Thank You Kat Miller!

Our thanks goes out to now retired, former NDVS Director Kat Miller.  Ms. Miller is a well-respected local and national leader in the field of veteran’s services. She has served our state and nation with great honor and has led the Nevada Department of Veterans Services through both good and bad times, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

In retirement, she has earned the time to devote to family and friends. Our thanks also go out to her husband, retired Colonel Bill Long, her son, Army Specialist Noah Long and her daughter, Mica Robertson, a Psychiatric Caseworker with the State of Nevada Department of Health and Human Services for sharing her with us.

Ms. Miller’s time with the State of Nevada mirrors the success of her military career. She joined the United States Army in 1975 as an enlisted soldier. Her military career culminated with assignments as a military brigade Commander in Afghanistan and as the Commander of the Department of Defense’s largest correctional organization. Following 34-years of military service, Ms. Miller retired from the U.S. Army in 2010. 

Ms. Miller joined NDVS as a Deputy Director in 2012, becoming Director a year later. Under her watch, there have been many, many major accomplishments and new programs created, too numerous to mention here. Still, all these efforts have greatly enriched the quality of life for Nevada’s veterans. 

Under her watch, NDVS received five National Awards for the creation of innovative support programs for veterans. The include:

• The Nevada Veterans Advocate Program that uses volunteers to expand outreach to veterans
• The Nevada Veterans Legislative Program that partners with the United Veterans Legislative Council to help Nevada veterans’ organizations identify and prioritize issues to be considered by the legislature.
• The “Ask a VSO” Program – which is an online feature that connects veterans to a VSO within 24 hours to answer questions or concerns.
• Operation Mission Ready – which supports mental health and suicide prevention for members of our Nevada National Guard.
• And the Patriot Employer Program which assists employers with recruiting and retaining veterans

NDVS has come a long way since the Office was first established in 1943, when there was just one in Reno tasked with assisting veterans in filing claims with the VA.

Seventy-nine years and 15 Directors later, the Nevada Department of Veterans Services has evolved into the kind of state agency that Nevada veterans and their families deserve. As an example, today, the average annual return to Nevada veterans is more than $200 million dollars!

Our appreciation goes out to Kat Miller for all of her work on behalf of our great state and on behalf of our veterans, servicemembers and their families. We wish her well in the next chapter of her life. She will always be remembered for the many lives she has touched and for her legacy of service, that will remain forever. God speed.