Tuesday, July 17, 2007

It was a little more than 'dental problems' - Secretary of VA, Jim Nicholson Resigns

Secretary of Veterans' Affairs, Jim Nicholson, announced he will be resigning on October 1, 2007, according to a press release from his office.

Nicholson has weathered a number of scandals, namely the massive loss of veterans' data in 2006, since he was sworn in as Secretary of Veterans' Affairs on February 1, 2005. Nicholson was also criticized for claiming the number of injured vets is overblown since "a lot of them come in for dental problems."

Nicholson plans to return to the private sector. He did not release any definite plans.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Resigns

Also I urge you to see and hear the fullness of Jim Nicholson in his inadequate responses being interviewed in video - link
'Bob Woodruff: To Iraq and Back' in which he responds to the VA's lack of ability or resources to respond to the severity of Traumatic Brain Injury with his comment 'a lot of them come in for dental problems.'

And see my story on the ABC special 'Bob Woodruff; To Iraq and Back' at Washblog.

excerpt

At a hearing held last June by the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health Jonathan Perlin testified that, "Traumatic Brain Injury accounts for almost 25 percent of combat casualties suffered in OIF/OEF by US Forces." With over 20,000 combat injuries to date during the ongoing global war on terror, this means that there are almost 5,000 service members suffering from traumatic brain injuries. While advances in body armor and battlefield medicine save the lives of many soldiers, they do not protect against impacts that cause brain injury.

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