National Veterans Small Business Engagement NCA Executive ... · National Veterans Small Business...

150 Years of Keeping the Promise

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National Veterans Small Business Engagement

NCA Executive BriefMr. Thomas MuirDeputy Under Secretary for Management


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Briefing Agenda History, Mission and Responsibilities Leadership and Organizational Structure Benefits Budget and Workload Data Excellence Future Burial Needs Commitment to Veterans Small Business Outreach

Special Events

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NCA History

First national cemeteries established in 1862

Prior, soldiers buriedwhere they fell

“To care for him who shallhave borne the battle, andfor his widow and hisorphan.”

(2nd Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865)Commander-in-Chief Lincoln

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NCA MissionThe National Cemetery Administration(NCA) honors Veterans and their familieswith final resting places in national shrinesand lasting tributes that commemorate theirservice and sacrifice to our Nation.

NCA VisionTo be the model of excellence for burial and memorial benefits for our Nation’s Veterans and their families

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NCA Responsibilities Provide burial space for Veterans and eligible family members

Maintain national cemeteries as national shrines

Administer the Federal grants program for construction of state and tribal Veterans cemeteries

Furnish headstones, markers and medallions for the graves of Veterans around the world

Administer the Presidential Memorial Certificate (PMC) Program

Administer the First Notice of Death (FNOD) program

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Partners in Managing Militaryand Veterans Cemeteries

VA – 131

VA grant-funded cemeteries - 93

Army - 30

Interior - 14Gettysburg National Cemetery, PA

ABMC - 25

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NCA Organizational Chart

USMA

PDUSMA

DUS Field Programs

Director, Office of Field

Programs

Director, Memorial Programs Service

DUS Finance and

Planning/CFO DUS

Management

Executive Director,

Human Capital Management

Ron WaltersActing Under Secretary for

Memorial AffairsDeputy Under Secretary for

Finance and Planning

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St. Louis activities: National Training Center; National Cemetery Scheduling Office; First Notice of Death Office

Indianapolis activities: MSN IV; Cemetery Development and Improvement Service; HR Center

NCA Field Offices

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1,772 employees

About 87% of our employees work outside of DC

Over 74% of NCA employees are Vets highest of anyFederal agency

Includes 450+ returning Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan

Veterans Serving Veterans



National Training Center Cemetery Director Intern Class of

2013 (right)—August 8, 2014 Graduation of the first class of NCA

Cemetery Caretaker ApprenticeProgram—November 15, 2013 (below right)

On-site training as part of the NCACaretaker Training Program (below)

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Volunteer Support

Guardians of the Cemetery, Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown, PA(above left); Vaca Valley Garden Club, Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, CA

(above)

Volunteers donated 304,123 hours of service to national cemeteries in FY13

Valued at $6.5 million

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Burial in a national cemetery: Gravesite Opening and closing of the grave Grave liner Perpetual care of the gravesite

Headstone, Markers or Niche Covers Presidential Memorial Certificate Bronze Medallion U.S. Flag (VBA benefit) Military Funeral Honors (DoD)

Burial Benefits

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Eligibility Criteria and Scheduling

Any member of the U.S. Armed Forces who dies on active duty

Any Veteran who was dischargedunder qualifying conditions (otherthan dishonorable)

National Guard members and Reservists with 20 years of qualifyingservice, who are entitled to retired pay

Spouses, minor children and certainparents

The National Cemetery SchedulingOffice serves all national cemeteries,seven days a week, 362 days a year

Toll Free Number:1-800-535-1117

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Memorial Benefits

“In Memory of…” UprightHeadstone

Niche Covers

Flat MarkerBronze Medallion

PresidentialMemorialCertificate

Burial Flag

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Military Funeral Honors

Department of Defense (DoD) is responsible for providing military funeral honors

Veterans organizations may assist in the provision of military funeral honors

NCA cemetery staff may assist in coordinating military funeral honors


President’s Budget Request FY15*

Line ItemAmount

Requested(in millions of dollars)

Operations and Maintenance $256.8Major Construction 10.0Minor Construction 60.0Veterans Cemetery Grants Program 45.0Total, Discretionary 371.8Total, Compensation and Pension 120.8



FY2014 Benefits Workload DataService Completed

Interments 125,188Headstones andMarkers Provided

360,761

Presidential Memorial Certificates Provided

570,938

Medallions Provided 9,667

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Perpetual care provided for 4.2 mil Veterans, service members, Reservists and family members in 3.4 mil gravesites

Manage 8,812 acres


FY2013 Recap: Interment WorkloadRank Cemetery Total

Interments1 Riverside (CA) 8,2672 Florida (FL) 6,8363 Calverton (NY) 6,3094 Ft. Snelling (MN) 5,0225 Jefferson Barracks (MO) 4,7996 Ft. Logan (CO) 4,1307 Ft. Rosecrans/Miramar (CA) 4,1108 Ft. Sam Houston (TX) 4,0219 Dallas-Ft. Worth (TX) 3,878

10 Willamette (OR) 3,79718


American CustomerSatisfaction Index (ACSI)

In 2013, NCA again achieved the highestranking of any participating organization

Fifth consecutive time!

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2013 Survey of Satisfaction

Conducted annuallysince 2001

Mailed to next of kinand funeral directors

Ties to strategic plangoals for customer service and cemeteryappearance; i.e., 100%satisfaction by 2015Columbarium, Indiantown

Gap National Cemetery, PA

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NCA Best Practices

Raise and Realign projects Installation of Support Systems

Pre-placed cryptsSustainability Efforts

BEFORE AFTER

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Operating and Maintaining National Shrines Operational Standards and Measures

Establishes outcome goals for key operationalprocesses such as interment operations, groundmaintenance operations, and headstone andmarker operations.

Organizational Assessment and Improvement Program (OAI) Continuous improvement practices based on

Malcolm Baldrige and VA Carey criteria fororganizational excellence that incorporatesOperational Standards and Measures

To ensure compliance, cemetery directors submitannual self-assessments that support theadequacy and effectiveness of internal controls.

Teams conduct site visits to national cemeteries on a rotating basis to validate performance reporting.

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National Shrine Recognition

Gold Awards Dallas-Ft. Worth Georgia Quincy (IL)

Green Awards

Danville (IL)

Fayetteville (AR)

Florida

Ft. Custer (MI)

Ft. McPherson (NE)

Dallas-Ft. Worth Ohio Western Reserve Black Hills (SD)

Dallas-Ft. Worth National Cemetery


Leading NCA in the 21st Century

Outcomes

3-pronged strategy to meet future burial needs

National Shrine Commitment/FacilityCondition Assessments

Cemetery Standards of Appearance/OAI Program

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1009080706050403020100

FY01 FY04 FY07

Fiscal Year

FY12 FY17

Percentage of Vets Served*%

of V

eter

ans

Serv

ed

*By an open national, state or tribal Veterans cemetery within 75 miles of home

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Three Pronged Approach1. Extend the service life of

existing cemeteries

2. Develop new nationalcemeteriesa. Five (5) national

cemeteries plannedb. Five (5) Urban

cemeteries c. Eight (8) Rural

cemeteries

3. State and Tribal Cemetery Grant ProgramJefferson Barracks National Cemetery, MO

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How We Develop National Cemeteries

6-Step Process

Site Selection Environmental Assessment Land Acquisition Master Planning & Design

Development Construction Documents Construction Completion Construction of

Sacramento Valley National Cemetery

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National Cemetery Construction

OmahaNational Cemetery, NE

Tallahassee NationalCemetery, FL Cape Canaveral

National Cemetery, FL

Western NY area

Southern CO area

New York City area

Los Angeles area

Chicago area

San FranciscoArea-Alameda

New National Cemetery

Urban Initiative

Indianapolis area

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Rural Initiative

MT

IDWY

UTNV

NCA is establishing National Veterans Burial Grounds in eight states.

In May 2014, VA dedicated the first of these rural cemeteries (Yellowstone National Cemetery) in Laurel, Montana (see inset picture).

ND

WIME

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State and Tribal Cemetery Grants Program VA provides 100% of

development costs

93 operational state and tribal cemeteries in 45 states, Guam and Saipan

Over $566 million in grants awarded since 1988

32,000 burials in FY2013

6 new state and tribal cemeteries projected toopen between now and2015

Administrative Building Sicangu Akicita Owicahe (Rosebud Sioux Tribe Veteran Cemetery)

White River, SD

Grant Award Presentation November 2012BG William C. Doyle Veterans

Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown, N.J.,

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Independent Study on Emerging Burial Practices

Nationwide survey with Veterans

Burial options“Green burials”Study and survey presented to NCA senior

leadership-August 2014 NCA expects to use the study as a cornerstone

of its new Strategic Plan 2015-2021


2014 NCA Veterans Small Business Goal

NCA goal of 84%Achieved 85.1%


Pending Regulations Establish reimbursement of casket and urn purchase

for indigent, unclaimed Veterans Expand definition of applicant for headstone and

marker applications

Memorials Benefit Management System (MBMS) Improvements to BOSS/AMAS, FNOD, and PMC Integration with VA enterprise data Integration of GPS/GIS mapping Integration of mobile capabilities

NCA Key Initiatives

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2013 ACSI Survey on OutreachPrimary methods of learning of benefits:

family members or friends (58%) and funeral homes (36%) (similar to 2012)


Mobile Command Outreach Vehicle (MCO)

Roles Emergency Preparedness Command & Control Outreach

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Burial of Homeless Veterans

Interment Ceremony for Unclaimed VeteransQuantico National Cemetery, VA

March 16, 201336


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150 Years of Keeping the PromiseThank you

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