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Vice Admiral Daniel L. Cooper (USN Ret.) was nominated to be Under Secretary for Benefits in the Department of Veterans Affairs on Feb. 6, 2002, and confirmed by the Senate on March 22, 2002. He was officially sworn in and assumed the duties of Under Secretary on April 2, 2002.
As Under Secretary, he directs the Veterans Benefits Administration through regional offices in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. He is responsible for the administration of benefits provided by the Department to veterans and dependents, including compensation, pension, education, home loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation, and life insurance.
Prior to his nomination, Admiral Cooper had served as Chairman of the VA Claims Processing Task Force. As Chairman, he presided over a 12-person task force charged with examining a wide range of issues affecting the processing of applications for disability compensation, pension, and survivors' benefits. The Task Force issued its report in October 2001.
Admiral Cooper is a 1957 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and in 1963 received his Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University's Littauer School, now the Kennedy School of Government. Following graduation from the Academy, Admiral Cooper served 33 years with the Navy. In his last assignment, he was the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Undersea Warfare.
Upon graduation, Admiral Cooper initially served in the amphibious force. He began his submarine service aboard the diesel submarine, USS TRIGGER (SS 564) in 1959. He later served on USS HADDO (SSN 604); was the Executive Officer on USS SIMON BOLIVAR (SSBN 641)(B); and, in 1972, became Commanding Officer of the USS PUFFER (SSN 652), operating out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. From 1976 to 1979 he was Commander of Submarine Squadron TEN in New London, Conn., and from 1986 to 1988, he served as Commander of the Atlantic Fleet's Submarine Force.
Following his retirement from military service, beginning in August 1991, Admiral Cooper served as Vice President and General Manager of the Nuclear Services Division, Gilbert Commonwealth in Reading, Penn. He also participated in several submarine and Navy-related study endeavors, serving on the submarine technical advisory group for the Applied Physics Laboratory at The Johns Hopkins University and as Chairman of the advisory board of the Applied Research Laboratory at The Penn State University. He was a Director on the Board of USAA for ten years. USAA is an insurance and financial services company serving primarily military personnel (active and retired). In 1998, he joined the PECO Board of Directors (Philadelphia) and, after a merger, served on the Board of Directors of EXELON Corporation based in Chicago.
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