[NYTr] Under pressure, Bush appoints VN-era retired Lt. General for top VA post

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Under heavy-duty pressure to finally appoint someone to direct the VA,
after the resignation of Jim Nicholson, the half-wit Bush has picked
someone who actually looks like he might be good. See CNN news story
below (first item). James Peake is 66 and a VN Vet.

Peake got his MD from Cornell in 1972, after his Vietnam service. So
he was in Nam (and wounded there) fairly early on. He's a 1966 graduate
of West Point, and served in VN with the 101 Airborne as a platoon
leader, i.e., a Lieutenant. So he probably did one tour. He retired
from the army as a Lt. General. He is a board-certified cardio-thoracic
surgeon and has a lot of administrative and international consultation
and cooperation experience. He has papparently published, though not a 
lot, and we'll post his medical papers, or links to them, if any. 

A couple of bios with varied informtion are appended below. His post-war
activities include directing Project Hope, and was appointed
the US Army's Surgeon General by Bill Clinton.

Project Hope is a US military medical aid mission that works all over
the world, founded in 1958. Alas, its website is on WINDOZE and at this
writing is dead, down, crashed its entire database inoperative. Duhh.
In case it comes back, here is the URL: http://www.projhope.org
Google has a cached copy of the last uncrashed 2007 homepage here:
http://tinyurl.com/yr8cqv.  

There is Wikipedia entry on Project  Hope here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_HOPE_(USA) 

After Project HOPE, he went to some outsourcing private sector company
called Quality Timeslines, Inc., which provides outsourced medical 
exams to the military and corporations. Sigh. He was Chief Operating
Officer and Chief Medical Director. See it here: http://www.qtcm.com
His bio from that site also appears below.

See also a long article at the link below about the 2005 post-tsunami
15th annual Asia-Pacific Military Medicine Conference, held in Hanoi,
which Peake attended -- complete with PAVN photos, on a US military
site. What an irony!! 

Here is the relevant paragraph on Peake from that article:
excerpted from:
http://www.usarpac.army.mil/news/releases_2005/tamc-apmmc15.asp

"These relationships help when the tsunami hit," said Retired Lt. Gen.
James Peake, M.D., who is now executive vice president and chief
operating officer of Project Hope. Peake, former U.S. Army surgeon
general, was involved with the USNS Mercy - the U.S.'s 1,000-bed
hospital ship - that went to the Asia Pacific Region to provide
humanitarian support after the tsunami hit. -NY Transfer

                         ***

CNN - Oct 30, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/30/va.secretary/index.html

Retired general tapped for top VA post

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Tuesday announced the nomination
of retired Lt. Gen. James Peake to lead the Department of Veterans
Affairs.

 Peake would be "the first physician and the first general" to serve as
secretary of the department, Bush said at a news conference.

"As medical officer and combat vet wounded in action, Dr. Peake
understands the view from both sides of the hospital bed -- the doctors
and the patients," Bush said.

The 66-year-old medical doctor would succeed Jim Nicholson, who stepped
down from the post more than three months ago. Since then, the
department has been led by acting Secretary Gordon Mansfield.

"He will apply his decades of expertise in combat medicine and health
care management to improve the veterans health system," Bush said.

As secretary, Peake's job would be to serve as the federal government's
primary advocate for veteran and direct the Department of Veterans
Affairs, the federal government's second-largest Cabinet department,
which runs a nationwide system of health-care services, benefits
programs and national cemeteries for the country's veterans and their
dependents.

The president said Peake's first task, if confirmed, would be to
implement the recommendations of a commission lead by former Department
of Health and Human Services Secretary and former Sen. Bob Dole.

The panel was created after problems at the Walter Reed Medical Center
came to light last year.

The Veterans Affairs had a budget of more than $69 billion for fiscal
year 2005 and employs approximately 230,000 people.

Peake retired from his last post -- as Army surgeon general -- in
September 2004.

Peak's potential nomination elicited concern from Sen. Patty Murray,
D-Washington, a senior member of the Veterans Affairs Committee and a
critic of the administration's handling of veterans' issues.

"Given Dr. Peake's past posts running the Army health-care system he
will have serious and significant questions to answer about failed
preparations for our returning wounded warriors," she said in a written
statement. "For months we've been hearing horror stories from Walter
Reed and other military care centers and I will want to know what role,
if any, Dr. Peake played in the failures of the system."

Veterans' groups had complained that Bush's failure to quickly name a
replacement for Nicholson was a sign his administration does not place
a high priority on veterans' affairs.

On Monday, four senators -- including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
-- sent Bush a letter calling on him to announce a nominee.

Peake graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and is a former infantry
officer.

The St. Louis native was awarded a bachelor of science degree from West
Point in 1966 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry.

After serving in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Silver Star, a
Bronze Star with "V" device and the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster,
Peake went to medical school at Cornell University in New York, getting
his degree in 1972. 

                              ***

http://www.americantelemed.org/conf/2003/bio-peake.htm

LTG James B. Peake became the Army's 40th surgeon general and took
command of U.S. Army Medical Command in September 2000. 

He received his bachelor of science degree from the United States
Military Academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the
Infantry. LTG Peake graduated from Cornell University Medical School,
New York, N.Y. He is also a graduate of the United States Army War
College. 

LTG Peake has held a wide variety of important positions culminating in
his appointment Sept. 22, 2000, as Army Surgeon General and Commander,
U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Previous key
assignments include Commander, U.S. Army Medical Department Center and
School and Installation Commander, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Deputy
Commander, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas;
Commanding General, Madigan Army Medical Center/Northwest Health
Service Support Activity, Tacoma, Wash.; Commanding General, 44th
Medical Brigade/Corps Surgeon, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.;
Deputy Director, Professional Services/Chief, Consultant, Office of the
Surgeon General, Falls Church, Va.; Commander, 18th Medical Command and
121st Evacuation Hospital/Command Surgeon, Seoul, Korea; Deputy
Commander for Clinical Services, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu,
Hawaii; Assistant Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Brooke Army Medical
Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Staff General Surgeon/Chief, General
Surgery Clinic, DeWitt Army Hospital, Fort Belvoir, Va.; and General
Surgery Resident, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. 

LTG Peake is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Fellow of
the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, Fellow of American College of
Cardiology, Honorary Member of Korean Medical Association, Member of
the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, Member of
the Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces, and Member of
the American College of Surgeons. He has been honored with the Order of
Military Medical Merit; the "A" Professional Designator; and the
Medallion, Surgeon General of the United States. LTG Peake has authored
a number of publications, presentations, exhibits and motion pictures. 

Awards and decorations that LTG Peake has received include the
Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Defense Superior Service
Medal, Legion of Merit (with three oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star with
"V" device (with one oak leaf cluster), Purple Heart (with one oak leaf
cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), Air
Medal, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with
"V" device (with one oak leaf cluster), Humanitarian Service Medal, the
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Navy
Meritorious Unit Commendation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award (with one
oak leaf cluster), Senior Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Ranger
Tab, and Army Staff Identification Badge.

========================

http://www.newsobserver.com/1573/story/754426.html

Bio information on James Peake

 The Associated Press

 NAME - Dr. James Benjamin Peake

AGE-BIRTH DATE-LOCATION - 63; June 18, 1944; St. Louis, Mo.

EXPERIENCE - chief medical director and chief operating officer, OTC
Management Inc., 2006-present; chief operating officer and executive
vice president, Project Hope, 2005-06; army surgeon general and
commander, U.S. Army Medical Command, 2000-04, when he retired with
rank of lieutenant general; commander, U.S. Army Medical Department
Center and School, 1996-00; installation commander, Fort Sam Houston,
1996; deputy commander, U.S. Army Medical Command, 1996-97; commanding
general, Madigan Army Medical Center/Northwest Health Service Support
Activity; commanding general 44th Medical Brigade/Corps Surgeon, XVIII
Airborne; deputy director, professional services/chief consultant,
Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army; commander 18th Medical
Command and 121st Evacuation Hospital; deputy commander for clinical
services, Tripler Army Medical Center; staff general surgeon/chief,
General Surgery Clinic, DeWitt Army Hospital; assistant chief,
Cardiothoracic Surgery, Brooke Army Medical Center; general surgery
resident, Brooke Army Medical Center.

EDUCATION - B.S., United States Military Academy, 1966; M.D., Cornell
University, 1972; graduate, U.S. Army War College, 1988.

FAMILY - Wife Janice, two children.

================================

http://www.qtcm.com/general/about/leadership.asp

Chief Medical Director 
 Chief Operating Officer
James Peake, M.D.

 Dr. James Peake, Lieutenant General, United States Army Medical Corps
(Retired), brings to his position a wealth of experience in the
uniformed and private sectors. He is a 1966 graduate of the United
States Military Academy at West Point, and began his career as an
infantry officer. Dr. Peake worked his way through many important
positions. He is a highly decorated Vietnam veteran having served as
platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division. After Vietnam, he
attended Cornell University Medical College and became board certified
in general and thoracic surgery. His esteemed military and medical
career earned his nomination by former President Bill Clinton to serve
as the 40th Surgeon General of the Army and Commander, United States
Medical Command. He served in this position from 2000 to 2004. More
recently, General Peake was Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer of Project Hope, a non-profit international health
foundation with offices and programs in more than 30 different
countries on five continents. Dr. Peake is a Fellow of the American
College of Surgeons, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the American
College of Cardiology. He has been honored with the order of Military
Medical Merit; the "A" Professional Designator; and the Medallion,
Surgeon General of the United States.