{"id":24526,"date":"2018-06-01T14:17:26","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T14:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:07:28","slug":"outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Thomas Bowman said he has confidence in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/30\/wilkie-steps-down-as-acting-va-secretary-top-deputy-retires\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\">incoming leadership team at the Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>, even if he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/21\/wilkies-va-nomination-raises-more-short-term-department-leadership-questions\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">isn\u2019t going to be part of it<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe country and veterans need not be concerned that they\u2019ll be appropriately taken care of,\u201d Bowman, the VA deputy secretary, said at his last public appearance on Friday before his retirement later this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA is strong as an institution, and change in leadership is natural. It\u2019s a way of moving forward. The VA of today is going to change, and the VA of five years from now is going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA\u2019s top ranks have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/18\/in-another-surprise-trump-names-wilkie-as-the-next-va-secretary\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">undergone significant changes<\/a> in the last three months, since President Donald Trump fired VA Secretary David Shulkin over Twitter following months of internal policy fights with White House political appointees.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/05\/30\/wilkie-steps-down-as-acting-va-secretary-top-deputy-retires\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_18138583665860.jpg_658891.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Big changes for VA\u2019s leadership<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A Navy and Air Force vet is taking over the top spot for now.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That move should have made Bowman the department\u2019s top acting official, the capstone of a long public service career focused on veterans policy. Bowman has served as VA chief of staff twice before and as majority staff director of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But similar to Shulkin, Bowman was seen by political rivals within the administration as an opponent to their policy goals, and Trump opted to bypass him to appoint Robert Wilkie as acting secretary instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move irritated veterans groups and prompted a lawsuit from advocates who insist it violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Wilkie was named as the next permanent secretary nominee and VA Chief of Staff Peter O\u2019Rourke was elevated to acting secretary over Bowman, the 71-year-old Marine Corps veteran announced his retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Friday\u2019s event \u2014 the annual conference for the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans \u2014 Bowman acknowledged his departure but declined to give specifics of the behind-the-scenes infighting at VA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When pressed after the speech, Bowman said only that \u201cnow is the right time for me to retire. That\u2019s my answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he also used his final official appearance to reassure veterans advocates that the department is still focused on bettering veterans lives and to dispute the public narrative of a dysfunctional federal agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA is not broken,\u201d he told the crowd of homeless advocates. \u201cIt is changing. And like any large system, it has problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he hopes that Wilkie is confirmed quickly and pledged that the new leadership will remain focused on helping homeless veterans, despite proposed policy changes that concerned the community last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is no doubt this administration is still committed to helping veterans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this week, White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley released a statement praising Bowman for work \u201cintegral to President Trump\u2019s efforts to reform the VA and to the substantial legislative accomplishments over the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Bowman leaves his post in two weeks, his departure will leave four of the department\u2019s six top posts without a permanent appointee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No timetable has been announced for when Wilkie\u2019s confirmation hearing may take place, although Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has pledge to move quickly on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No replacement nominee has been announced for Bowman or for the open under secretary for health post, which has been without a permanent appointee since Shulkin was promoted in February 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Bowman promised to stay active in the veterans community in years to come, although likely not in another official capacity. He said he is looking forward to volunteer work to help veterans charities \u201cand to live out there under those policies I helped pass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cI announce my retirement on June 15, but that is only from the VA.\u201d -Deputy Secretary Thomas Bowman of <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DeptVetAffairs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DeptVetAffairs<\/a>. Bowman says he will continue to be an advocate for homeless veterans. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/NCHV18?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NCHV18<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0P1YBbQalc\">pic.twitter.com\/0P1YBbQalc<\/a><\/p>&mdash; National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (@NCHVorg) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NCHVorg\/status\/1002531736402702336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 1, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Bowman, twice passed over in recent months for VA&#8217;s top job, said the department remains committed to reform efforts and helping veterans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":52613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["veterans","news","middle-column","home","retirement-e-report","newsletters"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"4":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"6":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"7":{"categories":["veterans","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"veterans"},"8":{"categories":["leadership","management","home","daily-brief","newsletters"],"primary_category":"leadership"}}},"categories":[100,23,93,12,25,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-24526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"5SKIAQ255FE6HATGORXCHO36FU","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thomas Bowman, twice passed over in recent months for VA&#039;s top job, said the department remains committed to reform efforts and helping veterans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thomas Bowman, twice passed over in recent months for VA&#039;s top job, said the department remains committed to reform efforts and helping veterans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-01T14:17:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T02:07:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-06-01T14:17:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T02:07:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 605,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-06-01T14:17:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T02:07:28+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Thomas Bowman, twice passed over in recent months for VA's top job, said the department remains committed to reform efforts and helping veterans.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/2018\\\/06\\\/01\\\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Veterans\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/veterans\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"veterans\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil - Army Times","description":"Thomas Bowman, twice passed over in recent months for VA's top job, said the department remains committed to reform efforts and helping veterans.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil","og_description":"Thomas Bowman, twice passed over in recent months for VA's top job, said the department remains committed to reform efforts and helping veterans.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2018-06-01T14:17:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T02:07:28+00:00","author":"Leo Shane III","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leo Shane III","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil","datePublished":"2018-06-01T14:17:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T02:07:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/"},"wordCount":605,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","News","Newsletters","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/","name":"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-06-01T14:17:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T02:07:28+00:00","description":"Thomas Bowman, twice passed over in recent months for VA's top job, said the department remains committed to reform efforts and helping veterans.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/06\/01\/outgoing-va-deputy-secretary-downplays-departments-leadership-turmoil\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/","ad_zone":"veterans"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"\u2018VA is not broken\u2019: Outgoing deputy secretary downplays department\u2019s leadership turmoil"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/42326585451_a89afeff04_o.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24526"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92356,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24526\/revisions\/92356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24526"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=24526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}