Jack: The Operation Warfighter program,
which is run by DOD,
has service members who are still on active duty,
who are awaiting their Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) results.
And so you're available to have those folks
between 25 to 35 hours per week for between 3 to 6 months.
So you're looking at a part-time basis for those OWF folks.
The VA folks from the Nonpaid Work Experience (NPWE) program within Voc Rehab,
they're getting 48 months of education entitlement to use towards a degree program
that they will probably already have secured by the time they reach you.
And they're able to come aboard with 40 hours a week for up to 12 months.
And the difference between the two programs is pretty stark.
You see that.
You're able to have these folks from OWF on a part-time basis
and you're able to have the folks from the VA on a full-time basis.
The VA program is one where there's a lot of,
a lot of time and effort and case management been expended for these veterans.
Some of these folks have done a 4-year tour in Iraq or Afghanistan
or done a 20-year career and accumulated the bumps and bruises
and disability conditions you get from that, from that experience.
And then they are evaluated from their Voc Rehab counselors
and put into a rehabilitation plan.
Jointly they decide on what's the vocational goal that they were going to
use their 48 months of education entitlement
to help them have a 20 to 30 year career and not have to come back for services.
So you're getting a population from VA that is savvy
and they bring all the skills that the OWF folks bring,
which is leadership, ability to work on their own,
you know, self-starter, as a veteran you know.
And they're also, they're polished a little bit more than
the folks from the OWF program.
They're given, either ready to go;
they either have their degrees, Bachelors' or Masters' level programs
and they're able to, they understand the unique opportunity
they have within these internship opportunities.
And they know it's a great way to make a first impression.
And with the OWF folks, that's not to discount their, their leadership
and some of the innate skills and specific qualities that they bring to the table.
When you, you tell them what to do and you give them some opportunities,
they're going to go right to it tenaciously, like veterans usually do.
You point them in the direction, they'll get it done.
So that was, I just wanted to really hit on those two different,
you know, differences between the programs;
OWF veterans, they can handle everything.
You'll have them between 25 to 35 hours a week
and you'll have them for between 3 to 6 months.
And they're ready, they're fired up.
I routinely meet them at Operation Warfighter events
at Walter Reed and Fort Belvoir, and they're so excited.
They, they're ready to, to attack the next phase in their lives.
And then the VA folks, you can get from the National Program.
They have 57 VA regional offices and it's easy.
I have a relationship with my old VA friends.
I used to work as a Voc Rehab counselor
and then I worked at headquarters for the VA.
So if I call someone, if I call Walter Davis in St. Petersburg,
he'll have veterans right now
that he's actually helping Miami sector refer candidates for positions.
And they're more than happy to hear from me.
Jack: There are no costs to CBP, but they are both paid.
The DOD operation War Fighter folks are on active duty so they get paid.
And then the VA provides them a stipend,
so that they're able to live semi-comfortably
while they participate in these opportunities.
Because the VA folks, they get a stipend
if they're qualified for the GI, post-911 GI Bill.
They get that rate, which is about $36,000 a year.
So they're able to participate in a,
pretty much a paid internship throughout the time that they're onboard.
And another thing, another great point that I wanted to note
was that the VA and the OWF coordinators
can help as someone to,
with any performance issues you might have, your supervisors might have.
You can lean on these case managers to help out,
because these folks within OWF and VA have developed a relationship.
Sometimes with VA, up to 4 years.
And with OWF, they have a, they confide in them
because they are going through these service connected conditions
and recuperating from 'em
and so they've developed to a nice bond with the veterans
and with the service members, the OWF and VA folks.
So if you have any performance issues,
if you need accommodation issues,
the case managers from both programs can help.
VA will pay for all the special needs and accommodations
that are required of the workspace for the veteran, so that's huge.
But you can lean on them for performance issues.
Another great thing to, to realize about these programs is if it's not working,
if there's not a fit, you can discontinue this at any time.
And I just ask that you alert myself and the VA and OWF coordinators
so that maybe we can help.
Because it's a teachable moment.
It's a learning moment for the veterans,
and possibly for the internship supervisors,
because we don't want 'em just to have a,
a bad experience with one veteran
and then discontinue with their need or their desire to participate.
But it also teaches the veterans and the,
and the OWF service members exactly what this,
these internships are, try to serve.
Is real life experience on, one of the things that I need to realize or,
you know, real life situations in the workspace,
in the civilian workspace that I need to get better at.
Jack: It's very easy for these folks within our program offices
to identify and get as many interns as possible,
identify as many internship positions as possible and the tasks.
And they can have as many as they have work for.
And, and how it works is they just let me know,
the program offices let me know what the internship titles are,
what the job duties are.
I connect them with the OWF coordinators, the VA coordinators in their area.
They begin a local relationship,
start referring candidates their way with resumes.
They do interviews.
And then they select the candidate.
And so once they select the candidate,
they let me know and then we begin the background investigation process.
Well, they can contact me and there are several special hiring authorities
for veterans that they can use to bring these folks on non-competitively.
We bring them right on, because they have service connected disabilities,
if they fall in the 30 percent disabled hiring authority,
you can bring them on directly.
So I have a listing of all of the different hiring authorities.
OPM has it.
I'd be more than happy to help with that.
But how quickly, it's very easy.
Once they identify who they already have in the pipeline
or even if they are ready to hire someone who they haven't participated,
we can still hook them up with people from the VA program
and OWF who would be great fits.
And so it's really easy.
You contact me, and then your HR specialist just requires
the veteran's paperwork, DD214, their Schedule "A" disability letter.
And then the Parts Action needs to be completed with the hiring center.
These, these folks are going to learn, you know,
the transitional skills they need to be successful on the job that they get.
Hopefully with OBP (Office of Border Patorl) or wherever else they go.