Newswise — Bethesda, MD – Former Veterans Affairs Cabinet Secretary and retired Army Lieutenant General (Dr.) James B. Peake will deliver the commencement address for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences on Saturday, May 19, at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. 

Peake was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs on October 30, 2007. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on December 14, 2007, and served from December 2007 through January 2009.

As VA Secretary, Peake was the principal advocate for veterans in the U.S. government.  He directed the country’s second largest cabinet department, responsible for a nationwide system of health care services, benefits programs, and national cemeteries for America’s veterans and dependents.

A St. Louis, Mo., native, Peake received his Bachelor of Science degree from U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1966 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry. Following service in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division where he was awarded the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with a combat valor (“V”) device and the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster, Peake entered medical school at Cornell University in New York. He was awarded an M.D. degree in 1972.  

Peake began his Army medical career as a general surgery resident at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He retired from the Army in 2004, following service as a general surgeon, cardiac surgeon and commander of several medical organizations culminating in his appointment as U.S. Army Surgeon General from 2000 to 2004. As Army Surgeon General, Peake commanded 50,000 medical personnel and 187 army medical facilities worldwide. Prior to that, he served as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, one of the largest medical training facilities in the world with 30,000 students annually.  

Peake currently serves as senior vice president of CGI Federal. 

About USU

The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active-duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, acute trauma care, and advanced practice nursing and dentistry. For more information, visit www.usuhs.edu.