In what many view as a surprising move from the consumer goods sector, the White House has announced that President Barack Obama will nominate P&G’s former CEO Bob McDonald, a West Point graduate, to head the Department of Veterans Affairs.

McDonald would take over a troubled department.

The VA department is a massive bureaucracy with more than 300,000 full-time employees, and is currently under controversy regarding delayed care with potentially fatal results at its medical facilities.

McDonald’s mix of business experience and personal ties to the military and veteran community—his father also served in World War II—may seem unusual, but a statement from the White House touted McDonald’s 33 years at P&G and described him as the “perfect person to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs during this important time.”

The statement reads: “At P&G, he oversaw more than 120,000 employees, with operations around the world, selling products in more than 180 countries, in more than 2.5 million stores, reaching more than 5 billion customers.”

McDonald has also been recognized several times for his corporate leadership roles, and in the Army, served as a captain, primarily in the 82nd Airborne Division, and received the meritorious service medal. He received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from West Point and an MBA from the University of Utah.

McDonald will leave his home in Cincinnati, where P&G is based, to start tackling the VA’s many problems.