What do you think of General Shinseki's career?

2014-05-30T18:39:43-04:00

I have met the general several times and know him to be a man of honor. This is twice that he has been unfortunately been in circumstances where he was forced out earlier than expected. The first when he believed we needed 250k troop in Iraq and was told he was wrong by the higher-ups. He retired earlier than was supposed to. Now the issue with the VA. I don't think there can be someone who could know everything that is going all at all times with an institution like the VA. Should he be held responsible? Should he be given a chance to fix this instead?

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made May 30 at 2014 6:42 PM

2014-05-30T18:42:00-04:00

GEN(R) Shinseki is an outstanding officer and gentleman. He was an outstanding Commander at all levels and was dedicated to making change when it was necessary and didn't stop when people told him differently. No different in this job, but he has been hindered by a horrible system that did not give him the power to properly form the organization. He is a victim of circumstance and of the political process. If you want it changed, he's the man for the job, but you have to give him the tools to do so...and the administration DID NOT.

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made May 30 at 2014 7:10 PM

2014-05-30T19:10:07-04:00

Major Chang-

Leading an organization like the VA which is paramount in our vets recovery from over 13 years of war is tough. GEN (R) Shinseki has been in his position for over 10 and I believe at this time you need to show force and change to a broken system. These people if proven guilty we're fudging the numbers on vets recovery for money. This is the ultimate betrayal and as the leader of an organization the media and society hold you responsible. Veterans need the best and if widespread issues continue the leadership will not be able to move past it. GEN (R) Shinseki is a man who has dedicated his life to the service and just like George Washington you need to know when you got to step down.

Response by SFC Michael W. made May 30 at 2014 10:27 PM

2014-05-30T22:27:27-04:00

It's a lot of baloney that the government are making him the "scape goat" for this incident. Unless he has a crystal ball in his pocket he can't see everything going on at every VA hospital/clinic, nobody can! I met him when he was my USAREUR commander in Germany when he replaced Gen. Crouch and my unit had a SATCOM terminal positioned next to his office during Operation Joint Endeavour/Constant Endeavour and he would stop by our site to talk to the soldiers on shift.

Now, our government is pulling an "Ollie" on him (if you know our military history you know what I mean).

Response by SFC James Verdejo made May 31 at 2014 1:49 PM

2014-05-31T13:49:48-04:00

MAJ Chang,
I remember that last time. He said 350K and was forced into early retirement by the Bush administration. (They should have listened to him). He is an Honorable Soldier and will be missed