Gen. Eric K. Shinseki - posted to head the Department of Veterans Affairs

A perfect choice. I was casting about trying to express why I thought so when I read this post from Obsidian Wings: Two brief excerpts and you should really go and read the whole thing.

Obama is clearly courting the military, not by giving into their every whim, or by ceding to them on matters of policy, but by appointing people whom they trust, and who are very, very good.

And

They have already experienced life under George W. Bush, and by all accounts, they did not care for it. But their distrust of Democrats might easily have prevented them from seriously considering drawing the obvious conclusion from Bush and Rumsfeld's trashing of the armed forces. If Obama can get past that hurdle, he could, just possibly, cause a very significant change.

The next four years are going to be fascinating and pivotal to the USA. A fun time to be alive!