FederalDaily - December 7, 2005

Exchange Program for IT Workers

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the launch of the Information Technology Exchange Program (ITEP) section of OPM’s Web site, at www.opm.gov/leader/hrd/lead/itep/overview.asp. The ITEP allows individuals from the federal information technology (IT) work force and individuals from the private sector IT work force to participate in an exchange program. The exchange program has been endorsed by the Federal Chief Information Officers Council as well as the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council. “This is a wonderful opportunity for both federal and private sector IT employees to expand their breadth of experience through a program not previously available to them,” said Nancy Kichak, OPM’s associate director for Strategic Human Resources Policy.

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Military Mental Health Task Force

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., recently urged the House and Senate Defense Committees to include her amendment to establish a Defense Task Force on Mental Health in the final versions of the Defense Appropriations and Authorizations bills. In a letter to the conferees, Boxer wrote, “ According to the results of the first comprehensive screening of Iraq war veterans—conducted by the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine and published in USA Today—almost 1,700 servicemembers returning from the war this year said that they harbored thoughts of hurting themselves or that they would be better off dead.” She added that nearly 20,000 reported nightmares or unwanted war recollections and more than 3,700 said they had concerns that they might “hurt or lose control” with someone else.

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Whistleblowers Losing Out

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), charged with protecting federal whistleblowers, is dismissing hundreds of cases while advancing almost none, according an analysis of the latest agency figures by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). PEER’s analysis found that for whistleblowers who claimed retaliation: favorable outcomes declined (to 24 percent); the only favorable outcomes were in cases where the agency agreed to make changes; and more than nine out of 10 surveyed employees were dissatisfied with the effectiveness of OSC, with more than three in four classifying themselves as “very dissatisfied.” PEER was looking at the recently-released OSC report for 2004. For more, go to www.peer.org.

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Military Addresses Disease Threats

A new study addresses the military operational impact of new disease threats by looking at risks to servicemembers around the world. The report, titled "The Bug Stops Here: Force Protection and Emerging Infectious Diseases," comes from the National Defense University's Center for Technology and National Security Policy. According to the Department of Defense (DoD), increasing global infectious disease threats can seriously affect the stability of governments worldwide. An infected soldier carrying a contagious disease back to the U.S. could affect national security. The new report provides a series of case studies that analyze health threats to each regional combatant command and presents tactical and strategic recommendations to better prepare DoD for future disease outbreaks.

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