Good luck to you USMCFLYR, and to the others who applied.
My mom is a Federal employee, in human resources (doesn't hire pilots tho
), and when I tried to apply for a position in her office during the questionable times this summer, she told me that any VA or Federal employee automatically has priority over my application, so don't get too encouraged. She said it goes for all Federal jobs. Quite frankly, I agree with the policy.