WISCONSIN — As a veteran and current Forest Service employee, Josh Keenan has nothing but praise for the VetsWork program.

Keenan serves as the Eastern Region volunteer and services program manager and has been employed by our agency since 2015. He credits VetsWork for helping him to get a foot in the door of the Forest Service.

Prior to joining the Forest Service, Keenan served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, where his military occupational specialty, or MOS, was as an 1833 amphibious assault vehicle crew chief. He was stationed at Twentynine Palms, the world’s largest marine corps training base, in the Mohave Desert in southern California.

As he neared the end of his time in service, Keenan began to look around for further employment opportunities. He learned about the Forest Service as a volunteer on the Shawnee National Forest, while he attended Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. After completing his VetsWork program, Keenan started a paid position as a seasonal employee on the Shawnee in 2015.  

VetsWork helps veterans find meaningful employment in government jobs. It is a partner program for military veterans interested in the natural resources management, public lands and environment careers. Participants are placed at local, state and federal land management agencies, including the USDA Forest Service, where they provide project support while learning about different career paths.

“I’m a huge advocate of the VetsWork program,” Keenan said. “It provided a pathway into the Forest Service and made me realize I wanted to do this as a career. It gives veterans an opportunity to showcase their skills and abilities and get a foot in the door of federal service.”

The 11-month internship program gives veterans an opportunity to develop skills and to demonstrate their work ethic, he said.  Forest units have the chance to hire their VetsWork participant after they complete their term through one of several hiring authorities.

“It’s a workforce development program similar to others in the agency,” Keenan added. He also praised the people behind the scenes at the VetsWork program, calling them passionate people who want to help veterans get an opportunity to work for the federal government.

Hiring authorities offering employment opportunities for veterans include:

• VRA — Veterans Recruitment Appointment - This hiring authority allows for the appointment of eligible veterans without competition up to grade level GS-11 or equivalent

• VEOA — Veterans Employment Opportunity Act - Allows eligible veterans to apply to announcements that would otherwise be open to "status" candidates, such as "current competitive service employees and certain prior employees who have earned competitive status”

• 30% Disabled Veteran — This authority can appoint an eligible disabled veteran to any position for which they are qualified, without competition

• Schedule A Hiring Authority for People with Disabilities — Veterans “30% or More Disabled” may obtain Schedule A Certification from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment program. Any veteran with a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act definition of “disability,” whether service-connected or not, may qualify.

There are currently 382 veterans employed in the Eastern Region comprising 14.4% of the region’s 2,647 employees.

“We want to increase our workforce representation in all areas, including hiring veterans," Keenan added.

Eastern Region Workforce and Outreach Specialist Scott Swendsen said of the 37,485 total employees in the Forest Service, there are currently 5,555 individuals who identify as veterans, making up 14.8% of the agency’s workforce.

The Eastern Region is second only to the Southern Region in the percentage of the workforce with employees who identify themselves as veterans.

“The Forest Service also seeks to increase veteran representation workforce,” Swendsen added.

More information about other veteran workforce development partnership programs is available online.