SDMAC Breakfast September 2022 Featured Guest Speaker   Brigadier General Ivan Denton (retired)   Director, Office of National Programs Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) United States Department of Labor

Brigadier General Ivan Denton (retired) serves as Director of the Office of National Programs,  Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), U.S. Department of Labor.

As Director of National Programs, Mr. Denton oversees three VETS program offices that administer five congressionally mandated programs; in Fiscal Year 2021, over 2,800 DOL Veterans’ Employment and Training Service staff, contractors, and grantees served more than 331,000 veterans and military spouses across all Agency programs. 

DOL served almost 122,000 veterans last year via the Public Workforce System, which is a US wide network of nearly 2,400 Career One-Stop Centers. DOL provides employment grants to each State Workforce Agency (SWA), and these federal grants fund employment related services and training to veterans within local delivery areas. VETS also administers the Jobs for Veterans’ State Grants (JVSG) Program and the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP), which is a competitive grant. HVRP served almost 15,000 veterans last year.

Via the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), VETS provided employment services to over 190,000 transitioning service members last year at over 200 worldwide sites. VETS also partners with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to administer the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Prior to VETS, he retired from the military as a Brigadier General after serving in the United States Army for 34 years, and earned numerous badges and awards to include Air Assault, Airborne (with combat jump star), Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman’s Badge (2^nd Award) and the Army Distinguished Service Medal.  During his first active-duty tour as an infantry officer, he served in Korea and performed two tours within the demilitarized zone. He also served in the 75^th Ranger Regiment, to include a combat parachute assault during OPERATION JUST CAUSE into Panama. He transitioned off active duty in 1990 and rejoined the Indiana Army National Guard (INARNG) as a full-time officer. His command and staff assignments were numerous, to include two combat deployments to Iraq as a battalion and brigade commander.

During his last assignment, BG Denton served as the Director of Manpower and Personnel with the National Guard in Arlington, VA.

Please join SDMAC in welcoming BG Ivan Denton to San Diego.