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Jack: The Operation Warfighter program,

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which is run by DOD,

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has service members who are still on active duty,

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who are awaiting their Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) results.

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And so you're available to have those folks

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between 25 to 35 hours per week for between 3 to 6 months.

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So you're looking at a part-time basis for those OWF folks.

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The VA folks from the Nonpaid Work Experience (NPWE) program within Voc Rehab,

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they're getting 48 months of education entitlement to use towards a degree program

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that they will probably already have secured by the time they reach you.

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And they're able to come aboard with 40 hours a week for up to 12 months.

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And the difference between the two programs is pretty stark.

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You see that.

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You're able to have these folks from OWF on a part-time basis

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and you're able to have the folks from the VA on a full-time basis.

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 The VA program is one where there's a lot of,

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a lot of time and effort and case management been expended for these veterans.

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Some of these folks have done a 4-year tour in Iraq or Afghanistan

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or done a 20-year career and accumulated the bumps and bruises

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and disability conditions you get from that, from that experience.

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And then they are evaluated from their Voc Rehab counselors

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and put into a rehabilitation plan.

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Jointly they decide on what's the vocational goal that they were going to

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use their 48 months of education entitlement

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to help them have a 20 to 30 year career and not have to come back for services.

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So you're getting a population from VA that is savvy

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and they bring all the skills that the OWF folks bring,

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which is leadership, ability to work on their own,

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you know, self-starter, as a veteran you know.

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And they're also, they're polished a little bit more than

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the folks from the OWF program.

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They're given, either ready to go;

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they either have their degrees, Bachelors' or Masters' level programs

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and they're able to, they understand the unique opportunity

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they have within these internship opportunities.

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And they know it's a great way to make a first impression.

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And with the OWF folks, that's not to discount their, their leadership

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and some of the innate skills and specific qualities that they bring to the table.

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When you, you tell them what to do and you give them some opportunities,

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they're going to go right to it tenaciously, like veterans usually do.

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You point them in the direction, they'll get it done.

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So that was, I just wanted to really hit on those two different,

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you know, differences between the programs;

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OWF veterans, they can handle everything.

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You'll have them between 25 to 35 hours a week

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and you'll have them for between 3 to 6 months.

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And they're ready, they're fired up.

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I routinely meet them at Operation Warfighter events

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at Walter Reed and Fort Belvoir, and they're so excited.

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They, they're ready to, to attack the next phase in their lives.

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And then the VA folks, you can get from the National Program.

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They have 57 VA regional offices and it's easy.

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I have a relationship with my old VA friends.

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I used to work as a Voc Rehab counselor

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and then I worked at headquarters for the VA.

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So if I call someone, if I call Walter Davis in St. Petersburg,

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he'll have veterans right now

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that he's actually helping Miami sector refer candidates for positions.

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And they're more than happy to hear from me.

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Jack: There are no costs to CBP, but they are both paid.

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The DOD operation War Fighter folks are on active duty so they get paid.

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And then the VA provides them a stipend,

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so that they're able to live semi-comfortably

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while they participate in these opportunities.

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Because the VA folks, they get a stipend

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if they're qualified for the GI, post-911 GI Bill.

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They get that rate, which is about $36,000 a year.

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So they're able to participate in a,

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pretty much a paid internship throughout the time that they're onboard.

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And another thing, another great point that I wanted to note

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was that the VA and the OWF coordinators

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can help as someone to,

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with any performance issues you might have, your supervisors might have.

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You can lean on these case managers to help out,

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because these folks within OWF and VA have developed a relationship.

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Sometimes with VA, up to 4 years.

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And with OWF, they have a, they confide in them

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because they are going through these service connected conditions

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and recuperating from 'em

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and so they've developed to a nice bond with the veterans

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and with the service members, the OWF and VA folks.

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So if you have any performance issues,

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if you need accommodation issues,

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the case managers from both programs can help.

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VA will pay for all the special needs and accommodations

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that are required of the workspace for the veteran, so that's huge.

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But you can lean on them for performance issues.

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Another great thing to, to realize about these programs is if it's not working,

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if there's not a fit, you can discontinue this at any time.

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And I just ask that you alert myself and the VA and OWF coordinators

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so that maybe we can help.

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Because it's a teachable moment.

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It's a learning moment for the veterans,

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and possibly for the internship supervisors,

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because we don't want 'em just to have a,

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a bad experience with one veteran

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and then discontinue with their need or their desire to participate.

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But it also teaches the veterans and the,

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and the OWF service members exactly what this,

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these internships are, try to serve.

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Is real life experience on, one of the things that I need to realize or,

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you know, real life situations in the workspace,

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in the civilian workspace that I need to get better at.

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Jack: It's very easy for these folks within our program offices

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to identify and get as many interns as possible,

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identify as many internship positions as possible and the tasks.

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And they can have as many as they have work for.

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And, and how it works is they just let me know,

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the program offices let me know what the internship titles are,

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what the job duties are.

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I connect them with the OWF coordinators, the VA coordinators in their area.

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They begin a local relationship,

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start referring candidates their way with resumes.

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They do interviews.

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And then they select the candidate.

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And so once they select the candidate,

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they let me know and then we begin the background investigation process.

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 Well, they can contact me and there are several special hiring authorities

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for veterans that they can use to bring these folks on non-competitively.

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We bring them right on, because they have service connected disabilities,

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if they fall in the 30 percent disabled hiring authority,

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you can bring them on directly.

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So I have a listing of all of the different hiring authorities.

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OPM has it.

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I'd be more than happy to help with that.

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But how quickly, it's very easy.

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Once they identify who they already have in the pipeline

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or even if they are ready to hire someone who they haven't participated,

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we can still hook them up with people from the VA program

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and OWF who would be great fits.

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And so it's really easy.

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You contact me, and then your HR specialist just requires

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the veteran's paperwork, DD214, their Schedule "A" disability letter.

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And then the Parts Action needs to be completed with the hiring center.

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These, these folks are going to learn, you know,

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the transitional skills they need to be successful on the job that they get.

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Hopefully with OBP (Office of Border Patorl) or wherever else they go.

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