DOD Increases Hiring of People with Disabilities

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON  – The Defense Department’s hiring of wounded warriors and others with disabilities is on an uptick, the Pentagon’s director of disability programs said today.

Stephen M. King, whose office is part of diversity management and equal opportunity, spoke with American Forces Press Service about a recent Office of Personnel Management report that said 14 percent of the Defense Department’s civilian employees have disabilities, putting DOD in second place among cabinet-level agencies for disability hiring.

“There is a greater [applicant] pool, and more emphasis on hiring individuals with disabilities and wounded warriors through two executive orders in the last three years,” King said.

Veterans with disabilities bring values to DOD such as familiarity with military culture, proven leadership and the ability to enter the workforce and “perform on Day 1,” he said.

Additionally, hiring veterans and others with disabilities contributes to military readiness, King said. DOD will reap the benefits of those who have served by hiring them after their service, he added.

DOD and other agencies want to hire veterans with disabilities whether they were injured recently, have acquired a disability, or if the disability is service connected, King said.

“We want … those abilities in DOD regardless of how long ago you were a veteran,” he said.

“For any organization to be its best, you really have to take advantage of and value what everyone brings to the table: their background, knowledge, skills and abilities,” he said.

People with disabilities face unique challenges, King noted. “We need that type of problem-solving ability and skill in the workplace,” he said.

“It is awesome when you get to talk to someone who [wore] a uniform and tells you the difference that you’ve made as an organization by allowing [him] to continue to serve his country but in a different capacity,” King said.

The upward trend in DOD’s disability hiring stems from several initiatives and programs, King said.

“There is a renewed focus within DOD and the federal government on utilizing existing hiring flexibility, [such as] hiring individuals with disabilities noncompetitively,” he said.

Numerous hiring programs include the Hiring Heroes job fairs and the Veterans Hiring Initiative, which seeks out veterans and transitioning service members.

DOD also recruits young people with disabilities as they are about to graduate from more than 250 colleges and universities that participate in the Workforce Recruitment Program, which DOD co-sponsors with the Labor Department, King said.

The goal of the program is to create a database for federal agencies to meet their disability hiring targets, he said.

To further its goals, DOD also is working with human resources policies and advisers so those with disabilities have the opportunity to become integrated into development and leadership programs.

“We want to focus on all types of positions and grade levels … to be inclusive of individuals with all types of disabilities,” he said.

King’s office is working toward getting new employees to disclose their disability information so the department can accurately give them what they need to do their jobs, such as assisted technology.

Such technology runs the gamut, King said, from screen readers for the vision challenged to TTY machines for the deaf to braille keyboards and devices that help those with memory loss. Some wounded warriors have some memory loss due to traumatic brain injuries, he added.

“New technologies are being invented every single day,” King said. “When you look at what we’re capable of providing in the workplace, with the right assistance, it’s actually quite phenomenal, and it’s only going to get better.”

Disabled Vets Expecting Miracles as Winter Sports Clinic Opens

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

April 1, 2007 – Some 450 disabled veterans converging here today -- about 100 of them wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan -- aren't looking for April Fools pranks. They're expecting miracles. The veterans are kicking off the 21st National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, six days jam-packed with activities designed to push them to new heights and enhance their rehabilitation.

Veterans of past clinics -- and the people who have watched them show themselves and the world what they can still do - refer to what happens here as "Miracles on the Mountainside."

Participants will learn Alpine and Nordic skiing and try their hands at rock climbing, scuba diving, trapshooting, snowmobiling, sled hockey, wheelchair fencing and other activities.

In doing so, they'll demonstrate that they're not about to let an amputation, spinal cord injury, visual impairment or other severe disability get in the way of a full, productive life.

Among this year's returnees is 28-year-old Marine Corps veteran David Vidana, already a walking miracle.

Vidana was shot in the head by a sniper in Baghdad in April 2003. He was considered dead for a full 12 hours before his caregivers were able to detect a faint pulse. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's medical correspondent, happened to be embedded with Vidana's unit at the time, and performed the surgery that saved his life. "I know it's a miracle that I'm alive," Vidana said.

His recovery has been miraculous as well. Just one year after teetering on the brink of death, he came to his first winter sports clinic here. "I didn't think I was going to be able to walk, and then a year later, I was snowboarding!" he said.

Bradley Barton, national commander of Disabled American Veterans, which cosponsors the program with the Department of Veterans Affairs, said experiences like Vidana's are common during the winter sports clinic.

"It is truly a miracle to see the transformation take place on the mountain as these men and women push themselves to the limit and rehabilitate both body and mind," he said.

Veterans Affairs Sewcretary Jim Nicholson shared Barton's assessment, calling the participants' courage and determination "examples for us all."

Participants range in age from their late teens to their 80s and served in every conflict since World War II. All receive care from a VA health-care facility.

They understand each other in a special way, and it's that bond as much as the thrills and gratification they get here that keeps many coming back, year after year.

"At previous clinics, I met other Marines from other conflicts with different types of injuries, who shared great insight and perspective," Vidana said as he anticipated this week's clinic. "It helps with meeting people who understand your injury."

Faoa "Ap" Apineru, a Marine who suffered a traumatic brain injury when an improvised explosive device exploded nearby during a road-clearing mission in Iraq in May 2005, is attending his first winter sports clinic and looks forward to that interaction.

"I think it's positive to share something positive and social with other veterans," said Apineru, who was medically retired as a staff sergeant.

"The reason the clinic is important starts with camaraderie," he said. "Events like this boost morale and give us an idea that there truly are people out there who care for us."

Army veteran Joseph Hineman, at 84, is among the oldest participants in this year's clinic, but knows he has a lot to share with younger and more recently disabled veterans.

After surviving the Battle of the Bulge, Hineman was hit by shrapnel from a German mortar in October 1944 while his unit was trying to capture the bridge at Ramagan over the Rhine River. He lost his left leg above the knee.

He said he looks forward to sharing his insights and his positive philosophy with the younger veterans he meets here.

"We share a generational bond, because even through I'm much older, I can identify with them psychologically and physiologically because of our similar injuries," he said.

Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership as well as police and military authors.