Robert Wilkie Nominated, Cerner Contract Obvious Litmus Test To Run VA
The day after signing the $10 billion Cerner contract, ten days ahead of schedule, acting VA secretary Robert Wilkie was nominated by the White House to serve as the permanent VA secretary if confirmed by the Senate.
Based on his background as a DOD lawyer who previously guided Senate confirmation preparation and related preparations for James Mattis, Robert Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen and General David Patreaus, to name a few, I can only imagine his Senate confirmation will go smoothly.
Or, it will go as smoothly as can be expected after his decision Thursday to pay Cerner $10 billion for an electronic health record system that may not work. It seems clear he was ushered in as acting VA secretary to make that deal happen, for better or for worse.
There is no question DOD and VA needed to figure out a resolution to unify their medical records systems. Now, only time will tell whether Cerner was the right choice.
Cerner Deal’s Background – Litmus Test
Thursday, Wilkie signed the surprise contract with Cerner ten days prior to the decision’s deadline following a DOD report that Cerner’s MHS Genesis does not work for the same purpose – – that purpose is to run the agency’s entire electronic health record system for medical care of military personnel.
To synchronize health care for veterans after military service, VA and DOD have struggled for over a decade to unify the systems, wasting billions of dollars in the process.
The most recent iteration of that transition attempt is the contract with Cerner to unify DOD with VA rather than keeping VA’s open source platform called VistA. Over the past three decades, VA refused to hire sufficient developers to maintain its platform creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of the VistA system no longer being updated to meet modern demand.
RELATED: Will Trump’s Next Pick For VA Secretary Be Ruined, Too
But, as DOD just learned, such an endeavor takes more bass than realized. The implementation of Cerner’s system at just four locations proved a colossal failure and was published last week in an IG report.
Despite the bad news, Wilkie pushed through the deal ahead of schedule likely due to the anticipation that more negative press would follow resulting in a political backlash that would kill the unification deal with Cerner.
As an apparent litmus test, Wilkie was swiftly nominated by President Donald Trump to run the agency as the legitimate VA secretary. Little is known publicly or within VA about Wilkie other than he is well liked and professional with staff.
RELATED: VA Wasted $1.1 Billion On Bad IT Fixes
Prior to serving as acting VA secretary, Wilkie served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in DOD. Below is his biography in italics.
Robert Wilkie Biography From DOD
Robert Wilkie is the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Mr. Wilkie is the principal advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense for Total Force Management as it relates to readiness; National Guard and Reserve component affairs; health affairs; training; and personnel requirements and management, including equal opportunity, morale, welfare, recreation, and the quality of life for military families.
The son of an Army artillery commander he spent his youth at Fort Bragg. He has more than 20 years of experience at the national and international level. During the George W. Bush Administration, Mr. Wilkie served both Robert Gates and Donald Rumsfeld as Assistant Secretary of Defense from 2005-2009, and was the youngest senior leader in the Department. Prior to his first Pentagon tour, he was Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and a senior director of the National Security Council under Dr. Condoleezza Rice. Mr. Wilkie also has extensive experience in the United States Congress including recent service as Senior Advisor to Senator Thom Tillis as well as being Counsel and Advisor on International Security Affairs to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Honorable Trent Lott.
He had a five-year tour as Vice President for Strategic Programs for CH2M HILL one of the world’s largest engineering and program management firms, where at various times he had program management and advisory assignments as diverse as the London 2012 and the reform and reorganization of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense Supply and Logistics System (DE&S).
Mr. Wilkie is a reserve officer in the United States Air Force Reserve assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff.
Prior to joining the Air Force, he served in the United States Navy Reserve with the Joint Forces Intelligence Command, Naval Special Warfare Group Two and the Office of Naval Intelligence.
A graduate of the College of Naval Command and Staff, Air Command and Staff College, the United States Army War College, and the Joint Forces Staff College, Mr. Wilkie has published articles in the Naval War College Review, Parameters, Armed Forces Journal International, The Air and Space Power Journal and Proceedings. He holds personal and unit decorations as well as the Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest civilian award of the Department.
Mr. Wilkie also shepherded the Senate confirmation process for James Mattis, Robert Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen (CJCS) and was responsible for the preparation of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Croker for their multiple appearances before the Congress in defense of the Iraqi Surge.
Mr. Wilkie holds an Honors degree from Wake Forest University; Juris Doctor from Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans; Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.
Unless you wear a folley and catch in a bag to be emptied later.
Thank God I just got a letter from the VA saying they have decided to take half my benefits. Started from $250 a month, fought up to $1400 (far cry from what was promised) now half is being stolen back in under 7 years.
Thank God I tried to email this site and got turned away automatically the day before yesterday.
Thank God attorney after attorney keeps turning me away countrywide.
Thank God ohio politicians are too corrupt to help.
Thank God the DAV keeps jerking me around and refusing to help. Scum sucking pig fuckers.
Thank God my kid will finally have to go hungry since if you’re a white male in this state you are denied all help.
Why thank God?
My conscious will be clean with the wicked acts I’m about to do.
Hope you don’t run across me.
ForgottendisabledOIFveteran
Why do exactly what ‘they’ all in the schemes of life above us want us to do?
Don’t you find it odd that the status quo, silent majority, do-nothings, VSOs, all media, Freemasons who are supposed to be the cream of the crop in every town, our fearless warmongering town’s elite/leaders,politicians/country clubbers/legal beagles, so-called caring compassionate lefty global village colleges/kiddies and town’s sheep, GOP/DNC, et al, refuse to help any of us or are too afraid to group up, get involved, censoring, banning us, but are there to enjoy any negative news or something destructive to us…. or totally ignoring us? WE are expendable enough and don’t need to play their statistics or algorithm, circus games.
Ohio must be like Indiana with those freaks up-stairs, in churches, their clubs and groups standing back laughing at us or playing big shots, when all they do is on TV and for propaganda purposes.
F em. I got my big signs made up, political styled to fit the truck since other methods are difficult. Put the damned attention on those who need exposed. Just gotta figure out this cell phone photo shit and uploading.
With 10 Bn, the VA could build its own OS and create the best security in the world for it. And have billions to go
Simple fact is that putting 10 Bn into this is wasting US Tax $$.
pres trumper come merdia all vets screwed agin va budget for 2019 s 212 billion $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ va dc sewage rats are dogs in heat for the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ merdia vets screwed agin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
American Taxpayer, you are being scammed by the Veterans Administration, and the lives of our Veterans are in jeopardy, by the mismanagement of $Billions$, whether that be within the VA’s medical services, internal operations, building facilities, or appointing VA leadership. The VA is a mes, and full of incompetent employees, plus the VA continually is practicing less than Precision Medicine. Not to mention the corruption among the VA’s leadership and facility managing staff, and VA Physicians and employees of the VA’s operations.
It’s going to take a heck of a lot more than a NEW VA SECRETARY to change this VETERAN ASSASSINATING AGENCY. It’s nice to be informed of what’s going on within the VA, but I can assure you, up to this point I see no Veteran being benefited by this trend being laid down.
Therefore, someone needs to stand the hell up, lay out a logical change in plan, but first grab the scro-bag and slap it hard into place. Then maybe something would substantially change.
Glad I’m a Christian…
And the rich get richer, and the song remains the same. The VA sent me a request to be a sucker in the new ramp program. No way, no how, I’ll stay in my slow lane of 20 months and waiting on my 2 appeals in my decade long battle.
Follow the money. Always follow the money.
I am taking up a pool. One dollar gets you a spot on the Calendar. The correct date of the first congressional hearing demanding answers from this new guy regarding lack of accountability gets 50% of the pot. The correct date of his first plea for additional money for the Cerner project gets 25%. Correct date of Presidential Tweet firing the guy gets 20%. By my math that adds up to 100%. Sort of like this guys odds of making it three months before the third major scandal under his watch happens.
Stay tuned and send in your dollar and pick. June-August of 2018 is already filling up fast so hurry!
Why would the VA buy an allready failed product? Par for the course IMHO. I say follow the money and find out who was bribed. Hmmmm. Could one of them be the new direstor?
My MS Word can convert to .pdf. My Acrobat DC can convert to .doc. Conversion is a software problem so why is a hardware company being given the task. Could it possibly be to lock in the contract and sell more as in both hardware and software?
Why are the Kiosks in the VA such monsters? Why not a little grocery store chip card reader? The Kiosks are almost the size of an ATM and they don’t dispense money. Why are a lot of clinics saddled with only stand up accessible Kiosks? What happened to the ADA at the VA?
Because, generally, we stand up to urinals.
Seems we Vets are plagued by blood-hungry vampires & time to put our stakes to good use:
Stakeholders=Veterans
Steakholders=Engorged Purple Teams & Extended Contractors.
NEXT!!!
They should put a revolving door on the white house.
Guess I can’t add anything that hasn’t already been said!
Nothing but another Swamp Creature
Yep, SCs, vamps, & politicians oh my. More things change… the more they stay the same… or worsen. By the hours.
Seems they have weaponized the whole sheebang top down and encompassed the four squares. They can do anything their little hearts desire and in some towns and states there isn’t one damn thing do be done about it since it’s all supported or justified from the top and every form or office calling themselves “professionals.” VSOs, media, or representatives, et al. As the medical/NWO/military complexes/ town’s fascist tighten their nooses around our beloved necks. Well, maybe not so beloved.
Body count is, no one is saying. But “we don’t report suicides out of respect of the families.” Riiiiiiiiiight.
Next generation: Step right up. Social engineering, trust us we are here to help, get your vaccinations/implanted chips, pay taxes, bow to the herds/deep state/shadow government, suffer then die off swiftly please. Keep both hands on the rails as you go through life, keep both hands on your wrist, wrist to shoulders, don’t look around too much, that decaying odor is just in your mind, we know what you did last night and will do tomorrow, hope you love oppression and tyranny…. enjoy the DC circus.
“https://www.activistpost.com/2018/05/facebook-announces-partnership-with-think-tank-connected-to-nato-military-industrial-complex.html?utm_source=Activist+Post+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=89bd3613a6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail&utm_term=0_b0c7fb76bd-89bd3613a6-387865725”
These below and those so-called weather cams sponsored by local colleges and businesses are popping up fast all over the place here.
“https://www.activistpost.com/2018/05/rogue-spying-devices-found-in-u-s-states-cause-call-for-concern.html?utm_source=Activist+Post+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=89bd3613a6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail&utm_term=0_b0c7fb76bd-89bd3613a6-387865725”
Not only in Cali but we are told here they go by the laws regulating them. Yeah, right like officials, authorities, polticians, all those professionals go by the laws now. What a joke. Yet the PD nor phone companies, etc., can or will do anything about threats of harm to a citizen or have anyone help with protection our so-called rights, freedoms or hack hack, liberties.
“https://www.activistpost.com/2018/05/sacramento-residents-outraged-by-secret-drone-program-spying-neighborhood.html?utm_source=Activist+Post+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=89bd3613a6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail&utm_term=0_b0c7fb76bd-89bd3613a6-387865725”
“https://www.activistpost.com/2018/05/google-employees-now-quitting-as-company-joins-pentagon-becomes-part-of-the-war-machine.html?utm_source=Activist+Post+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=89bd3613a6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail&utm_term=0_b0c7fb76bd-89bd3613a6-387865725”
Too late:
“https://www.activistpost.com/2018/05/the-tsa-has-a-new-secret-watch-list-and-you-could-soon-be-added-to-it.html?utm_source=Activist+Post+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=89bd3613a6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail&utm_term=0_b0c7fb76bd-89bd3613a6-387865725”
“https://www.activistpost.com/2018/05/would-you-know-a-small-cell-tower-if-you-saw-one-hundreds-of-thousands-have-already-been-installed-millions-more-are-on-their-way.html?utm_source=Activist+Post+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=89bd3613a6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail&utm_term=0_b0c7fb76bd-89bd3613a6-387865725”
For the coming microwave weapons or others to use on us over populated domestic terrorist and targetted hell raisers and non-communist?
“https://www.naturalblaze.com/2018/05/hypoadrenalism-stress-and-microwaves.html?utm_source=Activist+Post+Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=89bd3613a6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail&utm_term=0_b0c7fb76bd-89bd3613a6-387865725”
Just off the top of my head I can think of exactly 10 Billion reasons Wilkie should *NOT* be VA Suck.
Wilkie just milked the taxpayers…just in-time for American’s attention span of a newt for Memorial Day….all for the Vets…and shareholders that have their cleats dug deep into we stakeholders.
Maybe it’s time to use our stakes as defensive tools….
Once the information was released why would the government continue to go through with this failure of idea and cost the taxpayers billions of dollars that this country can’t afford, why not seek other proven companies that might be able to get the job done and done correctly