Eric Shinseki
Eric Ken Shinseki
7th United States Secretary of Veterans
Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 21, 2009[1]
President
Barack Obama
Preceded by
James Peake
Born
November 28, 1942
(1942-11-28)
Lihue, Hawaii, USA
Alma mater United States Military Academy
Duke University
United States Army Command
and General Staff College
National War College
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
Defense Distinguished Service
Medal (2)
Navy Distinguished Service
Medal
Army Distinguished Service
Medal (2)
Air Force Distinguished Service
Medal
Coast Guard 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 (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 Af-
fairs. 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 ten-
ure 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 in-
cluded a program he designed, Future Com-
bat Systems.
Shinseki publicly clashed with Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the plan-
ning of the war in Iraq over how many troops
the U.S. would need to keep in Iraq for the
postwa