Issues In The News
MOAA Legislative Update: Senate Punts on Medicare/TRICARE Fix – For Now
October 23, 2009
Senate Punts on Medicare/TRICARE Fix – For Now
Despite a strong push from MOAA, the American Medical Association and others, the Senate failed to muster enough votes this week to repeal the flawed statutory formula that will impose a 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors this coming January unless the law is changed.
Earlier this week on Oct 20, MOAA President VADM Norb Ryan Jr. (USN-Ret) was one of three major association leaders invited by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to speak at a press conference to highlight the importance of passing Stabenow’s “Medicare Physician Fairness Act” (S. 1776) to protect against repeated cuts in 2010 and subsequent years.
“The current flawed formula for Medicare doctor payments puts every military beneficiary at risk, because military TRICARE payments are tied to Medicare’s,” said Ryan, speaking at the press conference in the U.S. Capitol building.
“Access to health care already is the single biggest problem for military beneficiaries of all ages,” Ryan asserted. “The 21% cut to Medicare and TRICARE payments called for under current law would make that problem exponentially worse by causing large numbers of doctors to stop seeing elderly and military patients. The last thing troops in combat should have to worry about is whether their sick spouse or child can find a doctor to treat them.”
Ryan said MOAA members already had generated more than 16,000 messages in the space of four days urging their legislators to support Stabenow’s legislation.
Stabenow said she introduced her bill to get Congress “to rethink how we look at physician care and physician payments.” She said Congress has acted to stop such cuts seven times in the past, but most have only been one-year fixes that necessitated reversing even bigger cuts the following year. “We need to stop the band-aid approach, be honest about [future budgets], and lay a foundation for real physician payment reform.”
“I want to thank the Military Officers Association of America for their strong support,” said Dr. J. James Rohack, President of the American Medical Association, “to preserve access and choice for seniors and military beneficiaries, now and in the future. Current law requires not only a 21% payment cut in 2010, but a cumulative 40% cut over the next six years. With millions of baby boomers coming into Medicare eligibility in the next two years, we must repeal this broken formula.”
Ryan signed MOAA letters to every senator on October 20, urging them to vote for S. 1776, but the vote failed after several senators expressed concern about how to pay for the bill, which would cost $250 billion over the next 10 years.
After the failed vote, Senate leaders pledged to find a way to approve and fund at least a one-year fix before the end of December to ensure the 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments won’t go into effect.
The problem with this approach is that current law requires compounding annual cuts – forcing a 26% payment cut in January 2011 – so putting off a permanent fix only increases the cost of doing that later.
MOAA will continue to press for action, not only to reverse the scheduled cut for 2010 but to change the underlying law that causes this annually recurring threat to seniors’ and military beneficiaries’ health care access.
Hearing Highlights Military Personnel, Health Costs
House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-SC) held a hearing on Oct. 19 to discuss projected defense budget cost growth in coming years.
Spratt began the hearing with an observation that defense spending comprises more than half of the government’s discretionary spending. That’s Congress’s term for spending subject to annual appropriations, as opposed to “mandatory” spending on programs prescribed by law, such as Social Security, Medicare, interest on the national debt, military and federal civilian retirement and survivor programs, and interest on the national debt).
Since 2001, he said, the country has doubled what it spends on defense (MOAA comment: no surprise, given the cost of two wars and the necessity to repair compensation and benefit shortfalls that led to retention problems in the late 1990s).
Stephen Daggett, a witness from the Congressional Research Service, testified that one reason for the rising budget is that the average cost of a servicemember rose 45% between 1998 and 2009, after adjusting for inflation. Matthew Goldberg of the Congressional Budget Office said one reason for that is that military pay raises have exceeded those of private sector workers. (MOAA comment: a more balanced testimony would have reminded the committee that these pay raises were essential to recover from the adverse retention effects of capping military raises below private sector raises almost every year during the 1980s and ‘90s.)
Daggett suggested that some tradeoffs may be required to balance personnel and weapons needs – including possible manpower cuts. He suggested that the Navy and Air Force personnel levels could be reduced because of technological efficiencies that require fewer people. Another alternative, he said, would be to increase the defense budget.
Goldberg testified that the growing deficit and the cost of other needs such as health care reform make it almost inevitable that Defense spending will be put under great pressure.
Asked about DoD’s health care budget, Daggett said that currently amounts to $45 billion, or 9% of the defense budget. Over the next five years, he said it will likely rise about 5% a year – in line with health cost growth in the private sector.
One source of savings, said Goldberg, could be implementation of a truly universal electronic health record for both DoD and the VA.
He also said something could be done to give military beneficiaries an incentive to economize on their health care and “not go to the doctor for every minor problem.” He observed that Congress hasn’t allowed the Pentagon to increase retiree cost shares, saying, “It’s very hard to get folks to control their utilization when they don’t face a co-payment.”
VA Loan Applications Up in 2009
Military.com
By Kelly Johnson
The flailing housing market scared off many prospective home buyers from applying for loans since most lenders now require a large down payment — in some cases lenders ask for as much as 20 percent of the asking price. However, the VA Loan program weathered the subprime mortgage meltdown and has seen a big bump in the number of applicants this year.
Data from the Department of Veteran Affairs Home Loan Guaranty Department found that a record 153,292 VA Loans originated from the beginning of the year to April 2009, which is the highest number of applications since 2006.
What’s more, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) shows that Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and VA Loan applications made up 35 percent of all mortgage applications in June 2009 — the highest it’s been since 1990, reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
VA Home Loan Program Director Mark Bologna told Lenderama.com that the surge in applications was due to the VA Loan’s no down payment feature, calling it the “only zero down game in town.” Add to that the $8,000 tax credit new home buyers receive from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and you have an unprecedented jump in mortgage applications.
Orawin Velz, associate vice president of economic forecasting for the MBA, echoes Bologna’s zero-down assessment in the Seattle PI stating, “A primary reason government-insured loans have retained a high share of the purchase market is that these loans typically require lower down payments than conventional loans.”
Without the VA Loan, Americans not only face a higher down payment for a home, but also risk not qualifying for a loan at all. In fact, 71 percent of potential home buyers cite a lack of confidence in their ability to be approved for a loan today, according to a National Association Realtors ™ (NARS) survey.
“Lending standards are now tighter for conventional loans, especially for loans that require private mortgage insurance,” Velz adds.
These stricter standards led housing experts, including Bologna, to predict that VA Loan applications will increase to 250,000 by the end of this year, and may reach as high as 280,000.
Active-duty servicemembers and veterans have access to the VA Loan and can benefit during the depressed housing market from using this home loan. If you want to use your VA Loan consult your on-base financial counselor, or visit Military.com’s Home Buying channel to get more information on applying for the VA Loan.
A Soldier Comes Home
The Washington Post
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
On July 5, The Post published a letter from Martha Gillis of Springfield, whose nephew, Lt. Brian Bradshaw, was killed in Afghanistan on June 25, the day that Michael Jackson died. The letter criticized the extensive media coverage of Jackson's death compared with the brief coverage of Lt. Bradshaw's death. Among the responses was the following letter, written July 9 by an Air National Guard pilot and a fellow member of the crew that flew Lt. Bradshaw's body from a forward base in Afghanistan to Bagram Air Base. Capt. James Adair, one of the plane's pilots, asked the editorial page staff to forward the letter to the Bradshaw family. He and Brian Bradshaw's parents then agreed to publication of these excerpts.
Dear Bradshaw Family,
We were crew members on the C-130 that flew in to pick up Lt. Brian Bradshaw after he was killed. We are Georgia Air National Guardsmen deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. We support the front-line troops by flying them food, water, fuel, ammunition and just about anything they need to fight. On occasion we have the privilege to begin the final journey home for our fallen troops. Below are the details to the best of our memory about what happened after Brian's death.
We landed using night-vision goggles. Because of the blackout conditions, it seemed as if it was the darkest part of the night. As we turned off the runway to position our plane, we saw what appeared to be hundreds of soldiers from Brian's company standing in formation in the darkness. Once we were parked, members of his unit asked us to shut down our engines. This is not normal operating procedure for that location. We are to keep the aircraft's power on in case of maintenance or concerns about the hostile environment. The plane has an extremely loud self-contained power unit. Again, we were asked whether there was any way to turn that off for the ceremony that was going to take place. We readily complied after one of our crew members was able to find a power cart nearby. Another aircraft that landed after us was asked to do the same. We were able to shut down and keep lighting in the back of the aircraft, which was the only light in the surrounding area. We configured the back of the plane to receive Brian and hurried off to stand in the formation as he was carried aboard.
Brian's whole company had marched to the site with their colors flying prior to our arrival. His platoon lined both sides of our aircraft's ramp while the rest were standing behind them. As the ambulance approached, the formation was called to attention. As Brian passed the formation, members shouted "Present arms" and everyone saluted. The salute was held until he was placed inside the aircraft and then the senior commanders, the sergeant major and the chaplain spoke a few words.
Afterward, we prepared to take off and head back to our base. His death was so sudden that there was no time to complete the paperwork needed to transfer him. We were only given his name, Lt. Brian Bradshaw. With that we accepted the transfer. Members of Brian's unit approached us and thanked us for coming to get him and helping with the ceremony. They explained what happened and how much his loss was felt. Everyone we talked to spoke well of him -- his character, his accomplishments and how well they liked him. Before closing up the back of the aircraft, one of Brian's men, with tears running down his face, said, "That's my platoon leader, please take care of him."
We taxied back on the runway, and, as we began rolling for takeoff, I looked to my right. Brian's platoon had not moved from where they were standing in the darkness. As we rolled past, his men saluted him one more time; their way to honor him one last time as best they could. We will never forget this.
We completed the short flight back to Bagram Air Base. After landing, we began to gather our things. As they carried Brian to the waiting vehicle, the people in the area, unaware of our mission, stopped what they were doing and snapped to attention. Those of us on the aircraft did the same. Four soldiers who had flown back with us lined the ramp once again and saluted as he passed by. We went back to post-flight duties only after he was driven out of sight.
Later that day, there was another ceremony. It was Bagram's way to pay tribute. Senior leadership and other personnel from all branches lined the path that Brian was to take to be placed on the airplane flying him out of Afghanistan. A detail of soldiers, with their weapons, lined either side of the ramp just as his platoon did hours before. A band played as he was carried past the formation and onto the waiting aircraft. Again, men and women stood at attention and saluted as Brian passed by. Another service was performed after he was placed on the aircraft.
For one brief moment, the war stopped to honor Lt. Brian Bradshaw. This is the case for all of the fallen in Afghanistan. It is our way of recognizing the sacrifice and loss of our brothers and sisters in arms. Though there may not have been any media coverage, Brian's death did not go unnoticed. You are not alone with your grief. We mourn Brian's loss and celebrate his life with you. Brian is a true hero, and he will not be forgotten by those who served with him.
We hope knowing the events that happened after Brian's death can provide you some comfort.
Sincerely,
Capt. James Adair
Master Sgt. Paul Riley
GA ANG 774 EAS Deployed
Roadside Bombs Redefining Afghan War
July 15, 2009
International Herald Tribune
The call came just after dinner: A pickup truck carrying Afghan national police officers had hit a buried bomb and all five inside were killed.
When Lt. James Brown and his team of bomb investigators arrived at the shredded remains of the truck, the grim significance of the attack became clear. One of the dead was a hard-charging commander who, more than any officer in this restive district of Logar Province, had helped fight a shadowy network of local bomb makers.
"If he wasn't trying so hard, if he was taking bribes, taking naps, he'd be alive right now," Brown said of the commander, Gul Alam.
This is the war in Afghanistan today, where death is measured less by the accuracy of bullets than the cleverness of bombs. And though the Afghan insurgency's improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are less powerful or complex than those used in Iraq, they are becoming more common and sophisticated with each week, U.S. military officers say.
This year bomb attacks on coalition troops in Afghanistan have spiked to an all-time high, with 465 in May alone, more than double the number in the same month two years before. At least 46 U.S. troops have been killed by IEDs this year, putting 2009 on track to set a record in the eight-year war.
IEDs have been even more deadly for Afghan police officers and soldiers. At the current rate, attacks on Afghan forces could reach 6,000 this year, up from 81 in 2003, a U.S. military official said. In early July alone, nine Afghan police officers were killed in two bomb attacks in Logar Province, south of Kabul.
With few paved roads, Afghanistan is even more fertile territory for IEDs than Iraq, where hard pavement often requires insurgents to leave bombs in the open. In Afghanistan, it is relatively easy to bury a device in a dirt road and cover the tracks.
Even when IEDs do not wound or kill troops, the threat restricts and complicates the movements of coalition forces.
U.S. convoys often must wait for bomb-detection teams that move at 5 kilometers an hour, or 3 miles an hour. Helicopters are limited, and most troops travel in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, that are lumbering and hard to maneuver. Though MRAPs are effective in shielding Soldiers from explosions, two turret gunners died recently when one flipped over after hitting IEDs.
Acknowledging that the IED has become perhaps its central military problem in Afghanistan, the Pentagon is sending thousands of new MRAPs to Afghanistan and is developing a lighter, more maneuverable version. It has deployed robots, dogs and drones to detect and dispose of bombs.
And it has begun a campaign to attack the bomb-making networks that operate in small cells around the country.
At the heart of that effort are teams like Brown's that, with the help of explosives experts and criminal investigators, compile and analyze forensic information on almost every bomb encountered and every suspected bomber detained.
"I'm not interested in the triggerman," said Brown, whose team is with the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment based here. "He's usually some poor schlep just trying to feed his family. It's the networks we're after."
U.S. officials say those Taliban-guided networks are surprisingly layered, involving financiers, logistical experts, bomb designers and trainers. At the bottom are the bomb planters, often villagers or nomadic herdsmen paid $10 or less to dig holes and serve as spotters.
The bombs are often made with fertilizer and diesel fuel, but some use mortar shells or old mines that litter the countryside. Some bombs are triggered when vehicles pass over pressure plates. Others require a remote control, like a mobile phone. Still others detonate with a button or a wire touched to a battery.
Though many bombs remain crude, U.S. officers say the insurgents are cunning and relentlessly adaptive. In some cases, IEDs are used as lures to draw Soldiers into booby traps.
"It's not like Iraq," Tech. Sgt. Richard Gibbons of the Air Force, the team expert in disarming and disposing of explosives, said in recalling complex scenarios involving four or more bombs in Baghdad. "But I do think they are getting better."
Like a police forensic unit and bomb squad rolled into one, Brown's 25-man team not only disarms IEDs but also scours sites - more than 50 this year - for tell-tale signatures of a bomb. Soil samples, electrical parts, fingerprints and photographs are sent for analysis, and detailed reports are compiled in a central data base.
U.S. officials say the work has helped dismantle at least one network, pinpointed others and improved safety for convoys. But as the death of Alam underscores, the effort is one-step forward, one-step back.
The U.S. strategy calls for using the Afghan police to gather intelligence, arrest suspected bombers and project a sense of government competence. So far, many Afghan police units have not risen to the challenge, U.S. officers complain.
Alam was different. A father in his late 30s, he was known as an ebullient, bold, sometimes reckless fighter. He once tried to dismantle an IED made from an old mine with his bare hands.
"Not proper procedure, but it showed initiative," Brown said.
Alam was commander of a checkpoint near the border of the Charkh and Baraki Barak districts, a hotbed of Taliban supporters. When more than 1,200 Soldiers with the 3rd Combat Brigade, 10th Mountain Division flowed into the province early this year, there were scattered firefights, but the insurgents mostly melted into the landscape.
And then the IED attacks multiplied. After seeing two bombs in the area in May, U.S. forces found or exploded 17 IEDs in June, most along an important connecting road they call Route New York.
Still, Brown's team felt it was making headway. In recent weeks, U.S. forces killed two men planting a bomb, detained a suspected triggermen and uncovered a cache of weapons and bomb- making materials.
Alam helped, and so became a target. Following a weekly routine, he spent a recent Saturday with his family at home north of Kabul and was returning to his checkpoint that afternoon when the bomb exploded under his truck, dead center.
After the explosion, Brown, 31, gathered his team in their office, its plywood walls decorated with hand-made farming tools found at bomb sites. Bowing his head, he asked for a moment of silence for Alam.
"They guy was never in a bad mood," Brown recalled later. "I don't know how that is possible given his job."
Next up, Vets Surge to College
July 15, 2009
Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Colleges and universities expect their own surge this fall -- military veterans enrolling to take advantage of a ramped-up GI Bill that offers free tuition and more.
Veterans who will start or continue studies are expected to reach 460,000, up from 354,000 in 2008, according to Department of Veterans Affairs officials.
Schools in the region are still enrolling, said Jill Jess at the University of Kansas, so, "we don't have numbers yet. But interest is definitely high, and we do anticipate an increase in enrollment by veterans and their families."
Other schools' preparation include:
--The University of Missouri opening its first veterans support center in Columbia. It is also looking at giving credit for military courses that veterans took while on active duty.
--Kansas State University hosting its first-ever veterans visitation day this month, hoping to lure former military personnel to its Manhattan campus. It is also launching a new Web site to respond to veterans' questions and hiring its first ever director of veteran affairs.
--Park University in Parkville adding five courses to ease veterans' transitions. Courses in critical thinking and personal finance will "help them get back into the swing of learning," said Roxanne Gonzales, associate dean.
After World War II, the GI Bill amounted to a full ride through any college. The current 1985 Montgomery GI Bill generally picks up about 70 percent of the tab at a public college and about 30 percent at most private colleges. Under the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, signed into law in 2008, Washington pays directly to the school instead of the veterans paying up front and getting reimbursed. But the new system is seen as more complicated than the one-size-fits-all Montgomery version.
Eligibility requires service after Sept. 11, 2001, for at least 90 days. That qualifies for a 40 percent tuition benefit. Someone with 36 months is eligible for 100 percent of the highest in-state public tuition, whether it is a public or private school.
Included is a housing stipend and an up to $1,000 book stipend, said Marie George at the VA regional office in St. Louis. It also allows transfer of benefits to a spouse or child.
The Montgomery GI Bill -- a fund Soldiers pay into -- gives a monthly flat-rate stipend and does not cover cost of living.
"I think it is going to be a great thing," said veteran Daniel Parker, 27, who lobbied the Kansas congressional delegation on the new GI Bill. He has since graduated from KU with a degree in political science.
"The cost of education has gotten so high the current bill didn't cover half the cost.
"This new bill restores the GI Bill to what it was originally intended to be ... a reward for honorable service and to give GIs more skills to take into the work force," Parker said.
Those already benefiting from the Montgomery GI Bill should check with school veteran affairs officials and do the math before trying to switch.
Pat Bosco, K-State vice president for student life, said the GI Bill of Rights, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 65 years ago, "changed the face of university campuses across the country."
Veterans made up 49 percent of U.S. college enrollment in 1947. Nationally, 7.8 million veterans trained at colleges, trade schools, and in business and agriculture training programs.
"At K-State, it produced more residence halls, more family housing, to accommodate students attending on the GI Bill," Bosco said.
The GI Bill helped create "the largest middle class in the world because so many veterans were able to afford college when they otherwise may not have," George said. "They graduated, and instead of farmers and blue-collar workers, many became doctors, lawyers, engineers."
The full impact on colleges in the region is not yet clear. Carol Fleisher, director of MU's veterans support center, has been communicating with several Soldiers in Iraq who plan to attend classes in Columbia in the fall.
Of the 388 veterans enrolled at MU this year, 60 are new, and for the first time, MU has 48 dependents in the program.
K-State currently has about 500 veterans enrolled, up about 50 from last year.
Park University, which serves 2,300 veterans online and on its campus, is expecting a 25 percent increase in enrollment of veterans and their dependents over the next few years, Gonzales said.
PTSD May Nearly Double Dementia Risk
July 14, 2009
United Press International
VIENNA -- U.S. researchers say having post-traumatic stress disorder nearly doubled the risk of dementia in veterans.
The study -- led by Dr. Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco VA Medical Center -- used data from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Patient Care Database to track 181,093 veterans age 55 and older without dementia from 2001-2007.
The 53,155 veterans in the study diagnosed with PTSD developed new cases of dementia at a rate of 10.6 percent over the seven years of follow-up. Those without PTSD developed new cases of dementia at a rate of 6.6 percent.
Even after adjusting for demographics and medical and psychiatric co-morbidities, PTSD patients in the study were still nearly twice as likely as veterans without PTSD to develop incident dementia.
"It is critical to follow patients with PTSD, and evaluate them early for dementia," Yaffe says in a statement. "Further research is needed to fully understand what links these two important disorders. With that knowledge we may be able to find ways to reduce the increased risk of dementia associated with PTSD."
The findings were presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna.
New AF Wounded Warrior Program
Week of July 13, 2009
The Air Force recently debuted its new Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC) program to assist wounded warriors and their families. RCCs work closely with family liaison officers, patient liaison officers, medical case managers, and a host of support agencies to ensure the right level of support and entitlements are delivered to recovering Airmen and eligible family members. RCCs are currently assigned to the National Capital Region and San Antonio. The program is slated to expand to 15 additional RCC positions this month at Air Force bases across the country. For further assistance or information regarding the RCC program, active-duty, Reserve or Guard members should call the 24-hour assistance line 1-877-USAF-HELP.
TRICARE Expands Chiropractic Care
Week of July 13, 2009
Eleven military hospitals and clinics are gearing up to ensure more active-duty servicemembers (ADSMs) have access to chiropractic services starting this fall. The 11 new locations join the 49 military clinics and hospitals currently providing chiropractic care to ADSMs. For the first time, ADSMs overseas will have access to chiropractic services with two of the new locations in Germany and one in Okinawa, Japan. For a complete list of military facilities offering ADSMs chiropractic care, or for more information about chiropractic care, see the TRICARE website. The Chiropractic Care Program is only available to ADSMs at designated military treatment facilities. A servicemember's primary care manager determines if chiropractic care is appropriate.
Program Matches Employers, Veterans
Week of July 13, 2009
A new Washington, D.C-based employment pilot program will assist veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Department of Labor (DOL) is managing this pilot program with support from others. Workforce development professionals on the team will consult with organizations interested in employing veterans with TBI/PTSD, to match them with qualified veteran workers, provide ongoing support, and monitor experiences, and track best practices. For more information, visit the America's Heroes at Work website.
Army in New Push for Skilled Immigrants
July 09, 2009
Military.com by Brian Mitchell
Ying Ji is like so many of her fellow Army recruits -- young, bristling with energy and determined to make a difference for America.
But there's one thing that separates the 21-year-old now at basic training from her peers: she's not an American -- at least, not yet anyway.
Ji is part of a revamped program introduced earlier this year that allows non-citizens without green cards to join the Army and, in the process, earn their citizenship.
Previously, non-American citizens wanting to join the service had to hold a green card, which is a permit for lawful permanent residence.
Recruited for their specialties, the Defense Department has ever-so-slightly cracked the door to what could one day be a vast recruiting pool of uniquely qualified immigrants.
Ji was studying economics at a community college in California earlier this year when she read about the new program - dubbed Military Accessions Vital to the National Interests - on a Web site for Koreans living in the United States.
"I decided to put everything on hold and to go for it," Ji said in a recent interview with Military.com. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give back to this great country and become a citizen, too. It's too good to pass up."
The program is not necessarily new, just a rehashed version of old policy that Defense Department officials were failing to take advantage of during the past eight years. Under the program, known as MAVNI, the military is allowed to widen its recruiting pool to non-citizens with critical skills during a time of war.
In this case, the wars have been long established with no clear end in sight. And the lack of critical skills is widely known: language experts and medical specialists, according to Army Lt. Col. Peter Badoian, project officer for the pilot program.
Green card holders have long been a sizable minority in the military, often earning their citizenship at tearful ceremonies aboard ships at sea or at combat zone installations.
But there are no less than 78 different kinds of temporary visas that non-residents can hold that allow them to remain in the United States for years without a path toward citizenship.
It took an immigration attorney who serves in the Army Reserve and teaches at West Point to connect all the dots and diplomatically advance renewing the MAVNI enlistments through the Defense Department.
That was no small effort. The immigration attorney, who declined to be identified, spent more than five years working behind the scenes to make it happen.
"It takes a long time to get buy in," Badoian said of the attorney's efforts.
The work paid off, and in February the Pentagon created a pilot program that allows 1,000 immigrants to enlist.
Since it launched five months ago, the Army, which filled more than 80 percent of available slots, has been inundated with applications.
"There's a very significant population that is here legally and wants to serve, but has lacked the legal ability to enlist," Badoian said. "We now have the opportunity to recruit from that population if they can meet these conditions."
But MAVNI is not open to any non-native resident. Certain language skills get priority, meaning a Pashtu or Persian speaker is more likely to be accepted or receive greater priority than a Russian speaker. Spanish doesn't even make the third tier priority list.
And despite the language priority, the recruits will be limited to certain jobs in the military open to non-citizens, thus excluding an intel billet for even a native Arabic speaker.
The language specialists must serve a five-year tour in the active Army while the medical specialists may serve a similar tour in the active or Reserve forces. Anyone who joins under the program can immediately apply for full citizenship, which may be revoked if they fail to complete their commitment.
So far, the quality of the recruits has allowed the Army to be very selective. Nearly 70 percent of the candidates accepted this year entered basic training with a bachelor's degree.
"We are finding very educated, very talented people knocking on our doors wanting to take advantage of this program," Badoian said. "Some of these folks have scored off the charts on the entry exams and we envision a very bright future for them in the Army."
Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis have joined immigrants of Korean, Chinese and European ancestry thus far.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. administered the oath of enlistment to a group of MAVNI recruits earlier this year in New York City's Times Square.
Ji, who began basic training last month, said at first her Korean friends were apprehensive of her decision.
"A lot of tem are worried about me. Joining the Army, first thing that pops in their mind is that I am going to war," she said. "But once I explain my situation, and what is going to happen to me over the next 20 years, they are very excited for me to have this opportunity. A lot of them want to join now, too."
Mullen issues call for more community support
Army Times
William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Wednesday Jul 8, 2009
The nation’s top military officer on Wednesday called for increased government and local community support for service members, their families and the families of fallen soldiers, citing their sacrifices and increased stress levels brought about by eight years of war and repeated, frequent deployments.
“I am very concerned about the stress … that our people are under,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told a lunch audience at the National Press Club in Washington. “Today’s active and reserve troops are the best I’ve ever served with … and yet, we’ve asked them to deploy multiple times, for longer periods of time than they expected, and there is extraordinary stress and pressure on them … and not just on the members, but also on the families.”
In addition to concerns he’s heard from service members — some of them grievously wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — and their families, Mullen said the growing military suicide rate is tangible evidence of the high stress.
“The suicide rate is up in all our services,” Mullen said. “We see a growing stress on family members — spouses and children. We have the signature wounds of these wars, which are traumatic brain injury, whether it’s mild or severe, post-traumatic stress — and in that regard, really, for our force, I think stress is the enemy, more than anything else.”
The Army, the largest service, has seen an especially large increase in suicides this year. Through May, the Army reported 82 possible suicides, with 45 confirmed, according to the Pentagon. During the first five months of 2008, the Army reported 51 suicides.
And on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that military children sought mental health care 2 million times last year — twice the number who did so at the outset of the Iraq war. AP also reported that the number of children and military spouses of active-duty and reserve personnel has been steadily increasing.
Mullen said the military is trying to address these issues. “And the key, more than anything else, is leadership focus on these great young men and women,” he said.
He lauded the nation for its support of the military over the past eight years. But he wants more from the communities that veterans and their families call home.
“The American people have been spectacular in their support of our men and women in uniform — and I am very grateful for that, and so are they,” Mullen said. “As a country, I would hope we keep our focus on our people, particularly those who have been wounded, and their families, and the families of the fallen. These are people who have paid, in many cases, the ultimate price. And I think we as a country must repay that debt.
“Their dreams haven’t changed,” Mullen said. “And I think the way that actually is able to occur is the joining of the Department of Defense [and] VA, but most importantly, communities throughout the country [who] reach out to those who’ve given so much, and touch them where they need support, and make a difference that sustains their lives over periods of time.”
Benefit Alert for Army Veterans:
Military.com
Both the Montgomery and Post 9/11 GI Bills are worth over $49,000. This money is not a loan and will help you cover the costs of getting a degree. Full-time students receive up to $1,321 a month no matter how much tuition costs. The Post 9/11 GI Bill may even give you a monthly housing stipend of $1,200.
Now is the time to use your benefits. Take the first step and find Military Friendly Schools.
More Troops' Kids Seeking Counseling
July 08, 2009
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Children of U.S. military troops sought outpatient mental health care 2 million times last year, double the number at the start of the Iraq war, and there was also an alarming spike in the number of military kids actually hospitalized for mental health reasons.
Internal Pentagon documents show the increases, which come as the services struggle with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a shortage of therapists.
From 2007 to 2008, some 20 percent more children of active duty troops were hospitalized for mental health services, the documents show. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, inpatient visits among military children have increased 50 percent.
The total number of outpatient mental health visits for children of men and women on active duty doubled from 1 million in 2003 to 2 million in 2008. During the same period, the yearly bed days for military children 14 and under increased from 35,000 to 55,000, the documents show.
Overall, the number of children and spouses of active duty personnel and Guard and Reserve troops seeking mental health care has been steadily increasing as the military struggles with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year's increase in child hospitalizations coincided with the "surge" of tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops into Iraq to stabilize the country.
However, reasons for the treatment increases are not clear from the documents. Besides the impact of service members' repeated tours in overseas war zones - and the severe economic recession that has affected all American families - the military has been encouraging troops' family members to seek mental health help when needed.
The military plans additional research.
Still, the statistics seem to reinforce the concerns of military leaders and private family organizations about the strains of the wars. Along with issues of separation, some families must deal with injuries or the deaths of loved ones.
Military families move, on average, nearly every three years, which adds additional stress.
"Army families are stretched, and they are stressed," Sheila Casey, wife of Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the U.S. Army chief of staff, told a congressional panel last month. "And I have often referred to them as the most brittle part of the force."
Evidence of domestic violence and child neglect among military families, as well as an increase in suicide, alcohol abuse and cases of post-traumatic stress, are all troubling signs, Mrs. Casey told a Senate Armed Services subcommittee. She and other military spouses testified that gaining access to mental health care is a problem.
At summer camps organized by the National Military Family Association for about 10,000 children, most of them kids of deployed Soldiers, there have been more anecdotal reports this year of young people taking medication, and showing signs of severe homesickness, anxiety, or depression, said Patricia Barron, who runs the association's youth initiatives.
Barron, a military spouse, said her organization is participating in a study on deployments and families. She said much is still unknown about the effects.
"If it continues to happen, you have to wonder how this is affecting them," Barron said. "In the long run, you have to wonder if there isn't going to be detrimental effects that might hang on for a long period of time."
The shortage of mental health professionals isn't just isolated to the military. But the problem is more pronounced because of the increase in demand, both on the home front and in the war zones.
About 20 percent to 30 percent of service members returning from war report some form of psychological distress.
There are efforts under way to encourage the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs and state and local agencies to share mental health resources. Also, there have been incentives offered to encourage military spouses to enter easily transferrable fields such as health care.
In recent years, there's been an increase in funding in areas such as education, housing and child care devoted to improving the quality of life for military families. First lady Michelle Obama has said helping military families is a priority.
Deadly Day for US Troops in Afghanistan
July 07, 2009
Associated Press
KABUL - Bombs and bullets killed seven American troops while three NATO troops died in a helicopter crash in one of the deadliest days for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, officials said Tuesday.
Four of the deaths Monday came in an attack on a team of U.S. military trainers in the relatively peaceful north, Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo, a U.S. military spokesman.
The deaths brought into focus the question of whether the U.S. is committing enough troops to secure a country larger than Iraq in both population and land mass.
Separately, Taliban militants claimed on a militant Web site that they were holding an American soldier whom the U.S. military says insurgents might have captured last week. The Taliban statement, however, did not include any proof, such as a picture or the soldier's name.
Obama has ordered 21,000 additional American troops to this country, mainly in the south where Taliban militants have made a violent comeback after a U.S.-led coalition topped them from power in late 2001. The U.S. expects 68,000 troops here by year's end, double last year's total but still half as many as now in Iraq.
Two Americans were killed in a roadside blast in southern Afghanistan, Naranjo said. And another American soldier died of wounds in a Monday firefight with militants in the east, a U.S. military spokesman said. There were no further details on those incidents in the south and the east.
It was the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan since July 13, 2008, when 10 soldiers were killed - nine of them when militants using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades attacked a remote outpost in the village of Wanat near the Pakistani border.
Also in the south, two Canadian and a Briton serving with the NATO-led force were killed Monday when their helicopter crashed in Zabul province, said a spokesman for the military alliance, Lt. Commander Chris Hall.
The incident was not caused by insurgent fire, Hall said.
Wounded Warrior Resource Directory
Week of July 06, 2009
The National Resource Directory (NRD) is an online resource for wounded, injured, and ill servicemembers, veterans, their families, and those who support them. The NRD provides information on, and access to, medical and non-medical services and resources across the country, which will help them reach their personal and professional goals as they successfully transition from recovery to community living. The NRD is an online partnership of the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Labor (DoL), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as numerous Veteran service/benefit and other organizations.
Veterans Benefits Guide Available
Week of July 06, 2009
The latest edition of VA's Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors is now available. The 164-page handbook provides the latest information on important changes in eligibility for VA medical care and benefits. It describes other federal benefits, including education, disability compensation, pension, home loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation, life insurance and burial assistance. This year's edition marks the addition of "Survivors" to the title as well as details on the Post-9⁄11 GI Bill signed into law in 2008. Printed copies may be ordered from the Government Printing Office at $5 a copy.