{"id":13970,"date":"2018-04-09T13:10:07","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T13:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/09\/va-secretary-nominee-brushes-off-criticism-over-inexperience\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:44:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:44:27","slug":"va-secretary-nominee-brushes-off-criticism-over-inexperience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2018\/04\/09\/va-secretary-nominee-brushes-off-criticism-over-inexperience\/","title":{"rendered":"VA secretary nominee brushes off criticism over inexperience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s pick to take over the Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a> downplayed his management inexperience in his first public interview since his nomination, saying his time in the military has honed his leadership skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Ronny Jackson, who has served as White House physician since 2006, told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal of Texas<\/a>, his hometown newspaper, that he has heard the criticism concerning his ability to take over the nearly $200 billion department with 385,000-plus employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he remains undeterred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in leadership school for 23 years now … and I\u2019ve been able to rise to the level of an admiral, a flag officer in the Navy,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t just stumble into that. So I\u2019ve gotten a lot of leadership background, I\u2019ve got a lot of leadership experience as a Navy officer, and I\u2019ve got a lot of day-to-day leadership experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, I\u2019m not just an officer in the Navy; I\u2019m an emergency medicine physician in the military. I\u2019ve been confronted on a day-to-day basis with life and death decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t