Levelland native talks about nomination as head of VA

By Karen Michael A-J Media
Posted Apr 8, 2018 at 12:23 AM
Updated Apr 8, 2018 at 12:25 AM

Levelland native Dr. Ronny Jackson -- the rear admiral who is President Donald Trump’s nominee as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs -- knows he will someday be a veteran and his sons will be veterans.

“I’m going to be a vet one day soon. If I do get confirmed, I won’t stay on active duty, I’ll be a vet right away,” Jackson said Thursday in a phone interview with the Avalanche-Journal, the first interview he did after being nominated.

Jackson, currently the physician to the president, noted that it’s in his best interest and his children’s best interest to do what is right for veterans. He is also a United States Navy rear admiral.

“I’ve been overseas, and I’ve been deployed in combat zones with Marines and soldiers and airmen and sailors, and I’ve seen first-hand what they go through, the injuries and the things they come home with. I’ve seen how that happens, and how devastating it is to them and their families. I just want to make sure that we do our part as a country and we let them know that we appreciate that and we take care of them,” Jackson said.

Veterans are like anyone else -- they don’t see themselves as entitled or eligible for anything that normal people don’t expect, the VA nominee said. Veterans just want good quality care and they want to know that they have access to care.

more
http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20180408/levelland-native-talks-about-nomination-as-head-of-va