Exclusive: US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie

TULSA — For the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, a visit to Oklahoma this week was something of a homecoming.

His father and great-grandfather were both army artillerymen who were stationed at Fort Sill, and Robert Wilkie grew up in Lawton.

He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July, and started his administration by telling the roughly 370,000 employees of the VA that he wanted to hear from them, and would be looking for their ideas on how to rebuild the troubled agency.

Tuesday, he told KRMG he’s a big believer in what people in the military call “leadership that actually walks the post.”

That was one of several reasons he visited Oklahoma this week, first stopping in Muskogee, then moving on to Ada.

In his exclusive interview with KRMG, he discusses his visit, the new VA medical center about to break ground in Tulsa, the troubled state of the VA and his plans to turn it around, and much more.

TAP or CLICK HERE to hear our full interview with VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, or use the audio player below.