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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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NCA Burial and Memorial BasicsTimothy Spain
Director, FNOD Office
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Briefing Agenda History, Mission and Responsibilities
Leadership and Organizational Structure
Benefits
Achievements in FY2014
Workload Data
Commitment to Veterans Small Business
3-Pronged Strategy to Meet Future Needs (Extend, Build and Support)
Extend life of existing cemeteries
Build 18 new cemeteries
Support State and Tribal Cemeteries
Emerging Burials Study
NCA Innovations/Best Practices
NCA Key Initiatives
National Shrine Cemeteries
Awards, Special Events and Customer Service Excellence
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
NCA History
First national cemeteries established in 1862
Prior, soldiers buried where they fell
“To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.”
(2nd Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865)Commander-in-Chief Lincoln
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
NCA Mission
The National Cemetery Administration (NCA) honors Veterans and their families with final resting places in national shrines and lasting tributes that commemorate their service and sacrifice to our Nation.
NCA Vision
To be the model of excellence for burial and memorial benefits for our Nation’s Veterans and their families
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
NCA Responsibilities
Provide burial space for Veterans and eligible family members
Maintain national cemeteries as national shrines
Administer the Federal grants program for construction of state and tribal Veterans cemeteries
Furnish headstones, markers and medallions for the graves of Veterans around the world
Administer the Presidential Memorial Certificate (PMC) Program
Administer the First Notice of Death (FNOD) program
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Partners in Managing Military
and Veterans Cemeteries
VA – 131
VA grant-funded cemeteries - 93
Army - 30
Interior - 14Gettysburg National Cemetery, PA
ABMC - 25
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NCA Organizational Chart
USMA
PDUSMA
DUS Field Programs
Director, Office of Field
Programs
Director, Memorial Programs Service
DUS Finance and
Planning/CFO
DUS Management
Executive Director,
Human Capital Management
Ron WaltersInterim Under Secretary for
Memorial Affairs
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
St. Louis activities: National Training Center; National Cemetery Scheduling Office; First Notice of Death Office
Indianapolis activities: MSN IV; Cemetery Development and Improvement Service; HR Center
NCA Field Offices
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1,772 employees
About 87% of our employees work outside of DC
Over 74% of NCA employees are Vets highest of anyFederal agency
Includes 450+ returning Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans Serving Veterans
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Volunteer Support
Guardians of the Cemetery, Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown, PA (above left); Vaca Valley Garden Club, Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, CA
(above)
Volunteers donated 422,890 hours of service to national cemeteries in FY14
Valued at $8.1 million
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Burial in a national cemetery: Gravesite Opening and closing of the grave Grave liner Perpetual care of the gravesite
Headstone, Markers or Niche Covers Presidential Memorial Certificate Bronze Medallion
U.S. Flag (VBA benefit)
Military Funeral Honors (DoD)
Veteran Burial Benefits
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Eligibility Criteria and Scheduling
Any member of the U.S. Armed Forces who dies on active duty
Any Veteran who was discharged under qualifying conditions (other than dishonorable)
National Guard members and Reservists with 20 years of qualifying service, who are entitled to retired pay
Spouses, minor children and certain parents
The National Cemetery Scheduling Office serves all national cemeteries, seven days a week, 362 days a year
Toll Free Number:1-800-535-1117
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Military Funeral Honors
Department of Defense (DoD) is responsible for providing military funeral honors
Veterans organizations may assist in the provision of military funeral honors
NCA cemetery staff may assist in coordinating military funeral honors
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Memorial Benefits
“In Memory of…” Upright Headstone
Niche Covers
Flat Marker
Bronze Medallion
PresidentialMemorialCertificate
Burial Flag
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Headstones and Markers
Application available on line at http://www.va.gov/vaforms/va/pdf/VA40-1330.pdf
FAX applications to 1-800-455-7143. MAIL applications to:
Memorial Programs Service (41A1)Department of Veterans Affairs5109 Russell Road Quantico, VA 22134-3903
Presidential Memorial Certificate
Application available on line at http://www.va.gov/vaforms/va/pdf/VA40-0247.pdf
FAX applications to 1-800-455-7143. MAIL applications to:
Presidential Memorial Certificates (41A1C)National Cemetery Administration5109 Russell Road Quantico, VA 22134-3903
President’s Budget Request FY15*
Line ItemAmount
Requested (in millions of dollars)
Operations and Maintenance $256.8
Major Construction 10.0
Minor Construction 60.0
Veterans Cemetery Grants Program 45.0
Total, Discretionary 371.8
Total, Compensation and Pension 120.8
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
FY2014 Benefits Workload Data
Service CompletedInterments 125,188Headstones, Markers and Medallions Provided
365,582
Presidential Memorial Certificates Provided
618,570
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Perpetual care provided for 4.2 mil Veterans, service members, Reservists and family members in 3.4 mil gravesites
Manage 8,812 acres
2014 NCA Small Business Goal
NCA goal 84% FY14 achieved 85.01%
FY14 Veteran’s Owned 66%
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Three Pronged Strategy to meet future burial needs
1. Extend the service life of existing cemeteries
2. Develop new national cemeteriesa. Five (5) national
cemeteries plannedb. Five (5) Urban
cemeteries c. Eight (8) Rural
cemeteries
3. Support State and Tribal Cemetery Grant ProgramJefferson Barracks National Cemetery, MO
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
National Cemetery and Urban Initiative
Omaha National Cemetery, NE
Tallahassee NationalCemetery, FL Cape Canaveral
National Cemetery, FL
Western NY area
Southern CO area
New York City area
Los Angeles area
Chicago area
San FranciscoArea-Alameda
New National Cemetery
Urban Initiative
Indianapolis area
21150 Years of Keeping the Promise
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Rural Initiative
MT
IDWY
UTNV
NCA is establishing National Veterans Burial Grounds in eight states.
In May 2014, VA dedicated the first of these rural cemeteries (Yellowstone National Cemetery) in Laurel, Montana (see inset picture).
ND
WIME
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
State and Tribal Cemetery Grants Program VA provides 100% of
development costs
93 operational state and tribal cemeteries in 45 states, Guam and Saipan
Over $566 million in grants awarded since 1988
32,000 burials in FY2013
6 new state and tribal cemeteries projected to open between now and 2015
Administrative Building Sicangu Akicita Owicahe (Rosebud Sioux Tribe Veteran Cemetery)
White River, SD
Grant Award Presentation November 2012BG William C. Doyle Veterans
Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown, N.J.,
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Tribal Cemeteries in Indian Country
• Tribal Government grants
- Law enacted December 2006 (PL 109-461 Sec.403)
Made tribal organizations eligible for cemetery establishment grants on tribal trust lands
-First grants awarded in 20115 awarded to-date
-Awarded annually, in same manner as states
-Opportunity to serve additional Veterans24
• Submit pre-application through grants.gov by July 1st .
• Upon receipt VCGS will issue a viability letter to the applicant explaining next steps.
• Grant Opportunity can be searched using (CFDA) Number 64.203, www.federalgrants.com.
• To receive the highest consideration the pre-application must include Certification of State or Tribal Matching Funds and State or Tribal Legislation supporting the project.
Grants Process
Tribal Cemeteries in Indian Country
• National cemeteries allow all eligible Veterans to be interred at national cemeteries
• States have the option to have a residency requirement as an additional eligibility requirement for their cemeteries -e.g., Must have lived in state for 2 years
• Tribal governments may add tribal requirements-e.g., Any Sioux Veteran may be interred
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Tribal Cemeteries in Indian Country
• Tribal Veterans cemeteries aim to honor tribal customs and traditions, such as:
– Use of tribal symbols
– Longer committal services
– Graveside burials
– Areas to tie-up horses
– Areas for traditional burials
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• George D. Eisenbach Jr, [email protected] (202) 632-7369
• Howard Orr, Project [email protected](202) 632-7203
• Tom Paquelet, Project [email protected](202) 632-7202
• LaQuisha Barnes, Program [email protected](202) 632-8001
Veterans Cemetery Grants Service Contact List
2013 ACSI Survey on OutreachPrimary methods of learning of benefits:
family members or friends (58%) and funeral homes (36%) (similar to 2012)
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Mobile Command Outreach Vehicle (MCO)
Roles Emergency Preparedness Command & Control Outreach
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Independent Study on Emerging Burial Practices
Nationwide survey with Veterans
Burial options“Green burials”Study and survey presented to NCA senior
leadership-August 2014 NCA expects to use the study as a cornerstone
of its new Strategic Plan 2015-2021
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0FY01 FY04 FY07
Fiscal Year
FY12 FY17
Percentage of Vets Served*%
of
Vet
eran
s S
erve
d
*By an open national, state or tribal Veterans cemetery within 75 miles of home
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NCA Innovations
Raise and Realign projects Installation of Support Systems
Pre-placed cryptsSustainability Efforts
BEFORE AFTER
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Pending Regulations (1) Establish reimbursement of casket and urn
purchase for indigent, unclaimed Veterans (2) Expand definition of applicant for headstone and
marker applications
Continued gravesite accountability efforts GPS/GIS audit capability in FY15
Memorials Benefit Management System (MBMS) Improvements to BOSS/AMAS, FNOD, and PMC Integration with VA enterprise data Integration of GPS/GIS mapping Integration of mobile capabilities
NCA Key Initiatives
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National Shrine Cemeteries
Gold Awards Dallas-Ft. Worth Georgia Quincy (IL)
Green Awards
Danville (IL)
Fayetteville (AR)
Florida
Ft. Custer (MI)
Ft. McPherson (NE)
Dallas-Ft. Worth Ohio Western Reserve Black Hills (SD)
Dallas-Ft. Worth National Cemetery
150 Years of Keeping the Promise 33
150 Years of Keeping the Promise
Cemetery Standards of Appearance/OAI Scorecard
Operational Standards and Measures Establishes outcome goals for key operational
processes such as interment operations, ground maintenance operations, and headstone and marker operations.
Organizational Assessment and Improvement Program (OAI) Continuous improvement practices based on
Malcolm Baldrige and VA Carey criteria for organizational excellence that incorporates Operational Standards and Measures
To ensure compliance, cemetery directors submit annual self-assessments that support the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls.
Teams conduct site visits to national cemeteries on a rotating basis to validate performance reporting.
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
2013 Survey of Satisfaction
Conducted annually since 2001
Mailed to next of kin and funeral directors
Ties to strategic plan goals for customer service and cemetery appearance; i.e., 100% satisfaction by 2015Columbarium, Indiantown
Gap National Cemetery, PA
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
American CustomerSatisfaction Index (ACSI)
In 2013, NCA again achieved the highest
ranking of any participating organization
Fifth consecutive time!
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To stay current with NCA:
Visit our Website www.cem.va.gov
Follow us on Twitter @VANatCemeteries
Become a fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/NationalCemeteries
Please keep in touch!
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150 Years of Keeping the Promise
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