Prior Lake High School graduate named Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff

Prior Lake American

A Prior Lake High School graduate is now a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Pamela Powers, who graduated from high school in 1985, was named the department's chief of staff in August. Veterans Affairs is the second-largest department in the Cabinet, with a budget of more than $188 billion and more than 375,000 employees nationwide.

“It is a really large organization that is doing great work for veterans,” Powers said. “It is overwhelming, but it’s exciting.”

In February, Powers was named the chief of staff for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, a position she had to be nominated and vetted for.

In that position, she worked with Robert Wilkie, who at the time was Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Wilkie was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July.

Powers said Wilkie had recruited her for the Defense Department after she retired from the Air Force earlier this year. When Wilkie moved to Veterans Affairs, he asked Powers to join him.

In her position, Powers oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs, including its medical centers, the national cemeteries and what benefits and claims are provided to veterans.

“It’s making sure the trains are running toward what the president and Secretary Wilkie want,” Powers said.

After graduating from Prior Lake High School, Powers attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado. She graduated from the academy in 1989 with a bachelor’s of science degree in organization psychology. In 1996, she obtained a master’s of arts in organizational management from the University of Phoenix and in 2011, she received a master’s of strategic studies from the Army War College.

Powers held a variety of positions within the Air Force — she was promoted to captain in 1993, major in 2002, lieutenant colonel in 2007 and colonel in 2012.

With the largest budget in its history, Powers said the Department of Veterans Affairs will be able to recover from recent issues such as a lack of permanent leadership, thousands of job vacancies, staff turnover and not providing veterans with “timely and efficient care,” according to the New York Times.

Powers said she visited some of the local Veterans Affairs facilities at the end of August during a visit to her father, who lives in Prior Lake. She said Minnesota has great care facilities for its veterans.

The Minneapolis system is one of 160 across the nation and one of the largest. In addition to the main hospital in Minneapolis, there are 13 community clinics in Minnesota and western Wisconsin which focus on primary care for veterans. One of those community clinics is in Shakopee.

“It’s like, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ which is true,” Minneapolis VA Health Care System Public Affairs Officer Ralph Huessner said. “If we open a clinic near veterans, they’ll use it when it’s convenient and they inquire about eligibility. That’s why we have grown to 13 community clinics.”

Most veterans surveyed in Minnesota have said they can always or usually get an appointment when needed for primary or specialty care, according to the department’s data for care access at accesstocare.va.gov. New and returning patients at Shakopee’s location wait a week or less on average for appointments.

Though a Minnesotan is now helping to run the overall Department of Veterans Affairs, Huessner said that doesn’t make the Minneapolis VA Health Care System any more of a priority than the other 160 systems.

“The providers are focusing on patients — their interaction with Washington is limited,” Huessner said. “The clinics focus on patient care, not politics or policies. They implement policies, but their day-to-day focus is caring for veterans.”

Huessner said there is a misconception in the veteran community that if someone were to go to the health care system for care, that person is taking away resources from another veteran who might need it more.

“Some veterans say, ‘I don’t want to use the VA, I want the funds to help others,’” Huessner said. “That’s not how it works. The more patients we have enrolled, the more funding we receive to help all veterans. Veterans, you earned it, you deserve it, please use the benefits. They are available.”

A primary focus moving forward will be suicide prevention for veterans, Huessner said.

“This is a very high priority under Wilkie,” Huessner said. “The work is making a difference. We can’t prevent all suicides, but we certainly can lessen the number.”

Local VFW posts or American Legions can contact the Minneapolis VA Health Care System at 612-467-1838 to arrange a presentation regarding suicide prevention.