Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, lost her legs and the use of her right arm as a helicopter pilot in Iraq in 2004. She was awarded a Purple Heart for her combat injuries. Braulio Castillo broke his foot in a prep school injury nearly three decades ago at the U.S. Military Preparatory School, which he attended for nine months before playing football in college. He owns a technology business certified as a service-disabled, veteran-owned company eligible for government set aside contracts. The two met at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing Wednesday in an exchange neither will forget…
Browsing: Tammy Duckworth
Illinois’ veterans affairs director Tammy Duckworth has been selected as the nominee for assistant secretary of public and intergovernmental affairs for the VA, the White House announced Tuesday morning. Duckworth is a well-known major in the Illinois National Guard who lost both of her legs in 2004 when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter she was piloting in Iraq. As assistant secretary, Duckworth will oversee the public affairs department, internal communications and intergovernmental relations. She will also oversee programs for homeless veterans, special rehabilitation events and consumer affairs. Duckworth has testified before congressional hearings about the need to transform the…