Eric Ken Shinseki (/ʃɪnˈsɛki/; Japanese: 新関 健, romanized: Shinseki Ken, born 28 November 1942) is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2009–2014) and the 34th Chief of Staff of the Army (1999–2003).

[3] Shinseki is a veteran of two tours of combat in the Vietnam War, in which he was awarded three Bronze Star Medals for valor and two Purple Hearts.

[8] Motivated by his uncles' example, he attended the United States Military Academy and graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant.

Shinseki served in a variety of command and staff assignments in the Continental United States and overseas, including two combat tours with the 9th and 25th Infantry Divisions in the Republic of Vietnam as an artillery forward observer and as commander of Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment during the Vietnam War.

During one of those tours while serving as a forward artillery observer, he stepped on a land mine, which blew the front off one of his feet; after spending almost a year recovering from his injuries, he returned to active duty in 1971.

In July 1996, he was promoted to lieutenant general and became Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, United States Army.

[13] He conceived a long-term strategic plan for the army dubbed "Objective Force", which included a program he designed, Future Combat Systems.

As Army Chief of Staff, Shinseki testified to the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services on 25 February 2003, that "something in the order of several hundred thousand soldiers" would probably be required for postwar Iraq.

[20] On 15 November 2006, in testimony before Congress, CENTCOM Commander General John Abizaid said that Shinseki had been correct that more troops were needed.

[22] He is a member of the Advisory Boards at the Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and to the U.S. Comptroller General.

[23] On 7 December 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama announced at a press conference in Chicago that he would nominate Shinseki to become the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.