{"id":61161,"date":"2019-01-28T17:30:05","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T17:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/28\/iava-founder-reickhoff-steps-down-as-groups-top-leader\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:39:54","slug":"iava-founder-reickhoff-steps-down-as-groups-top-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2019\/01\/28\/iava-founder-reickhoff-steps-down-as-groups-top-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"IAVA founder Rieckhoff stepping down from group\u2019s top job"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Paul Rieckhoff, founder and CEO of <a href=\"http:\/\/iava.org\/\" target=_blank>Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America<\/a>, will step away from his leadership role at the group next month, a massive shake-up for one of the most prominent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/18\/veterans-fear-congress-has-forgotten-about-the-militarys-burn-pit-problems\/\" target=_blank>national veterans advocacy groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rieckhoff said he\u2019s making the move for personal reasons, including the birth of his second child. He is working on a new book, a new podcast and \u201cother to-be-announced media projects\u201d in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He\u2019ll continue to serve on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2017\/10\/26\/survey-58-percent-of-iava-members-have-lost-a-veteran-to-suicide\/\" target=_blank>IAVA\u2019s board<\/a>. Jeremy Butler, who has led IAVA internal operations for the last year and held several other leadership posts since 2015, will take over as the new head of the advocacy group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rieckhoff, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, has been one of the most visible post-9\/11 veterans on the national stage, appearing frequently on news programs and congressional hearings.<\/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\/2017\/10\/26\/survey-58-percent-of-iava-members-have-lost-a-veteran-to-suicide\/\" 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=\"171\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IAVASurvey.jpg.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\">Survey: 58 percent of IAVA members have lost a veteran to suicide<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Those figures are up from past membership surveys, raising concerns about mental health problems in the community.<\/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\">He founded the group 14 years ago in a effort to highlight the issues most important to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Since then, the organization has played a key role in legislation on veterans education benefits, suicide prevention, burn pits and outreach to female veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike most of the traditional national veterans service groups, which elect new leadership annually, IAVA has had Rieckhoff as its chief executive since day one. The position has made him both a target for criticism and a constant voice within the veterans community, as the group has grown over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOutside of building my family, founding and leading IAVA has been the greatest honor of my life,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cAll our groundbreaking work has always truly been a team effort. Together, we have defined the national dialogue for a new generation of veterans, changed countless lives and positively impacted history forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group boasts alumni in senior positions at a host of technology and public policy firms, including Google and Twitter, as well as President Donald Trump\u2019s administration. Its board includes well-known names like retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, film director Peter Berg, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and actor J.R. Martinez.<\/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\/2017\/07\/29\/report-young-vets-are-more-successful-than-their-civilian-peers\/\" 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=\"210\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635850965639990730-gettyimages-493332203jpg.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\">Report: Young vets are more successful than their civilian peers<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Young veterans are better educated, better paid and better off than many of their civilian peers, which researchers believe could be due to their military service.<\/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\">Former VA Secretary Bob McDonald \u2014 one of numerous political appointees to spar with the group over the last decade \u2014 called the group \u201cvital to our nation\u2019s veterans\u201d and praised Butler as a natural successor to Rieckhoff\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Butler\u200b is a surface warfare officer in the Navy Reserve who previously worked in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. He has also been a frequent public face for the organization, though not to the extent of Rieckhoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group this week will release its latest membership survey, which tackles issues such as mental health, medical marijuana, and perception of public support for the military.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Army veteran has served as the group&#8217;s top leader since it&#8217;s founding in 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":97939,"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":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3222],"class_list":["post-61161","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":"3RVKNZJGMZGPDPF6HL7W4BYC34","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/2019\/01\/28\/iava-founder-reickhoff-steps-down-as-groups-top-leader\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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