Veterans in Nevada lose jobs, and faith they will be helped

Jeniffer Solis

(Nevada Current) Supporting the development of hospitals, fire stations, and homes in rural communities across the country was a natural progression in Jim Fogelberg’s long career as a public servant and veteran.

After living in Nevada for 10 years he was hired in November to work at the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, which provides federal financing for affordable housing and community building across rural America.

On Valentine’s Day, he and thousands of other veterans with less than one year in their roles were fired by the Trump administration with little explanation or warning.

“I still have the equipment,” said Fogelberg, who served in the Air Force for 14 years before being released from active duty in 1993 as a disabled veteran.

“My equipment shut down while I was talking to my supervisor that morning. So it’s in my garage, and it’s sitting there. I don’t know what else to do with it,” the Fernley resident said.

Mark Wagstaff, a disabled veteran who served in the Marine Corps, was also terminated from his job at the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center on Valentine’s Day. He was locked out of his email before he even had the chance to read his termination letter.

“Where are our congressional leaders? Where are they to step up and advocate for us right now?” Wagstaff said.

Nevada Democratic U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen have both sent multiple letters to federal departments seeking data on how many Nevadans have been fired and from what jobs, but with little response from Trump administration officials.

The federal government is the single largest employer of veterans in the country, including vulnerable veterans who became disabled during their military service.

In Nevada, veterans account for about 34% of the nearly 14,000 civilian federal employees in the state. About three in four of those veterans working in Nevada are disabled, according to the latest publicly available data by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

There is no official estimate of the number of federal workers fired in Nevada following the Trump administration’s push to slash the federal workforce by firing probationary workers.

Probationary federal workers are employees with less than a year in their roles, who don’t have the same job protections as those who have been in their roles for longer. All federal workers start new roles on a probationary status.

As of September, there were about 4,700 veterans working in the federal government in Nevada, according to the latest federal workforce data available. About 8% of those veterans, or 364, had less than a year in their roles, meaning they were probationary and most susceptible to getting fired.

‘You’re one of our DEI hires’

Veterans are given a preference when it comes to federal work. The federal government also has a long standing practice of placing disabled veterans at the top of the hiring list, a move meant to help an often vulnerable population.

Research shows that veterans experience mental health issues and traumatic brain injuries at rates disproportionate  to their civilian counterparts. Veterans also face unique service-related challenges, including difficulty adjusting to civilian life and employment barriers in the private sector.

One veteran who works for the Department of Defense in Nevada, said he had difficulty adjusting to life outside the military, where he developed PTSD from his service. After struggling in the private sector, he found stability as a federal worker.

“I realized that what I was missing was a mission. To be part of something bigger than me again, to serve my country again, because that is what has been ingrained into us,” said the veteran who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation.

“Now I check my email every day to see if I’m fired,” he said.

Nevada veterans who spoke to the Nevada Current said they saw joining the federal workforce as a way to continue serving the public even after their career in the military ended.

Wagstaff joined the Department of Veterans Affairs to help make a difference and improve the health and well-being of other veterans like him.

While clinical staff were exempt from cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs, people in positions that provide critical support to veterans’ healthcare providers, including administrative assistants like Wagstaff, were among those terminated.

The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System didn’t confirm how many people were fired as a result of the federal workforce reduction. Wagstaff estimates that at least 11 administrative officers tasked with helping secure the healthcare system’s medical supply chain were fired.

In a statement, VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System said they had “dismissed a limited number of probationary staff.”

“This decision will have no negative effect on Veteran health care, benefits or other services and will allow VA to focus more effectively on its core mission of serving Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” said the statement.

According to a 2024 report from the office of the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs — himself a victim of the federal purge —   two dozen job positions at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System in North Las Vegas had severe staffing shortages last year. That included inventory management and supply clerical and technician staff, which oversee medical supply and inventory.

“I agree, it’s not impacting benefits,” said Wagstaff. “But it is impacting patient care. With them firing all the probationary employees in logistics, they’re at bare bones staff to make sure supplies get to clinics.”

Other Nevada veterans say they feel targeted by attacks on equity efforts. Earlier rounds of terminations and executive orders targeted federal employees affiliated with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. That likely includes veterans hired under the veterans preference, said Fogelberg.

“I feel like I was targeted for being hired as a vet,” Fogelberg said. “I’m a veteran and I’m older. I think they looked at that and said, ‘you were hired under a veteran’s preference, and therefore you’re one of our DEI hires. So you’re gone.’”

Fogelberg said he fears that rural development will halt or significantly slow down in towns like Fernley with the reduction of USDA’s Rural Development workforce.

There’s a complex network of federally backed loans, subsidies, and tax credits that go into making rural development — like affordable housing and health care clinics — work economically, said Fogelberg.

“I don’t think we’re going to see any new fire stations or small police stations. Any community facility is going to be at risk at this point,” Fogelberg said.

‘It’s a mess.’

A U.S. District Judge ruled last week that the Office of Personnel Management — the central human resources office for the federal government — broke the law when it ordered federal agencies to terminate thousands of probationary employees.

But veterans in Nevada were doubtful the ruling would offer any immediate help for federal workers who have already lost their jobs, after the judge stopped short of ordering agencies to reinstate fired workers or halt looming firings.

The lawsuit was brought forward by Fogelberg’s union, the American Federation of Government Employees. Fogelberg is grateful for his union’s support, but says he’s lost a lot of faith in Congress and government leadership.

“They’re all going to scream and yell that the president can fire whoever he wants to,” Fogelberg said.

“I think it was wrong, I think it was illegal. But I don’t think in the current environment anybody’s going to do anything. Maybe in three years from now, or four years from now,” he said.

Wagstaff echoed that lack of hope despite union pushback and a legal victory.

“A glimmer of hope is there, but it’s very very small,” Wagstaff said. “My hopes are still little to none that it’s going to move the bar.”

President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the de facto director of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency — have said mass terminations at federal agencies is a cost saving measure to root out waste, fraud and inefficiency in the federal government.

Fogelberg said he doesn’t believe indiscriminately cutting federal employees will create efficiencies or save billions of dollars.

In the 1980s President Ronald Reagan made the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse from the Federal government a national priority, recalled Fogelberg from when he was still in the Air Force.

A toll-free hotline was even set up to receive reports of corruption and inefficiency in the Department of Defense. Some tips from workers and enlisted members received wide publicity, including a claw hammer worth $17, which the Navy paid $436 for. It was later refunded.

“I remember back then, looking for waste, fraud and abuse. That was a huge thing. You know, I had a set of markers that came in for $60, and I filed a complaint, and they were like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s ridiculous. It should be five bucks’,” Fogelberg said.

Now, “we’re removing all that oversight. We’re removing all the people that are able to see what’s happening, and can actually fix it,” Fogelberg said.

A desire to cut fraud and waste “doesn’t mean we need to totally destroy the federal workforce,” Fogelberg said.

“It’s a mess. It’s just a mess,” he said.