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Dan Zimmerman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served in the first Gulf War and Iraq, is the new state secretary of veterans affairs.(Photo: Meg Jones/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

MADISON- The new secretary of veterans affairs takes over a department facingcontroversy over care at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and contentious relations with county veterans service officers.

Dan Zimmerman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, 51, is being praised for his transparency, improving communications with veterans organizations and county veterans service officers and for moving swiftly to reassign the commandant of the King home. Thedepartment has a $143 million budget and 1,300 employees, most of whom work at the state's three veterans homes in Chippewa Falls, King and Union Grove.

Under Zimmerman's predecessor John Scocos, who left in January, the Legislature launched an audit of the King home because of concerns over the quality of care and spending. Last year county veterans service officers and county administrators sharply criticized efforts to change the way block grants are doled out by the state Department of Veterans Affairs.

He said the biggest challenge is ensuring veterans living in Wisconsin take advantage of the benefits and programs available to them.

"One of the things with veterans is they tend not to self-identify. We know we have over 400,000 in the state, but we don't know where they're all at and they don't always come in" to seek services and benefits, Zimmerman said in an interview last weekin Madison.

Rick Patton, Fond du Lac County's veterans service officer, is encouraged by the change in leadership.

"There was a lot of friction with the last secretary and our state association. I am looking forward to a new slate," said Patton, an Army veteran. "I've already seen some of the ice melt in Madison, which is a good sign."

On Zimmerman's first day he visited the home at King and drove to Oshkosh to meet withJoe Aulik, president of the state veterans service officer association.

"We felt like we weren't looked at like stakeholders in the delivery of benefits. We didn't have good communication and collaboration with the previous administration. Dan wants to open that up," said Aulik.

Zimmerman faces an evolving cohort of veterans that includesrapidly dwindling World War II and Korean War populations as the ranks of post-9/11 veterans swell. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are coping with traumatic brain injuries, amputated limbs and spinal injuries, PTSDand other health issuesas well as difficulties reintegrating into society, homelessness, suicide and addictions to drugs and alcohol. And they'll be in the veterans care system for many decades.

Programs for homeless veterans are located at each of the homes, but Zimmerman said an effort is underway to boost the number of beds for homeless female veterans at King. He has launched a strategic plan to identify the future needs of veterans.

Zimmerman joined the Army shortly after graduating from New Berlin West High School in 1983, choosingcombat engineers because of the short two-year enlistment. After his Army stint, he went to the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse andearned a geography degree. He joined ROTC where he was encouraged to return to active duty and pickedmilitary intelligence.

He deployed to Honduras in 1987, the Gulf War in 1990-'91, Bosnia in the mid-'90s and Kosovo, 2000-'01. During the first Gulf War Zimmermanwas an assistant brigade intelligence officer in the 3rd Armored Division, moving through Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. He volunteered to return to Iraq in 2006-'07 and was the chief of staff for a 1,000-member team training Iraqi police.

"I really honestly hoped I didn't have to go back there," Zimmerman said of returning to a country he left 15 years earlier. "But you do what you have to do."

Afterretiringfrom the Army in 2008, Zimmerman, who lives in Ripon, worked as a training consultant for the U.S. National Guard Bureau and a threat planner at Wisconsin Emergency Management. He was hired in the early 2000s to directthe ROTC programs at Marian University and Ripon College by Tony Blando, then commander of the Fox Valley Army ROTC Battalion.

Blando, who is now chief of staff forU.S. Sen.Ron Johnson, praised Zimmerman for his moral character and intelligence.

"Dan is one of the smartest people I've ever met in my entire life," said Blando. "He's going to do the right thing. He's tough. He has the ability to look at a complex problem, and he can focus in on the root cause and solve the problem."

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New state veterans secretary is Iraq War vet - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel