washingtonscene
It’s All About
ment Relations staff were on hand to
answer questions. In his opening remarks,
Education
Ryan rhetorically asked, “Are we going to
keep our commitments [to our servicemem-
MOAA briefs Hill staffers
bers]? Are we going to keep our promises,
on TRICARE.
or is it just going to be bumper stickers?
“This is a major item on MOAA’s legis-
lative agenda again this year,” said Ryan.
C
mdr. John Class, USN-Ret., “With recruiting in trouble and retention
MOAA Deputy Director of Govern- at risk, the last thing we should be doing
ment Relations, conducted special is cutting military retirement benefi ts by
Capitol Hill briefi ngs for House and Sen- $1,000 or $2,000 a year. Why give already
ate legislative staffers in late February and overstressed mid-career servicemembers
early March to familiarize them with the and [their] families another reason to re-
military health care system and provide consider their military career decisions?”
MOAA’s perspective on DoD’s proposal Class expressed MOAA’s view that mili-
to increase TRICARE fees. tary people pay far more for their lifetime
The briefi ngs outlined specifi cs of the health coverage than just the portion that’s
Pentagon plan to double or triple health paid in cash. The bulk of military premi-
fees, depending on level of retired pay, and ums are paid up-front and in-kind, through
explained why MOAA thinks this is wrong. decades of arduous service and sacrifi ce.
They highlighted the thousands of dollars
in annual fi nancial sacrifi ces already ab-
sorbed by servicemembers forced to retire QRMC: Troops
at depressed pay rates and provided a list
of options to reduce military health costs Paid Plenty
without penalizing benefi ciaries.
Study counts retirement and
MOAA president Vice Adm. Norb Ryan
Jr., USN-Ret., and MOAA’s entire Govern-
health care in pay comparison.
T
he 10th Quadrennial Review
of Military Compensation
(QRMC) issued the fi rst volume
of its expected two-volume report in mid-
March, asserting military members are
well-paid versus their civilian counterparts
and proposing a new measure to compare
military and civilian compensation.
As the name implies, the law requires
the president to convene a QRMC every
four years to review military compen-
sation and make recommendations
for changes.
Volume 1 of the 10th QRMC report
was released March 12. It covered mili-
Cmdr. John Class, USN-Ret., conducted briefings for House and tary pay, special and incentive pays, “pay
Senate staffers to educate them on the military health care system and for performance,” and housing allowanc-
share MOAA’s objections to DoD’s proposal to increase TRICARE fees. es. The second volume, expected later
3 0 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R M AY 2 0 0 8 PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN
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