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                      VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 12-31-2008		  



 


 
 

 


 



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VA IGNORES NEEDS OF OLDER VETERANS WITH

"NEW VET" JOB OUTREACH -- VA is looking to

hire more disabled veterans, but outreach program

only targets Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

 

 

Once again we have proof-positive that the VA has turned into a two-tiered system... "new vets" on the top tier and older vets getting what's left over.

Currently OEF / OIF vets get priority VA healthcare, their disability claims are processed first... and now, they are getting their own outreach program to get jobs at the VA.

I know a lot of older vets who could use a good job... like the good jobs at the VA. 

Where is their outreach program?

And, more importantly, where are our veterans' service organizations?  Currently "new vets" make up only about 3% of the veteran population. 

Yet we don't see the Legion or VFW or DAV fighting this two-tiered VA system that leaves nearly all of their members at a disadvantage when it comes to getting VA care and services and jobs.

It is really time to rethink the value of the service orgs given the treatment of older vets by the VA.

VA press release here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/vap08/vap123008-1.htm

Press release below:

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VA Ramps Up Job Search for Injured Vets

December 30, 2008



WASHINGTON – Thirty percent of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are veterans – the second highest ranking among cabinet departments after the Department of Defense -- and nearly 8 percent of VA employees are service-connected disabled veterans. But the VA intends to increase the number of disabled veterans who obtain employment in its workforce.

“I am proud of this effort,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “VA knows the true quality of our men and women, and we should be a leader in employing them.”

Peake said all severely injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be contacted by VA’s Veterans Employment Coordination Service to determine their interest in -- and qualifications for -- VA jobs. So far, that office has identified 2,300 severely injured veterans of those wars, of whom 600 expressed interest in VA employment.

The coordination service was established a year ago to recruit veterans into VA, especially those seriously injured in the current wars. It has nine regional coordinators working with local facility human resources offices across the country not only to reach out to potential job candidates but to ensure that local managers know about special authorities available to hire veterans. For example, qualified disabled veterans rated by the Defense Department or VA as having a 30 percent or more service-connected disability can be hired non-competitively.

“Our team is spreading the message that VA is hiring, and we want to hire disabled veterans,” said Dennis O. May, director of VA’s Veterans Employment Coordination Service.

VA coordinators participate in military career fairs and transition briefings, and partner with veterans organizations, the Department of Labor’s Veterans Employment and Training Service, as well as VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service, the Marine Corps’ Wounded Warrior Regiment and the Army’s Warrior Transition Units.

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posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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