Wounded Warrior Takes Key VA Post

Iraq war amputee and outspoken veterans' advocate Tammy Duckworth was sworn in Wednesday to be the assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Duckworth, a major in the Illinois National Guard, was shot down over Iraq in 2004 while co-piloting a UH-60 Black Hawk transport helicopter north of Baghdad. She eventually lost both of her legs from injuries sustained in the attack and spent 13 months in rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"My experience was a good one," Duckworth told Military.com, describing her recovery from a double amputation. "I know how good it can be, and that's what we're shooting for."

Duckworth said during the swearing-in ceremony held at the $10 million Military Advanced Training Center at Walter Reed that she hopes to help lead VA into the 21st century, with greater outreach to veterans and wounded warriors on new media outlets such as blogs and podcasts.  She also wants to increase the number of veterans who are taking full advantage of the benefits of service both in and out of uniform.

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Current VA chief retired Gen. Eric Shinseki said Duckworth is a living example of the core values of military service.

"She will help ensure me that no warrior is left behind," Shinseki said while introducing Duckworth.

"It's about trust, it's about honor," he added.

The appointment of Duckworth to be the public face of veterans' issues for the Obama administration is the latest in a short, but meteoric, rise in Democratic politics for the Army combat pilot. A critic of the Iraq war and the Bush administration's treatment of wounded veterans, Duckworth was enlisted by Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durban to run for a contested Illinois congressional seat in 2006.

She lost to Republican Peter Roskam for the 6th congressional district seat but was shortly thereafter appointed to be the chief of the Illinois VA where she advocated for easier home loans for vets, more resources devoted to traumatic brain injury, and greater help for those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

After she spoke on behalf of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic national convention in Denver, Duckworth was rumored to be on the short list for an Obama administration post at VA – some had even mentioned her as a possible candidate for Obama's vacant senate seat.

But in an interview after her swearing in, Duckworth -- who was wearing one prosthetic leg emblazoned with an American flag, the other festooned with helo pilot's wings on an ArPat background -- said she's focused on doing the most she can in her new job at the Department of Veterans Affairs and hopes her enthusiasm and personal experience will drive innovation there.

"The department needs to be people-centric and results-driven," she said, admitting that her political aspirations are on the back burner.

"I'm not thinking about that right now," she said.

For some of the wounded warriors who attended the swearing in, Duckworth represents the perfect fit for a post-9/11 veterans department.

"I think it's good to have someone in there who knows first hand what we're going through," said Sgt. Derick Hurt, a scout sniper who lost both his legs when grenades were thrown into his Humvee near Mosul in 2003. "She's seems like a perfect choice."