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To provide fast, tailored, and reliable support for the Veterans who contact the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contact centers, as well as slash costs associated with older, legacy platforms, the VA Office of Information and Technology is transforming Veteran support by migrating VA contact centers to a new cloud platform.  

Deploying Solutions at the Speed of Need  

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The Women Veterans Call Center launched this effort on March 5, 2025, followed by the Office of Inspector General Contact Center on March 10, 2025. This shift from outdated systems boosts the resilience of VA’s critical Veteran-facing platforms, cuts costs, and drives exceptional service to the Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors VA serves. 

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These upgrades empower Women Veterans Call Center agents with scalable, reliable tools to provide swift, tailored support for women Veterans, and the Office of Inspector General Contact Center gains sharper insight and increased efficiencies to bolster oversight of Veteran care and benefits. Next up? The Veterans Crisis Line. 

This new cloud platform’s flexibility and AI-driven analytics allow VA to adapt instantly to Veterans’ needs, from surges in Veteran outreach around benefits claims, to national crises. Spread across fortified data centers, this new platform is as unyielding as those it serves — guaranteeing every voice is heard. 

Slashing Costs with Zero Compromise: Reinvesting in Veterans  

Legacy systems are a financial anchor for many government organizations, draining funds into hardware, maintenance, and bloated IT overhead. This new cloud platform reduces that burden, slashing costs with a lean, subscription-based model that eliminates the need for endless infrastructure spending. For VA, this isn’t about saving pennies — it’s about redirecting every dollar toward the Veterans we serve. Efficiency isn’t a buzzword here; it’s a lifeline. 

This upgrade isn’t simply incremental progress — it’s a commitment to a new way of doing business, where advanced tools and rock-solid reliability redefine VA’s services, allowing us to return our focus to the Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors VA is privileged to serve. 

On December 17, 2024, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) leaders joined GOVTECH CONNECTS to showcase our Vision for Digital Transformation at the VA Digital Health Summit. Presenting to a packed house at The National Press Club, VA experts shared their perspectives on the latest innovations and emerging technologies shaping the future of VA care for the nation’s Veterans.

Challenges and Opportunities in IT Modernization

From IT modernization and cybersecurity to strategic sourcing, the summit was filled with engaging discussions, providing a glimpse into the challenges VA faces and opportunities ahead to make VA’s IT systems more accessible, secure, and responsive to users’ needs. Throughout the event, VA leaders shared the importance of fostering collaboration and strengthening partnerships between VA and industry leaders to address critical issues and identify innovative approaches to enhance the user experience.

Keynote Address: Technology That Serves Veterans

VA Chief Information Officer Kurt DelBene kicked off with a compelling keynote, emphasizing VA’s role in creating technology that is both veteran-centric and future-ready to support the complexity of VA’s IT infrastructure. As the “largest IT shop in the United States,” Mr. DelBene explained the importance of keeping up with the emerging demands and constraints at VA by refining our strategic plans and initiatives to support the nation’s Veterans and all VA stakeholders. As one example, in 2024, VA supported over 1 million claims over the previous year as the PACT Act created a record demand among Veterans and their survivors to receive VA benefits and care. “We are surpassing the expectations we all had,” Mr. DelBene shared.

VA supports 2.7 million pieces of equipment that require continuous monitoring to maintain a strong security posture and ensure aging systems are modernized as we work toward an evergreen state. Most recently, VA identified 100 of the most critical bedrock systems, which are now operating at 99.9% uptime through continuous monitoring efforts.

“You don’t have a great system unless people love using it,” Mr. DelBene shared. “That’s why we’re measuring usability…and why we’ve invested heavily in VA.gov to create a great user experience for Veterans.” Every month, on average, 17 million people log into VA.gov and 1.3 million people sign into the VA Health and Benefits mobile app. “Our goal is to make sure that every ounce of functionality that exists for Veterans is easily accessible and delightful to use.”

Cybersecurity as a Critical Priority

The scale and complexity of VA’s health care system present unique challenges in cybersecurity implementation. “We’re very passionate about Zero Trust as our North Star here,” Mr. DelBene added when discussing cybersecurity at VA. “It’s a lot of monitoring that we have to build into our systems that we don’t have today. We still have a long way to go there and it’s absolutely critical to us.”

Mr. DelBene’s keynote set a tone of optimism and determination, reinforcing VA’s commitment to leveraging state-of-the-art technology and strategic partnerships to benefit those who served. “There’s no better and more sacred mission in the federal government than the one we do every day,” Mr. DelBene concluded before the panelists took the stage.

The summit continued with a series of five panel discussions, each offering deeper insight into VA’s priorities. Topics included: acquisitions, optimizing the Veteran experience, artificial intelligence (AI), the next wave of Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM), Human Resources management, and cybersecurity.

In-Depth Discussions on VA’s Priorities

When discussing acquisitions, Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Office of Strategic Sourcing, Dr. Luwanda Jones explained, “we want to make sure that we have the best-in-class contract vehicles.” As VA integrates systems and keeps pace with the ever-changing technological landscape, we strive to create partnerships and collaborate with vendors or other agencies that help us identify simpler and more effective tools—including automation such as artificial intelligence (AI).

VA focuses on human-centered design to improve the customer experience across all channels. By partnering with vendors, we can work together to remedy gaps and execute strategies within our data collection process to provide more accurate, consistent, and timely information across the enterprise. In turn, we enhance the experience for the entire Veteran community.

Collaborating for a Stronger VA

The summit also highlighted opportunities for industry collaboration to address the critical issues VA continues to face. “It’s important to be able to collaborate across the different Administrations to understand what it means for security,” Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, Ms. Amber Pearson shared in the closing panel. To keep VA data and systems secure, reliable, and accessible (only to those who need it), VA is partnering with vendors to deploy advanced cybersecurity measures and modernize our complex infrastructure. These efforts are essential for safeguarding Veteran data against evolving threats in the health care industry.

A Future of Modern, Effective Veteran Services

The VA Digital Health Summit highlighted VA’s unwavering commitment to leveraging technology, innovation, and partnerships to deliver world-class care to Veterans. Our collaborative approach promises to create VA services that are modern, effective, and overall, enjoyable to use. As these initiatives take shape in the upcoming year, all VA stakeholders — especially Veterans — can look forward to VA services that are attuned to their unique needs.

The PACT Act is the most significant expansion of Veteran benefits in generations, providing care and benefits to millions of Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.

The passage of the PACT Act made the need to modernize our benefits systems even more urgent. It required adding new features and functionality to provide VA employees with the tools they needed to provide more benefits to more Veterans than ever before, while maintaining accuracy. The sheer demand on our technical infrastructure was substantial, and delivering on this ambitious legislation required an equally ambitious modernization effort.

Progress on Our 5-Year Plan

To deliver on the promise of the PACT Act, we started by developing a 5-year Benefits IT Modernization Plan, which we delivered to Congress in March 2023, as required by the PACT Act.

Last month, we delivered the 2024 Addendum to The Department of Veterans Affairs 5-Year Benefits Systems Modernization Plan (PDF, 2.9MB, 121 pages), which highlights the work we’ve done so far and looks ahead to the work that remains.

While we’re encouraged by the progress we’ve made as a team, this is not a one-and-done effort. We must aggressively prioritize and continue to pursue IT modernization that ensures we’re supporting systems that enable Veterans, their families, and their survivors to access the benefits and services on which they depend.

We’ve spent the last two years working across VA to accelerate the timeline for planned systems modernization, and we’ve made tremendous progress against our 5-year roadmap. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, VA focused on 70 modernization efforts, resulting in the enhancement of 40 systems in a highly compressed timeframe. As of August 2024, VA has 147 modernization efforts underway and is on track to continue accelerating advancements year over year.

The impact of these efforts is perhaps best represented by some of our successes in benefits and health care administration and delivery:

• More than 796,000 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care since the PACT Act was signed into law — a nearly 37% increase over the previous equivalent period.
• VA has received 4,838,631 claims for disability benefits (including 1,932,310 claims with PACT Act conditions) in the past two years — 42.3% more than the two prior fiscal years.
• As of January 11, 2025, VA has approved 1,461,759 PACT Act claims and awarded more than $8.9 billion in backdated benefits since the bill was signed into law.
• 913,459 Veterans have upgraded their priority groups, making them eligible for care with fewer copays.
• VA processed over 2.5 million claims in FY 2024.
• On September 25, 2024, VA processed a record 11,052 claims in a single day.

A Glimpse into Our Modernization Focus

VA hired new employees to help process the influx of claims, but this wasn’t enough. We also needed to provide digital solutions to help claims processors decide claims more efficiently, while enhancing the customer experience. Rising to this challenge required us to create additional functionality to support VA employees and end users.

Making It Easier for Veterans to Apply

VA Profile enhancements on VA.gov reduced manual data entry for Veterans by integrating known contact information and prepopulating data where possible. In addition, during call center phone conversations, VA employees received automatic “helpful hints” about missing information via a chatbot, prompting the employee to seek the relevant information or ask pertinent questions.

Improving Employee Training

Aggressive hiring called for an equally robust effort to improve training. We sped up onboarding by upgrading the VA Training Academy (ACAD) Environment in 2023 to establish a 2-week start cadence for training in the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), the system VA employees use to process claims. We also enhanced the ACAD environment to mirror the production environment, using data that reproduces what new claims processors would see in an actual claims experience. In addition, we added a new capability to help new employees practice more complex claims and those with higher error rates to prepare them for the challenges they would face in the field. We remain clear-eyed on additional training needs to further improve the timeliness and accuracy of claims processing.

Enabling the Workflow of Claims Submissions and Decisions

As disability compensation claims are submitted, the workload must be balanced among VA regional offices. Modernization began in 2023 to address system limitations within the VBMS National Work Queue — the part of VBMS that assigns work and enables an increased claims load. Our re-architecture of the VBMS National Work Queue will improve claims management and on-demand distributions of claims to and from the field, which enables better workload distribution.

Decision Support for Claims Processors

We updated human physiological systems and calculators to remove risk of using outdated evaluations on claims. We added automatic “helpful hints” and reminders for claims processors when they encounter a complex claim. VA also rolled out a new summary document that indexes all the information and provides claims processors with a recommendation rating. The ultimate rating decision is always with the claims processor, but these tools help them locate and review the relevant evidence efficiently.

Foundational Work in Systems Modernization

We increased system capacity to handle the load of incoming enrollments and claims by moving VBMS to the cloud, which helped its resiliency and responsiveness. We increased our use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to assist developers in creating new technologies faster and with greater built-in security. In essence, APIs provide a jumpstart for developers to begin their work. We also decommissioned several legacy systems, reducing VA’s system maintenance and security surface area and freeing up resources.

Improvements in Data and Data Usage

We’ve significantly improved our ability to leverage a wealth of Veteran data. By integrating data from separate systems and cross-referencing information from sources outside VA, a more complete picture of the Veteran is now available. This includes centralized and consolidated data for Veteran demographics, service, deployments, medals, awards, contact information, and Congressional district. This centralization of data allows VA to identify new opportunities for outreach to Veterans, whether for PACT Act or for future expansions of care and benefits.

Our “One VA” Approach

Our “One VA” approach to collaboration paved the way for all these wins. The foundational work outlined in the 2024 Addendum allowed us to achieve the first set of desired outcomes on our roadmap. With this foundation in place, we’re ready to continue growing VA’s ability to serve Veterans faster, more accurately, and more equitably while enabling our partners across VA to deliver a world-class customer experience. Working alongside so many Veterans, we’ve seen firsthand how impactful our modernization efforts have been to the community VA serves.

Millions of Veterans and survivors have already begun receiving benefits as a result of this historic law. VA is continuing to conduct the largest outreach campaign in our history with one goal: ensuring all Veterans and their survivors get the health care and benefits they deserve under the PACT Act.

If you’re a Veteran who served this country at home or abroad during Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, or Afghanistan or a survivor of a Veteran, please visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-698-2411 to learn more and apply today.

For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information and Technology (OIT) was named to Foundry’s Computerworld 2025 Best Places to Work in IT list.  Ranking 59th among large organizations, OIT is proud to be among other industry tech leaders like Johns Hopkins Medical, Navy Federal Credit Union, and FedEx Corporation. 

“We are thrilled to be ranked as one of the top places to work in IT for a fourth year in a row.” said Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer, Kurt DelBene. “To rank among other industry leaders on this list reflects OIT’s ongoing commitment to People Excellence and our vision of being the best IT organization in government.”

Since 1994, this annual survey has queried and ranked large, midsize, and small organizations to discover the best IT employers from around the world. VA OIT earned this ranking as a result of a forward-thinking culture that offers top-tier benefits, career development and training opportunities,.

To rank among other industry leaders on this list reflects OIT’s ongoing commitment to People Excellence and our vision of being the best IT organization in government.

According to the OIT Chief People Officer and Deputy Chief Information Officer of the Office of People Science, Mr. Nathan Tierney, “Over the past year, we have diligently fostered a high-performing culture within OIT, prioritizing employee well-being, development opportunities, and recognizing the invaluable contributions of our talented team. We are committed to creating an environment where every employee feels valued, supported, and empowered to excel.”

If you are interested in a career in IT or are a seasoned professional seeking new opportunities for growth and development in a progressive government IT culture, visit DigitalVA Careers to learn more about OIT’s service organizations and to search current openings across the enterprise.   

You can also hear real employees talk about their experience working in this space in our Life in OIT video series.

Innovation is at the heart of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and our 2024 AI Use Case Inventory reflects that spirit. This collection of over 200 artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives showcases how we’re embracing cutting-edge technology to improve the lives of Veterans and empower VA staff. From advancing health care diagnostics with computer vision to streamlining benefits claims with generative AI, this catalog is a testament to the power of ingenuity and collaboration across the VA. 

But this inventory isn’t just a list of projects; it’s a blueprint for the future. The journey to create this comprehensive resource taught us valuable lessons, highlighted the power of preparation, and underscored the importance of fostering a culture of innovation. 

A Launchpad for Innovation 

When the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Memorandum M-24-10 (PDF, 34 pages, 518KB) in March 2024, federal agencies were tasked with creating detailed AI use case inventories. For VA, this wasn’t only a requirement — it was an opportunity to lead. By building processes to ensure transparency and accountability, we created an inventory that goes beyond compliance, serving as a cornerstone for responsible AI deployment. 

How We Built a Culture of Collaboration and Growth 

Starting Ahead of the Game

Before OMB’s guidance became official, we hit the ground running by: 

• Defining leadership roles within the VA Office of the Chief AI Officer. 
• Creating early intake tools to gather initial use case data effortlessly. 
• Streamlining decision-making for project teams with clear reporting guidelines. 
• Implementing automated data pipelines to efficiently manage incoming information. 

This forward-thinking approach saved time and allowed us to innovate while meeting requirements. 

Harnessing the Power of Technology 

Our nimble team turned complexity into simplicity by designing automated systems that: 

• Integrate governance seamlessly across the VA’s divisions. 
• Improve data quality and reporting with smart digital forms. 
• Centralize resources, ensuring clarity and alignment for all stakeholders. 

Building Bridges Through Communication

To support teams across VA, we built robust communication networks, including: 

• A dedicated support email for inventory inquiries. 
• A comprehensive resource website to share guidance and updates. 
• Regular office hours to answer questions in real time. 

These efforts ensure that help is always available when needed. 

Tackling Challenges with Optimism
While tight timelines and evolving requirements posed challenges, we embraced them as opportunities to refine our systems. By prioritizing high-impact cases, collaborating with external stakeholders like the FDA, and leveraging existing evaluations, we ensured our approach was thorough and efficient. 

What We Learned
Our experience reinforced the importance of starting early, focusing on high-impact areas, and staying adaptable. These lessons are valuable not only for VA but for any organization aiming to build a strong foundation for AI governance. 

To our peers in the federal AI governance community, our experience offers these lessons: 

• Start small and scale as you go. 
• Collaborate across teams and agencies to share resources and expertise. 
• Document decisions rigorously, creating a transparent framework for the future. 

For policymakers, we advocate for more predictable timelines, earlier guidance, and open-source tools to support agencies with varying technical resources. 

The Path Forward

Our experience with M-24-10 compliance has shown that successful AI governance requires a combination of proactive planning, technical capability, and clear communication channels. While we faced significant challenges with timelines and guidance interpretation, our approach created a foundation that will serve both the VA and the Veterans we support well into the future.  

For all agencies beginning this journey, the goal isn’t simply compliance — it’s about building trust through transparency and ensuring AI systems serve the public interest effectively and ethically. Despite tight deadlines associated with a process new to many federal agencies, which adds friction to meeting reporting requirements, VA found strong partners in OMB and other policy stakeholders. By focusing first on principles around documentation, as a form of accountability, and transparency for individual use cases, any agency can achieve proper risk management.  

The inventory we’ve created is just the beginning. As AI technology evolves, so too will our approach to governance. We’re committed to sharing our experiences and learning from others as we work together to ensure responsible AI use across government.  

A Future Full of Possibilities 

Our 2024 AI Use Case Inventory is more than a compliance document — it’s a celebration of what’s possible when innovation meets purpose. From enhancing healthcare by streamlining administrative tasks or improving cancer detection, to safeguarding benefit delivery from fraud, our AI initiatives are making a tangible difference in the lives of Veterans. We’re proud to lead by example, and we’re committed to sharing our journey as we continue to evolve. 

If you’re interested in learning more about our inventory or governance strategies, visit VA AI Use Case Inventory for the full inventory and additional resources. Together, let’s create an AI-powered future that’s rooted in transparency, accountability, and everyone’s well-being. 

Seven Office of Information and Technology (OIT) team members were named 2025 Engage Fed Health 150 awardees, nine were selected for the Forum IT 100 list, and two individuals were honored at the Forum Women in Leadership Conference. Honorees were selected based on their leadership, mission focus, innovation, and professional successes.

Engage Fed Health 150

• Dr. Aaron Drew, Technical Director, Product Delivery Service (PDS)
• Nicole Gilbride, Chief Strategy Officer, Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO)
• Brooke Jordan, Stakeholder Engagement Lead, OCTO
• Kendall Krebs, Deputy Executive Director, Infrastructure Operations (IO)
• Amber Pearson, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer and Executive Director or Information Security Policy and Strategy, Office of Information Security (OIS)
• Nathan Tierney, Deputy Chief Information Officer and Chief People Officer, Office of People Science (OPS)
• Ryan Woodward, Chief of Operations, IO

Forum IT 100

• Spencer Burgos, Program Analyst, Office of the Chief of Staff
• Jeffrey Campbell, Deputy Chief of Content Hosting and Delivery Solutions (CHDS), IO
• Catherine Cravens, Chief of Staff
• Robert Cunningham, Executive Director, Enterprise Command Operations (ECO)
• Mark Kelley, Chief of CHDS, IO
• Sarah MacDawutey, Deputy Director, Innovation Unit
• Jose Negron Jr., IT Specialist, IO
• Robert Irzyk, Product Line Manager, PDS
• Pamela Smith, Deputy Chief of Staff

Forum Women in Leadership

• Solitaire Carroll, Co-Director, Veteran Experience Services Portfolio (VEO)
• Pamela Smith, Deputy Chief of Staff

These achievements highlight not only the OIT staff members who won these industry awards, but also the dedication of the entire OIT team to the larger VA mission. They serve as an example of the impactful work OIT does daily to serve our customers, Veterans, and their families. Congratulations to all of you and to these specific OIT employees who are driving change in Federal IT!

Engage Fed Health 150 honored recipients during a ceremony on September 18, 2024, Forum IT 100 on December 3, 2024, and Forum Women in Leadership on October 17, 2024. To stay up to date on OIT’s latest award stories or learn about emerging technology trends at the Department, visit Digital VA News.

The Office of Information and Technology (OIT) is proud to announce the honoree of the 2024 FORUM Impact Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2024 FedScoop 50 Award, DC’s 2024 Tech Titan, and the honorees of the 2024 GOVTECH CONNECTS Digital Health Transformation Awards.

Congratulations to these OIT employees who are helping drive change across the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

FORUM IMPACT Women in Leadership Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award in Government: Angela Gant-Curtis, Deputy CTO for Innovations and Director of VA Innovation Unit

This prestigious award honors women who drive positive change and lead organizations and mission-driven strategic initiatives within the Federal Civilian, Federal Health, Military Health, Technology, and Consulting sectors.

FedScoop 50 Award

Federal Leadership: Charles Worthington, CTO, and Chief AI Officer

The Federal Leadership Award recognizes top federal leaders implementing innovative technologies, strategies, and programs to drive modernization efforts in their agencies.

Washingtonian Magazine’s 2024 Tech Titans

Technology Modernization: Charles Worthington, CTO and Chief AI Officer

The Tech Titan Award recognizes current tech leaders and rising stars in the industry who drive innovation, shape the future of their industries in Washington, D.C.’s tech scene, and solve some of the most complex challenges through technology.

GOVTECH CONNECTS Digital Health Transformation Awards

My HealtheVet program:

• Dr. Meredith Josephs, Executive Director of Connected Health

• Ms. Lauren Alexanderson, Deputy CTO for Health Delivery, Office of the Chief Technology Officer

Clinical Decision Support Collaborative program:

• Peter Koutsovitis, Product Manager, Office of the Chief Technology Officer

• Shane Elliot, Senior IT Specialist, Office of the Chief Technology Officer

These awards honor Federal and Military Health IT programs harnessing emerging technologies’ power to advance their missions and spotlight the dedicated teams behind this groundbreaking work.

The FORUM recognized awardees on October 17, 2024. The Washingtonian Magazine honored recipients on October 29, 2024. GovTech Connects formally acknowledged this year’s awardees during the Digital Health Summit on October 30, 2024. FedScoop hosted a reception on November 20, 2024, celebrating the honorees. To stay up to date on OIT’s latest award stories and emerging technology trends at VA, visit Digital VA News.

Transparency and accountability are foundational elements for government agencies to build public trust, ensure ethical practices, and promote effective use of taxpayer resources. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information and Technology is laser focused on these values as we execute against our mission of providing world-class IT products and services to VA and to the Veterans, caregivers, and families VA serves.

VA, along with all other federal agencies are assessed and graded on their overall Information Technology (IT) performance as part of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). The goal of the assessment is to reduce costs, improve cybersecurity, and enhance IT performance while providing good customer service across the Federal government. As a testament to VA’s strong stewardship of IT investments, our overall FITARA score increased from a C grade to a B on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s biannual scorecard released in September 2024. This significant achievement, along with receiving A grades in key areas such as IT functionality, risk assessment, and our transition to the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) telecommunications contract, reflects our unwavering commitment to Operational Excellence and our dedication to enhancing the quality of services provided to Veterans.

Why This Achievement Matters

VA is the nation’s largest integrated health care provider and we safeguard critical data for over 9.1 million Veterans across a vast IT landscape. This includes:

• Providing care at over 1,360 healthcare facilities, including 170 VA Medical Centers and 1,193 outpatient sites of care
• Protecting 500,000 desktops that interface with 1,000+ systems
• Blocking more than 6 billion malware threats annually

The recent improvement to a B grade marks an important milestone, one achieved through the dedication of multiple teams across VA to streamline processes, implement cost-saving practices, and enhance the overall experience for those who have served our nation.

“Our journey to improve our FITARA score is about more than just numbers; it’s about crafting a better narrative for Veterans,” says Martha Orr, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Compliance, Risk, and Remediation; Chief Risk Officer; and Chief Audit Executive. “Each enhancement in our IT management practices is a chapter in a larger story of commitment and care. By striving for excellence, we are ensuring that Veterans receive timely, reliable services that honor their sacrifices. This ongoing pursuit not only strengthens our operational capabilities, but also empowers us to tell a story of transformation — one where technology serves as a bridge to better outcomes, ultimately enriching Veteran lives.”

Automating cybersecurity risk management is a long-term goal across Federal Agencies. With the publication of the latest memo from The White House, Modernizing the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), all Federal Agencies must take massive strides to automate risk management by translating their text-based documentation (e.g., System Security Plans) into Open Security Controls Assessment Language (OSCAL) format by July 2026.

With the deadline less than two years away, what inroads have already been made at VA to prepare for the adoption of OSCAL format?

VA is already established as the federal leader in OSCAL formatted documentation. This calendar year, VA became the first federal agency to submit a FedRAMP-templated OSCAL format System Security Plan (SSP) to GSA, which puts VA at the forefront of the Federal OSCAL conversation and paves the way for other Federal Agencies to achieve this level of maturity.

Our early adoption and testing of OSCAL with the luminaries in the field like Dr. Michaela Iorga, the founders of the standard the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the FedRAMP office within GSA proves we’re not sitting back and watching innovation happen — rather we’re driving the conversation.

“Submitting the first agency authorization package in OSCAL (to FedRAMP), is a great milestone for the federal government’s security automation and continuous ATO journey, and I personally congratulate the Veterans Affairs team for its pioneering work in streamlining the agency’s risk management process,” said Dr. Michaela Iorga, Director of the OSCAL program at NIST. “The outcome of the hard work and dedication of the VA team is marking the beginning of a new era in cybersecurity for the federal government.”

Benefits of OSCAL

OSCAL is a standardized framework used across the public and private sector for documenting, sharing, and automating security controls information across different technology platforms using a traceable, machine-readable data format for security information. This standardization unlocks the potential for end-to-end automation and will enable VA to go through the risk management process (i.e., authorization process) in as little as one day, when the current process takes up to and over one calendar year. Formats for OSCAL-templated documents include eXtensible Markup Language (XML), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and Yet Another Markup Language (YAML).

A July 25, 2024, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo states “Within 24 months of the issuance of this memorandum, agencies shall ensure that agency governance, risk, and compliance and system-inventory tools can ingest and produce machine-readable authorization and continuous monitoring artifacts using OSCAL, or any succeeding protocol as identified by FedRAMP.”

Benefits include:

• OSCAL enables us to automate the time consuming and repetitive compliance tasks that are an integral part of risk management. This means human teams can focus on managing real system risks and accelerates the authorization process to a point where VA will be able to achieve an Authority to Operate (ATO) in one day.
• Once implemented, OSCAL enables enterprises to simplify and streamline the process of managing security controls, assessments, and authorization for information systems. It reduces the need for rework by enabling the reuse of security packages for reference and sharing organizational security baselines across different entities. Additionally, it enables automated checks to identify and resolve errors, gaps, and inconsistencies across packages. OSCAL also enables integration with security tools to drive the continuous monitoring and reporting of a system’s ever-changing risk posture.
• The machine-readable format of OSCAL-formatted security documents will streamline and automate their publication, implementation, assessment, and authorization of security controls.
• It will replace the traditional approach of writing security plans manually using word processers for many. It will make the entire process of creating plans and complying with security controls faster, easier, more accurate, and comprehensive by no longer relying on manual development and compliance checks.

As cyber threats to our national security get smarter and more sophisticated every year, now, more than ever, we must be vigilant not to underestimate the threat facing VA, Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. Automating risk management will significantly enhance the government’s security planning, controls, and compliance; enhance the federal cyber posture; increase efficiencies and preciseness; and decrease risks.

The Business Need

As VA strives to create a seamless, world-class digital experience for employees, Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors, cybersecurity excellence is a top priority to increase VA’s security preparedness, minimize risk of a major security incident, and strengthen procedures enabling the Department to identify and respond rapidly and decisively to new security threats and incidents.

“Our efforts to evolve automation are essential to advancing cybersecurity capabilities at the speed of innovation. As a leader in federal information security, we constantly mature enterprise security with continuous improvements like OSCAL and through our partnerships across the public and private sector,” says Amber Pearson, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer.

Specifically, business needs we hope to address with OSCAL-based risk management automation are to:

• Lower the level of effort for system teams needing to update documentation.
• Bring new technology to Veteran use faster, providing the latest and greatest technology faster.

Before OSCAL risk management automation, it can take one year to get new software and technology deployed at VA medical centers to enhance care for Veterans by the time all security requirements are met.

After OSCAL, will reduce the time to authorization for a critical innovative piece of medical technology from a year to a single day.

Before OSCAL risk management automation, system security documentation is a manual process that involves creating and updating documents for each system across the enterprise and doing manual compliance checks against the documents.

After OSCAL, will provide easily completed, updated, and reused plans and enable more precise checks via automation so developers and security teams no longer need to manually perform the tasks and can focus on more strategic concerns.

Before OSCAL risk management automation, imagine you’re on your way to work, rattling around the same challenge in your head you’ve been thinking about for a while, and half-listening to a podcast. When something clicks – the solution to an issue that’s been blocking you and your team for months. You get the necessary approvals, acquire the solution, and get the ball rolling, but the authorization process takes many months and up to a year to complete before the solution is implemented.

After OSCAL, you’ll be able to deploy that solution the same day, week, or month with the same level of security rigor as what used to take teams months or even years. That’s all thanks to use of machine readable, open standard documentation for systems, which enables teams to securely deploy at the speed of innovation.

VA OSCAL Takeaways for All

By looking at how VA implemented the first federal government OSCAL-formatted security plan, other agencies can find helpful takeaways as they move to the adoption of OSCAL and risk management automation.

In May, VA’s Office of Information Security translated a traditional 426-page text-based System Security Plan into over 23,000 lines of machine-readable JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) code, aligned with OSCAL data requirements, and submitted it to GSA, the first federal agency to do so.

The intent for VA to develop the government’s first OSCAL security plan was to:

• See what it takes to translate a security plan to OSCAL and provide lessons learned for VA and other agencies.
• Show FedRAMP what one would look like and provide FedRAMP a resource and test plan they can use to mature and validate their data scheme.

VA’s approach and takeaways from developing the government’s first OSCAL security plan include:

• We chose the plan we did for OSCAL because the plan belongs to a Critical System, which are the systems deemed most essential to the operation of our services and mission.
• We followed FedRAMP and NIST documentation, leaning on the federally led workshops and NIST leadership when challenges arose.
• We leveraged OSCAL JSON file for proving out the OSCAL-CLI (command line interface) validation software and tools.
• Our security team went section by section in the existing System Security Plan Word document and translated the system information (points of contact, identifying information, leveraged authorizations for system), generating universally unique identifiers for each component and facilitating references to ensure connections between the responsible party between one system control is the Information System Security Officer.
• During the process, we exchanged lessons learned and observations directly with FedRAMP, such as issues with the implementation guide, suggestions for improvements, and how our team did the translation process, serving as a test case for what other agencies might encounter, so FedRAMP has awareness and can address issues proactively.
• Once the plan is in OSCAL, security plan development and maintenance consist of automated updates of necessary portions at the component level, with cascading updates across related parts via universally unique identifiers (UUID) reference.
• Completing the plan at the beginning of the process got our security team to think more about what OSCAL adoption might look like in practice.
• After submitting the OSCAL-formatted plan to GSA, we met with the GSA FedRAMP OSCAL team to review and validate according to their documentation.
• This first OSCAL-formatted document provides a foundation for us to translate other systems to OSCAL and begin testing the efficacy of automated solutions, including validation checks, automatic translators, automated export and import features.
• Since April we’ve been active contributors in early adopter workshops that bring together the OSCAL community of interest (GSA, NIST, VA, Department of Defense, and others) to work through FedRAMP OSCAL specifications and methodology. Led by GSA, the workshops are held to iron out the details and share lessons learned on OSCAL translation and implementation.
• With a pilot effort now under our belt, we are aiming to exceed the White Houses’ requirements and implement OSCAL across the enterprise over the coming years to address the OMB deadline and continue to lead Federal Agencies in the adoption and implementation of the latest cybersecurity standards and innovations.

Expanding OSCAL Enterprise-Wide

We are now looking at how to make OSCAL expand and really pay off in our environment, approaching the development of the technical capability by:

• Working with internal developers to mature our current governance, risk, and compliance tool with the capability to export and ingest system documents in FedRAMP and NIST-templated OSCAL formats.
• Conducting pilots and proof of concepts to understand the full scope of industry OSCAL-oriented solutions available to large federal agencies and what is on the timeline for those vendors.
• Continuing to collaborate with FedRAMP to recommend improvements to FedRAMP guidance, workshop findings from FedRAMP’s validation of the VA OIS OSCAL System Security Plan and introduce VA to additional leaders in the OSCAL space (e.g. DOD, Cloud Service Providers, and Cybersecurity Solution Vendors).

Where can we learn more about OSCAL?

FedRAMP and NIST both maintain GitHub Repositories with educational materials, guidance, and tools for learning more about OSCAL and how system stakeholders can begin to translate their systems.

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) Digital GI Bill effort represents our commitment to making it easier and faster than ever for Veterans and their families to receive the education benefits and services they’ve earned. In the first month following this critical modernization of the GI Bill®, VA processed over 296,000 claims, totaling over $564 million in benefits that are enhancing the lives of 228,600 Veterans and their beneficiaries.

Led by the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Education Service and VA’s Office of Information and Technology, the modernization of the GI Bill and its IT systems simplifies user processes and eliminates the need to navigate multiple systems. The effort improves claims processing and customer service by delivering direct, online, one-stop access to GI Bill benefits and information.

On July 8, 2024, VA released its latest system update for the modernization, moving one step closer to decommissioning a 50+ year-old legacy mainframe that processes all GI Bill® benefits payments and services. The update tested, secured, and converted beneficiary data and payments, successfully moving 87% of all education payment processing to a modern platform, significantly reducing security risks and systems maintenance costs to VA.

Since March 2021, these enhancements have improved education benefits services for Veterans and their loved ones. The upgrades include launching My Education Benefits in August 2022, releasing VA’s Enrollment Manager in early 2023, and months later successfully migrating education payment processing to a safer and faster environment.

Impact for VA

This breakthrough permanently joins VA’s three authoritative databases—VA’s Corporate Database, Master Person Index, and VA Profile— to confirm, sync, and safely share accurate claims data automatically across essential and complicated IT networks so Veterans get their benefits faster and safer. This database integration is a first for the enterprise.

We’ve also streamlined eligibility confirmation through the automated intake of VA and Department of Defense information and service history updates for Veterans—vastly improving interoperability and the processing of supplemental claims.

Collaboration Essential to Success

Collaboration across VA’s vast enterprise is vital to achieving these critical milestones. Teams from across the Office of Information and Technology’s Business Integration and Outcomes Service, End User Services, Software Product Management, IT Budget and Finance, and Cybersecurity worked with the Veterans Benefits Administration, VA’s Office of Financial Management, VA’s Office of Business Integration, the Defense Department, and more than 10 other partners at VA to coordinate the complex IT, data, and business changes needed to deliver this digital transformation.

Building a production-like, integrated test environment to scan conversation data from VA’s legacy system to the new platform helped our teams quickly identify and fix data quality issues and release the upgrade ahead of schedule. Our agile, incremental, and user-centric approach to designing, developing, and deploying solutions helped VA continuously learn and rapidly modify products that best meet the unique needs of the system’s stakeholders.

“This milestone shows the power of collaboration across OIT, our business partners, leadership, and external stakeholders,” says Riley Ross, Supervisory IT Program Manager, Software Product Management. “While undeniably complex, the updates we made in this release are essential to helping VA progress towards decommissioning the legacy Benefits Delivery Network. I’m proud of our work and how we’ve set a standard of collaboration for other VA modernization efforts.”

Joseph Garcia, Executive Director of Education Services for the Veterans Benefits Administration, agrees saying, “This milestone results from remarkable cross-collaboration efforts across VA, with our partners across the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Office of Information and Technology, and the VA Offices of Business Integration and Financial Management. This success sets a precedent for all future modernization efforts at VA. I am proud of our teams’ hard work and relentless dedication in accomplishing another step towards modernizing the GI Bill® experience for everyone.”

Impact for Veterans

This multi-year modernization initiative provides nearly one million students with an online platform to access and manage their VA education benefits annually. The Digital GI Bill helps deliver real-time eligibility and enrollment progress, more timely and accurate claims processing and payment distribution, immediate access to beneficiary records, and timely communication via phone, email, text, and chat.

By transforming its legacy systems into an integrated and scalable platform, VA is ensuring that Veterans and their beneficiaries receive their benefits quickly and accurately. These recent enhancements improved the processing of monthly housing allowance payments by over 30%. In the month following the update, VA more efficiently processed over 296,000 claims to 228,600 beneficiaries, totaling over $564 million in benefits through modernized systems.

The teams leading this IT modernization continue strengthening security and enhancing the platform’s ability to automate manual education claims processing. The next upgrade, projected to occur in 2025, will move the remainder of education payment processing to the new platform, followed by the launch of Benefits Manager, a modernized system Veterans Claims Examiners will use to review and process GI Bill® claims.

VA’s IT Connect program does exactly what its name stands for — connects local IT staff at VA sites experiencing IT-related challenges with a support team of subject matter experts, project or implementation managers, and senior leaders.  During dynamic sessions over three days onsite, the “boots on the ground” teams at VA Medical Centers and partners are invited to discuss their pain points and together devise an action plan to address the issues.

These workshops encourage and facilitate open, honest conversations that address the unique challenges faced at VA sites nationwide. By actively listening and brainstorming together, participants spark fresh ideas, discover new solutions, and make real progress towards their goals.  These workshops aim for fast results when possible, as the team can often fix processes or implement new tools right away, which helps solve IT problems faster and provides better support for VA staff and Veterans.

Enterprise IT is Local IT

The IT Connect program began through an informal partnership between several IT service lines. As the program gained traction, the collaboration expanded to a core charter group representing a cross-section of the entire Office of Information Technology, working closely together while engaging business partners in the field. 

Immersing OIT leadership and staff into focused conversations with VA Medical Centers and other stakeholders enables them to hear, feel, and experience the daily struggles of these local end users.  Doing so invokes empathy as well as allows OIT’s decision-makers to glean insight on opportunities to improve the customer experience at an enterprise level, emphasizing the idea that “We are all one team.”

Further, the program also allows time to foster relationships with Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veteran Benefits Association (VBA), and the National Cemetery Association (NCA) employees throughout the working sessions. The goal is “one team, one mission,” meaning that any challenge faced at a single site across the country is a challenge worthy of a solution, which may assist other sites or facilities facing the same or similar problem.  The innovation and collaboration happening through IT Connect is achieved mainly through the simple act of listening.  

Some issues can be solved immediately. New processes and workflows, or new approaches and tools are just some of the solutions that the IT Connect experts can deploy in real-time. For more complex issues needing additional collaborative effort or other team involvement, the IT Connect team compiles an action items list from the visit, then assigns out and tracks the identified challenges across the appropriate VA workstreams. Collecting and reporting detailed data helps the IT Connect team dig deep into the pain points of each site and cross-collaborate on problem-solving scaling solutions.   A full IT Connect Action Tracker and Dashboard shows every action being worked at each site, and as a collective effort across the enterprise, displaying summaries, actions by Service Line, actions by location, and check completion status.  Currently, 477 actions have been added, with 389 closed and the remaining in various stages of short- or long-term completion, with a detailed summary of each.  Using this dashboard, the IT Connect program drives sustained improvements and enhances transparency in reporting and resolving IT challenges. The team uses information from these sessions to find patterns, identify trends, and work with OIT to scale enterprise solutions, ensuring highly reliable and available IT services for all VA employees who rely on technologies to deliver care and benefits to the Nation’s Veterans.

“My Area Manager asked me a few weeks ago to be part of the IT Connect session. When I went to the SharePoint site and started learning about it, I was impressed. I’ll be in that room full of decision-makers who want to listen to and understand some of the issues we have at our local site. So, I raised my hand and said ‘sure, sign me up!’”

Gabriel Duran, Supervisory IT Specialist, Long Beach, CA.

Delightful Outcomes

IT Connect is a cornerstone effort in our pursuit of a delightful end-user experience. By placing customers and partners at the heart of the process, IT Connect fosters a culture of collaboration, trust, and innovation across VA.

Since the IT Connect Program’s first site visit to Togus, Maine in May 2022, we’ve closed over 80% of open action items, and our customers report an impressive satisfaction score of 9.13 out of 10.  

“IT Connect provides a true glimpse into how our customers depend upon OIT products and services where it counts the most: at the point of Veteran service.  Our OIT ‘away team’ has the opportunity to see and hear first-hand feedback from our end user communities on what is working well and what may not be optimal and needs our support.  There is nothing better than the opportunity to ‘walk a mile’ in our customer’s shoes to inform OIT how we have the opportunity, each and every day, to help those who help our Veterans.”

Jack Galvin, Deputy Chief Information Officer and Executive Director, End User Services, Office of Information Technology, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

IT Connect Case Study

Earlier in 2024, the IT Connect team visited a small, rural VA site in Cheyenne, Wyoming where they faced several challenges due to their remote location. One of these issues was a struggle with outdated fax technology. Facing a year-long wait for a critical upgrade to the newer eFax technology, the program in Cheyenne was struggling with low capacity for analog-only faxing capability – a major difficulty for a rural site without large-scale connectivity and digital options of more populated areas. While the site was scheduled for a deployment of ECFax in late FY25, that left the team struggling to identify an interim solution for the intervening 14 months. Learning this during one of the open forum sessions, the IT Connect Team facilitated a meeting between our ECFax partners and Cheyenne and accelerated the scheduled deployment by several months.

While most action items are specific to local sites, some are representative of issues that impact multiple sites. Some examples of these include the team’s work clarifying the roles and responsibilities for Special Purpose Systems, creating a Software Catalog, and deploying an Inventory Tracking Platform.

“IT Connect provides a tremendous opportunity for OIT to receive real-time feedback from our customer on the products and services we deliver.  When our teams travel to a site where Veterans are served, we get to interview and witness first-hand how IT technology plays such a vital role in that delivery of service, our contribution to the mission is visible.  They see the difference they make and how they can improve where it counts the most, at the point of service.“ 

Jack Galvin, Deputy Chief Information Officer and Executive Director, End User Services, Office of Information Technology, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

As the most important metric of how well we’re doing at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information and Technology (OIT), our customer satisfaction scores tell us what we’re doing right and where we need to focus more effort. Your feedback through this survey, as well as through your submissions to our It Starts With Us feedback portal have been instrumental in helping us shape an IT organization that can provide world-class IT products and services to VA employees and to the Veterans, families, and caregivers they serve.

The results of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and General Services Administration’s (GSA) annual Customer Satisfaction Survey are in, and VA employees have made their voice heard. OIT has been ranked #1 for overall IT Customer Satisfaction within its employee size peer group for the fourth straight year! The government-wide survey looks at IT service areas such as support, communication and collaboration, development and modernization, equipment, and operations to calculate the overall IT customer satisfaction with IT Functions. This year’s survey received more than 59,000 responses from VA employees alone.

Across every service area measured, VA improved or remained consistent with the 2023 rankings. Of the 24 government agencies surveyed, VA’s IT Support ranking stayed at #11; IT Communication and Collaboration went up from #8 to #6; IT Equipment rose from #8 to #4; Development, Modernization, and Enhancement (DM&E) soared from #8 to #4; and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) went up from #9 to #6.

As a strategic partner to its customer organizations within VA, OIT improved its Strategic Business Partner ranking from #5 last year to #3 this year. These high scores indicate commitment to customers that is evident through the efficiency of the products and services provided. Key advancements include investments in IT support, communication and collaboration, equipment, development, modernization, and enhancement, and operations and maintenance.

Looking forward, we aim to sustain and improve our IT Customer Satisfaction (IT function scores) by prioritizing IT modernization, expanding our customer-centric model, fostering collaboration, and remaining agile and adaptable in the face of a rapidly shifting IT landscape. Your feedback is critical to these efforts and helps ensure we can continue delivering the world-class IT products and services that our customers deserve.

At 3 a.m., VA employee, Veteran, and Team USA athlete Anil Tilbe starts his day. As a competitor for Team USA in the upcoming 2025 World Triathlon Championship in Pontevedra, Spain, Mr. Tilbe knows every minute of training counts. “Each week, I engage in twelve distinct training sessions where my recovery and energy levels guide me. The early morning hours are the only predictable time available for training, so I make the most of it.”

Mr. Tilbe is the Director of VA’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT) People Analytics Directorate. He got his start in triathlons as a cadet at West Point in 2006 and has since competed in everything from sprint triathlons to Ironman competitions. Looking forward to his first appearance as a member of Team USA at the World Triathlon Championship, part of his preparation is pushing himself harder than he expects the competition to be. “Reflecting on my days in the United States military, I always remind myself: “You train harder than you fight.”

Mr. Tilbe’s Team USA qualification for the World Triathlon Championships follows his impressive qualifying performance at the USA National Championships this past June in Omaha, Nebraska. As he prepares to represent the United States on the world stage, Mr. Tilbe thinks about the bigger picture. “Sports teach us to work as a team, believe in ourselves, and keep pushing forward, no matter the obstacles. If anything, playing sports uplifts our spirits and fosters a sense of community, reminding us that we are stronger together.”

Mr. Tilbe looks forward to raising awareness and increasing access to sports science for everyone, from young athletes throughout the United States to aspiring Olympians. This passion for exceptionalism extends to his professional endeavors as well. In his 13 years with the Department of Veterans Affairs, he has received many awards. These awards include the U.S. President’s Gears of Government Award and the two-time Federal Health IT Award, which he received twice. Also, Mr. Tilbe was named one of the Top 50 U.S. Federal Government Artificial Intelligence Influencers.

“Anil’s passion for excellence extends throughout OIT’s People Analytics Directorate. Especially in making sure our customers – the entire VA workforce — are provided outstanding experiences with VA’s IT products and services.” Says Associate Director, Abe George. That dedication and vigor for everything he does ensures Mr. Tilbe will have many fans cheering him on as he competes on the World stage in 2025.

With excitement, Mr. Tilbe looks forward to the challenge with the firm belief that participation in sports makes all the difference. “This achievement is a testament to perseverance and the unwavering belief that we can all overcome the toughest challenges when we support each other.”

National Hire a Veteran Day, observed annually on July 25th, encourages employers to recognize the valuable skills, experience, and dedication that Veterans bring to the workplace. The day serves to raise awareness about the significance of hiring Veterans, and the diverse perspective and unique abilities they bring to an organization. While National Hire a Veteran Day is important to recognize, it also serves as a reminder for Veterans seeking employment to be aware of the potential risks.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Privacy Service cautions Veterans to avoid common job scams and protect their sensitive information. Unfortunately, there are individuals that target the Veteran community and attempt to exploit those seeking new career opportunities. Scams can often take several forms, including the following:

• False Job Postings: Scammers create fake job listings that appear legitimate, often using well-known company names or claiming to offer remote positions that require minimal effort for high pay.
• Phishing Scams: If a job requires a Veteran to click on a specific link or is asking for detailed personal and financial information, this could mean someone is trying to collect sensitive information for malicious use. Phishing scams often look like they come from a trusted and well-known company, so always reach out to an employer directly through their legitimate website, rather than respond to any “phishy”-looking communication.
• Upfront Payment Scams: Some scams require the Veteran to pay upfront fees for training, certifications, or job placement services that are unnecessary.
• Remote Work Equipment Payment Scams: While it’s not completely out of the norm to have to obtain your own home office equipment, job seekers do not need to do so before being hired. Many scammers will ask job seekers to send money for equipment needed to perform the job and state that they’ll be reimbursed in their first paycheck.
• Overseas Job Offer Scams: Offers for lucrative jobs overseas with promises of high salaries and benefits may turn out to be fraudulent, leaving Veterans stranded or in dangerous situations.

According to the Better Business Bureau, there are an estimated 14 million people exposed to job scams every year, with $2 billion in direct losses annually. The Federal Trade Commission reports that $26.4 million in losses was reported by military consumers in 2023. As these numbers continue to rise, National Hire a Veteran Day offers an opportunity for VA Privacy Service to provide the following best practices for Veterans to use to protect themselves:

• Use Safe and Reliable Sources: When searching for a job, Veterans must ensure they start by using a safe and reliable source such as:
  • VA Careers — This is the VA’s official website for information on careers at VA.
  • USAJobs.gov — This is the federal government’s official site with job openings nationwide.
  • CareerOneStop — Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop lists hundreds of thousands of jobs. It also links to employment and training programs in each state.
  • USA.gov — Find local government websites, which list any open positions they may have on their websites.
• Do Your Research: Verify the legitimacy of any job offer or company through reputable sources, such as the Better Business Bureau or the company’s official website. Be sure that you are applying to a place that is a real employer.
• Protect Your Personal Information: Never provide sensitive personal information over the phone, email, or online unless the recipient’s identity and legitimacy has been verified. Use encryption, if possible, when sharing this information, and never share your Social Security Number (SSN) through these means. Also, when Veterans are applying for a job, an employer may do a background check. Read Employer Background Checks and Your Rights to learn more.
• Trust Your Gut: If it feels like a scam, it probably is. There are often telltale signs that indicate a job posting is probably a scam, such as:
  • The job posting is vague or uses words that are probably too good to be true like quick money, unlimited earning potential, free work-from-home jobs.
  • There is a sense of urgency, or the recruiter is pushing for acceptance to the job immediately without verifying references. Any legitimate company won’t push into accepting a job offer immediately.
  • The job post or email has obvious grammatical or spelling errors.
  • The “company” has an email domain from Gmail or other popular providers.
  • The product the company sells is supposedly endorsed by celebrities or public figures.

If a Veteran sees a job listing or they feel as though they have been targeted by a job scam, it can be reported to the FTC through their website at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC has compiled resources to help Veterans spot common job scams. Veterans can also check out the VA Privacy website for additional information about reporting suspected or confirmed Identity Theft or Fraud.

Our most valuable resources are our employees. The power the innovation that drives an exceptional digital experience at VA helps us develop technology tools that meet the real needs of the diverse community that we serve. So, their dedication to a career in public service demands a reciprocal investment on the part of VA.

With the recent launch of the Career Development Portal, the Office of Information and Technology is delivering on this investment by nurturing our talent and fostering professional growth — whether they choose to remain at VA or take their skills to the private sector.

OIT’s Office of People Science’s Stephanie Keith, Director of People Readiness, explained that the Career Development Portal was created to address inconsistencies in understanding baseline skills. It provides a more effective framework for identifying and understanding qualifications, training, and development opportunities from an employer’s perspective. The team began building the tools and curriculum to address those gaps, and the Career Development Portal was born.

The Career Development Portal is more than just a collection of resources — it’s a centralized hub offering role-specific videos, qualifications, certifications, curated curriculums, and on-the-job training. It serves as a one-stop destination for employees seeking to refine their skills or explore new career paths within OIT across multiple tracks — Technical, Business, and Leadership, with more tracks to come. Within their selected track, employees can choose to explore several functionalities that guide them through all aspects of career development. In addition to learning about the tasks and skills associated with their role, interactive features like spotlight videos and skills assessments help users understand their role from another employee’s perspective, evaluate their progress, and identify areas for improvement.

Users can also explore options for advancement, such as on-the-job training, curated curricula, and industry certifications. For those looking to make a change in their career, the portal offers listings for temporary project opportunities, alternate career pathways, and resources to search for other federal employment opportunities.

Ms. Keith shared how employees can make the most of the portal. “It shows what skills and competencies are required for a variety of roles, which gives the individual the ability to say, “I want to move to this role,” and see exactly what they have to do to get there step by step.” In addition to providing resources and information, the portal also serves as an action plan for employees looking to kickstart their professional growth.

One of the standout features of the Career Development Portal is its tailored approach to learning. Whether you’re immersed in information technology, cybersecurity, or cross-functional responsibilities, the platform ensures that the training aligns with the demands of your chosen career path.

Sharon McPherson, a Senior Cyber Workforce Analyst, shared how the courses cater to specific roles and career paths:

“The Portal allows employees to see how they can progress professionally. With this feature, they can access their work role and see other roles that are available to them in their service line.” Ms. McPherson continued, “We’re really on the cutting edge of providing a resource like this to our employees. We’re working with a lot of federal agency partners in the development of some of the tools and resources that we use in the Portal.”

Looking to the future, the People Readiness team remains proactive in reviewing and updating content, ensuring that employees always have access to relevant resources. The team intends to focus on the Portal’s Business track, which will cover positions related to contract management, finance management, and program management. As the technology landscape changes, the Technical track will also be built out to adopt additional roles for AI and data science.

“This development model will help address employees’ overall development needs, and it’s intended for them to develop and understand what the curriculum would be,” says Ms. McPherson.

The People Excellence commitment OIT demonstrates towards staying at the forefront of professional development ensures that employees not only gain essential skills but also contribute to shaping the future of federal workforce growth. Through our active collaboration with federal agency partners, we lead the way in pioneering innovative tools and resources.

From entry-level positions to seasoned professionals to those who are simply seeking new skills and experience, the Career Development Portal reaffirms OIT’s dedication to nurturing its most valuable resource — its workforce.

In a display of recognition for his dedicated service and unwavering commitment to Veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), John Oswalt, Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Records Management and Assessment Compliance and VA Chief Privacy Officer, was recently recognized with the 2024 Patriot Award by the Department of Defense (DOD).

The DOD Patriot Award is a prestigious honor bestowed on federal employees who demonstrate outstanding support for members of the National Guard and Reserve forces. Recipients of this award are nominated by members of the National Guard or Reserve who were positively impacted by the support they received from the nominee while balancing their military duties with their civilian employment. This esteemed accolade is a testament to Mr. Oswalt’s outstanding contributions, underscoring his profound impact on the lives of Veterans and his remarkable devotion to his duty and their honor.

The award presentation was held on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in the presence of Office of Information and Technology (OIT) Executives and staff members. Mr. Dewaine Beard, OIT Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, and Brigadier General (Retired) Larry Gillespie of the DOD, presented the award to Mr. Oswalt and recognized the significance of his achievements.

Mr. Beard reflected on Mr. Oswalt’s contributions to the Veteran workforce and dedication to serving transitioning service members from active duty to their new role as U.S. civilians. Mr. Beard said, “I am super proud of John and his commitment to the [Reservist] workforce and to the VA. Thank you so much John for everything you’ve done. I just want his story and the stories I’ve told to inspire you all to value that workforce.”

Mr. Gillespie shared words of praise from fellow service members saying, “Mr. Oswalt consistently goes above and beyond what is required to support service members called to active duty. He provides both the time and public support to ensure that the service member is able to focus on their mission and have confidence that their civilian position is ready and waiting upon their return.”  

Mr. Oswalt was nominated for the Patriot Award by OIT Service Management Office Director Randy Floyd. “In my service as a Cyber Warfare Colonel in the Army Reserve, I’m required to attend mission planning conferences at irregular times, often with very little notice. In addition, I still have regular Army work each month and two-week summer annual training events. John always fully supported me in those time off requirements and encouraged me to continue my Army training, taking time to listen and offering encouragement to persevere in that all-important second part time career,” he said. 

Mr. Oswalt is a Senior Executive Service member within Compliance, Risk and Remediation, a service area within OIT. In August 2022, Mr. Oswalt assumed the role of Chief Privacy Officer and DCIO for the FOIA, Records Management and Assessment Compliance Division. As CPO, he administers VA’s Enterprise-wide Privacy Program on behalf of the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer and VA’s Senior Agency Official for Privacy. Additionally, as the DCIO, Mr. Oswalt directs VA Records, FOIA and Assessment Compliance activities concerned with the analysis, evaluation, and development of a robust gold standard VA FOIA Service, VA Enterprise Records Management Service, and a critical assessment compliance directorate.

Have you seen recent news stories about organizations struggling with the increase in cloud costs and repatriating workload from the cloud back to on premise?  Have you wondered how VA can afford to modernize under existing budget constraints?  Have you wondered if there’s a better way?  We did too.  Which is why we created VA Platform One—an enterprise-class hosting service that helps drive VA digital transformation. VA Platform One is the cornerstone modernization platform that allows VA technology experts to enhance development, security, and operation (DevSecOps) capabilities and react quickly to changes.

In 2023, VA Platform One played a pivotal role in enabling container-technology-as-a-service within VA’s software factory, an organized workspace where software is built, tested, and prepared for use. Containerization, which essentially packs that software and all its dependent services into a single, portable container, makes it easy to move that software around and deploy across different systems. Transitioning to containerization-as-a-service improves our agility further, allowing us to innovate and implement continuous improvements more quickly, while standardizing our approach to containerization across the entire enterprise.

This focus on relentless improvement and continual innovation has made it easier to create and launch important applications, and helped VA meet the highest standards of security, quality, and efficiency. For example, the VA Platform One team was able to onboard the VA Logistics Integration Platform (VALIP) team onto VA Platform One within weeks, saving the VALIP team’s valuable time and resources. With VA Platform One, the VALIP team has been able to focus on deploying their application for their customers, without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.  

Another benefit? To-date, the VA Platform One team has reduced their required compute resources by 75 percent.

The Business Need

For VA, our digital transformation is about creating a seamless, world-class digital experience for our employee and the Veterans, families, and caregivers. Specifically, we are:

• Embracing methods that reduce cost, increase efficiency, enhance security, and stabilize operations
• Moving away from legacy on-premises solutions supported by inefficient technology and driven by manual processes  
• Optimizing service delivery to the end-user and enhancing collaboration, mobility, traceability, and accessibility 
• Enhancing workplace technologies so VA team members have the tools they need to succeed, while fostering a more collaborative and efficient work environment
• Aligning seamlessly with the strategic goals of VA and VA’s Office of Information and Technology and enhancing business outcomes and Veteran and VA staff user experiences

More efficient, secure, portable deployments

VA Platform One focuses on aligning traditional on-premises server and cloud hosting strategies to deliver applications that meet specific business needs. Using container technology in cloud and on-premise environments, VA Platform One streamlines that workflow. This approach removes team reliance on traditional servers, storage, and network resources. Teams have more time to focus on delivery of application-related capabilities and innovations, while the actual platform runs in the background to manage workloads across cloud and on-premises data center resources. The approach also ensures an efficient system, and allows for a more streamlined development process, enhancing the adaptability, scalability, and readiness for future technological advancements.

Before migrating to VA Platform One, deployments were slowed by mismatched environments, monolithic update risks, server inconsistency, infrastructure constraints, and insufficient testing resulting in outages, rework, and delays.

VA Platform One provides consistency across all environments, including deployments in the cloud and on-premises. Developers no longer need to worry about the infrastructure or operating systems.

And importantly, VA Platform One moves security to the forefront, so the code is scanned for vulnerabilities often, early, and continuously. VA Platform One also provides VA developers with the capability to do zero downtime deployment.  

VA Platform One containers encapsulate an application and its dependencies, ensuring consistency across different environments. This “portability” allows developers to build, test, and deploy applications seamlessly across various platforms, from development to production. The consistency also reduces the risk of issues arising due to differences in the underlying infrastructure, enabling teams to focus more on innovation and less on debugging compatibility problems.

Lowered costs and enhanced application scalability

VA Platform One containers also provide unparalleled agility in deploying and scaling applications. This rapid deployment capability is particularly advantageous in a software factory setting, where quick iteration and frequent releases are essential. VA Platform One containers are lightweight compared to traditional virtual machines. This efficiency translates into lower resource consumption, allowing organizations to optimize infrastructure utilization and reduce costs associated with hardware and cloud resources. Additionally, the modular nature of containers enables efficient use of resources, facilitating the creation of microservice architectures that can be individually scaled as needed.

Before migrating onto VA Platform One, applications within the VA were monolithic, where the aspects of the software were interwoven instead of containing different components. One example VA application consisted of over 140 instances deployed onto more than 100 servers. The team overseeing that application partnered with VA Platform One to modernize the application and convert it to a containerized solution.

With VA Platform One and its use of containerization, that application now runs more efficiently. It can adjust its performance based on demand, using the minimum amount of resources it needs until more is required. The VA Platform One servers that host containerized applications are also built with high availability. So, if there’s a problem with one server, the application can quickly move to another one without users noticing any downtime. Moving to VA Platform One helped the team achieve cost avoidance of nearly 75 percent of what they typically spent on infrastructure. Plus, it gives them more flexibility to scale up or down, move the application around easily, and make changes quickly.

In a nutshell: Accelerating excellence and innovation

Building to scale–As VA strives to deliver true value in today’s dynamic software development landscape, embracing containerization with VA Platform One has become not just a technological choice, but a strategic imperative for achieving modern, efficient, and resilient software factories that build and deploy applications at scale. Additionally, containers seamlessly integrate with continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, promoting automation throughout the software development lifecycle.

Enhancing security–By incorporating container technology into the VA software factory modernization approach, VA Platform One has enabled several benefits. Isolation of each container enhances security by encapsulating applications and their dependencies so that they operate independently of other applications, minimizing risk and application conflicts.

Agility, consistency, accelerating development–VA Platform One aligns perfectly with VA DevSecOps principles by encapsulating the entire application stack, making it easier for developers to work in consistent environments and for operations teams to manage deployments effectively. This collaborative approach enhances communication, accelerates feedback loops, and promotes a more efficient and agile development process.

As the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) leverages technology to meaningfully improve the lives of Veterans, their families, and care providers, the VA Health and Benefits mobile app is completely modernizing how Veterans access and manage their health care and benefits information.

While Veterans praise the app as convenient and accessible, the digital experience at the VA has not always been so. A discovery sprint in 2020 underscored the demand for convenient, on-demand access to Veteran health and benefits information, and that sprint laid the groundwork for the development of the VA Health and Benefits mobile app.

When the app was first introduced, it served as a digital gateway to Veterans’ health records, appointments, and prescription refill requests. This immediate access to vital health information resonated strongly with Veterans, particularly those living in remote or rural areas, where reaching VA facilities may be challenging. The app quickly became a lifeline for many. As the app’s popularity and use continue to grow, the Office of Information and Technology works with its users to incorporate new features.

Putting Veterans at the center of development

Feedback sessions involving extensive collaboration with Veterans related to their challenges with VA digital services took place during the app’s inception and continues to be a driving force in the app’s development. These sessions originally revealed frustrations with login complexities, prompting the app’s integration of biometric options like fingerprint and facial recognition to streamline access. They also led to crucial accessibility features in the app for the 22 percent of users who leverage assistive technology – features such as the ability for blind Veterans to access and read their decision letters through the app.

With almost a million monthly active users who send over three hundred thousand secure messages and refill over a quarter of a million prescriptions – each month – the app’s strong adoption and Veteran-centered design have helped earn it a rating of 4.8 on the Apple Store and 4.6 on Google Play, on par with companies like USAA and Uber.

Features and tools Veterans want

Recently, we incorporated Proof of Veteran Status (YouTube video) into the app, streamlining access to benefits without revealing unnecessary personal and financial details. This feature automatically generates when a Veteran logs into the app, making the process of proving status to retailers quick, easy, and more private. The app also features:

• Quick and direct access to the VA Crisis Line for Veterans and their families
• Management of Health Care Appointments
• View Status of Claims and Appeals
• Refill and Track VA Prescriptions
• Secure Message with Your VA Health Care Team
• Download Common VA Letters and Documents
• View VA Vaccine Records
• Locate VA Facilities
• Access Using Biometric Login

Upcoming 2024 features include health care appointment scheduling and check-ins, travel claim submissions, and more, and insights gleaned during the app’s development are being shared with groups working on VA.gov, extending benefits beyond smartphone and tablet app users.

Learn more and help us promote the app

The VA Health and Benefits mobile app embodies our tangible efforts to honor Veterans and elevate their digital experiences with VA. If you’d like to learn more about the app and help promote this new mobile experience, you can explore the VA Health and Benefits mobile app outreach toolkit.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information and Technology (OIT) is delving into the inspiring stories of the trailblazing women who are shaping and advancing the world of IT for the Nation’s Veterans.

“One of the most impactful and important projects I’ve worked on was figuring out a way to get disabled Veterans into our research process,” shared Ms. Martha Wilkes, Accessibility Strategist in VA’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer. “We make sure that each Veteran has a fabulous experience at the session, but also…it is career-changing for everyone who participates in the sessions. Everybody who works here is getting exposed to working with folks with disabilities and that is making a huge impact on the work that we deliver on VA.gov.”

By aligning VA’s technology with our users’ expectations, Ms. Wilkes’ role is vital to moving VA closer to reaching our vision for digital transformation. She brings over 20 years of user experience and design to help VA improve accessibility beyond compliance on VA.gov and the VA Health and Benefits Mobile app. “We’re leading the government in usability testing,” Ms. Wilkes added, shedding light on how VA is creating the best IT organization in the federal space.

In OIT, we look toward women leaders willing to take on new challenges and open to creative solutions that ensure OIT employees have the tools they need to provide exceptional service to our stakeholders. With more than 15 years in the public sector and defense industry, we sat down with Ms. Khristine Tibayan, Chief Operating Officer in the Office of People Analytics within OIT, to better understand her team’s dynamic and how to lead collaborative efforts across VA.

“I came on board with VA about three years ago during the height of COVID, and it was it was very challenging,” Ms. Tibayan shared. “But I was very surprised coming from the private sector into the federal sector for the first time…it was about ‘OK, what can we do to connect with one another to get to know one another in this virtual environment?’”

Throughout our organization, we strive to create a collaborative environment where innovation thrives and that can happen when all workers — especially women — are empowered in tech roles. Women in OIT are streamlining processes and identifying creative solutions, and we are fortunate to have talented women leaders dedicated to delivering on VA’s mission.

“What I like about collaborating within OIT is that everyone comes from a different background and they are eager to share their experiences and eager to help,” she added. “’What can I do to make things easy for you? What can I do to help support you to your end goal?’ It makes working with people easier, whether [they’re] from different teams, different offices, or even different departments across VA and other agencies.”

Building a culture of inclusivity within VA tech teams is about recognizing and valuing individual talents. Despite strides made in recent years, women remain disproportionally underrepresented in the tech industry, including at OIT, accounting for only 26 percent of OIT’s workforce. However, we understand diverse perspectives, skills, and experiences are critical to better serve Veterans, their families, and caregivers — and we celebrate the women dedicated to advancing VA’s mission to create the best experience for all Veterans.

The significant contributions of women in tech have made our organization better and, in turn, they make Veterans’ lives better. To learn more from the trailblazers making an impact in OIT, join us for a Talking Tech via LinkedIn or YouTube on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. ET for an engaging conversation about innovation and excellence in the digital space at VA. You’ll hear from these leaders on how they and their teams are revolutionizing the Veteran and VA employee digital experience: Ms. Lynette Sherrill, VA’s Chief Information Security Officer; Ms. Luwanda Jones, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Strategic Sourcing; Ms. Nicole Letizia, Area Manager, Coatesville VA Medical Center; and Ms. Sherry Gregg, Area Manager, Beckley VA Medical Center. 

Their stories inspire us to continue recruiting and retaining a diverse, inclusive, innovative workforce, as we create an exceptional digital experience for all Veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) understands that integrity and trust are essential pillars of your identity as a Veteran. Unfortunately, in today’s digital landscape, these values often come under attack from scammers looking to exploit Veterans’ goodwill and hard-earned benefits. National Slam the Scam Day holds significant importance as it provides a unique opportunity to equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively combat fraud and secure your personal information.

What is National Slam the Scam Day?

National Slam the Scam Day, observed on Thursday, March 7, 2024, is part of National Consumer Protection Week. It serves as a call to action for both individuals and communities, urging them to heighten awareness about Social Security and other government imposter related scams. This dedicated day aims to shine a spotlight on the deceptive tactics employed by scammers and unite support for victims within the Veteran community.

Why is it Important for Veterans?

Veterans are often targeted by scammers due to a steady source of income, access to benefits, and trusting nature. Whether it’s phishing emails or phone calls impersonating government agencies or fraudulent investment schemes promising quick returns, the threats are real and ever-present. In 2021, Veterans and service members were targeted with more than $257M in fraudulent loss. National Slam the Scam Day serves as a call to action to stay vigilant and take proactive measures against fraud.

How Can Veterans Protect Themselves?

• Stay Informed! Knowledge is your greatest weapon against scams. Stay updated on common tactics used by scammers targeting Veterans. Read the most recent information from VA. Utilize resources provided by trusted organizations like VA Privacy Service and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to educate yourself.
• Always verify the identity of individuals or organizations requesting personal information or financial transactions. Identity Theft can happen to anyone! Report Identity Theft as soon as possible.  
• Secure your personal information. Safeguard your Social Security number, VA claim number, and other sensitive data.
• Report suspicious activity. Contact the appropriate authorities, such as VA’s Office of Inspector General or the FTC Report Fraud website, to report scams or suspicious behavior.

National Slam the Scam Day is not just a day of awareness; it’s a call to action for Veterans to stand united against those who seek to exploit your trust and sacrifice. By staying informed, verifying sources, securing your information, reporting suspicious activity, and supporting each other, you can slam the door shut on scams and protect the Veteran community’s integrity.

You may be familiar with phishing as a common cyber scam, but have you heard of smishing? Smishing, which is a term that combines Short Message Service (SMS) and phishing, is one of the biggest cyber scams you need to watch out for because scammers try to steal your personal and banking information through unsolicited text messages on your mobile devices. Veterans may be targeted because of their service to this nation, as scammers impersonate government officials and agencies.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Privacy Service encourages Veterans to use the following tactics to spot, prevent, and report a smishing scam.

How to Spot a Smishing Scam

You should be cautious of unsolicited messages, especially if they come from unknown numbers or sources. Sometimes these scammers will use your local area code to appear familiar. Scammers may impersonate local officials, family, or friends. Look out for urgent or threatening language in messages, as scammers often try to create panic and pressure you into immediate action. VA, and other legitimate organizations, will never request sensitive information like passwords or financial details through text messages, so be skeptical of such requests. Watch for misspellings and grammatical errors, as professional organizations usually send well-written communications. If you receive unexpected prize or gift notifications instructing you to provide personal information, exercise caution, as these are also likely scams.

How to Prevent a Smishing Scam

Veterans, you can take steps to protect yourselves from potential scams and fraudulent activities.

• Confirm the legitimacy of message senders by cross-checking information using official channels like the official website or documents; avoid replying directly to texts.
• Be cautious of clicking on links in messages, as smishing often involves deceptive links that may lead to malware.
• Keep your smartphones secure by installing and regularly updating security software to detect and block smishing attempts.
• Ensure your phone settings are on automatic updates for the latest patches and fixes.
• Strengthen your account security by enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible, adding an extra layer of protection.
• Your vigilance is key to keeping your personal information safe.

How to Report a Smishing Scam

Mobile carriers have mechanisms in place to handle reports of phishing and smishing attempts. You should forward any suspicious messages to your mobile carrier’s designated reporting number, which you can find on their official website or by reaching out to customer support. If the smishing scam falsely claims to be from VA or another government agency, do not interact with the scam and report it immediately. All mobile carriers have the option to report suspicious texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM).

If the smishing scam suggests criminal activity like identity theft or fraud, consider reaching out to your local law enforcement agency, providing them with detailed information, including screenshots and any other relevant data. If you’re in the United States, filing a complaint with the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is an option, ensuring you include comprehensive details about the smishing incident. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides helpful information on identifying scam text messages as well.

For additional information about smishing

• VEText
• VANotify
• Smish, Smish! Don’t get phished.
• How to Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages
• Hook, line, and sinker: How to up your phishing game
• Phishing – without rods
• Online scammers are looking to steal your information

More than one million Veterans navigate the world with low vision or blindness, encountering daily obstacles that can seem insurmountable. Simple tasks like navigating familiar spaces, mastering daily routines, and connecting with loved ones can feel impossible for these Veterans. We actively seek and implement cutting-edge assistive technology to help Veterans with low vision and blindness reclaim their independence and thrive.

VA’s Section 508 office works diligently to lead accessibility efforts and ensure that the Department’s technology and data are accessible to everyone through guidance, training, compliance checks, and collaborations with various departments within VA. Through collaborative efforts with partner Blind Rehabilitation Center, VA expands its reach and impact by offering services and resources designed to support Veterans on their journey toward greater independence, including specialized technology such as reading machines and mobility aids, expert training in daily tasks, new visual skills, sensory awareness, and confident navigation. The Center also offers communication strategies and supportive therapy to help individuals thrive in their world.

“We can’t give them back what they gave us, but we can give them care for their physical and mental injuries. We support them in adapting to life without vision, hearing, limbs, or memory,” says Christina Weymouth, IT Specialist, and eLearning team lead with VA’s Section 508 office and an individual living with blindness.

Bridging the gap: Equipping Veterans with the tools they need

Remarkable advancements have reshaped the accessibility landscape. Websites that once remained mute now speak with descriptive voices, guiding users through their intricate structures. Screen readers unlock documents, transforming them into accessible pathways for Veterans with vision loss. Once only available with visual cues, VA apps are evolving to offer intuitive audio interfaces. These improvements paint a picture of a future where technology serves as a bridge, not a barrier, fostering connection and inclusion.

VA and OIT champions accessibility and delivers the vital tools needed to help Veterans reclaim their independence and rediscover the world they helped protect. The Center’s mobile device accessibility training doesn’t just teach skills; it transforms lives. Imagine a Veteran, once hesitant to use a mobile phone, now cherishing it as a “bridge” to family and friends. This is the power of VA’s commitment to accessibility and unlocking independence for Veterans.

Tracy Ferro, National Secretary, Veteran Service Officer for the Blinded Veterans Association, and a counselor at The Center, witnesses the transformative power of accessible technology and describes an encounter he cherishes. During mobile device training, a Veteran received a FaceTime call from her teenage daughter. Recognizing an opportunity, Mr. Ferro guided her through transferring the call to a large screen. Imagine the joy in this mother of three’s voice as she saw her daughter up close for the first time, even discerning her eye color. This is why advancements in accessibility aren’t only about technical skills — they bridge distances, foster connection, and unlock experiences once thought impossible.

In May 2023, OIT launched a feature on VA’s Health and Benefits app assisting blind Veterans to read their claims decision letters. Veterans can download a PDF file of their decision letter via the app or their web browser, and use a third-party app, such as VoiceOver, on iOS, to hear the content in the PDF. This significant step forward garners enthusiastic praise from Veterans. Mr. Ferro is thrilled with the feature, saying, “It’s one of the biggest game-changer apps that affect and help every Veteran out there, blind, low vision, whatever.” Upcoming features in assistive technology include appointment scheduling, mobile check-ins, travel claim submissions, and more. 

Another significant advancement is OIT’s Wayfinding app, which is currently available at select VA locations and most recently at Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to an app, this navigation technology includes large touch-screen kiosks with audio capabilities. Wayfinding helps Veterans quickly locate clinics and amenities within a VA hospital and directions in real-time, turn-by-turn. Dexter Durrante, a blind Veteran and The Center counselor, says Wayfinding gives him the independence to find locations without any or minimal assistance. He says, “Independence is the ultimate gift,” and it’s a gift he is happy to give to his fellow Veterans and clients.

Championing accessibility

Veterans’ accessibility is at the heart of everything we do. We recognize that our commitment to accessibility directly impacts the lives of Veterans, many of whom rely on our products and services. By actively engaging with Veterans, we gain invaluable insights into their unique needs and experiences, shaping our approach. Our dedication to testing and innovation isn’t solely about meeting standards; it’s about making a tangible difference in the lives of those we serve. We drive every enhancement and innovation with our collective mission to break down barriers and create a more inclusive, empowering experience for all Veterans.

Our commitment to accessibility transcends innovative tools and platforms. Beyond technology, individuals with low vision or blindness often face disrespect and assumptions about their abilities. Mr. Durrante, for example, shared that people often underestimate his workload, unaware that he has the same amount of work as his colleagues, in addition to the extra effort often required to navigate a world less readily accessible. Such experiences, as many with disabilities can attest, are unfortunately frequent. These disrespectful interactions, fueled by misconceptions and lack of accessibility, can significantly impact mental health. The answer, many agree, lies in awareness, education, and empathy.

Veterans navigating life with vision loss deserve our unwavering support and access to the latest advancements, so their experience with VA is delightful. OIT and The Center are working to help Veterans reclaim their independence, reconnect with loved ones, and thrive in a world reliant on vision. To offer help to any of your low-vision or blind stakeholders, contact your local VA Visual Impairment team coordinator for access to available resources and support.

For more information about incorporating accessibility best practices into your work, visit OIT’s Accessibility Guide.

There are 2.7 million rural and highly rural Veterans enrolled in VA. While they may enjoy the benefits of rural living, Veterans may also experience rural health care challenges intensified by combat-related injuries and illnesses. The Office of Information and Technology’s (OIT) and Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) recent partnership with the Cherokee Nation demonstrates VA’s commitment to ensuring all Veterans have easy access to the health care they earned and deserve.

In what is being hailed as a historic agreement, the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System are opening a VA clinic inside the tribe’s Vinita Health Center in early 2024, allowing for both tribal and non-tribal Veterans to be seen on tribal land. This marks the first time Veteran care will be provided within a tribal sovereign nation not connected with Indian Health Services — paving the way for similar endeavors in other rural areas where distance creates challenges for Veteran patients.    

The effort began in 2021 when the Department of Veterans Affairs, Navy Veteran and Vinita, Oklahoma mayor, Chuck Hoskin, and the Cherokee Nation launched efforts by organizing town hall events to bring Veterans and key stakeholders together, following news that VA’s Vinita health clinic would close the next year. Once a space was secured, planning and design soon followed.

Unprecedented collaboration leads to success 

With a location identified, IT-related challenges naturally surfaced due to the complexities of the situation. The next hurdle — to establish a first-ever VA clinic on tribal land that’s not operated by the Indian Health Services and is open to all Veterans regardless of tribal affiliation — was bringing VA infrastructure and systems into a sovereign nation’s facility. Security, policy, and procedural details had to be worked out. Most importantly, the teams involved needed to ensure the Cherokee Nation citizens’ health records would be separate from Veterans’ health records to preserve the privacy for all patients.   

Curtis Lewis, VA’s Office of Information and Technology’s (OIT’s) area manager in End User Services, joined discussions with VHA leadership, Cherokee Nation’s leadership, and Mr. Hoskins to address these and other emerging issues. He confidently told the Medical Center Director, “Get the agreement worked with the Nation, and let me worry about getting the VA network into the building.”

Once the agreement was secured, Mr. Lewis swiftly worked with his partners in OIT’s Connectivity and Collaboration Services to bring in the necessary technical infrastructure. They began ordering circuits, conducting market research, and determining the best transport carrier that could deliver services to the site. When the research was complete, the team conducted a cost-benefit analysis tallying installation costs, monthly recurring costs, and start-up non-recurring costs. “Every circuit delivery is like a separate project and is managed from cradle to grave,” explained Kevin Sample, division chief of Enterprise Transport Services, Connectivity and Collaboration Services.

Getting ready to serve those who served      

The Vinita VA Medical Clinic will soon open its doors with all IT-related infrastructure in place — enabling a staff of five from the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System (VHC) to continue delivering health care services to local Veterans.       

The clinic space includes a waiting area, exam rooms, physician offices, and parking, all separate from the tribal clinic areas, although several shared services are planned. For example, the VA medical staff at the new facility will work hand in hand with the Eastern Oklahoma VHC for lab and x-ray needs to ensure seamless care for both Native and non-Native Veterans within the facility.   

This project showcases an exceptional collaboration effort between VHA leadership, Cherokee Nation leadership, the former Mayor of Vinita, VA OIT’s Connectivity and Collaboration Services and End User Services to make this a reality and bring the highest quality Veteran care to rural Veterans in Oklahoma.    

The Cherokee Nation’s unprecedented partnership with VA made this venture possible, and this approach may become a roadmap for the future as an innovative care model for how VA’s VHA and OIT Teams can work with tribes to maintain or expand locations for Veteran care in rural areas. A true testament to the level of dedication and caring that VA staff have for Veterans, this joint clinic location is a win-win for bringing VA health care to rural Veterans. 

For more information about VA health care for rural Veterans, visit VA’s Office of Rural Health.

VA’s highest priority is protecting our Veterans’ personal information and ensuring our systems and services are secure and available to care for Veterans, their families, and care providers. It’s essential because Veterans and the military community are under siege from criminals determined to steal your hard-earned benefits and exploit your sensitive personal information.

The Threat Environment

Veterans face a multitude of security threats: smishing texts on your mobile phone, phishing emails, fraudulent telemarketing calls, and even people impersonating VA employees who show up at your doorstep. The one thing these scams have in common is that becoming a victim can be financially devastating.  

By the fourth quarter of 2023, VA received more than 12,500 referrals for potential benefits fraud and provided support to over 1,164 victims of payment redirection fraud. In 2022, Veterans, military personnel, and their families reported 93,000 fraud complaints, costing them more than $414 million. 

It’s an intolerable situation, and that’s why we’ve aligned resources to provide tools, prevention and deterrence strategies, and assist with the prosecution of perpetrators. We’re taking the fight to the fraudsters, working with Veterans at the ground level, securing systems within VA, and joining forces with our counterparts throughout the federal government.

Empowering Veterans

While you are your own first line of defense, you are not on your own. VA provides many resources to Veterans to enable you to build a formidable security wall. Visit the VA Cyber Security Spot for a wealth of information on topics ranging from preventing benefits redirection fraud to “cyber hygiene” in maintaining your devices, and much more.  

For VA privacy guidance and resources, check out the VA Privacy Service website, where Veterans will find information on subjects such as filing privacy complaints, reporting suspected identity theft, health care and benefits fraud; and a listing of VA privacy policies.

In addition to web-based resources, VA has deployed more than 400 VA Privacy Officers (POs) across the country. Their responsibilities include all matters related to protecting Veteran Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as receiving and processing privacy complaints, monitoring VA facility compliance with privacy requirements, and promoting privacy training and awareness. Watch this VA Privacy Officers video to learn more about POs and how to identify and contact the one in your area.

For more about common forms of fraud, warning signs, preventative measures and reporting resources, visit the Protecting Veterans from fraud website. If you miss a VA benefits payment, identify a discrepancy in payments, or find suspicious activity with your direct deposit account, contact VA immediately at 1-800-827-1000.

Introducing VSAFE, a Government-wide Security Resource

On Veteran’s Day 2023, President Biden announced the launch of the Veteran Scam and Fraud Evasion (VSAFE) Campaign and Task Force. This initiative brings together leaders from VA, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies to conduct an all-hands effort to safeguard Veterans and their families.

VSAFE increases the ability to leverage capacity across agencies and jurisdictions. Examples include connecting nearly 3,000 federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies to share information on fraud activities and using the Federal Communications Commission to identify sources of scam robocalls targeting Veterans and order phone companies to block these calls. 

A Team Effort

In 2023, VA processed and delivered $163 billion in earned benefits to 6.3 million Veterans and survivors. While we take enormous pride in the fulfillment of these obligations, we do so with the knowledge that there are bad actors who view Veteran beneficiaries as targets for scams.

Participants in Data Privacy Week are informed that “it’s more than just a name. It’s a reminder that creating a secure online world is a group effort.” It’s a sentiment that hits home for VA and the Veterans we serve, and we won’t rest if there is a single Veteran at risk. Please join us in this effort. Review the resources presented here and be vigilant in safeguarding your data and privacy—and encouraging all Veterans to do the same. We are in this together!

For more information on cybersecurity efforts within VA, see “Getting Laser Focused On Cybersecurity.”

Picture yourself reading a captivating mystery novel, where each chapter flows into the next. The plot thickens, the suspense builds, and you’re drawn deeper into the story. But suddenly you need to step away to take care of something that needs your attention and you come back later to find yourself lost in a sea of words, searching for the break or pause you last stopped at. You realize, to your frustration, that there are no paragraph breaks or chapter headings to guide you or prompt your memory to which part you’ve already read.

It’s like navigating a dense forest without a map or clear path.

Section breaks are the literary milestones that guide readers through a story or any readable content, providing structure and clarity. Without them, even the most interesting stories can create a confusing user experience.

Section breaks and pre-set styles are important tools in Microsoft Word and Outlook. When creating accessible documents, it’s crucial to use section and paragraph breaks to structure the document in a logical and organized way from the moment you start writing. This ensures consistent document formatting and helps assistive technology users navigate documents more easily by allowing them to jump from section to section using headings. This is helpful not just to those users, but to all readers navigating a document.

Adding Section Breaks

When adding section breaks or extra pages, your first instinct might be to press the “Enter” key repeatedly. This can cause screen readers to announce the white space to the user, by saying, “Blank,” on every blank line. Instead, select “Add Space After Paragraph” in the Line and Paragraph Spacing options or use one of the pre-set styles in the “Styles” pane of the “Home” tab. The screen reader will then say, “Section break,” when it encounters one.

To properly indent a paragraph, select the “Indent” option in the “Home” ribbon rather than hitting the “Tab” key.

Pre-set styles are formatting options that are predefined in Microsoft Office, which include headings, lists, tables, and other formatting options. A document’s title, subtitle, and headings are meant to be scanned, both visually and with assistive technology. OIT’s Brand System includes several Word document templates with these pre-defined styles to help you create visually engaging, well-structured blog posts, reports, and more.

When creating documents in Word, it’s important to divide text into logical chapters or sections and add formatting that provides context and structure, like columns and section headers, which will allow those with visual impairments to absorb the information seamlessly.

Using section breaks and pre-set styles can help ensure compliance with 508 accessibility standards and make documents more accessible to all users.

Accessibility at VA starts with you. To learn more about accessibility, explore OIT’s Accessibility Guide and watch OIT’s Accessibility videos.

Imagine sitting down to see an action movie. After the previews end and the lights dim, the movie opens with the final battle between the hero and the villain. Now, imagine reading the latest bestselling book. Upon opening the book to the first page, you find that the ending’s already been spoiled.

User experiences like this leave you with more questions than answers. For people who use assistive technology, something as simple as the order in which information is presented can greatly impact their experience and their understanding. Understanding the order of things helps us predict, evaluate, and monitor situations, while making key decisions that help us navigate our world. This also applies to reading a document or looking at a PowerPoint presentation. If the order of paragraphs and words are read out incorrectly, it can change the meaning of the information and be confusing for those using assistive technology, just like reading from the bottom to the top of a document would challenge someone using their eyes to take in the information.

For most documents, assistive technology reads from left to right and top to bottom. As a content creator, you’re responsible for structuring your document in a way that allows all users to access and understand the information presented.

“Like you, I want to do my job with accuracy and efficiency,” says Sue Martin, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee who is blind. “When my screen reader encounters a document or presentation with sloppy reading order, I can’t do that. I’m left with questions. Do I guess at the order and risk making mistakes? What is the author’s point? Getting the reading order correct is not difficult with the tools we have available, and when you can reach your entire audience, we all benefit.”

Organizing Your Product

If you draft your products with accessibility in mind from the start, you can sit back and relax, knowing that when your movie starts, viewers will be greeted by the opening scene, not the dramatic conclusion. Accessibility ensures that digital content is usable to everyone, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities. This not only benefits individuals with disabilities but also extends to a broader audience, enhancing user experiences for all.

In text documents, every document should have a “Heading 1” element, and any subsequent headings should go in order from H1 to H2 to H3 and beyond. You can add headings in Microsoft Word documents by selecting the text you want as your header and separating it from the main body text of your document. Select the desired header text again, then choose your desired heading type from the “Styles” dropdown menu in the “Home” ribbon.

In PowerPoint, place all content into placeholders available in “Slide Layouts.” Check the reading order by selecting “Arrange” in the “Home” ribbon and choosing the Selection Pane. If things look out of order, don’t worry — the Selection Pane lists the order of items to be read from the bottom up. To ensure your content is in the correct order, make sure the first item is at the bottom of the list, the final element is at the top, and arrange the other elements of the slide accordingly.

For PDF documents, the order of the tags in the Tags Tree establish the  reading order, so make sure to put your content in the proper order in the original file before exporting as a PDF. You can check the reading order by going to View, then Tools, then Accessibility, and select “Reading Order.”

Accessibility at VA starts with you. Our commitment to accessibility fosters inclusivity, access, and opportunities for all OIT employees and everyone that we serve. Whether it’s creating user-friendly webpages or ensuring that information is readily available and accessible to everyone, prioritizing accessibility reflects our respect for every individual. To learn more about accessibility, explore OIT’s Accessibility Guide and watch OIT’s Accessibility videos.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, there are an estimated 33,185,550 small businesses in the United States. Forbes also shares that 46.4 percent of U.S. employees are employed by small businesses. To ensure Veterans get the best services from the best businesses, not just the largest, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information and Technology (OIT) connects these small business owners with VA procurement opportunities. As the largest federal health care and benefits provider in the nation, VA has over 1,300 clinics, 56 regional offices, and 155 national cemeteries devoted to Veteran care, benefits, and memorial services throughout the U.S., all of which rely on the expertise from an extensive network of small business partners.

We regularly partner with small businesses that span multiple demographics, such as those owned by women and service-disabled Veterans. In accordance with U.S. Small Business Administration regulations, we prioritize these socioeconomic categories by prioritizing contract awards to qualified small and underserved businesses through a mechanism known as set-aside contracts. Each year, we set goals to award a percentage of contract funding to six categories of small businesses.

OIT’s Vendor Management Office acts as the “front door” for IT vendors like these seeking to do business with VA. The Vendor Management Office focuses on enterprise-level IT acquisitions, to identify specific vendor capabilities that best align with our strategic goals and initiatives, by collecting, tracking, and analyzing vendor scorecard reports. This office also establishes and maintains strategic relations with vendors, resulting in increased vendor performance, reduced risk, and reduced management oversight.

VA Partners

We’re also continually striving to improve our engagement opportunities with small businesses. OIT works with the Department’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). This office enables small businesses to gain access to economic opportunities by developing policies and programs that improve VA’s market research, increase the opportunities for entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services to the Department’s buyers and maximize the participation of various procurement-ready small businesses that do not have the capacity to compete in larger procurement markets.

For example, its Direct Access Program facilitates contracting opportunities and direct connections to Procurement Decision Makers within Federal agencies and large prime contractors. Uniquely, the program hosts virtual and in-person engagements for small and large businesses to partner, network, and build connections necessary to do business with VA and other federal agencies. Direct Access Events are scheduled business outreach sessions which provide insight into contract forecasts and specific opportunities. You can see upcoming events and access recorded sessions on the Direct Access Events webpage.

Small Business Liaisons are also available to help small and Veteran owned businesses and offer advice on industry-specific procurement opportunities and specialized contract components. These liaisons are also well versed in VA small and Veteran business programs and provide detailed information about VA procurement contracting opportunities, small business program goals, VA small business verification, and much more. More information is available on the OSDBU webpage.

Other Ways to Get Involved

Another way for vendors and innovators interested in working with VA to get involved is the Pathfinder tool. It provides a tailored experience that allows users to navigate VA opportunities, submit ideas, products, and services, and make connections with relevant VA staff members. Pathfinder provides clear pathways to engage with VA and connect small businesses to the right VA stakeholders, improving customer experience and equity.

To prepare to do business with VA, businesses must register in the System for Award Management (SAM) and complete the Small Business profile and relevant information regarding their offerings on that platform. If the company qualifies for any of the socioeconomic set-asides, it can complete those certifications through the SBA.

These advocacy efforts are evidence of our enthusiasm for partnering with small businesses. We understand that small businesses have a unique perspective of the IT industry, including challenges and opportunities specific to the private IT sector. No matter what the small business specialty, we value the input each of our small business partners bring to the table. To this effect, we are constantly innovating our partnership practices to capitalize on the strengths of our small business partners to provide the highest IT system support in service to Veterans.

Why We Serve

People who join the United States military willingly sacrifice to serve our nation. They undergo rigorous training, endure long separations from loved ones, and often run towards danger to abide by their oath to “protect and defend” the Constitution of the United States. Their courageous commitment is the basis of President Lincoln’s promise to “care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.”

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is one of the nation’s largest benefits providers, offering earned services that help millions of Veterans receive housing, health care, education, training, or final honors. VA’s National Cemetery Administration (NCA), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, delivers final tributes. Since 1973, NCA has ensured Veterans, service members, and their families a final resting place that pays tribute to their service. This benefit includes Veteran headstones, markers, and medallions to commemorate a Veteran, service member, or their eligible family member.   

In 2019, VA launched the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM), the nation’s first digital platform to memorialize these individuals. To launch the site, NCA partnered with VA’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT), beginning with static Veteran pages that displayed military service information and resting place details. Today, VLM has grown into an interactive platform hosting nearly 10 million individual Veteran memorial pages where users can post pictures, videos, stories, or chats to honor and remember them.

A Significant Digital Expansion

Led by NCA Digital Services Officer James LaPaglia, VLM’s partners include OIT Product Managers William Rodgers and Erin Fincham and Nicholas Lins from OIT’s Business Integration and Outcomes Service (BIOS). Using a rigorous Veteran-centric approach, the team directs OIT development and vendor staff on the steps required to enhance VLM’s capabilities. NCA’s and OIT’s unwavering commitment to excellence drives the teams’ success because they each know how important VLM is to its users.

“This has been a relationship-building process for us from the beginning,” Rodgers says. “And we make sure our staff understands what must work and why, and if it’s not fixed, it’s a deal breaker for any release. Luckily, our teams know what’s required and its impact on our users, and we’ve succeeded because we’re all in for VLM.

“Everyone’s invested in VLM’s success whether we’re investigating new data sources or identifying which data get placed at the top of a profile list due to the disparate databases across the enterprise we use to populate VLM.”

LaPaglia enthusiastically agrees. “I can’t say enough about our partnership between NCA and OIT,” he said. “It might be the best in VA, and it’s one of the best success stories within the enterprise because of how OIT has leveraged its IT work to make the customer experience something special and deeply meaningful.”

More than 75,000 tributes, photos, and other items have been posted on VLM since the site initially launched. VLM currently has Veterans interred in VA’s national cemeteries, VA-grant funded cemeteries, 27 Department of Defense-managed cemeteries, most of the National Park Service national cemeteries, and now thousands of private and other non-VA cemeteries.

This recent enhancement, which VA announced on Nov. 2, 2023, added nearly five million new pages on VLM in an effort OIT delivered to NCA one year ahead of schedule. The effort has been on NCA’s development roadmap since the site launched in 2019. “We’ve always known we wanted to tap into our memorial products ordering system to include private cemeteries because we knew it was a gold mine of additional Veteran records for us to create digital tribute pages, and OIT gave us another scrum team this year so that we could accelerate our goal,” LaPaglia said.   

The new team started in February 2023 and accomplished the goal in less than nine months. The effort was challenging, but the team was ready, willing, and able to succeed. “This new scrum team joined our already Varsity dev team and hit the ground running,” LaPaglia said. “Our collective NCA and OIT team is passionate about this project and its impact on Veterans, their families, and survivors.”

Meeting the Challenge

The accelerated development was demanding, but the teams met each challenge. The first obstacle was data variety. For example, a VA headstone and marker data records contain different and more information than VA medallion records, and even among VA headstone and marker records, the information on each record is not always the same. OIT aimed to capture as much data as possible to match VLM’s existing page template. To achieve that goal, OIT’s teams created at least six variations of the VLM profile pages to adjust for data variance to ensure users can easily find the Veteran memorial page they search for.

The next challenge was adjusting the search function to quickly capture what an individual has typed into the cemetery data field for the thousands of private cemeteries in VA’s Automated Monument Application System (AMAS). The teams found roughly half a million different iterations of cemetery names and solved the issue using two solutions. The first was to clean up the disparate data.

“We always want to start with as clean data as possible because we’ve learned that if we don’t, we’ll pay more for development later,” LaPaglia said. “OIT’s team did a magnificent job for this expansion thanks to our Ph.D. data scientist, Laura Bathurst. She and her team cleaned up approximately five million records we were ingesting to make it easier for survivors to search VLM for their loved ones.”

Next, OIT’s teams revamped VLM’s search engine from a dropdown menu where users initially could scroll through a few hundred cemetery sites. Due to the continuing expansion of VLM’s capabilities, the teams knew it would be too challenging to have users scroll through nearly 500 thousand cemetery names. The adjustment allows users to type in part of a cemetery name, automatically populating all the cemeteries that contain those words.

LaPaglia said the solutions OIT devised for the expansion are impactful. Rodgers agrees, citing how OIT’s teams had to import imprecise data and then normalize it into the VLM database so users could quickly find their Veteran or service member.

A Meaningful User Experience

Interest in VLM grows with each enhancement, and the teams say user engagement is vital to that success. To maintain viability and ensure appropriate content is on VLM, NCA and OIT have moderators who view each item individually before posting to verify the content conforms to VLM’s user policy and appropriately honors Veterans. Among prohibited items include political speech, advertising, or personally identifiable information. This individual attention helps ensure a meaningful end-user experience, LaPaglia says, and reflects the value NCA and OIT place on preserving Veteran legacies.

For Veterans by Veterans

A key component of VLM’s success is that it was built by Veterans for Veterans, including LaPaglia, Rodgers, Lins, and many NCA and OIT support team members. “We do this for the survivors, and it’s also for the deceased Veterans,” LaPaglia says. “It’s sobering to know that what we’re doing is for the millions of Veterans that we’ve loved and lost and their survivors. We’re personally invested, and I hear that emotion in the voices of our teams and others every time I talk about VLM. That’s why we do it.”

VA’s Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer Kurt DelBene is one of VLM’s most ardent fans. He considers it one of the top web apps VA offers Veterans and their families. “OIT is proud to partner with NCA in enabling the addition of nearly five million new records to the Veterans Legacy Memorial database,” says Mr. DelBene. “This platform allows families and loved ones to pay tribute to Veterans dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War using today’s digital technology.” 

The teams’ work continues, and recently, OIT helped NCA achieve a 508-conformance statement for VLM, a significant first for the site. The teams have also started a second round of formal user experience focus group testing with survivors, Veterans, historians, and researchers to ensure that proposed upgrades improve the user experience.

“User feedback is so important, and continuing to improve VLM for our users is what we strive for daily,” LaPaglia says. “Millions of Veterans still don’t have a VLM page yet, so our teams know there is more work ahead. Our hope is to eventually have a VLM page for every Veteran, no matter where they are laid to rest.”

The results of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and General Services Administration’s (GSA) annual Mission Support Customer Satisfaction Survey are in, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been ranked No. 1 for IT function within its employee size peer group for the third year in a row!

The annual survey looks at IT service areas such as support, communication and collaboration, equipment, operations, and development. This year’s survey received more than 53,000 responses from VA employees.

Across every category measured, VA improved from the 2022 rankings. Of the 24 agencies surveyed, VA’s IT Support went from No. 13 overall to No. 11; IT Communication and Collaboration went from No. 11 to No. 10; IT Equipment rose from No. 9 to No. 8; Development, Modernization, and Enhancement soared from No. 13 to No. 8 overall; and Operations and Maintenance went from No. 14 to No. 9.

VA excelled in customer service, communication and responsiveness, and timeliness, with those themes contributing to most high scores. As a strategic partner, VA improved to number No. 5 overall, from No. 11 just last year. These high scores indicate our commitment to our customers is evident through the caliber of the services we provide.

These scores are the result of a multi-faceted approach underpinned by a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. Key advancements include investments in modernization, enhancing training and skill development in our existing staff while recruiting the best talent, prioritizing user-centric design that allows seamless use by our customers and Veterans, and prioritizing a strong cybersecurity posture.

Looking forward, VA aims to sustain and improve its IT function scores by prioritizing IT modernization, expanding upon our customer-centric model, fostering collaboration, and remaining agile and adaptable in the face of evolving IT challenges. We’re continuing to exemplify the best IT organization in government by delivering world-class IT services to our customers, Veterans, and their families.

Almost two million Veterans now have easier access to their health care and benefits in the palm of their hand using the VA Health and Benefits mobile app.

The path to two million downloads

The Office of Information and Technology (OIT) launched the flagship mobile app in 2021 with the aim of offering Veterans a user-friendly, all-in-one platform to easily manage the most common Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits tasks. As the mobile app continues to expand and evolve, VA is adding features Veterans tell us they need the most.

Designing with Veterans

One key to the app’s success has been its user-centered design approach. We rely heavily on Veterans’ input during the design and development process to ensure that the app meets their unique needs and preferences. From the very beginning of the app’s development, this approach continues to be a driving force in the features and tools that are modernized and added along the way. OIT has emerged as a leader in the government IT space by committing to design with Veterans instead of for them.

The VA Health and Benefits mobile app is a testament to this commitment, with several features that illustrate OIT’s design philosophy:

• User Feedback: Veterans provide feedback about the app, helping VA identify areas for improvement and new features that can enhance their experience.
• User Testing: The app undergoes rigorous testing with Veterans to ensure its usability and effectiveness. Some features and functionalities of the app have been co-created with Veterans, ensuring that the app truly addresses their needs.
• Accessibility: The app prioritizes accessibility, making it inclusive for Veterans with various needs and abilities.

We introduced the app as an easy, streamlined, and secure digital gateway to Veterans’ health care and benefits information and services. This immediate and mobile access to vital health information can be incredibly impactful for Veterans, particularly those living in remote or rural areas, where reaching VA facilities may be challenging. As the app’s popularity and use continue to grow, we work with our users to incorporate new features like biometric login and prescription refill to offer Veterans a quick and safe way to manage their VA prescriptions from anywhere.

This year, we also added a new accessibility feature so that, for the first time, blind Veterans can read their decision letters virtually. These continual additions have transformed the app into a valuable tool for all Veterans, regardless of age, background, ability, and location. The journey of the VA Health and Benefits mobile app demonstrates our commitment to delivering innovative, accessible, and Veteran-centric digital solutions.

Frequently used and popular features among Veterans:

• Claims and Appeals: Veterans can easily follow and manage their claims and appeals through the app, ensuring they know what’s happening with their claims.
• Prescriptions: The app feature makes it simple for Veterans to get their medicines and reminders on time. Users can access and refill refillable VA-dispensed prescriptions.
• Secure Messaging: Veterans can securely chat with their VA health care providers, making their health care experience more seamless.

In addition to these popular features, Veterans can view and cancel health care appointments, upload documentation to VA, get vaccine records, locate VA facilities, access the Veterans Crisis Line, show retailers their Veteran status, and more. 

The VA Health and Benefits mobile app maintains a 4.8-star rating on the Apple App Store and a 4.6-star rating on the Google Play Store, showcasing how pleased Veterans and their families are with how well the app works and its ease of use.

In addition to almost two million unique user downloads (and counting), the app has more than 865,000 active monthly users, more than 194,000 prescriptions refilled, more than 995,000 views of medical appointments, over 401,000 benefit letters downloaded, and more than 298,000 secure messages sent.

New features are on the way

We’re always working on making the app better. In the past year, the VA Health and Benefits mobile app has expanded its features to include prescription refills, which allows Veterans to securely access prescription information using a mobile device.

Upcoming VA Health and Benefits mobile app features planned for release in the next year will allow Veterans to:

• View lab and test results
• Receive travel pay reimbursement
• Receive additional push notifications
• Schedule appointments

VA is focused on delivering continuous improvements. The app’s features will continue to expand and evolve based on Veteran needs.

Downloading the app is fast, free, and easy!

To access the VA Health and Benefits mobile app, go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store on your mobile device, search “VA,” and download the VA: Health and Benefits mobile app. Also, view the official OIT YouTube instructional videos for guided instructions on the different features.