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JULY 2010 $4.75 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF MOAA | ONE POWERFUL VOICE®
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The Army’s initial training regimen adapts to make the most of each new generation 46
“Perhaps it’s time for the pendulum to swing back toward ‘old- school’ cur- riculum and
methods.” —Lt. Col. Glenn J. Meigel, USA-Ret.
for managing the defense health care budget.” Two pages further, under the banner, “No Sacrifice Too Great — to Forget,” there is this: “Pentagon leaders once again are ratcheting up their complaints about rising mili- tary health care costs and asserting those costs inhibit funding for weap- ons system procurement.” There is no doubt the Pentagon is
FIXES ON THE WAY? Congress considers health care action 29
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SHOTS OF SERVICE Photographs capture life in the military 52
PLUS: Our insert lists pros and cons of long term care insurance
Today’s Army Training I read the article concerning today’s Army training methods, and I heart- ily agree with the intent to withdraw the bayonet training to allow time for other combat training methods; however, if pugil sticks are intended to teach a soldier how to use his weapon in hand-to-hand fighting, why not fashion them as rifles with the padding at either end? I would think that gives the soldier the actual feel of what he would be doing in a live encounter. —Capt. Vincent S. Averna, USN-Ret. via e-mail
I went through basic combat train- ing (BCT) and advanced individual training (AIT) under NCOs you characterize as “the brutal, foul- mouthed Army drill sergeant who intimidates his charges with verbal and physical abuse.” I consider my- self far better off from that experi- ence and felt well-trained, confident,
1 6 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R S E P T EMB E R 2 0 1 0 5/29/10 10:28 AM
and prepared for 24 years of Army service including combat in Vietnam. These days, I read all
too frequently about Army suicide/prevention, PTSD,
resilience training, stress control, et al. For today’s millennial-generation soldiers, perhaps it’s time for the pendulum to swing back toward “old- school” curriculum and methods. —Lt. Col. Glenn J. Meigel, USA-Ret. El Paso, Texas
Correction: The Army physi- cal fitness test for leaving BCT is a minimum of 50 points per event, 150 minimum total (push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run). Graduation re- quirements increase for AIT and One Station Unit Training and require 60 points minimum per event.
Guns Versus Health Care In the July [2010] Washington Scene (page 30), you report the House Armed Services Committee’s com- pleted draft of the FY 2011 Defense Authorization Bill would authorize “a new unified medical command, re- sponsible for all military treatment, training, and research facilities and
correct. Just as long as funding for health care continues to come from their rice bowl, this conflict will exist. So, why don’t MOAA and The Military Coalition campaign to break that connection? Now, while there is momentum for this “new unified medical command,” why not seek to separate its budget and end this “guns or health care” debate? Isn’t that what we have with the
[VA] budget, a funding source that is not dependent on or tied to the Pen- tagon’s funds? After all, the obliga- tion to provide health care for active and retired troops is an obligation of Congress and the American people, not unlike the obligation to fund the VA. So why not establish a full-blown Military Health Care Administration, funded by its own budget? That would be a win-win all
around. The Pentagon could focus on war fighting and readiness. Ser- vicemembers past and present — and their dependents — would enjoy new confidence that their health care funding will remain stable. And Congress would no longer be left to deal with this annual “guns or health care” dilemma. —Capt. Dave Leake, USNR-Ret. via e-mail
Sadly, your commentary “No Sacri- fice Too Great — to Forget” sounds spot-on. At a time of the largest mil- itary defense budget in our nation’s
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