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Ex-surgeon general tapped to lead VA

The White House’s choice to become the next secretary of veterans’ affairs has experience in dealing with the problems of health care for returning war veterans — but that may not necessarily help his nomination.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. James Peake, a former Army surgeon general from 2000 to 2004, served more than 40 years in uniform, but his last assignment as the Army’s top doctor in the early stages of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be a problem or an asset when the Senate considers his nomination. If confirmed by the Senate, Peake would fill a vacancy created by the Oct. 1 resignation of R. James Nicholson.

“The burden is on Dr. Peake to prove to veterans around the country that he can be the honest, independent advocate we need to turn the VA around,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and part of the Senate leadership.

“Given Dr. Peake’s past posts running the Army health care system, he will have serious and significant questions to answer about failed preparations for our returning wounded warriors,” Murray said in a statement. “For months we’ve been hearing horror stories from Walter Reed and other military care centers and I will want to know what role, if any, Dr. Peake played in the failures of the system.”

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, said he does not know much about Peake, but what he does know about the Army’s former top doctor would seem to work in favor of the White House’s nominee.

“First, he is a combat veteran, and I like that,” Filner said. “Second, he has managed hospitals, and I like that. Third, I think we need someone from the outside to run the VA, and he fits the bill on that count too.”

Filner noted that his committee does not have any role in the confirmation process, and that it would be left to the Senate to determine if Peake would get the job. A date for confirmation hearings has not been determined.

The absence of a VA secretary for the past few weeks has prompted complaints from lawmakers and veterans’ groups, especially because Nicholson had given more than two months’ notice before leaving so that the job would not be left empty in time of war.

Not everyone sees Peake’s experience as a liability. Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana, ranking Republican on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a veteran of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, said he is “very pleased” with the White House’s choice, said Buyer spokesman, Brian Lawrence.

Buyer “has great respect” for Peake, Lawrence said.

Buyer thinks it is important to have a VA secretary who understands the problems that still exist in the process for transitioning combat-injured service members from the military to VA health care systems, an issue that Buyer has followed closely in recent years. Peake has that experience, Lawrence said.

Peake faced one of the early medical controversies of Operations Iraqi Freedom when National Guard and reserve members complained about being held on active duty in limbo because of bureaucratic difficulties in getting the medical appointments that would clear them to be demobilized and return to their civilian lives. Some reservists spent months waiting for such health exams.

Peake is a 1966 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He started his military career as an infantry officer and is a decorated Vietnam veteran who served with the 101st Airborne Division. He attended medical school after the Vietnam War, and returned to military service as a general and thoracic surgeon. In retirement, Peake was involved as a senior officer with Project Hope in providing medical care for Hurricane Katrina and for tsunami relief in Indonesia.