Eric Shinseki

Eric Shinseki is a retired United States Army general and former United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He served as the 34th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1999 to 2003, becoming the first Asian American to hold that position. Appointed by President Barack Obama, he led the United States Department of Veterans Affairs from 2009 until his resignation in 2014 amid a national scandal over patient wait times. His military career was distinguished by combat service in the Vietnam War, where he was severely wounded, and later by his prescient but controversial testimony before the United States Congress regarding troop levels for the Iraq War.

Early life and education

Eric Shinseki was born in Lihue, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai, to a family of Japanese American descent. He attended Kauai High School before receiving an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. He later earned a Master of Arts degree in English literature from Duke University and is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the National War College in Washington, D.C..

Military career

Shinseki's early service included two combat tours in the Vietnam War with the 9th Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division, where he was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star Medal for valor after stepping on a land mine. His career progressed through command and staff positions in Europe and the United States, including command of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea, and the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood. He served as the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army before being appointed the 34th Chief of Staff of the United States Army by President Bill Clinton in 1999. In 2003, he famously testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that stabilizing post-invasion Iraq would require "something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers," a assessment that clashed with the Pentagon leadership under Donald Rumsfeld and contributed to his early retirement.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate, Shinseki was sworn in as the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2009. His tenure focused on addressing a backlog of veterans' disability claims, expanding benefits for Agent Orange-related conditions, and reducing veteran homelessness. However, his leadership ended in May 2014 following a mounting crisis over concealed patient wait times and falsified records at the Phoenix VA Health Care System and other Veterans Health Administration facilities across the nation. Facing intense pressure from Congress and the White House, he resigned, stating he would not allow the problems to distract from the agency's mission.

Later life and legacy

Since his resignation, Shinseki has served on corporate boards, including for First Hawaiian Bank, and remains involved in veterans' issues. His legacy is complex, marked by a distinguished military career where he broke racial barriers and offered courageous, if unheeded, strategic counsel, and a tumultuous tenure at the VA that exposed systemic failures in the nation's largest integrated health care system. He is a recipient of numerous awards, including the George C. Marshall Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and his career is studied at institutions like the United States Army War College for its lessons in leadership and integrity.

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:United States Army generals Category:United States Secretaries of Veterans Affairs Category:American people of Japanese descent Category:People from Kauai