washingtonscene But it’s always easier to try to shift blame
to others than to put your own house in order. So defense leaders miss no public op- portunity to try to shift their budget respon- sibilities to military retirees and families. The tone and implications of those com-
ments are objectionable to career service- members who repeatedly answered the call to protect our national interests in hot and cold wars over several decades. The undersecretary of defense for policy
recently said, “[Many military retirees] in the private sector forego their private- sector benefits because it’s better for them to stay in TRICARE. … If there was an infi- nite pot of money, that would be fine. The problem is that there is not an infinite pot of money. So those dollars are dollars we can’t invest in equipment. … We have the military carrying people who have a private-sector alternative to heath care because we’ve got the incentive structure wrong.” Now let’s get straight who’s been
“carrying” whom. For the past 60-plus years, to induce
enough people to meet the national need for large standing forces, defense and service leaders have been telling servicemembers that, in return for putting up with the ex- traordinary demands and sacrifices inher- ent in a service career, they’d be provided lifetime military health care coverage. But after they’ve completed those de-
cades of service (during periods when the Army was desperately paying $40,000 enlistment bonuses for any new recruit) Pentagon leaders view them as undeserving drains on the budget if they have the ef- frontery actually to use their service-earned health benefit. When defense leaders say such things,
the message to troops — past, present, and future — is that no sacrifice is too great to demand of those currently serving, and no government commitment is too firm to for- get after their service has been completed. Once again, thanks but no thanks for
your service. PHOTO: LANCE JACKSON/OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO Caregiver
Relief Enacted MOAA president attends signing ceremony.
O
n May 5, MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., at- tended President Obama’s signing
of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (S. 1963) into law. MOAA was instrumental in pushing this legislation over the past year. Obama said, “Our obligations to our
troops don’t end on the battlefield. ... Our commitment to our veterans and their families is a sacred trust, and upholding that trust is a moral obligation.” The law will provide caregivers of Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans a living stipend, health coverage, support, and counseling. The new law also starts the process of
providing better service for female veter- ans and veterans in rural areas. In addition to providing care for to-
day’s servicemembers, the new law ex- pands VA authority to offer incentives for recruiting and retaining high-quality
MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., fourth from left, was invited to President Obama’s May 5 signing of the Care- givers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 (S. 1963), which will provide support for caregivers of wounded warriors.
J U LY 2 0 1 0 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R 3 3
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84