VA Assistant Secretary Duckworth Takes on the G.I. Bill Process

[babylonsister]

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3834

VA Assistant Secretary Duckworth Takes on the G.I. Bill Process
by: Richard Allen Smith
Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 16:42:55 PM EDT


Here is something you don't see everyday: a government official who's job requires Congressional confirmation getting in the trenches to tackle a challenge that everyday Veterans go up against-- well, everyday. VA Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth is taking advantage of her benefits under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to complete her Ph.D. Not only that, she's doing it just like all of us did it, not taking any favors, and writing about it:

As an Assistant Secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C., part of my job is to encourage other Vets to access their benefits, including the most significant update since Vietnam -- the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Helping to spread the word about this new program has motivated me to the point that I see this as good a time as any to go back and finish my own degree. In fact, for the first time in a few years, I have a stabilized life, a desk job at my National Guard unit, and the supportive boss needed to make going back to school viable. In fact, I've been so inspired by my work with Veterans that I've not only decided to re-enroll, but I'm also changing my degree from Political Science to Health and Human Services -- so I can work on issues of public health.<...> I intend to relay the good, the bad, and the ugly to my colleagues here at VA so we can build on the good and fix the bad. Now all I have to do is figure out how to carve out sometime everyday to do my homework!

Wow, That's what I call leading from the front! I know I'll be keeping a close watch on Assistant Secretary Duckworth's G.I. Bill progress, and hope to see some fixes to the often challenging process of obtaining benefits as a result.