VA Employees Don’t Feel Safe in Their Jobs

Most veterans that have walked into the Veterans Administration (VA) have felt there are people who work there don’t care. The reality is, most VA employees do care but are limited in what they can legally do.  Henry was a student of mine that works at the VA. He is retired from the Navy after serving over 24 years and wanted to continue serving by helping his brothers and sisters after retirement. Over time we had several discussions about the VA and how they operated. There were times he felt the need to discuss an issue with his superiors but was scared to for fear of losing his job. Whether his fear was real or perceived he did not feel safe. Henry felt trapped and limited to what he could do for hid patients. He worried that if he tried to change things or spoke up he might lose his job, if he didn’t do anything his fellow veteran might suffer. This is tough position to be in. Before we start blaming the individuals who work at the VA hospitals or the hospitals themselves, we need to look at the system they are forced to work in.     

We have all been appalled at the recent events at the VA. I have had the pleasure to know several employees at the Loma Linda VA. They are good people with a good heart. The problem is they don’t feel safe in their jobs and struggle to tell the truth about problems that exist. There are a lot of layers an employee must go through to reach someone that can make any changes, if changes can be changed at all. Many employees hesitate to “run something up the flag pole” for fear of being labeled a non-team player or trouble maker. This can make a VA employee’s life difficult at work if not cost them their job, so they do what their told and don’t make waves.

From an employee standpoint, they need to feel they can raise concern when warranted. The head of the VA hospital needs to let everyone know it’s safe and give credit to those who does what’s right and speaks up. Giving VA executives bonuses for doing their job seems inappropriate. It would be difficult for anyone to “not fudge the numbers” for the bonus, its human nature.  Why doesn’t the VA pay executives a set wage and incorporate the bonuses into their pay? Why tempt someone to cheat? These are questions only congress can answer. Issues between veterans and congress go back to the 1780’s. What we are hearing now about the VA is nothing new, every decade has had its problems. Congress makes the rules the employees must adhere to. Congresses inability to delegate power to VA management is a major part of the problem.   

Ex-secretary of defense Robert Gates discussed in his book “Duty” how entrenched the personnel employed by the VA are to their norm. He feels the people at the VA are generally good people but the system is broken. As Secretary Gates pointed out, congress hold allot of the blame when it comes to the VA system, it literally takes an act of congress to make any changes within the system, which basically means good luck. Since secretary Gate’s book has been released congress has attempted to make some changes.

The feeling of safety starts at the top. The President, Congress, The Secretary of Veterans affairs, and individual hospital administrators need to provide a feeling of safety for the employees when they raise an issue with the system. One of the major complaints from veterans is many employees at the VA are not veterans themselves. Veteran members of congress has dropped drastically from a peak of 80% in 1977 to 19% in 2013. The VA also employees a large quantity of civilians, fueling the debate. Money is not the problem, employees not feeling safe in their work environment is a huge part of the problem. Its time congress removes politics from the VA and put the right people in place to make the VA a safe place to receive care and work. Congress is the only ones that can make the drastic changes that the VA needs. Congress needs to give the power to make changes to the people who operate the VA and hold them accountable. It’s time to get the politics out of the VA.  

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.

Veterans Using College to Compete for Jobs

A veteran getting a job when they separate from the military is imperative to their wellbeing. Where the job prospects are improving, veteran’s unemployment is still a problem. There are surveys that state 70% of employer’s steer clear of veterans for fear of PTSD or the veteran acting like they are in “Boot Camp”. To me this is appalling and a black eye for our country. Veterans are not asking for a handout, they just want a chance to prove themselves again. The media has done an excellent job at making veterans look like they are damaged. Veterans are not broken, we are strong with allot to offer to any employer willing to hire us. Many newer veterans are using their post 9-11 education benefits to help compete for employment or starting their own businesses because they can, which will greatly benefit our society.   

About two years ago I needed some work done on my truck. I pulled into a shop, a young man walked out and started to talk to me about what I needed repaired. Since I am a retired old timer and still have a base sticker on my truck he asked me about my service, he proceeded to discuss his two tours in Iraq like he has known me all of his life. Like many veterans we started talking about our service. He had just gotten out of the military and was running a shop owned by his dad. We started discussing in depth what he wanted to do for a new career. He stated he wanted to go to college.  Like most who get out of the military he was struggling to understand the bureaucracy of the Veterans Administration (VA) benefits system, including his education benefits.

We spent an hour talking about benefits. I encouraged him to look into using his post 9-11 education benefits where he could get paid while going to college.  He asked several questions and I answered as best I could. I suggested he call the school he wanted to attend and talk to them, they know all of the ins and outs. I offered my story and how I used my benefits to attain my Master’s Degree in psychology. I also asked if he had filed a claim for his service connected complications. Like many he said he hadn’t because he had friends that were allot worse off than him and he did not want to ask for a handout. We continued to discuss his situation, I gave him some information and where he could go to file a claim. He fixed my truck and I went on my way.

I stopped by from time to time to say hi and see how he was doing. Later I needed some work on my car, so of course I went back to him. He has reasonable pricing and was a Vet so he gets my money. When I saw him he appeared happy to see me. He told me he had filed a claim with the VA and was waiting for the results, he also had chosen a school to get his business degree. He wanted to continue running his dads shop and possibly all of them in the future, so a business degree fit right in.

From what I am seeing, todays veterans are struggling to find employment and are attending college in droves. Many are trying to gain an upper hand in the job market. I just hope the 70% of employers who steer clear of veterans start looking at the benefits of hiring veterans and allow them to compete in a fair competitive job market.    

Many veterans are still struggling with employment issues. One of the main problems seen in today’s workforce is the civilians do not understand veterans. Less than 1% of today’s US population has served in the military since Iraq and Afghanistan started. That translates to very few veterans being in the position to hire veterans. Many veterans do not understand how to put their leadership, logistics, and teamwork on a resume.  The few veterans who do the position to hire veterans know and understand, but many civilians don’t.  Many veterans are using their post 9-11 benefits to go to college to become competitive, others are starting their own businesses, some are doing both. Many veterans get certain preferences when starting a business. What I would like to see is veterans supporting veteran businesses, and older veterans mentoring the younger ones. We are the 1% so we need to help each other thrive.

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.

VA Employees Don’t Feel Safe in Their Jobs

Most veterans that have walked into the Veterans Administration (VA) have felt there are people who work there don’t care. The reality is, most VA employees do care but are limited in what they can legally do.  Henry was a student of mine that works at the VA. He is retired from the Navy after serving over 24 years and wanted to continue serving by helping his brothers and sisters after retirement. Over time we had several discussions about the VA and how they operated. There were times he felt the need to discuss an issue with his superiors but was scared to for fear of losing his job. Whether his fear was real or perceived he did not feel safe. Henry felt trapped and limited to what he could do for hid patients. He worried that if he tried to change things or spoke up he might lose his job, if he didn’t do anything his fellow veteran might suffer. This is tough position to be in. Before we start blaming the individuals who work at the VA hospitals or the hospitals themselves, we need to look at the system they are forced to work in.     

We have all been appalled at the recent events at the VA. I have had the pleasure to know several employees at the Loma Linda VA. They are good people with a good heart. The problem is they don’t feel safe in their jobs and struggle to tell the truth about problems that exist. There are a lot of layers an employee must go through to reach someone that can make any changes, if changes can be changed at all. Many employees hesitate to “run something up the flag pole” for fear of being labeled a non-team player or trouble maker. This can make a VA employee’s life difficult at work if not cost them their job, so they do what their told and don’t make waves.

From an employee standpoint, they need to feel they can raise concern when warranted. The head of the VA hospital needs to let everyone know it’s safe and give credit to those who does what’s right and speaks up. Giving VA executives bonuses for doing their job seems inappropriate. It would be difficult for anyone to “not fudge the numbers” for the bonus, its human nature.  Why doesn’t the VA pay executives a set wage and incorporate the bonuses into their pay? Why tempt someone to cheat? These are questions only congress can answer. Issues between veterans and congress go back to the 1780’s. What we are hearing now about the VA is nothing new, every decade has had its problems. Congress makes the rules the employees must adhere to. Congresses inability to delegate power to VA management is a major part of the problem.   

Ex-secretary of defense Robert Gates discussed in his book “Duty” how entrenched the personnel employed by the VA are to their norm. He feels the people at the VA are generally good people but the system is broken. As Secretary Gates pointed out, congress hold allot of the blame when it comes to the VA system, it literally takes an act of congress to make any changes within the system, which basically means good luck. Since secretary Gate’s book has been released congress has attempted to make some changes.

The feeling of safety starts at the top. The President, Congress, The Secretary of Veterans affairs, and individual hospital administrators need to provide a feeling of safety for the employees when they raise an issue with the system. One of the major complaints from veterans is many employees at the VA are not veterans themselves. Veteran members of congress has dropped drastically from a peak of 80% in 1977 to 19% in 2013. The VA also employees a large quantity of civilians, fueling the debate. Money is not the problem, employees not feeling safe in their work environment is a huge part of the problem. Its time congress removes politics from the VA and put the right people in place to make the VA a safe place to receive care and work. Congress is the only ones that can make the drastic changes that the VA needs. Congress needs to give the power to make changes to the people who operate the VA and hold them accountable. It’s time to get the politics out of the VA.  

For questions or comments, I can be reached at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit our website at marriedtoptsdpro.com and like us on Facebook at Married to PTSD Pro.