As our Nation pauses to honor the millions of military veterans who have served our country as members of our Armed Forces, I’d like to take a moment to recognize the nearly 48,000 veterans who are continuing their service to America at DHS.

Last August, I directed the Department to implement a new Veterans Coordination Strategy to broaden our efforts to draw on the vast expertise, dedication, and commitment to service of our Nation’s veterans. This Strategy has already yielded significant results.

Veterans currently comprise 25 percent of our DHS civilian workforce, in addition to the 42,000 active duty members of our U.S. Coast Guard. Every day, these men and women bring their skills, talents, and experiences to bear in fulfilling our many missions – from guarding against terrorism, strengthening aviation and maritime security, and protecting our cyber networks and critical infrastructure, to securing our borders, enforcing and administering our immigration laws, and preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters.

Beyond our own employees, veterans are also an integral part of our larger homeland security team. Over the past year, we’ve expanded opportunities for veterans to do business with the Department, exceeding our goal of awarding over $1 billion in contracts to veteran-owned businesses in fiscal year 2010. We also expect to be one of only a few agencies that will surpass the Small Business Administration’s goal for contracting with businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.

We plan to do even more in the coming months through additional veterans outreach, recruitment, and hiring, with the goal of having 50,000 veterans working at DHS by the end of 2012 and continuing to promote business opportunities and other partnerships to get veterans to get involved in the Department’s work.

This week USCIS will hold a number of naturalization ceremonies around the country and throughout the world – including one in Baghdad, Iraq – for military personnel who will become our newest U.S. citizens. In 2010, USCIS naturalized more than 11,000 noncitizens serving in our military, more than any year since 1955.

The service and sacrifice of veterans enriches our Department and our nation. I hope you will join me in thanking our veterans for all that they have done – and all they continue to do – in support of our country.

Janet Napolitano

Starting in February, DHS began hosting monthly support workshops for transitioning service members, retired or separated veterans, and their spouses in the Washington, D.C. area. Participants can get valuable knowledge on how to apply for federal jobs, federal resume tips, DHS job opportunities and special veteran hiring authorities. Click here for a flyer with information on upcoming workshops.

This program, developed by the DHS Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, is one of several new programs aimed at helping veterans transition into employment opportunities at DHS. These workshops are meant to complement Military Transition Center activities.

For more information on the transition support workshops, visit www.dhs.gov/veterans.

Link to flyer removed because it is no longer current and has been archived.

In November 2009, DHS launched a redesigned www.dhs.gov/veterans page to make it easier for veterans to get information about opportunities with the Department. Veterans make up one quarter of the DHS workforce, so we’re committed to making sure they have all the information they need to interact with and conduct business with the department. The website now provides veterans and veteran service organizations a one-stop shop for information about employment, contracting, and volunteer opportunities in the Department.

We updated this page again today to highlight additional exceptional veterans that currently work with the Department, so stop by our veterans profile page and see why our employee veterans find DHS a good fit.

Last year, Secretary Napolitano committed to employing 50,000 veterans by 2012 – during fiscal year 2009, we hired 5,142 veterans. Today, we boast more than 46,000 total veterans among our ranks.

Recruitment and hiring goals are one way we are engaging the veteran community. We are also creating greater opportunities for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses to work with DHS. In 2009, veteran-owned small businesses competed for an won more than $931 million in contracts from DHS.

The nation benefits from the service of our veterans in the work that we do at the Department; they bring proven experience and dedication to the job and we welcome veterans to join DHS and continue their service to the nation.

Visit www.dhs.gov/veterans for more information.

“The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”

That quote is inscribed on the Kennedy Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. JFK delivered it as part of his inaugural address in January of 1961, and was referring not to a scientific venture, nor to contentious legislation, but to the cause of “defending freedom in its maximum hour of danger.” He went on to challenge the nation, asking us to find it within ourselves to better serve our country. Generations of Americans have answered that call and many others through service in our armed forces; we honor them today.

Today is Veterans Day, and the Secretary, the President, the Vice President, and other government officials participated in events around the country today to pay respect to our veterans' contributions.

Secretary Napolitano joined U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen at a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Ceremony to honor all those who have served in the 219 years since its inception:

“Today we pay our deepest respect to the courageous men and women of who have served the U.S. Armed Forces and who currently risk their lives at home and abroad. The tragic events of recent weeks remind us of the tremendous sacrifice those in uniform make every day for our Nation, and I am proud to count the Department of Homeland Security’s 47,000-strong veteran workforce and the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard as colleagues in our mission to protect the country,” said Secretary Napolitano.

The Secretary also penned an entry in our Leadership Journal - committing the department to employ 50,000 veterans by 2012 - and reminding us that we must work to honor their contributions throughout the year. We encourage you to check it out, and to visit the White House Blog for a roundup of events and remarks from the President, Vice President, and other cabinet secretaries.

As we honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans on this Veteran’s Day, I hope you’ll join me in honoring the tens of thousands of veterans who serve our country as members of Department of Homeland Security.

DHS’ civilian workforce includes approximately 47,000 veterans, comprising 25 percent of all employees—including Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute—in addition to the 42,000 active duty members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Every day, these men and women play a critical role in our nation’s security – guarding against terrorism, securing our borders, enforcing immigration laws, preparing for and responding to disasters, and strengthening our Department’s operations.

Monday, I joined President Obama as he signed an Executive Order establishing the Veterans Employment Initiative to increase employment opportunities in the federal government and help recently hired veterans succeed in their jobs.

Engaging veterans and veterans’ organizations at the Department continues to be one of my top priorities. We want and need veterans to lend their unique skills, experience, and clear commitment to service to our mission. That’s why we have set a goal to have 50,000 veterans on-board at the Department by 2012.

To help us achieve that goal, today we launched a new website specifically for veterans – www.dhs.gov/veterans. This one-stop-shop contains information about hiring and business opportunities for veterans, ways to get involved in community-based efforts like Citizen Corps, and special veteran programs such as Operation Warfighter and Wounded Warrior, which provide employment opportunities for severely wounded or recovering service members to assist their transition back to the military or civilian workforce.

We’re proud to have so many veterans at DHS contributing to our mission every day. On Veterans Day and every day throughout the year, let’s continue to give thanks to veterans, both inside and outside the Department, for all they've done to serve our country.

Janet Napolitano

Earlier today, the Secretary recorded a message honoring our nation’s veterans, nearly 47,000 of who continue to serve today at the Department of Homeland Security. These veterans bring with them special skills and experiences that are invaluable to our ability to carry out our mission. As the Secretary said in her message, we are proud to have as many veterans among our ranks as we do, and we’re working actively to bring even more veterans – along with their proven skills and dedication to protecting our nation – on board.

To support our recognition and recruiting efforts, we launched a new page on the DHS website last night to provide more resources for veterans who want to work at or with DHS. At www.dhs.gov/veterans, you can see profiles of a few of the 47,000 veterans within the DHS workforce and read how their military experience prepared them for work at DHS, in their own words. We are grateful every day for their service, not just on Veterans Day - we encourage you to take a look at the new page, and share any thoughts you might have in the comment section there.

Yesterday I had the honor of addressing more than a thousand of our nation’s veterans at the American Legion Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

Veterans hold a special place in our country, but they also hold a special place at the Department of Homeland Security. Roughly a quarter of our workforce consists of veterans, including more than 2,100 service-disabled veterans. Every day these men and women, who already have sacrificed so much for our nation, are helping achieve our mission to secure the country.

I told veterans gathered at the conference that we are firmly committed to increasing their ranks at DHS. Indeed, we have set a goal of employing 50,000 veterans at the Department by 2012. We are well on our way to achieve that goal – hiring 3,000 veterans since January of this year.

But our efforts aren’t just about numbers. We are also expanding partnerships and outreach to veterans across the United States. For example, we are creating greater opportunities for Veteran Owned Small Businesses and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses to do business with the Department. Last year, veteran-owned small businesses won more than $931 million in prime contracts from DHS.

And our first-ever job fair for veterans drew more than 750 participants this summer.

Through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, we’ve also continued to grant citizenship to tens of thousands of our men and women in uniform who have become American citizens while at the same time serving in our Armed Forces. We will continue to do even more this year and in the future.

In Louisville, I thanked the American Legion, as well as the American Legion Auxiliary, for their strong support for programs like Citizen Corps, which is creating more prepared communities through service and citizen engagement.

I also called on the Legion to continue to support these and other efforts to help build a culture of preparedness and resiliency in America. That includes taking action to boost personal preparedness and spread the word about important resources like Ready.gov. This is especially important as we prepare for the possibility of an H1N1 outbreak this fall.

We must bring a sense of shared responsibility to this effort. Veterans are in a unique position to help us meet this challenge, as they’ve done throughout our nation’s history. We are proud to have them as members of the Department and critical partners in our nation’s homeland security mission.

Janet Napolitano

The Secretary just wrapped up remarks at the American Legion's 2009 National Convention. She spoke about the Department’s ongoing support and outreach to American veterans, and announced her commitment to employ 50,000 veterans at DHS by 2012. The department currently employs over 46,000 veterans; one quarter of its workforce.

“The men and women of the armed services work tirelessly every day to ensure the safety and security of the American people,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We are honored by the thousands of veterans working at DHS who use their unique experience and extraordinary dedication to help DHS protect our nation from threats and prepare for disasters.”

The 2009 National Convention, in Louisville, KY this year, is the governing body of the American Legion, and brings together the Legion's 55 departments to chart the course forward for the Legion.


After her speech, the Secretary stopped in a meeting of the Women's Auxiliary and discussed her own adolescent experiences at the New Mexico Girls State session. Girls State is sponsored by the American Legion, and provides "hands-on citizenship training" to high school juniors around the country. This year, Girls State is emphasizing "Patriotism, Participation, and Progress." You can visit the American Legion's website for more information.

The Secretary also spoke to the Women's Auxiliary about the importance of preparedness, particularly around the topic of H1N1. She emphasized that we all possess a shared responsibility when it comes to being ready for any kind of national situation; be it H1N1, a natural disaster, or a terrorist incident. She ended her impromptu remarks to a standing ovation, with one member of the women's auxiliary reportedly yelling out, "Yeah, girl!"

You can check out the Secretary's remarks here.

We noted it just now in the morning roundup, but this one is worth mentioning again.

DHS is hosting a Veterans Job Fair today at the Grand Hyatt from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM EDT. It's open to all active duty, retired, former service, Reserve/National Guard servicemembers and their spouses. Straight from dhs.gov:

July 17, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel100 H St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
Constitution Room A, Level 3B(Take Metro Center stop, exit at 11th
Street)

The job fair is open to all active duty, retired, former service, Reserve/National Guard servicemembers and their spouses.

Explore career opportunities in law enforcement, immigration and travel security, prevention and response, and mission support by attending the job fair and talking to representatives.

Learn more about the Department that touches the lives of all Americans and find out how Departmental careers contribute to the mission of defending America. Speak to Department professionals about continuing your service to America.

Workshops

• How to apply for federal jobs
• Understanding and applying veterans preference in federal hiring