washingtonscene

gy, and Logistics and as assistant secretary of defense for Global Strategic Affairs. If confirmed by the Senate, Carter

would be able to hit the ground running with his years of experience navigating the Pentagon bureaucracy. His confirmation is expected to be non-

controversial, as he’s earned respect from key senators on both sides of the aisle. “MOAA looks forward to working with

Mr. Carter if he’s appointed as the next secretary of defense,” says MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN (Ret). “Managing the defense department through the indiscriminate cuts of sequestration and ongoing conflict is no easy task. We’re keen to strike a productive partnership with the new secretary to ensure we preserve the na- tion’s greatest weapons system — our men and women serving in uniform.” The next defense secretary faces dif- ficult challenges. Sequestration returns in 2016, threatening to gut the defense budget and drastically reduce military end strength while operations continue in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

Protection for S

Mustang Officers The Army reverses its policy on involuntary separation.

ecretary of the Army John McHugh announced in late De- cember 2014 the Army is reversing a

decision that forced prior-enlisted mustang officers selected for involuntary retirement to retire at their last enlisted rank. Roughly 160 out of the more than 1,900

Army officers selected for involuntary sep- aration were retirement-eligible mustang officers, but they did not have the required eight years of commissioned service time to retire at their current rank.

These officers were to be retired at their

last enlisted rank and stood to lose more than $1,000 a month in retirement compen- sation, compared to the “high-three” aver- age typically used to compute retired pay. The policy reversal follows pressure

from MOAA and members of Congress to stop this inequity. Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) and

Tim Walz (D-Minn.) led the charge by in- troducing the Proudly Restoring Officers of Prior Enlistment Retirement (PROPER) Act to reduce commissioned service time requirements. Sens. Patty Murray (D- Wash.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and 13 other senators wrote a letter to the secre- tary asking him to reverse the policy. When announcing the policy reversal,

McHugh said some officers would be brought back onto active duty until they reached the eight-year threshold. For others, service-time requirements would be waived. “MOAA applauds the actions of Sec-

retary McHugh and the Army to rectify this inequity for prior enlisted mustang officers,” said MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN (Ret). “As a for- mer chief of naval personnel, I’d particular- ly like to thank Reps. Thompson and Walz for their quick response to protect these servicemembers who repeatedly answered the call of duty to our nation. Together, these actions right a wrong and provide these officers with the respect and com- pensation they deserve for their decades of selfless service and sacrifice.”

MO

— Contributors are Col. Mike Hayden, USAF (Ret), director; Col. Mike Barron, USA (Ret); Col. Bob Norton, USA (Ret); Capt. Kathy Beasley, USN (Ret); Col. Phil Odom, USAF (Ret); Col. Catherine Mozden Lewis, USA (Ret); Karen Golden; Matt Murphy; and Jamie Naughton, MOAA’s Government Relations Department. To subscribe to MOAA’s Legislative Update, visit www.moaa.org/email.

FEBRUARY 2015 MILITARY OFFICER 39

Ashton Carter, a for- mer Pentagon official, has been nominated as secretary of defense.