washingtonscene

between military and private-sector pay, eliminate out-of-pocket housing expens- es, and increase force levels to meet mis- sion requirements. Thanks to TMC’s efforts, the entire uniformed service community realized en- hancements to survivor and disability bene- fits, reserve health care coverage, transition protections for wounded warriors, and the creation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. At a time when politicians continue to try to balance the budget on the backs of the military, the work of the coalition is more important now than ever before.

Legislative

Hayden, USAF (Ret)

Col. Mike C

Leader Departs MOAA salutes Col. Mike Hayden, USAF (Ret).

ol. Mike Hayden, USAF (Ret), MOAA director of Government Relations, recently left the associa-

tion to take a new position with the U.S. Air Force. Hayden was selected as director in 2013, upon the retirement of Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF (Ret), after serving eight years as Strobridge’s deputy. On Hayden’s watch, MOAA worked and

won repeal of unfair COLA reductions im- posed on military retirees and survivors; blocked a proposed $1 billion cut to the federal subsidy for the Defense Commis- sary Agency; and blunted a large proposed reduction of basic allowance for housing for servicemembers. On the health care front, he led success-

ful charges to block consolidation of TRI- CARE health plans into a single plan with less choice, win permanent legislative relief from annual threats of 25-percent cuts in Medicare and TRICARE payments, and block proposals to means-test TRICARE Prime and TRICARE For Life fees.

36 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2015 In his earlier role as deputy director,

Hayden authored and led a successful ef- fort to correct legislation that significantly undercompensated thousands of disabled recipients of Combat-Related Special Compensation. For MOAA, and as cochair of The Mili- tary Coalition, Hayden testified before the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission, the House and Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittees, the House Gov- ernment and Oversight Committee, and the Military Compensation and Retire- ment Modernization Commission. His extraordinary leadership, insights, and compelling analysis helped improve the quality of life for millions of current and fu- ture members of the military community. MOAA wishes Hayden continued suc- cess in the next chapter of his career and appreciates Strobridge’s willingness to be recalled to this key leadership position.

Hill Champions T

Honored Three receive leadership awards from The Military Coalition.

he Military Coalition (TMC) — an influential consortium of military and veterans’ groups —

presented its annual leadership awards Sept. 10 to Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), and Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) for their leadership in protecting the vital interests of service- members, military retirees, and veterans and their families and survivors. Inhofe and Mikulski were instrumen- tal in leading the fight against privati- zation of the commissary benefit. The senators introduced a bipartisan amend- ment to the Senate’s FY 2016 defense bill that would prevent DoD from privatizing