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News Release
Monday, January 31, 2005
Tel: 202-606-2402
OPM Sends OPM Recruiters to Eglin and MacDill Air Force Bases in Florida
Agency continues push to ensure that veterans have resources they need to continue serving America in a civilian capacity after they complete their military service
Washington, D.C. - Continuing her ongoing push to ensure that America's military veterans have every opportunity to serve America in a civilian capacity, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kay Coles James recently dispatched OPM recruiters to Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida and MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida. The recruiters held workshops for servicemen and servicewomen on the base, offering them tips, advice, and directions about how to apply for and get hired for civilian jobs in the Federal government.
"The Bush Administration believes that when the men and women of today's military complete their military service for America, they should have every opportunity to continue their service to America in the civil service," said Director James. "These veterans are destined for great things as civilian public servants. Just as they strove for excellence during their military service, they will strive for excellence in serving their country in a civilian capacity. We appreciate their ability to lead and willingness to serve."
Eglin AFB is the largest Air Force base in the free world. It was established as a bombing and gunnery base in the 1930s, it became an important armaments testing facility for the Army Air Force during World War II.
MacDill AFB was activated in 1941 and its first mission was training World War II airmen on key military air craft. After World War II, MacDill became an operational base for Strategic Air Command. MacDill was to be closed in 1960, but the Cuban Missile Crisis dictated that it remain in tact, due its strategic location.
This visit to the two AFBs by OPM staff and recruiters are part of Phase II of the Veteran Invitational Program (VIP), the Bush Administration's initiative to communicate Veterans' Preference rights on federal employment opportunities to airmen, soldiers and sailors.
We would like to thank OPM for this outreach effort," said Cheryl Kirkwood, a Community Readiness Specialist at Eglin AFB. "It is very important to our transition personnel and their families. This effort sets the tone for those men and women interested in Federal employment transitioning to civilian life. It allows them the tools to better prepare their professional careers."
OPM's staffing and recruiting experts held workshops with service members from Eglin and MacDill AFBs on aspects of Veterans' Preference, interviewing techniques, and the importance of the USAJOBS website in their job search efforts. Each workshop was well attended, with several dozen engage service people looking to learn more about transitioning into the federal civilian service.
"Uniformed personnel have a track record of success and have acquired many skills and technical disciplines that can be transferred into federal civilian operations," said Director James. "This administration is committed to helping veterans transition into the federal civil service. Offering a federal civilian job to someone who has put his or her professional life on hold to serve our nation is the right thing to do. The least we can do to repay the sacrifices our veterans have made is to honor them with the opportunity to further serve America."
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the leader in workforce management for the federal government. Our agency builds, strengthens, and serves a federal workforce of 2.2 million employees with programs like hiring assistance, healthcare and insurance, retirement benefits, and much more. We provide agencies with policies, guidance, and best practices for supporting federal workers, so they can best serve the American people.