rapidfire TRICAREUPDA+E

AS A HEALTH INDUSTRY STANDARD, prior au- thorization is used to ensure some types of nonroutine care are both appropriate for the patient and cost- effective. It’s a checks-and-balances system that helps lower the cost of care for everyone and keeps the ben- efit sustainable. TRICARE uses prior authorization in both its medical and pharmacy benefits. Under TRICARE Prime, a primary care manager

works with a regional contractor to obtain prior au- thorization. For all other plans, it is the individual’s responsibility to work with a provider to contact their regional contractor to determine whether a prior au- thorization is warranted. Of utmost importance with a prior authorization

is the requirement to obtain approval for a prescribed procedure, health care service, or medication before you receive care. Prior authorization applies to over 80 drugs and

some compound drugs. Prior authorizations are typically good for a year. If in doubt about TRICARE coverage, have your provider check. A list of services requiring prior authorization is available at http://1.usa.gov/1hL6Cj0.

MOAA PRESENTS WARRANT OFFICER AWARD Since 2004, MOAA has sponsored the U.S. Army War- rant Officer Career College’s Order of the Eagle Rising Society Award, and in late July, MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN (Ret), made the award presentation to CW4 Benny R. McKee, USA (Ret), a MOAA Life member. “I am honored to be here to recognize Chief Warrant

Officer Benny McKee’s numerous contributions to the warrant officer community on behalf of MOAA,” Ryan said. “Through his dedication to the Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage, Benny has demonstrated that he is a never-stop- serving individual.” During the visit, Ryan also met with leaders of the Fort Rucker (Ala.) Chapter of MOAA.

In Review

Legend: A Harrowing Story From the Vietnam War of One Green Beret’s Heroic Mission to Rescue a Special Forces Team Caught Behind Enemy Lines. By Eric Blehm. Crown Publishers, 2015. $27. ISBN 978-0-8041-3951-9.

On May 2, 1968, a 12- man Special Forces team of Green Berets and South Viet-

namese soldiers entered Cambodia on a secret re- connaissance mission “deep in bad-guy country,” initi- ating a ferocious fi refi ght with overwhelming num- bers of North Vietnamese troops in a country where U.S. forces were forbidden to operate. Best-selling author Eric Blehm tells this grip- ping story in all its bloody intensity as the team is pinned down and shot to pieces while a heroic helicopter aircrew tries desperately to rescue the team and close-air sup- port pounds the enemy. Blehm vividly describes the actions of Green Beret legend Army Staff Sgt. Roy Benavidez,* who risked his life to save the team’s survivors and sev- eral downed airmen (all badly wounded), killing

*read more. Army Staff Sgt. Roy Benavidez’s story is told in more detail on page 54. 26 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2015

numerous enemy soldiers despite being grievously wounded himself. This is also a pro-

vocative tale of shameful bureaucratic cover-up and the lengthy struggle to award Benavidez the Medal of Honor.

A Higher Form of Kill- ing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare. By Diana Preston. Bloomsbury Press, 2015. $28. ISBN 978-1-62040-212-2.

World War I was the fi rst

truly global war, and it gave

birth to the

widespread use of weap- ons of mass destruction. Historian Diana Preston

presents a lucid history of three weapons as they were introduced in 1915, highlighting the Battle of Ypres (gas), the sinking of the Lusitania (sub), and the bombing of London (zep- pelins) with high explosives and incendiaries. Preston tells of each

weapon’s development and the military, political, and propaganda considerations for its use and presents an astute discussion of how each was rationalized by both sides as either legiti- mate or illegal. — William D. Bushnell

PHOTO: MIRIAM R. DEEN