Robert Wilkie Quotes
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If we don't get a hold of what we owe Americans who are providing services to our veterans, then the entire system collapses.
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When our veterans walk into any VA facility, they converse with men and women who speak the unique language of military service.
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I am humbled by the prospect of serving those who have borne the battle, those American men and women who have sacrificed so much.
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For the VA to thrive as an integrated health care network, it must be agile and adaptive.
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When an American veteran comes to VA, it is not up to him to employ a team of lawyers to get VA to say yes. It is up to VA to get the veteran to yes, and that is customer service.
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The Bible that I will take my oath on reminds me of the 100th anniversary of the end of the war to end all wars. It was a Bible taken into battle by my wife's grandfather who had probably never ventured beyond three or four counties in North and South Carolina.
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Constant rotation, based on a 19th century Army model, prevents spouses from putting down roots and gaining meaningful deployment.
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While I honor the soldiers in my family, and I am a student of history, the past is the past, and I do not live in the past.
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As part of any new leadership organization, you come in with a team. You come in to assess. You come in to rearrange.
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I experienced what can never be duplicated in the private sector - the communal aspect of VA.
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Many of the issues I encountered as acting secretary were not with the quality of medical care but with getting our veterans through the door to reach that care.
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I am opposed to the privatization of the Veterans Affairs Department and will continue to make sure the VHA is fully funded.
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I have been privileged to work for some of the most high-powered people in town. They pay me for my opinions, and I give those to them.
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Norman Hooten's dedication and commitment to serving his fellow veterans is what VA is all about.
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My own life changed when my father returned from his second combat tour in Vietnam. When he came home after almost a year in Army hospitals, he weighed less than half of what he did when he left. I watched the agonizing recovery, and that experience was on my mind when I was asked to come to VA.
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The last thing I will pay attention to is any of the usual Washington back and forth.
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I welcome a scrutiny of my entire record.
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I learned at a very early age, listening to those around my family, that in order to be a commander, you had to walk your post.