| So here's the big announcement: After a little over two years at VoteVets.org, I've accepted a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. I'll be working in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. As most of you know, this is the office run by Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth. I start there on Monday, and, of course, I'm excited about the opportunity--not only for myself, but for the chance to directly impact the way in which VA interacts with veterans of all eras.
I'm under no illusions about the challenges I'll be facing, however. It's as if the irony gods took one look at all my writing and past criticisms of the department and said, "Oh, really? So how about you put your money where your mouth is?" But that's fine with me. In reality, it's why I sought out a position in the Department of Veterans Affairs in the first place. I think if you're going to offer criticism, you've got to be willing, at some point, to step into the arena and give it a shot.
So on Friday, my political hat comes off. After three years of blogging and two years of working on military and veterans issues from within the political and media bubble, the fangs are coming out. On Monday morning, I'll wake up and find myself back in the politically neutral U.S. government world I left when I ETS'd from the Army in 2004. And instead fighting for policy change from the outside--as I've gotten so used to--I'll be working on the inside, hopefully to make the Department of Veterans Affairs a better place for all of us.
VetVoice, of course, will go on. Richard Smith--who has front-paged here since January 2008--will take over as editor of the site. He'll officially take the helm on Monday, but the change will be effective unofficially pretty quickly. For us at VoteVets, turning this place over to Richard was a no-brainer. Not only is he the next senior writer at VetVoice, but he's been volunteering for VoteVets since mid-2007. (When I needed an information source inside Afghanistan in '07 and '08, he was my guy.)
With his still-fairly-recent experience in Afghanistan, Richard will undoubtedly infuse this place with some new energy, and it's something I'm very much looking forward to reading. Chris LeJeune and Kayla Williams will continue contributing, as well, rounding out a fine team of military writers. However, what this means--since VetVoice will now be down a front-pager--is that you guys have to take up the slack in the diaries. Because remember, that's where front-pagers come from.
So with that, this will be my last front page post here. I'll likely come back to post a diary now and again in my new capacity at the Department of Veterans Affairs, but after over 700 individual blog posts here alone, this is pretty much it for me. It's been fun, this is a new chapter, and I'm ready to see what Richard, Chris, Kayla, and all you diarists and commenters can do with this place. |
