T-R FILE PHOTO BY TREVOR BABCOCK Commandant Matthew Peterson outside of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. Peterson was appointed July 27 and has been on the ground in the community meeting local leaders while also getting in touch with the veterans and staff at IVH.

The new commandant of the Iowa Veterans Home has not felt a lot of pressure since arriving in Marshalltown.

Since taking on the role in late July, IVH Commandant Matthew Peterson has received excellent support from the community.

“I felt nothing but hospitality and just being embraced by the community outside of IVH and inside of IVH,” Peterson said.

Last May, former Commandant Timon Oujiri was relieved of duty after he allegedly collected more than $100,000 in excess pay and benefits.

“Once I was confident that measures were taken that would prevent any kind of similar occurrence from happening again, then I turned away from it and faced the future,” Peterson said.

When he was initially asked about his interest in the position, Peterson was teaching 10th grade advanced placement world history at a charter school in the inner city of Austin, Texas. He had every intention to return to teaching this year until he was offered the commandant position.

After 21 years of service in the military as a part of the Marine Corps infantry, which took him to 30 countries across the world, he had been doing everything he could to get back to Iowa where his extended family resides. Peterson is a fifth-generation Iowan from Red Oak.

Another side to his family he missed was the military community. Peterson referred to a saying which is often repeated within the military, ‘You don’t miss the circus as much as you miss the clowns.’

“You don’t always miss the organization and the institutional dynamics, but you miss a lot of the people you serve with and that camaraderie and that sense of belonging and community,” he said. “So this is an opportunity that combines the best of both worlds. It gives me the chance to be around veterans and people who have served and experience the vitality and the vibrance of the community without having to deal with military policies that can be kind of frustrating at times.”

Whether subconsciously or consciously, he said after a while in the military the people you serve with become your family.

“My dedication to veterans is on par with my dedication to my family, because I see no difference between them,”

Peterson said. “Having the chance to serve them, it feels like I’m among my family every day, and being able to advocate on their behalf feels like I’m doing things for my own family.”

After accepting the job, he felt 80 percent excitement, but also 20 percent apprehension.

“I’m not new to leadership. I’m not new to organizational dynamics. I’m certainly not new to veterans, but I am new to healthcare,” Peterson said.

But since getting on the ground in IVH, the ratio has changed to 100 percent excitement since meeting the IVH team, he said.

“It’s 865 of the most professional, qualified, resilient people that I think I’ve ever been around,” Peterson said. “It’s a luxury for me because I get to walk around and ask a lot of questions, and know that the answers I get are from people who truly know what they’re doing.”

Meeting with as many staff and residents as possible, Peterson has been taking notes from what he hears and is then trying to incorporate feedback into his decision making. He also has plans to take classes to become a licensed nursing home administrator.

However, he said the commandant position is not a healthcare position, but rather one of leadership.

“It’s not my goal to be a subject matter expert when it comes to healthcare,” Peterson said. “It’s my goal to develop an organization that if I left, it would continue to run efficiently on its own. To me that’s a good organization and that’s what I’m working toward here.”

Since his arrival in July, Peterson has been meeting with community members to build as many positive relationships as he can. He views the relationship between IVH and the local community as mutually supporting, believing IVH’s connection with the immediate Marshalltown community as well as the entire state of Iowa is critical to IVH’s success and existence. He wants the public to know just how important the community is for IVH, getting a lot of help from volunteers, faith groups and various community services to help serve veteran residents.

“We want to see baseball teams playing on our baseball field and we want to see veterans groups come in here and intermingle with the veterans,” Peterson said. “Because of COVID we’re not quite there yet, but what I want the community to know is that we’re going to get there and when we do, we’re going to open up our doors and welcome them back with open arms.”

Right now, admissions is Peterson’s top priority, with IVH’s budget and ability to hire staffing being dependent on their admissions. He said more than 400 veterans are admitted at IVH, which is lower than the typical number. IVH was at 99 percent capacity pre-COVID-19 pandemic, but now is at 77 percent capacity.

Another goal he is hoping to accomplish is replacing the flag and flagpole in front of IVH with the tallest pole and flag he can find. He wants the flag to be illuminated as brightly as possible and to be visible for anyone anywhere near Marshalltown.

“I think that’s a symbolic gesture that would go a long way to cementing the relationship, the significance of the Iowa Veterans Home,” Peterson said. “I know that every veteran here takes a great deal of pride in their patriotism. I think that would be a great way to represent that.”

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Contact Trevor Babcock

at 641-753-6611 or

tbabcock@timesrepublican.com.