Department of Virginia

VFW Hopes New Nominee is a Strong Veterans' Advocate

Posted at 10:20 PM on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 by Virginia A/Q

WASHINGTON Oct. 30, 2007 – The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is hoping the president’s nominee for secretary of Veterans Affairs will prove to be as strong a veterans’ advocate as his past record of accomplishments indicates.

“Doctor James Peake is a combat-wounded veteran, a board certified surgeon, the former top doctor in the Army, and was the chief operating officer of a large international humanitarian relief organization and in private industry,” said the VFW’s George Lisicki, of Carteret, N.J. “We hope he will bring that same level of passion and drive into the VA, because he certainly has the prerequisite credentials and organizational skills to lead the second largest federal department.”

The VFW national commander said Peake will walk into tremendous challenges on day one, foremost being an assurance that veterans of past and present will receive quality healthcare and timely benefits in an era of uncontrollable claims backlogs and an unknown annual budget.

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