Fired federal worker, Army vet from Spring Grove fears for future of VA: ‘A shock’

As a former U.S. Army cavalry scout and sergeant first class who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, Adam Mulvey knows what it’s like to be under fire.

But 20 years in the military did not quite prepare the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs worker for being sacked Feb. 13 as part of massive cuts to the federal workforce.

“They fired employees who didn’t have a way to fight back,” said Mulvey, who was U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider’s guest at President Donald Trump’s March 4 joint address to Congress.

Mulvey, who lives in Spring Grove with his wife and three young kids, was a probationary employee at Capt. James Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. Thousands of probationary federal workers have been dismissed as Trump seeks to reduce the civil service through his U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, The Associated Press reported.

Although aware of DOGE’s plans, “we didn’t think it would affect the VA,” Mulvey said.

“We thought the mission of the VA and what we were doing on a daily basis was so important – and the number of soldiers and veterans that need health care is such an important mission – it wouldn’t have an effect on us,” he added.

VA officials did not respond to a request for comment as of late Monday.

Mulvey, who has received two Bronze Star Medals, learned his fate in a work email after his supervisor called him.

“So, not only was it a shock to me, it was a shock to my supervisors,” Mulvey said.

According to the generic email: “The agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest.”

But in his latest performance appraisal, Mulvey received the top grade of “outstanding” and comments such as “exceptional professionalism.”

“To have something be such a bold-faced lie coming from the government saying you’re being fired for performance, it’s insulting,” he said.

Mulvey was an emergency management specialist at Lovell, developing plans for crises such as a tornado or train derailment.

Schneider, a Democrat from Highland Park, said the Trump administration’s “arbitrary” approach to reforming government is undermining essential functions at facilities such as Lovell, which serves veterans, Navy recruits and service members at Naval Station Great Lakes.

Meanwhile, VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a video last week that “veterans have been asking for a more efficient, accountable and transparent VA. This administration is finally going to give the veterans what they want.”

In response to DOGE, the agency is conducting a departmentwide review to eliminate waste and increase efficiency, Collins said.

The goal is to reduce the department from 470,000 workers to about 398,000, a 15% decrease.

Those who complain are essentially asking the VA to maintain the status quo, Collins said, adding, “No – not going to happen.”

He promised that by canceling nonmission-critical contracts, the savings will be transferred to veterans, “resulting in massive improvements in customer service and conveniences.”

“There are certainly areas that can be reduced, areas that are duplicated, areas that can be trimmed,” Mulvey said, adding, “I don’t see a guiding hand that is making strategic, dedicated choices; it seems very haphazard.”

His current mission is to let people know that federal civil servants and the veterans’ community are being harmed, he said.

Mulvey, who has a disability related to his service, has job interviews lined up and said his family “will get by until we find something.”

But he’s concerned about colleagues out of work and current employees.

“Every day they’re unsure if they will they have a job at the end of the day,” Mulvey said.

Veterans comprise more than 30% of the federal workforce, and more than 6,000 have been fired under the new administration, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Monday at a briefing.

The Hoffman Estates Democrat is co-sponsoring a bill, the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, to reinstate dismissed service members.

“Our message is simple: Give veterans their jobs back,” Duckworth said.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250310/nation-and-world-politics/a-shock-fired-federal-worker-army-veteran-fears-for-future-of-va/