Opinion on President Obama's nominee for Secretary of Veteran's Affairs?

SSG Lucas Lisitza — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 02:11:19 -0400

Thoughts?

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 4 at 2014 7:42 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 07:42:18 -0400

Happy 4th SSG Lucas Lisitza and thanks for your service.

Well, interesting to say the least. I don't get the thought process. Academy grad, Ok, that has some relevance but where in his resume is there hospital, health care, non-profit or veteran related job experience?? The guy ran P&G a for profit conglomerate. This is where, IMHO, they only see leadership and not the substance or quality behind it.

If it were you or I applying for the job, they'd laugh our a$$es all the way to the curb they kick us to. Political appointments are the epitome of the double standard - its not what you know but who you know. All my experience in the job market has been about exactly that - experience. I've missed job opportunities because my resume had only 9 of the 10 job skills that the company was looking for. I've been told that military leadership and management experience is not the same as on the civilian side - go figure. Yet the same reasons I am denied opportunities, guys like this are given them - WTF??

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2014 8:03 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 08:03:20 -0400

The issues with the VA have been a long time coming, and Shinseki was doomed to fail from the start due to little fault of his own. Up until a few years ago, we were still using paper vs electronic records, and this process was in no way adequate to handle the aging Vietnam/Korean Vet population plus the wounded from the last 14 years of combat. Every time we move into peace time, we cut spending on medical so we enter the next war using technology that is so outdated that it never works effectively. We are still catching up on using PDA devices, something that very few civilians have used for a decade. We can't even use bluetooth technology because of concerns from OPSEC. Until we learn that medical spending to keep pace with emerging tech needs to continue during peace time, we will repeat this pattern over and over.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2014 8:13 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 08:13:38 -0400

So he went to West Point, where does that make him qualified to serve as Secretary of the VA? Oh wait he was CEO of a toy company that makes a huge difference.
How about we find someone with some experience running a major hospital or health care company?

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 4 at 2014 9:08 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 21:08:43 -0400

If this administration were a baseball team, and you had to make a prediction of future success based on the performance of the manager and draft picks over the past five seasons, do you really expect anything to get better or will we have to wait until the next even-numbered rebuilding year?

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 5 at 2014 12:49 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 00:49:12 -0400

Growing up and while I served I remember seeing several movies about the Nightmare that is the VA Medical System. I wish the man Luck but this has been going on for Generations. Having said that I have nothing but Commendations for the Kansas City VA Hospital for the Huge Amount they handle with Piss Poor Funding.