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MILITARY OFFICER
JULY 2011 $4.75 THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF MOAA | ONE POWERFUL VOICE®
WWW.MOAA.ORG
Waging Peace
TRICARE FEE NEWS The House approves key long-term protections 31
ALL ABOUT ANNUITIES Find out which of 3 types of annuities is right for you 62
America’s fighting forces are working to build peace and stability through assistance and relief 50
Delivering Aid I was struck by the July 2011 cover illus- tration of the soldiers unloading humani- tarian aid supplies in Afghanistan that were emblazoned with the stencil “Made in China.” Our nation has evolved to the point that
humanitarian missions or fostering goodwill … not so much.
is] excellent at prosecuting wars, but
“ [The U.S.
—CWO4 David Higginbotham, USA-Ret.
”
we no longer manufacture very much, and what we export is more often delivered via precision targeting systems than shop- ping bags. We are excellent at prosecuting wars, but humanitarian missions or foster- ing goodwill … not so much. We’ve been at war in Afghanistan
for 10 years, Iraq for eight, and [the U.S. military is] now in Libya with our NATO partners. Meanwhile, China is manufac- turing humanitarian aid for us to deliver on their behalf, and in Africa [China is] building roads, hospitals, and schools. When the recipients of these starkly
contrasting products read the labels and compare China’s deliveries to those of the U.S., I wonder from whom they will request additional “help” and more impor- tantly, what the strategic vision of our na- tion has become if, in fact, one still exists. —CWO4 David Higginbotham, USA-Ret. via email
As an MOAA member and a current employee of the Office for U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance’s (OFDA’s) Military Liaison Unit, I noted with interest your article in the July edition regarding DoD’s supporting role to [the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)] in an overseas disaster response. In fact, although you are correct that
USAID’s 8,000-person organization pales in comparison to DoD’s size and scope, the actual number of personnel that actively participate in foreign disaster response and humanitarian assistance makes the reference even more impres- sive and daunting.
14 MILITARY OFFICER SEPTEMBER 2011 Within USAID, it is OFDA that is the
U.S. government’s “tip of the spear” when disasters occur overseas, and OFDA [com- prises only] 250 elite individuals world- wide, ready to deploy to coordinate and lead disaster response efforts. —Col. Steven D. Katz, USAR-Ret. Washington, D.C.
What Goes Around ... I suppose the axiom “what goes around comes around” remains true. I came in the Army at the tail end
of Vietnam and experienced the early retirement drawdown in the 1990s. … I helped disappear the 9th Infantry Divi- sion [during the administration of Presi- dent George H.W. Bush] — right in the middle of Desert Storm. Only a few short years later, the Army
was screaming for senior captains and ma- jors, needing the grinder meat for two new wars, a perfect example of too much too far. I don’t know if there is a force structure
answer to be had based on future conflict projections. What I do know is that I’m willing to give up a yearly COLA or pay a higher TRICARE copayment to help our nation in fiscal crisis. What I’m not willing to do is watch
current warriors treated with a Vietnam pink slip mentality and/or a reduction in benefits while bumper stickers … keep in- come taxes lower than the Korean 1950s. —Maj. Dee C. Christensen, USA-Ret. Tallahassee, Fla.
Annuities Anxiety I read … “All About Annuities” [July 2011] a couple of times. … The lead sentence on page 64, second page of the article, “An- nuities can be a source of confusion,” de- scribes how I feel now even more so than when I began to read. I think there may be others who feel the same way. I was hoping for an article
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