Alorica Tulsa Partners With Military Veteran Project mission for Military Suicide Prevention.6/20/2017 Nationwide, Alorica and its employees are also partnering with the Military Veteran Project to raise awareness about veteran suicide rates, and raise fund for military suicide prevention. Melissa Jarboe, the Founder of the Military Veteran Project was onsite for a meet and greet and to discuss the mission of her organization she created in honor of her husband SSG Jamie Jarboe who passed away in 2012 after being shot by a sniper. "Its our responsibility to stand up for our military service members, our men and women are going over seas to foreign soils to fight for our freedoms and all we have to do is use them." Said Jarboe, Nearly a dozen Alorica sites across the nation have joined the mission of the Military Veteran Project and will launch the #Dial4Dollars Campaign where employees can get involved in community outreach to raise awareness and funds for research and alternative treatment for prevention of military suicide.
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A substantial House majority approved a reform package that would penalize Department of Veterans Affairs employees found guilty of wrongdoing and prompt the department to more intensely scrutinize supervisors' protection of whistleblowers. The legislation came in response to scandals swirling around the veterans' care agency. Three hundred and sixty eight members voted for the bill. Only 55 members, 54 of whom were Democrats, voted against it, sending the legislation to President Donald Trump's desk for approval, the Washington Examiner reported. The Senate approved the measure last week. Under the legislation, the VA can more easily dismiss employees and can punish them by restricting bonuses or relocation expenses. While public unions opposed the legislation, the head of at least one veterans group publicly supported it. Policy Director of Concerned Veterans for America, Dan Caldwell, claimed that “lives will be saved as a result of this legislation.” David Cox Sr., president of American Federation of Government Employees, suggested the bill created a “witchhunt.” On February 28, 2017, Chairman Phil Roe, M.D. introduced the VA Accountability First Act of 2017. The House passed this legislation March 16, 2017. The bill would provide the VA Secretary increased flexibility to remove, demote, or suspend any VA employee, including Senior Executive Service employees, for performance or misconduct. It would also provide improved protections for whistleblowers; would allow the Secretary to reduce an employee’s federal pension if they are convicted of a felony that influenced their job at VA; recoup a bonus provided to an employee who engaged in misconduct or poor performance prior to receiving the bonus; and would allow the Secretary to recoup any relocation expenses that were authorized for a VA employee only through the employee’s ill-gotten means, such as fraud waste or malfeasance. A recent study completed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that, on average, it takes six months to a year, to remove a permanent civil servant in the Federal Government, though it often takes longer. Just last year, former VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson testified at a hearing that it was too hard to fire bad employees at VA. In the past several years, VA’s arcane civil service rules have hampered the department’s ability to dismiss an employee that engaged in an armed robbery; discipline a VA nurse that participated in a veteran’s surgery while intoxicated; and hold employees accountable for the continued failures to manage several major construction projects, including the new hospital in Aurora, Colorado, that is now several years and a billion dollars over budget. Original co-sponsors: Rep. Jodey Arrington, Rep. Jim Banks, Rep. Jack Bergman, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Rep. Mike Bost, Rep. Mike Coffman, Rep. Bruce Poliquin, Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, Rep. Brad Wenstrup. On May 11, 2017, Senators Rubio, Isakson and Tester introduced accountability legislation in the Senate. Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz released a statement in support of the Senate bill. Chairman Roe and Senators Isakson and Rubio penned an op-ed on the bill for Military Times. You can read it here. The Senate passed accountability legislation on June 6, 2017. The House passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act on Jun 13, 2017. You can read more about the legislation here. - See more at: https://veterans.house.gov/115th-congress-legislation/accountability.htm#sthash.djh9KvF6.dpuf Join Our Mission & Get InvolvedMy son, SPC Ellis T. Weems, ended his life on 15 July 2016, while stationed in E Troop 2/2 Cav in Vilseck, West Germany. I knew he went through a series of long field maneuvers both in Germany and in Estonia. I only seen my son home once...in July 2015. In my opinion as a US Army Veteran, the military doesn't focus on the mental state of the soldier anymore-it's all about "the needs of the government". Soldiers cannot function without proper "mental recharge". To have them out in the field for long periods of time, then only allow them to come home for Rest and Relaxation twice a year is uncalled for. This is just one of the reasons Active Duty soldiers are taking their own lives. The "physiological games" being played by Non-Commissioned Officers must come to an end. I cannot bring my son back, but I can speak for those soldiers that cannot speak for themselves for fear of punishment or being "black-balled". Want To Get Involved, Create Change or Have Your Story Heard? Click HEREJarboe To Serve On Board For Veterans Post-Traumatic Science & Policy Coalition In Washington DC6/7/2017 Washington DC- Veterans Post-Traumatic Science & Policy Coalition is pleased to announce that Melissa Jarboe has joined the Coalition. Jarboe is the Founder of the Military Veteran Project, a military charity created in 2012 to carry on her husband SSG Jamie Jarboe's dying wish to care for his soldiers, she serves as an advisor for Senator Moran's Military Service Academy Board, is a board member of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce Military Relations Council and advisor to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. "It is my privilege to serve on the coalition to continue to influence and create change for our returning service members in the efforts of military suicide prevention. I have had the privilege of creating change in my hometown of Topeka, Kansas and I look forward to the continuation of change in Washington DC on a larger scale with the unity efforts of the members of the coalition." said Jarboe. Veterans Post-Traumatic Science & Policy Coalition The objective of the Coalition is to improve treatment of service members and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and facilitate development of PTSD drug therapies by securing federal institutional support and funding for PTSD research at the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD). Department of Veterans Affairs The Coalition will help develop and implement new VA policies to spur better treatment and care for veterans suffering from PTSD. The Coalition will work with the VA on immediate improvements to VA public-private partnerships for:
The Coalition will seek renewed investment in VA-funded PTSD research and an expansion in the types of research supported. One potential avenue would be to secure inclusion of treatment of PTSD in the VA’s Center for Innovation (VACI) Industry Competition, as VACI funding is not limited to internal VA staff and could increase available funds for private or translational research. This would signal to the private sector that the VA is serious about supporting new therapies. Department of Defense The Coalition will seek institutional reforms that improve the ability of the DOD to partner with private sector innovators. The Coalition will work to improve the internal processes of the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) and speed up the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUX) grant administration process. The Coalition will advocate for direct funding support for all stages of PTSD drug therapy innovation, from initial investigation to FDA approval, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity (USAMMDA), DIUX, and MTEC. The Coalition will monitor opportunities to increase support for PTSD research at other agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration. The members may update coalition policy priorities as appropriate. |
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