Eric Shinseki
| Eric Ken Shinseki | |
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7th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 21, 2009[1] |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | James Peake |
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| In office June 21, 1999 – June 11, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Dennis Reimer |
| Succeeded by | Peter Schoomaker |
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28th Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army
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| In office 1998–1999 |
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| Preceded by | William W. Crouch |
| Succeeded by | John M. Keane |
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| Born | November 28, 1942 Lihue, Territory of Hawaii |
| Alma mater | U.S. Military Academy (B.S.) Duke University (M.A.) |
| Profession | Soldier Cabinet Secretary |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1965–2003 |
| Rank |  General |
| Commands | Army Chief of Staff 1st Cavalry Division 3rd Infantry Division Seventh United States Army Allied Land Forces Central Europe (General) NATO Stabilization Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina 9th Infantry Division 25th Infantry Division 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment 5th Cavalry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War Bosnian War |
| Awards | United States Military Academy Distinguished Graduate Award Defense Distinguished Service Medal Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star (3) Purple Heart (2) Meritorious Service Medal Air Medal Army Commendation Medal (2) |
Eric Ken Shinseki (pronounced /ʃɨnˈsɛki/; born November 28, 1942) is a retired United States Army four-star general who is currently serving as the 7th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. His final U.S. Army post was as the 34th Chief of Staff of the Army (1999–2003). He is a veteran of combat in Vietnam, having been left with a maimed foot. During his tenure as Army Chief of Staff, Shinseki initiated an innovative but controversial plan to make the Army more strategically deployable and mobile in urban terrain by creating Stryker Interim-Force Brigade Combat Teams. He conceived a long term strategic plan for the Army dubbed Objective Force, which included a program he designed, Future Combat Systems.
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Education and military service
Shinseki was born in Lihue, Kauai in the then Territory of Hawaii, to a Japanese American family. His grandparents immigrated from Hiroshima to Hawaii in 1901.[2] He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant. He earned a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Duke University. He was also educated at the Armor Officer Advanced Course, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and the National War College.
Shinseki served in a variety of command and staff assignments in the Continental United States and overseas, including two combat tours with the 9th and 25th Infantry Divisions in the Republic of Vietnam as an artillery forward observer and as commander of Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment. During one of those tours, he stepped on a land mine, which blew the front off one of his feet.
He has served at Schofield Barracks, Hawai'i with Headquarters, United States Army Hawaii, and Fort Shafter with Headquarters, United States Army Pacific. He has taught at the U.S. Military Academy’s Department of English. During duty with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, he served as the regimental adjutant and as the executive officer of its 1st Squadron.
Shinseki’s ten-plus years of service in Europe included assignments as Commander, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry Division (Schweinfurt); Commander, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Kitzingen); Assistant Chief of Staff, G3, 3rd Infantry Division (Operations, Plans and Training) (Würzburg); and Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver, 3rd Infantry Division (Schweinfurt). The 3rd ID was organized at that time as a heavy mechanized division. He also served as Assistant Chief of Staff, G3 (Operations, Plans and Training), VII Corps (Stuttgart). Shinseki served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Support, Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (Verona), an element of the Allied Command Europe.
From March 1994 to July 1995, Shinseki commanded the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. In July 1996, he was promoted to lieutenant general and became Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, United States Army. In June 1997, Shinseki was appointed to the rank of general before assuming duties as Commanding General, Seventh United States Army; Commander, Allied Land Forces Central Europe; and Commander, NATO Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Shinseki became the Army's 28th Vice Chief of Staff on 24 November 1998, then became its 34th Chief of Staff on 22 June 1999.[3] Shinseki retired on 11 June 2003 at the end of his four-year term. His Farewell Memo contained some of his ideas regarding the future of the military.[4] At that time, General Shinseki retired from the Army after 38 years of military service. Shinseki is the only Japanese American (or Asian American, more generally) to be promoted to the Army's top position and is the first four star general of Asian descent in the US military.
Shinseki publicly clashed with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the planning of the war in Iraq over how many troops the U.S. would need to keep in Iraq for the postwar occupation of that country. As Army Chief of Staff, General Shinseki testified to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that "something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers" would probably be required for postwar Iraq. This was an estimate far higher than the figure being proposed by Secretary Rumsfeld in his invasion plan, and it was rejected in strong language by both Rumsfeld and his Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, who was another chief planner of the invasion and occupation.[5] From then on, Shinseki's influence on the Joint Chiefs of Staff reportedly waned.[6] Critics of the Bush Administration charged that Shinseki was forced into early retirement as Army Chief of staff because of his comments on troop levels, but the claim is inaccurate.[7]
When the insurgency took hold in postwar Iraq, Shinseki's comments and their public rejection by the civilian leadership were often cited by those who felt the Bush administration deployed too few troops to Iraq.[8] On November 15, 2006, in testimony before Congress, CENTCOM Commander Gen. John Abizaid said that General Shinseki had been correct that more troops were needed.[8]
On December 7, 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama announced at a Chicago press conference that once in office, he would nominate Shinseki to become the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.[9] He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on January 20, 2009 and sworn in the next day.[1][10]
Postmilitary career
Shinseki has served as a director for several corporations: Honeywell International and Ducommun, military contractors; Grove Farm Corporation; First Hawaiian Bank;[11] and Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.[12] He is a member of the Advisory Boards at the Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and to the U.S. Comptroller General. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Atlantic Council of the United States, and the Association of the United States Army.[13]
Awards, Decorations and Badges[1]
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Defense Distinguished Service Medal |
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Army Distinguished Service Medal |
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Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster) |
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Bronze Star (with "V" Device and two Oak Leaf Clusters) |
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Purple Heart (with Oak Leaf Cluster) |
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Meritorious Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters) |
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Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
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Air Medal |
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Parachutist Badge |
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Ranger Tab |
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Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge |
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Army Staff Identification Badge |
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "VA Official Biography - The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki". United States Department of Veterans Affairs. January 2009. http://www1.va.gov/opa/bios/biography.asp?id=76. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- ↑ オバマ政権長官のシンセキ氏 両祖父母は広島出身
- ↑ Fahrig, Jody T. (23 June 1999). "Army welcomes Shinseki as new chief". Army News Service. http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=4731. Retrieved 2006-05-27.
- ↑ Shinseki, Eric K (2003-06-10). "End of Tour Memorandum" (PDF). The Washington Post Company. http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/documents/shinseki.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ↑ Schmitt, Eric. "Pentagon Contradicts General on Iraq Occupation Force's Size", New York Times, February 28, 2003.
- ↑ Shanker, Thom "New Strategy Vindicates Ex-Army Chief Shinseki", The New York Times, January 12, 2007.
- ↑ CNN Political Unit. CNN Political Unit debate fact check. CNN.com. October 9, 2004.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ricks, Thomas E.; Ann Scott Tyson (November 16, 2006). "Abizaid Says Withdrawal Would Mean More Unrest". Washington Post: p. A22. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/15/AR2006111500800.html. Retrieved 2006-12-13. "General [Eric] Shinseki was right that a greater international force contribution, U.S. force contribution and Iraqi force contribution should have been available immediately after major combat operations."
- ↑ "Obama: No one 'more qualified' than Shinseki to head VA". CNN. December 7, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/07/obama.shinseki/. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
- ↑ Abrams, Jim (2009-01-20). "Senate confirms 6 cabinet secretaries". Associated Press (Google News). http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hi6r-WMKkf2LwqPLQN0PhNMabNmgD95R59EG0. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- ↑ Rucker, Philip; Thomas E. Ricks (December 6, 2008). "Shinseki Slated to Head VA, Obama Confirms". Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/06/shinseki_slated_to_head_va_dem.html?hpid=topnews. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ↑ "Shinseki biography". http://people.forbes.com/profile/eric-k-shinseki/41426. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ↑ "The Purpose Prize: Shinseki". http://www.purposeprize.org/judges/shinseki.cfm. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
References
- VA Official Biography
- Official U.S. Army biography, in Bell, William Gardner. COMMANDING GENERALS AND CHIEFS OF STAFF 1775-2005: Portraits & Biographical Sketches of the United States Army's Senior Officer, United States Army Center of Military History, 2005. (ISBN 0-16-072376-0)
Further reading
- Chief of Staff of the Army's Remarks to Soldiers Radio and Television after the attacks of September 11th, September 14, 2001, published on ARNews. (URL retrieved May 28, 2006)
- Burlas, Joe. "Commentary: Shinseki leaves legacy of irreversible momentum", ARNEWS, June 10, 2003.
- Dickey, Connie. "Chief of Staff shares his concerns for the soldier and the Army", ARNEWS, June 28, 1999. From media interview 3 days after becoming Army Chief of Staff. (URL retrieved May 27, 2006)
- Moulin, Pierre. " Commentary: Eric Shinseki Gallery", Fort DeRussy - U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii, April, 2008. ISBN 978-1-56647-850-2
- Siemieniec, Jack. "Chief of Staff expands on Army Vision", ARNEWS, January 31, 2000. (URL retrieved May 27, 2006)
External links
- "U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs". http://www.va.gov/.
- Eric K. Shinseki Collection (while CSA)
- Eric K. Shinseki Gallery Fort DeRussy Army Museum of Hawaii
- NYTimes article on cabinet post
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Crouch |
Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe 1997–1998 |
Succeeded by Montgomery Meigs |
| Preceded by Gen. William W. Crouch |
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1998 – 1999 |
Succeeded by Gen. Jack Keane |
| Preceded by Dennis Reimer |
Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1999–2003 |
Succeeded by Peter Schoomaker |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by James Peake |
United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Served under: Barack Obama 2009 – present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Arne Duncan Secretary of Education |
United States order of precedence Secretary of Veterans Affairs |
Succeeded by Janet Napolitano Secretary of Homeland Security |
| United States presidential line of succession | ||
| Preceded by Arne Duncan Secretary of Education |
17th in line Secretary of Veterans Affairs |
Succeeded by Janet Napolitano Secretary of Homeland Security |
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