Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan D. Gibson today released the following statement after President Obama’s announcement that he intends to nominate former Proctor & Gamble chief executive Robert A. McDonald to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
“I have been close friends with Bob McDonald for over 40 years; I welcome his nomination with the utmost enthusiasm,” said Acting Secretary Gibson. “He is an exceptional person—a great leader, a skilled manager, an extraordinarily talented executive of great experience, and a man with the strongest moral compass. I will do everything I can to help him be successful, and I expect the same to be true for our dedicated VA workforce.
“Personally, professionally, and on behalf of Veterans and all of our VA employees, I look forward to Bob’s speedy confirmation—and to working closely with him and the rest of our VA leadership team toward restoring the public trust in VA by providing Veterans and their families the very best in timely care and benefits.”
Acting Secretary Gibson’s full message delivered to VA employees is below:
Message from the Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Sloan D. Gibson
Robert McDonald, the president’s nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, makes brief remarks on his nomination while at VA on June 30.
Today, after a careful search, President Obama announced his intention to nominate former Proctor & Gamble chief executive Robert A. McDonald to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
I have been close friends with Bob McDonald for over 40 years; I welcome his nomination with the utmost enthusiasm. He is an exceptional person—a great leader, a skilled manager, an extraordinarily talented executive of great experience, and a man with the strongest moral compass.
All of those attributes contributed to his rise through the ranks to the top spot at P&G, a Fortune 50 company with more than 120,000 employees. Under his stewardship, P&G consistently ranked among the best companies in the world for leadership development, being twice named best company for leaders by Chief Executive Magazine.
Bob graduated from West Point in the top 2 percent of his class and served five years in the U.S. Army. He was a captain in the 82nd Airborne Division before leaving the Army to join P&G. He is a Life Member of the U.S. Army Ranger Association and the 75th Ranger Regiment Association.
His commitment to Veterans is deeply personal. His father served in the Army Air Corps just after World War II. His wife’s father was shot down over Europe during World War II and ended the war as a POW. Her uncle was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and still receives treatment from VA.
With his years of executive success and principled leadership philosophy, stressing caring for others and personal ethics—choosing “the harder right instead of the easier wrong,” in words he often quotes from the West Point Cadet Prayer—he is an inspired and inspiring choice to lead VA through this period of restructuring and reform.
The planned nomination of Bob McDonald to be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs is a very positive step. I will do everything I can to help him be successful, and I expect the same to be true for our dedicated VA workforce.
Personally, professionally, and on behalf of Veterans and all of our VA employees, I look forward to Bob’s speedy confirmation—and to working closely with him and the rest of our VA leadership team toward restoring the public trust in VA by providing Veterans and their families the very best in timely care and benefits.
Sloan D. Gibson, Acting Secretary
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sorry i told you guys wait your turn soldier. i had no idea that were hiding or shreding claims. but i still dont blame the va!. listin. they started a program to award people for getting the job done. it was a mistake. the reason they did it at all was to try and give us better service. greed came in to the picture. im truly sorry guys. but please . please give the government a chance to fix this. they care about us!. they tryied something that backfired. the wrong people were in place. i almost lost faith in the va months ago. but ya know what. they realy care about us! let them fix this and you will see that what i say is true.
I was never given a post ets physical before leaving the service,and I have been fighting for 6 years I fill like I am in a war zone with my on country
my name is Curtis king I am a veteran with ptsd,and depression and sleep abnea,and a small gap in my spine,knees with problems and aneixty, and I have to take pills every day of my life just to get up in the morning and I have been fighting the va since 2008 on try to get my claim and I can not work as a result and I don,t know what else to due it seems like my country has fogten me I need help with the va
mr capel,. you got what they think you deserve. if you don’t like it. you can apieal it… thats the way it works.
Yes its very sad i have been fighting with the va since 2007 i multiple health issues related to my service in the army but the va will only give me 10 percent i absolutely refuse to go to the va i dont know who this guy is but its gonna not change nor is he more smoke and bull but whatever good luck my fellow vets stand in line and wait oh yeah better get comfy its gonna be a while.
mr capel. what war were you in?
They are refusing to listen to the disable veteran they will listen to the director and patient advocate are coving up patient care! I’ve been deal with them since Feb Madison va 5 doctors retired. Health care hit rock bottom took away narcotics drug that help vets put on antidepressant drug make them worse. Why do they take 6 dollars from our travel so they can give them 1,000,000 in bonus to cover up heath care . I’m seeing a doc know came from male clinic he does not know how paper work to Ccc specialist . so I’m not happy either I’m a 100% disabled vet. It not fair make complaint to the inspector general then I got to send complaint to another doctor in IL it does make since it get loss in mail. File 13. Us veteran need to rally at all va building and maybe the news people may listen to us not the government va people. Ic even try contact news station I tell them truth but no call back so their another cover up.
mr jehnke. why dont you give the va a chance to fix the problems? i can see by the date of your coments. you want it right now. its not possible. let the va weed out the bad . and bring in the good… ys have any idea how big this thing is? thanks for your service. but if your dieng or have a medical emergancy. GO NTO A REGULAR HOSPITAL! . i dont care how much i will owe a hospital! im not going to die!. now get in line soldier. your not the onley one out here waiting.and if your real sick. i got a tear in my eye for you brother! but dam! take your life in to your own hands! you see what happened here…. god bless.
I was awarded100%&P&T in 2002,my children are using chapter 35,trying for the past 3 months to get my wife on champ,have award letter to prove all this,but VBA says I’m only 70%?Nothing but problems.This all according to 1-800#.
they told me to file a complaint with the office of inspector general
The problem is in a veil of secrecy. I have complained for 8 months to the local Va patient advocate with no reasonable response or solutions. This issues all had to do with delayed care and improper treatment. I tried to set up meeting with VA Hospital Director 5 times she refused, they stated she didn’t see Veterans at the VA, for some silly reason I thought this is why she was there. Called the VSIN 8 Director she refused to talk or set up a meeting. These are the 3 steps set out and outlined by the VA to resolve problems. There is no 4th step, unless of course you Mr. McDonald or Mr. Gibson are that step. I complained about delayed care and was told if I have and current or future claims the would be “slow walked”. I had a meeting on Sunday 6/30/2014 with Veterans with the same problem at the same center. Some are reluctant to complain because of VSIN 8 strong arm tactics. This seems like a mix between the mafia and a communistic regime.
Records, witness statements, audio visual recordings available on request.
mr henry… don’t blame the va for slow care. blame the veterans putting 10- 20- and 30 conditions. do you know that the va has to check each and every claim a vet makes no matter what it is? i know the va had some problems with greedy ceo;s about bonus money. ya. they were part of the problem. but greedy veterans are the other part of the problem! when i was outside of the va hospital listning to how many conditions some of these guys are putting in. mostely younger vets to tell the truth. i felt sick. and shame! i don’t care what war you were in. all those conditions cant be real. except to waste time and slow the proses down for the vets that realey need help. you might be one of them. the government . and the va are not stupid. and are looking close at this. they should make a limit on how many claims a vet can put in. this will help the back log. so if your realey sick go to a regular hospital. if not. get in line soldier. your not the only one waitng for old or new claims to be completed… and stop being such a pain in the ass…. exuse my french. go after the greedy vets that are putting in all these claims.in. they are the ones holding up your care now. not the va!