Warrior Transition Brigade recognizes Jim Clifford
From the IRweb Spotlight, January 29, 2010
Major Marc McKinley and Sergeant Kevin Burgin of the Ft. Hood Warrior Transition Brigade recently recognized Austin Compliance Director Jim Clifford (who is also one of the founders and executive governance board members for MOS-IRS) for his involvement with the Warrior Intern Program at the Austin Campus. The impromptu ceremony surprised Jim as he accepted a statue of an American bald eagle with an engraved glass plaque. Major McKinley thanked Jim for his active involvement in making the Warrior Intern Program a success. Jim said he accepted the award with honor and will display it with pride.
After the presentation, Major McKinley and Sergeant Burgin visited two of the interns who work for Eben Files in the Examination Dept. Eben reported that both vets have already made suggestions and provided ideas on how to make improvements to the workflow.
The Warrior Intern Program is a pilot program underway in Austin that offers intern positions at the IRS to returning veterans who are ill, injured or wounded. Since the program’s inception last fall, 10 wounded warriors have reported to the Austin Campus, and two of the veterans are now full-time IRS employees.
Two from Warrior Intern Program join IRS full time
From the W&I Insider, January 20, 2010
Two veterans who were among the first to participate last fall in the Warrior Intern Program pilot in Austin are now civilian employees of the IRS. Staff sergeants Tommie Green and Terrance Briscoe were sworn in recently as full-time permanent tax examiners in ACS. Both men will tell you they had never considered a job at the IRS when they first heard of the new intern program.
Terrance (who goes by Tony) spent 20 years in the military before his injury. He had no plans for the future when he joined the intern program. “I was scared to death,” he said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do when I got out. This job relieved my stress and allowed my healing process to begin. I’m ecstatic.”
Tommy was anxious about making it through the rigorous application process. He said, “I was very proud to make it after being in the military for 12 years. It’s hard going through an interview after being out of the civilian workforce for so long.”
Both men work under ACS manager James Price. Tommy said, “I’m working for a great manager and with terrific co-workers. They’re very helpful and quick to share information with me. They work together for the betterment of the team.”
Every intern was assigned a mentor from various functions from across the agency at the beginning of the program. “My mentor has been a real big help. Art Gandara (SB/SE, Chicago) and I talk twice a week,” said Tony. Tommie’s mentor is Katherine Leonard from LMSB in Iselin, N.J.
Austin Compliance Director Jim Clifford, a founding member of MOS-IRS and a guiding force behind the recruitment program, said, “These are the first Warrior Intern Program participants to be converted to salaried employees, and we are very proud of achieving this milestone. This marks a significant achievement in our efforts to repay the men and women who so bravely serve our nation and to make the IRS the employer of choice for our veterans.”
Military Outreach for Service-IRS, W&I, SB/SE and the Human Capital Office joined together to launch a program to help these wounded warriors transition back into civilian life through the Warrior Intern Program pilot underway in Austin. The program gives developmental training for intern positions at the IRS to returning veterans who are ill, injured or wounded.
A warm welcome to Tony and Tommie — we’re proud to have you on our team.
IRS helps wounded vets take that first step
From the IRweb Spotlight, January 12, 2010
Imagine returning from your military tour of duty wounded, unemployed and uncertain of your future. Where do you start rebuilding your career? Military Outreach for Service-IRS, W&I, SBSE and the Human Capital Office partnered together to launch a program to help these wounded warriors transition back into civilian life through the Warrior Intern Program pilot underway in Austin.
WIP provides returning disabled veterans developmental training for intern positions at the IRS. The program provides four to six months of non-paid on-the-job training, flexible work hours and mentoring for each candidate. WIP is designed to help veterans transition back into civilian life by building their confidence and giving them skills they will need to build successful careers.
Ernie Beltz and Karen Davis, staff assistants in the Commissioner’s Executive Secretariat office, are both members of MOS-IRS and serve as mentors. Karen’s last military job was processing wounded soldiers as they left their posts and returned home. “This is a great opportunity for me to help them on the other side of that transition,” she said.
Ernie wasn’t sure what to expect when he became a mentor. “It was amazing how quickly everyone became good friends,” he recalled. “I get great feedback from my protégé. These soldiers are concerned about leaving the comfort and security of their Army family,” he said. “They’re quickly finding that their new IRS family in Austin makes them feel right at home.” The Beltz family even hosted the interns and mentors at their Texas home during the initial training session. Currently, there are 10 active duty Army interns from Ft. Hood participating in the trial program.
The MOS-IRS team will share results of the pilot with IRS leadership in the spring before making any decisions about expanding the program nationwide.
Behind the scenes
MOS-IRS thought IRS needed an organization that supported veteran employees and helps recruit other vets to the Service. Austin Compliance Director Jim Clifford contacted the Army Career Assistance Office at nearby Ft. Hood and discovered the Wounded Warrior Brigade, a vocational rehabilitation program for returning soldiers.
Linda Ortiz, a department manager in Automated Underreporter at the Austin campus, plays the “mother” role for the participating soldiers. She has a son who has served in the military for several years and understands what they are going through when they return to the states. And, she explained, “I’ve worked in several of the areas where the soldiers are assigned, so I’m able to show them how what they are doing will help them build a career.”
Wage & Investment Employee Answers the Call
From the Wage & Investment Insider, October 27, 2009
By day, Kathy L. King is the CAS manager of Team 5007, Dept. 5, at the Dallas toll-free site, but on nights and weekends, she takes on a very different role. Most of her co-workers knew that Kathy was very active in helping her neighbors in need. However, when she spoke at a recent managers’ conference about answering the call, her co-workers listened in awe to the amount of time and energy that Kathy dedicates to the local community and to the men and women who serve our country in the armed forces.
As a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, Kathy assists with a yearly fundraiser to support the troops deployed overseas. This year’s event not only raised enough money to send care packages to approximately 1,000 soldiers, but there was enough money left over to send $1,000 checks to some families of deployed soldiers.
MOS-IRS Member Thwarts Potential Suicide
Derived from the SB/SE Web Connector, July 8, 2009
Relying upon his Army training, a Chicago-area revenue officer thwarted a potential suicide at a taxpayer’s home.
Lawrence Kagan, a sergeant major in the U.S. Army Reserve, and an RO since 1987, dropped in on the taxpayer after two unsuccessful phone attempts.
The taxpayer invited Kagan inside, where they sat at a formal dining table. Fully aware of his debt, the man declared his intention to pay immediately. Kagan replied the IRS always likes to hear that and asked how he planned to pay.
“He told me he was going to kill himself today,” Kagan said. The man said that was his only escape from his debts and disclosed his likely method. He claimed his life insurance contained no suicide exclusion; thus, it would pay all his creditors in full.
The man also showed Kagan a copy of the letter he planned to leave his wife and some stamped letters to his creditors. He added that he was about to leave to commit the act when Kagan arrived.
Quickly assessing the situation, Kagan saw no weapons, nor telephone nearby. He said though the man projected a calm demeanor, he trembled noticeably.
“I decided to just focus on the taxpayer,” Kagan said, “because I saw the situation could turn quickly.”
As he employed active listening and the man relaxed, Kagan searched his wallet—on the pretext of getting a business card—to check his Army suicide prevention card called ACE. Concealing the card in his hand, he reviewed it as much as he could while maintaining eye contact.
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Army suicide intervention—ACE |
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Ask your buddy
- Have the courage to ask the question, but stay calm.
- Ask the question directly; e.g., “Are you thinking of killing yourself?”
C are for your buddy
- Remove any means that could be used for self-injury.
- Calmly control the situation; do not use force.
- Actively listen to produce relief.
Escort your buddy
- Never leave your buddy alone.
- Escort to the chain of command, a chaplain, a behavioral health professional, or a primary care provider.
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—reprinted from U.S. Army publications |
To get outside and call 911, Kagan used another pretext—the need to retrieve paperwork from his vehicle. However, he first requested a soft drink to keep the man busy and secured his permission to leave. The police arrived within minutes, surprised Kagan had arrived just in the nick of time.
“They said this was the most methodical suicide plan they had ever seen,” Kagan said.
The man’s wife conveyed her thanks to Kagan, as did the local police chief. Kagan also received a certificate of recognition June 11 from Arthur Gandara, director, Midwest Area Collection, Chicago, Ill. Acting Director Bruce Mitroff made the presentation in Schiller Park, Ill.
“I never felt my own safety was in danger,” Kagan said, “but knew I had to do something—and quickly.”
Kagan said he had a duty to the Army as a soldier to properly use his training, and a duty as a citizen to help the individual.
“I think listening to him, where I could almost repeat word-for-word what he was telling me, was the turning point in calming him down,” Kagan said.
Kagan also said it’s imperative to take whatever actions necessary to call for professional help.
“Don’t be a psychologist yourself,” he advised. “That’s not the thing to do at that point.”
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A Salute to Veterans
Derived from the SB/SE Web Connector
Veterans are a mixed bunch. They are young and old, male and female, parents themselves, and sons and daughters, too. They come from every walk and function of IRS SB/SE life: from analysts to attorneys, group secretaries to managers, from Collection to Exam to Estate & Gift.
Yet they all share a pride that comes with experience, the gritty kind gained in the jungles of Vietnam by a 19-year-young farm boy from Wisconsin who joined the Army “to have an adventure.”
Or at least that’s what Bankruptcy specialist David Galik (Milwaukee) thought until he started his Army service in a fire base cleaning and firing 200-pound shells.
“It was ungodly hot and humid,” Galik said, recalling his impression of a two-year tour in Vietnam. But despite the heat, the Vietnam vet remains in the military, currently serving as a master sergeant in the Air National Guard.
And he’s not the only one in the family celebrating Veterans Day. His wife, Donna, was in the Air National Guard and is now in the Air Force. “She liked it so much she stayed on full time,” Galik said.
“Education benefits,” Renee Campbell said with military directness. “That’s the reason I joined the Army.” Indeed, Campbell will be obtaining her degree in Human Resources this December.
Deployed to Kuwait then Qatar in 2005, Campbell joined IRS in 2008 as an Advisory group secretary in Richmond, VA. She is also a sergeant in the Army Reserves.
“I left at 19 and came back at 22,” said Campbell. “Everything seemed to be just stripped from me.” Unsatisfied with the job hours she came back to, Campbell got a job with IRS, started school, and found a place of her own. But would she join the military again full time? “It stops your life, it delays it, but yes, if I had to, I would do it in a heart beat.”
When Jason Shepherd, Estate & Gift attorney, returned from Desert Storm in 1991, he had no job, no direction, “no one to say ‘do this’ or ‘do that’.”
“But when I came back this time I was a little older and had a job and a family to come home to,” Shepherd said. “It helped I was in Frankfurt, Germany while still on active duty, so I had time to readjust to coming home. Plus, there was IDRS training and other computations to get the rust knocked off,” he said. “You could get back into it.”
As an Army National Guard reservist, Shepherd was deployed to IRAQ last year for a 9-month tour. This time, he had his wife Shannon and four children to come home to and a job at IRS he liked. “It was the easiest transition yet.”
Colonel Thomas Lincoln, Estate & Gift Tax, Fort Worth has over 28 years of military service including 10 active duty. A JAG officer in the Army Reserves, Lincoln serves as the primary legal advisor for the 9th Signal Command.
At age 14 Lincoln joined a military academy in Georgia then enlisted in the Army at 17, eventually rising through the ranks to Colonel – or “mustang,” Army jargon for an enlisted man who reaches officer status. Still a JAG officer reservist, Lincoln lives in Texas with his wife, Elena, and their two children.
“Except for a five year break in service,” the Colonel said, “I have spent all of my adult life in uniform.”
Collection’s James F. Marsh, a materials handler in Providence, just retired from the Air Force after “40 years, 5 months and 26 days of service.”
“My 40 plus years in the Air Force was a wonderful experience and, looking back, it was the best years in my life,” Marsh said. “Everyone gave me a nice welcome back when I returned to work after my activation and military tours of duty.“
The retired Airman adds, “The Internal Revenue Service is a great supporter of the Guard and Reserve.”
Contributed by Donna Hargrave, Nov. 7, 2008.
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MOS-IRS Chapter Collects Care Package for U.S. Troops in the Sinai
From the Wage & Investment Insider - March 13, 2009
One IRS employee deployed in the service of his country may be temporarily gone, but he is not forgotten. Jose Acevedo, who works in the Puerto Rico Call Site, is a medic with the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai Peninsula.
In the photo above, members of the MOS-IRS Atlanta chapter (l-r) George Russell, Sharon Davis, Tom Young, Sam Spayd, Alvin Watson, Jon Bird and Dave Swafford pose with the first shipment of seven boxes of items they collected for soldiers.
These MFO troops help to monitor and maintain peace between the Egyptians and Israelis along the Gaza Strip. Jose noticed that some fellow soldiers as well as some international troops could use some help.
In response to his request, the Atlanta Chapter of MOS-IRS is sponsoring a drive for the entire month of March to collect items, such as shampoo, deodorant, soap and even Girl Scout cookies to send to these soldiers.
MOS-IRS or Military Outreach for Service-Internal Revenue Service is the newest IRS employee organization. Its mission is to provide support for veterans of the uniformed services of the United States who have sacrificed so much through their efforts to defend our nation and to further the cause of peace and freedom around the world. In providing support to military veterans and their families, MOS-IRS will aimultaneously further the interests of the IRS and other IRS employees as the unique features of the veteran community are brought together to enrich life at the IRS.
Posted Mar. 17, 2009
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Manager receives patriotic award thanks to active duty employee
Terry Perrino, an Operations manager in the Small Business & Self-Employee Division of the Internal Revenue Service, was both surprised and honored to receive a Patriotic Employer award. She was nominated by her employee, Patrick Kearney, a TEFRA Department manager for TEFRA and Exam Field Support Operations, who was deployed to active duty several times this year.
“It's a little awkward to receive an award for supporting someone who gives so much of himself for our country,” said Perrino. “I'm very proud of Patrick and grateful for his service to our country. He, more than anyone, deserves recognition.”
The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve recognizes employers who practice leadership and personnel policies that support employee participation. Perrino received a certificate from ESGR based on Kearney’s nomination.
According to Kearney, Perrino supported him each time he was deployed, whether for three weeks or three months. Having her support relieved a lot of the pressure regarding his pay status and his ability to meet financial obligations while away. His last deployment was in support of hurricane relief in Sept. 2008.
Perrino’s support included providing an acting manager for Kearney’s department while he was on military service, sending pertinent e-mails relevant to his programs and his employees, and briefing him on any events that happened during his absence.
Kearney was a Command Post Controller with a variety of duties. His unit deployed two H-60 helicopters and crews, pararescue jumpers (PJs) and maintenance personnel to Mississippi. They also performed search and rescue missions in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. It was the TEFRA manager’s job to keep track of the missions and assets and immediately report that information to commanders.
“I would encourage other managers to do whatever they can to ensure their deployed employees do not feel guilty or at a disadvantage for doing a service that benefits our entire nation,” Perrino said. “I would also encourage them to remember to thank their employees and acknowledge their contribution in the workplace.”
You can learn more about the nomination process at the
Patriot Award Web page. All members of the National Guard and Reserve are eligible to nominate their employers.
Posted Dec. 20, 2008
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