Alabama's State Board of Veterans Affairs Reappoints Commissioner to Second Term

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Sunday, January 11, 2009
TOM GORDON
Birmingham News staff writer

Nine months before his current appointment expires, W. Clyde Marsh has been appointed to another four-year term as commissioner of the state Department of Veterans Affairs.

At its meeting last week, the state Board of Veterans Affairs unanimously approved a surprise motion by board member Ken Rollins to appoint Marsh to a new term that will begin Oct. 5 and end Oct. 5, 2013. An Alabama native and retired Navy rear admiral, Marsh was first appointed to the post on Oct. 5, 2005.

"We've got a lot on our plate," Rollins said afterward. "We need to make sure this commissioner knows he's got our full support."

The full plate for this year includes the planning and design of a fourth state veterans home, the selection of a management firm for the three existing homes for the next five years, and taking steps to establish a state veterans cemetery in south Alabama.

Rollins said Marsh has what it takes to see those challenging projects through, though handling those tasks and his other responsibilities will be like "drinking through a fire hydrant."

"We believe in him and respect him and appreciate his work," Rollins said.

Marsh's responsibilities as state veterans affairs commissioner also include managing his department's operations around the state and other benefits for veterans and their families.

The department's budget consists of state and federal funds. In response to recession-caused shortfalls in state revenue, the department has frozen hiring and cut its budget from about $100 million to about $94 million.

Department spokesman Bob Horton said the hiring freeze "will not affect the services and benefits provided by the department to the veterans in Alabama's 67 counties." The department has veterans service officers who serve multiple counties and can shift personnel to staff a local VA office should it become vacant, Horton said.