On this Veterans Day, I want to express a deep gratitude to all of the many men and women, past and present, who have proudly defended this nation through their military service. I feel especially privileged to have met many of these fine public servants and veterans who currently work at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
At the EPA, we have worked very hard to expand our hiring of veterans over the past six years. In fact, we have doubled the number of veterans hired during that time. From September 2012 to September 2013, more than 15% of our new hires were veterans, of which more than 5% were disabled veterans. Agency-wide, almost 9% of our permanent employees are vets. We have been able to accomplish this by expanding our participation in job fairs, career information events and outreach at military bases.
Our experience tells us that veterans make great additions to any workforce. With skills in planning, leadership, mentoring, personnel and administrative operations, problem-solving, negotiation, advocacy, communication, and in a multitude of technical fields, veterans are a welcome addition to any team.
