Democratic officials say President-elect Barack Obama has selected Kauai-born retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, the Associated Press reports.

The officials said Obama will announce his selection tomorrow. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the official announcement.

Shinseki is the former Army chief of staff who upset his civilian bosses in 2003 when he testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the U.S. invasion.

He was forced out of his job within months for being “;wildly off the mark.”; But his words proved prophetic after President Bush in early 2007 announced a “;surge”; of additional troops to Iraq after miscalculating.

Shinseki, a former Kauai resident, is the first Asian American to become a four-star general.

He was born in Lihue and graduated from Kauai High School in 1960 and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point four years later. He was wounded twice in the Vietnam War and has many decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal.

He served in a variety of command and staff assignments in the Army, including duty at Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter.

He was commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and was promoted in 1996 to the three-star rank, serving in the Pentagon as Army deputy chief of staff for operations and plans.

Besides commanding all U.S. Army forces in Europe, he was commanding general of NATO Land Forces in Central Europe and commander of the Stabilization Force deployed in the former Yugoslavia Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He was named Army chief of staff in 1999 under President Clinton and retired in June 2003.

The U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii at Fort DeRussy contains a Shinseki Gallery depicting the experiences of the first Japanese American to serve as the uniformed leader of the Army. He grew up on Kauai loving horses and was an outstanding student athlete.

He is married to the former Patty Yoshinobu of Kauai.