Eric Ken Shinseki (/ʃɪnˈsɛki/;Japanese:新関 健,romanized: Shinseki Ken, born 28 November 1942) is a retiredUnited States Armygeneral who served as the seventhUnited States secretary of veterans affairs from 2009 to 2014 and as the 34thchief of staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003.[3] Shinseki is a veteran of two tours of combat in theVietnam War, in which he was awarded threeBronze Star Medals for valor and twoPurple Hearts.[4] He was the first Asian-Americanfour-star general, and the first Asian-American Secretary of Veterans Affairs.[5]
Shinseki was born inLihue,Kauaʻi, in the thenTerritory of Hawaii, to an American family ofJapanese ancestry.His grandparents emigrated fromHiroshima to Hawaii in 1901.[6] He grew up in asugarcaneplantation community on Kaua'i and graduated fromKaua'i High and Intermediate School in 1960.[7] While attending Kaua'i he was active in theBoy Scouts and served asclass president.[7] As a boy, Shinseki learned that three of his uncles had served in the442nd Infantry Regiment, a unit of Japanese Americans that became one of the most decorated fighting units in United States history.[8] Motivated by his uncles' example, he attended theUnited States Military Academy and graduated in 1965 with aBachelor of Science degree and a commission as asecond lieutenant. He earned aMaster of Arts degree inEnglish Literature fromDuke University in 1974. He was also educated at theArmor Officer Advanced Course, theUnited States Army Command and General Staff College, and theNational War College ofNational Defense University.
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Shinseki served in a variety of command and staff assignments in the Continental United States and overseas, including two combattours with the9th and25th Infantry Divisions in theRepublic of Vietnam as anartillery forward observer and as commander of Troop A, 3rd Squadron,5th Cavalry Regiment during theVietnam War. During one of those tours while serving as a forward artillery observer, he stepped on aland mine, which blew the front off one of his feet; after spending almost a year recovering from his injuries, he returned to active duty in 1971.[4]
Shinseki has served atSchofield Barracks, Hawai'i, with Headquarters,United States Army Hawaii, andFort Shafter with Headquarters,United States Army Pacific. He has taught at the U.S. Military Academy's Department of English. During duty with the3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment atFort Bliss,Texas, he served as the regimental adjutant and as the executive officer of its 1st Squadron.
Shinseki's ten-plus years of service in Europe included assignments as Commander, 3rd Squadron,7th Cavalry,3rd Infantry Division (Schweinfurt); Commander, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Kitzingen); Assistant Chief of Staff, G3, 3rd Infantry Division (Operations, Plans and Training) (Würzburg); and Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver, 3rd Infantry Division (Schweinfurt). The 3rd Division was organized at that time as a heavymechanized division. He also served as Assistant Chief of Staff, G3 (Operations, Plans, and Training),VII Corps (Stuttgart). Shinseki served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Support,Allied Land Forces Southern Europe (Verona), an element of theAllied Forces Southern Europe.
From March 1994 to July 1995, Shinseki commanded the1st Cavalry Division atFort Hood, Texas. In July 1996, he was promoted tolieutenant general and became Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, United States Army. In June 1997, Shinseki was appointed to therank of general before assuming duties as Commanding General,Seventh United States Army; Commander, Allied Land Forces Central Europe; and Commander,NATOStabilization Force inBosnia and Herzegovina. Shinseki became the Army's 28thVice Chief of Staff on 24 November 1998, then became its 34thChief of Staff on 22 June 1999,[9] the last Vietnam War veteran to hold the post.
Shinseki visited woundedPentagon employees atWalter Reed Army Medical Center in the aftermath of theSeptember 11th attack on the Pentagon.[10]
Shinseki retired on 11 June 2003, at the end of his four-year term. His Farewell Memo contained some of his ideas regarding the future of the military.[11] At that time, General Shinseki retired from the Army after 38 years of military service.
As of 2009[update], Shinseki was the highest-rankedAsian American military officer in the history of the United States.[12] Additionally, as of 2004, he is the highest-rankedJapanese American to have served in the United States Armed Forces.[13]
During his tenure 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 creatingStryker Interim-Force Brigade Combat Teams.[14] He conceived a long-term strategic plan for the army dubbed "Objective Force", which included a program he designed,Future Combat Systems.[15] One other controversial plan that Shinseki implemented was the wearing of the black beret for all army personnel.[16] Prior to Shinseki implementing this policy, only theUnited States Army Rangers could wear theblack beret. When the black beret was given to all soldiers and officers, the Rangers moved to thetan beret.
Shinseki publicly clashed with Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld during the planning of thewar in Iraq over how many troops the United States would need to keep in Iraq for the postwar occupation of that country. As Army Chief of Staff, Shinseki testified to theUnited States Senate Committee on Armed Services on 25 February 2003, that "something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers" would probably be required for postwar Iraq. This was an estimate far higher than the figure being proposed by Secretary Rumsfeld in his invasion plan, and it was rejected in strong language by both Rumsfeld and hisDeputy Secretary of Defense,Paul Wolfowitz, who was another chief planner of the invasion and occupation.[17] From then on, Shinseki's influence on theJoint Chiefs of Staff reportedly waned.[18] Critics of the Bush administration alleged that Shinseki was forced into early retirement as Army Chief of Staff because of his comments on troop levels;[19] however, his retirement was announced nearly a year before those comments.[20]
When theinsurgency took hold in postwar Iraq, Shinseki's comments and their public rejection by the civilian leadership were often cited by those who felt the Bush administration deployed too few troops to Iraq.[21] On 15 November 2006, in testimony before Congress,CENTCOM Commander GeneralJohn Abizaid said that Shinseki had been correct that more troops were needed.[21]
Shinseki has served as a director for several corporations:Honeywell International andDucommun, military contractors; Grove Farm Corporation;First Hawaiian Bank;[22] andGuardian Life Insurance Company of America.[23] He is a member of the Advisory Boards at theCenter for Public Leadership,John F. Kennedy School of Government,Harvard University, and to theU.S. Comptroller General. He is a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations, theAtlantic Council of the United States, and theAssociation of the United States Army.[24]
On 7 December 2008, then-President-electBarack Obama announced at apress conference inChicago that he would nominate Shinseki to become theSecretary of Veterans Affairs.[25] Shinseki was unanimously confirmed by theUnited States Senate on 20 January 2009, and sworn in the next day.[26]
In May 2014, Shinseki was embroiled in a scandal involving theVeterans Health Administration, which is a component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Questions involving substandard timely care and false records covering up related timelines had come to light, involving treatment of veterans in a number of veterans hospitals.[27][28] On 30 May 2014, Obama announced that he had accepted Shinseki's resignation as Secretary.[29][30] Shinseki said he could not explain the lack of integrity among some leaders in veterans healthcare facilities: "That breach of integrity is irresponsible, it is indefensible, and unacceptable to me". He said he could not defend what happened because it was indefensible, but he could take responsibility for it and he would.[31] Shinseki's resignation meant that 2014 was the first time since 2000 that there had not been an Asian American in theCabinet of the United States.[32]
In an interview with retired GeneralPeter W. Chiarelli, journalistRobert Siegel described the situation as "a case of a very, very good man who's run up against some pretty terrible problems in his job", to which Chiarelli responded, "I don't look up to any man more than I look up to Eric Shinseki".[33]
Shinseki is married to hishigh school sweetheart, Patricia; they are the parents of two children, Lori and Ken.[7] He also has seven grandchildren.[34]
Shinseki was awarded the following medals, ribbons, badges, and tabs:[35][36]
  | Defense Distinguished Service Medal[37] (with oneoak leaf cluster)[38] |
 | Army Distinguished Service Medal[37] (with one oak leaf cluster)[38] |
 | Navy Distinguished Service Medal[39] |
 | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal[39] |
 | Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal[39] |
 | Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster)[37] |
  | Bronze Star (with"V" Device and two Oak Leaf Clusters)[37] |
 | Purple Heart (with Oak Leaf Cluster)[37] |
 | Defense Meritorious Service Medal[37] |
 | Meritorious Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters)[37] |
 | Air Medal[37] |
 | Army Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)[40] |
 | Army Achievement Medal[40] |
 | National Defense Service Medal withService star |
  | Vietnam Service Medal with fourService stars |
 | Armed Forces Service Medal |
 | Army Service Ribbon |
 | Army Overseas Service Ribbon |
 | NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia |
 | Vietnam Campaign Medal |
 | Order of Military Merit (Grand Officer; Brazil)[41] |
 | Parachutist Badge |
 | Ranger Tab |
 | Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge |
 | Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge |
 | Army Staff Identification Badge |
 | Four Overseas Service Bars |
Thursday, my wife's going to hate me for this one. Thursday she tried to keep people away from me, because if somebody came into the room and started talking I might try to wake up and they, she knew I had to stay asleep. She didn't want me panicking with the machine and everything else. I guess it's very unnerving, the ventilator being on you but—so Thursday, she was actually screening doctors coming in. "What are you here for?" "Neurology." "He's been cleared by Neurology. Why are you here? Ok, you can look at him. You can't touch him." She was very, she wanted to make sure I was out and stayed out. She wouldn't talk to me that day, because she didn't want me waking up. Well somebody decided to come visit me that day. She said, "No, you can't go in." "I just want to go in and kind of see how he's doing." "No. You won't go in." She stood at the door. Wouldn't budget. The Army hospital staff particularly the military members were getting very nervous, because the person she not letting in was General [Shinseki], Chief of Staff of the Army. It's his frigging hospital. He only has four stars, what the heck. He was in greens, the black stars, it's hard to see. (Laughter) No big entourage. She would not budge. Refused. He came back on Sunday. He brought backup. He brought his wife, and brought flowers. I got a birthday card from him right after that. Very nice man.
He shoved Gen. Eric Shinseki into retirement -- and failed to show up at his retirement party -- after the good general correctly told Congress that it would take several hundred thousand troops to invade and control Iraq
General [Eric] Shinseki was right that a greater international force contribution, U.S. force contribution and Iraqi force contribution should have been available immediately after major combat operations.
Whereas General Shinseki has been awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star Medal with 'V' Device (with 2 oak leaf clusters), Purple Heart (with oak leaf cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 oak leaf clusters), Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with oak leaf cluster), Army Achievement Medal, Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge;
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| Preceded by | Commanding General of United States Army Europe 1997–1998 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1999–2003 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs 2009–2014 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member |
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