President Bush plans to appoint former Sen. Bob Dole, a World War II veteran, and former Clinton Administration Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala to co-chair the new President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors—the commission spawned by recent revelations of substandard support at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The commission’s charter extends beyond Walter Reed to the entire spectrum of services and care provided to wounded troops as they are returned to military service or to civilian life. Bush also announced Monday that he directed VA head James Nicholson to for a separate task force to examine existing federal services for returning war on terror servicemembers and make recommendations to fill any “gaps.”
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.