mr. macdonald will bring to important qualities for veterans affairs. with the military as well as with their families mr. macdonell and his family has service to our nation began as a cadet at west point and graduated 1975 and the top 2 percent of his class with a degree in engineering and went on to serve as the infantry officer in the army 82nd airborne. sova faller serves in the army air corps and as held as a pow after being shot down. serving in vietnam and still receives care at v.a. also his nephew is currently serving and deployed in the u.s. air force. said mr. mcdonald and his family have a deeper understanding with the united states military and upon hearing for the confirmation m process i am convinced he has a deep passion to do everything he can to protect our veterans. the other quality that mr. macdonald brings to the job is that he is the ceo of the leading corporations a company which does tens of thousands of employees. more than 33 years proctor and gamble gave the tools to create. with the tools of the ceo and a private corporation

mr. macdonald. what are you doing to put in place the type of affirmation transfer and conduits that will see to it he does not become a rookie victim of what a distinguished general was in terms of mr. shinseki. >> i will let my old friend -- are will not let my friend become a rookie victim of anything. >> let me interrupt. i am not being tried when i ask this question. >> i understand. >> for four years va has indicated its leader. >> i will tell you from my personal perspective i have learned to never have all my information filtered through a couple of people. so from the first day that i got to va asserted reaching down the organization to get additional information. i think your sense is an accurate one. historically they have operated in an insular organization. part of what we have been doing is dismantling a lot of those barriers. since my first day as acting secretary, every single morning at 9:00 a.m. we have something called access stand up. senior leaders from across vha and the depart

mr. macdonald. what are you doing to put in place the type of affirmation transfer and conduits that will see to it he does not become a rookie victim of what a distinguished general was in terms of mr. shinseki. >> i will let my old friend -- are will not let my friend become a rookie victim of anything. >> let me interrupt. i am not being tried when i ask this question. >> i understand. >> for four years va has indicated its leader. >> i will tell you from my personal perspective i have learned to never have all my information filtered through a couple of people. so from

mr. robert macdonald will bring to very important qualities to the position of the secretary of veterans irs. veterans and their families. mr. mcdonald and his family have a history of service to our nation. mr. mcdonald began his service at the united states military academy at west point. he graduated in 1975 in the top 2% in his class with a degree in engineering and went on to serve as an infantry officer in the army's 82nd airborne, earning aaron born and ranger qualifications during his military service. his father served in the army air corps after world war ii. additionally, his wife's father was held as a p.o.w. after being shot down over europe. her uncle served in vietnam and still receives care at the v.a. also, mr. mcdonald's nephew is currently serving and deployed with the u.s. air force. in other words, mr. mcdonald and his family have a deep understanding and service with the united states military, and upon hearing mr. mcdonald at the hearing that we held in our committee for the confirmation process, i

mr. bob macdonald. >> good afternoon. please be seated. thanking acting secretary gibson for welcoming us today. i am pleased to be joined by our vice president. leaders across this department and our main partners. particularly representatives veterans and military family service organizations. i want to begin by making a basic point. those who serve here at the v.a. do vital work every single day for our veterans and their families. how deeply you care about our veterans. many of you are veterans yourselves. veterans serving veterans. you help them transition to civilian life. go to college. by their first home. started a business. some of us doctors and nurses in the country and provide some the best specialized health care. veterans to rest with dignity and compassion. of veterans are grateful for the good work that you do. i am grateful as well. but, we are here today because of problems that have outraged us all. that includes the conduct we have seen at too many the a health-care facilities. i'm here for two reasons. to update you a