Marvin Trujillo, third from right, and other board members of the Southwest Native American Veterans Association. Photo from Facebook

Marvin Trujillo of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico has been selected to serve as chair of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Trujillo will start the position in 2015. He will help advise the VA Secretary Robert McDonald and Congress on issues that affect American Indian, Alaska Native and other minority veterans.

“The Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans plays a critical role in helping the Department of Veterans Affairs to accurately assess the needs of veterans who are members of minority groups, and I congratulate Marvin Trujillo on his selection as chairman of this important committee,” Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) said in a press release. "Mr. Trujillo’s background, military service and extensive work to support Native American veterans in the Southwest, gives him an excellent perspective on the needs of minority veterans."

Trujillo, a former lieutenant governor of his tribe, served in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. He went on multiple tours of duty in the Persian Gulf.

He currently serves as secretary/treasurer for the Southwest Native American Veterans Association. The organization, which held its first conference last week in New Mexico, will help Native veterans access services and learn more about their benefits.

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Marvin Trujillo Is Chairman of VA Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans (The Cibola County Beacon‎ 9/30)