joining the Air Force, he served in the United States Navy Reserve with the Joint Forces Intelligence Command, Naval Special Warfare Group Two and the Office of Naval Intelligence.

A graduate of the College of Naval Command and Staff, Air Command and Staff College, the United States Army War College, and the Joint Forces Staff College, Mr. Wilkie has published articles in the Naval War College Review, Parameters, Armed Forces Journal International, The Air and Space Power Journal and Proceedings. He holds personal and unit decorations as well as the Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest civilian award of the Department.

Mr. Wilkie also shepherded the Senate confirmation process for James Mattis, Robert Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen (CJCS) and was responsible for the preparation of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Croker for their multiple appearances before the Congress in defense of the Iraqi Surge.

Mr. Wilkie holds an Honors degree from Wake Forest University; Juris Doctor from Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans; Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.
The former aide to President Trump will likely face opposition due to his stance on the Veteran's Choice program, which offers veterans private alternatives to VA treatment in special circumstances; Wilkie has called to make the program permanent, as Democrats oppose it as a step towards full privatization. Even as Wilkie serves as acting secretary, with his impressive resume, the president likely has another confirmation fight on his hands.

Read more at http://trumptrainnews.com/articles/trump-announces-veterans-affairs-secretary#3DWbYip7Ly74PJ8m.99

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