1. 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 1 NCA Burial and Memorial Basics Timothy Spain Director, FNOD Office 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 1

2. 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 2

3. 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.” (2 nd Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865 ) Commander-in-Chief Lincoln 3

4. 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 4

5. 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 5

6. 150 Years of Keeping the Promise Partners in Managing Military and Veterans Cemeteries  VA – 131  VA grant-funded cemeteries - 93  Army - 30  Interior - 14 Gettysburg National Cemetery, PA  ABMC - 25 6

7. NCA Organizational Chart USMAPDUSMA 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 Walters Interim Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 7

8. 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 8

9.  1,772 employees  About 87% of our employees work outside of DC  Over 74% of NCA employeesare Vets  highest of any Federal agency  Includes 450+ returningVeterans from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Serving Veterans 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 9

10. 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 10

11. 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 12

12. 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 13

13. 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 15

14. 150 Years of Keeping the Promise Memorial Benefits “In Memory of…”Upright Headstone Niche Covers Flat Marker Bronze Medallion Presidential Memorial Certificate Burial Flag 14

15. 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 Affairs 5109 Russell Road Quantico, VA 22134-3903

16. 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 Administration 5109 Russell Road Quantico, VA 22134-3903

17. President’s Budget Request FY15* Line Item Amount 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, Discretionary371.8 Total, Compensation and Pension120.8 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 16

18. 150 Years of Keeping the Promise FY2014 BenefitsWorkload Data ServiceCompleted Interments125,188 Headstones, Markers and Medallions Provided 365,582 Presidential Memorial Certificates Provided 618,570 18  Perpetual care provided for 4.2 mil Veterans, service members, Reservists and family members in 3.4 mil gravesites  Manage 8,812 acres

19. 2014 NCA Small Business Goal NCA goal 84% FY14 achieved 85.01% FY14 Veteran’s Owned 66% 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 19

20. 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 cemeteries a.Five (5) national cemeteries planned b.Five (5) Urban cemeteries c.Eight (8) Rural cemeteries 3.Support State and Tribal Cemetery Grant Program Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, MO 20

21. 150 Years of Keeping the Promise National Cemetery and Urban Initiative Omaha National Cemetery, NE Tallahassee National Cemetery, FL Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, FL Western NY area Southern CO area New York City area Los Angeles area Chicago area San Francisco Area-Alameda New National Cemetery Urban Initiative Indianapolis area 21 150 Years of Keeping the Promise

22. Rural Initiative MT ID WY UT NV 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 WI ME 22

23. 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 2012 BG William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Wrightstown, N.J., 23

24. 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 2011  5 awarded to-date -Awarded annually, in same manner as states -Opportunity to serve additional Veterans 24

25. Submit pre-application through grants.gov by July 1 st. 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

26. 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 26

27. 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 27

28. George D. Eisenbach Jr, Director george.eisenbach@va.gov@va.gov (202) 632-7369 Howard Orr, Project Manager howard.orr@va.gov (202) 632-7203 Tom Paquelet, Project Manager thomas.paquelet@va.gov (202) 632-7202 LaQuisha Barnes, Program Specialist LaQuisha.barnes@va.gov@va.gov (202) 632-8001 Veterans Cemetery Grants Service Contact List

29. 2013 ACSI Survey on Outreach Primary methods of learning of benefits:  family members or friends (58%) and funeral homes (36%) (similar to 2012) 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 27

30. Mobile Command Outreach Vehicle (MCO)  Roles  Emergency Preparedness  Command & Control  Outreach 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 28

31. 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 29

32. 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 FY01FY04FY07 Fiscal Year FY12FY17 Percentage of Vets Served* % of V et e r a ns S e r v ed *By an open national, state or tribal Veterans cemetery within 75 miles of home 32

33. NCA Innovations Raise and Realign projects Installation of Support Systems Pre-placed cryptsSustainability Efforts BEFOREAFTER 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 33

34.  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 150 Years of Keeping the Promise 34

35. 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

36. 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. 36

37. 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 2015 Columbarium, Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, PA 37

38. 150 Years of Keeping the Promise American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)  In 2013, NCAagain achieved the highest ranking of any participating organization  Fifth consecutive time! 38

39. 39 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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