Get a Grip on Nukes
Fellow Navy SEALs call Edward Gallagher "toxic"
and "evil" in never-before-seen interviews
Anguished Navy SEALs recall Chief Edward Gallagher as
‘freaking evil’ and ‘toxic’
Navy SEALs Call Edward Gallagher 'Evil' in Leaked Videos
Ugly new revelations about Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher will
‘come back to bite Trump’: CNN panel
Eddie Gallagher's Attorney Says He'll Sue NY Times,
Claiming 'Fake Reporting'
President Trump signs bill giving military members
largest pay increase in a decade
Meet The Army's 'Suicide Squad' That Was Meant To Take
Down Russia's Special Forces: Luckily they weren't needed.
Military Women Should Support Deborah Sampson Act
From Disarmament to Rearmament: The Reversal of US Policy
toward West Germany, 1946–1955, By Sheldon A. Goldberg, Foreword by Ingo
Trauschweizer
750 soldiers with 82nd Airborne headed for CENTCOM,
additional 4,000 troops expected to deploy as Iran tensions mount
Caring on the Home Front
The Director, Legislative Programs John Davis and
Assistant Director, Veterans Programs Brian Condon attended a panel discussion
titled Caring on the Homefront, which discussed the difficulties and priorities
of military care-givers. The panel was comprised of representatives from the
Department of Veteran Affairs, the National Military Family Association (NMFA),
the RAND Corporation and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. There are approximately
5.5 million caregivers in the United States and an overwhelming majority of
them are women. It is estimated that more than half of the post-9/11 caregivers
do not have a sufficient support system. The VA representative Deputy Chief
Patient Care Services, Lisa Page acknowledged that the implementation of the
MISSION Act, which in part, expands the caregivers act, has been delayed until
the summer of 2020. She noted that the VA needs partners from the VSOs, MSOs
and other organizations, to ensure success with the caregiver program.
NMFA wants to ensure that there is help for not only the
caregiver but also support for the family of the caregiver. Often-times it is a
group effort to care for those injured and family members often give up career
opportunities and time with their own children. There is a significant
financial and emotional commitment to caring for an injured service member. The
Elizabeth Dole Foundation spokesperson, Jennifer Mackinday, wants the veteran
community to be aware of caregiver burnout. The stress that caregivers can
endure will take its toll over the years. It was pointed out that a service
member may sign a contract for a four-year commitment, but a caregiver may have
to sign up for a forty-year commitment.
Proper care for an injured service member will take a
combined effort of many people. The panelists also discussed expanding the
Family Medical Leave Act to include caregivers. It was noted that there are
employer tax credits for hiring military spouses, veterans and disabled
veterans, but no tax credits for hiring a caregiver.
Spouse Employment Difficulties Impacting Retention
A recent panel discussion at the Brookings Institute
noted that military spouses unable to obtain good-paying jobs are having an
impact on military retention rates. The panel discussion referenced a U.S.
Chamber of Commerce study that found the unemployment rate among military
spouses is 16 percent. This is more than four times the unemployment rate of
the entire nation. The Chamber report also noted that military spouses earn 27
percent less income than non-military spouses. Approximately one third of
military spouses are not living in the same location as their service member
spouse. In most cases, money was the primary reason for the separation.
A May 2018 study by the White House Council of Economic
Advisors noted the challenges facing military spouses in the job market.
Employers are reluctant to hire workers who face frequent and unpredictable
transfers. Further, professional licensing in one location does not always
transfer to another location. Often when a service member is deployed overseas,
many of these locations do not provide spousal work visas. It is often said
that the individual joins the military, but the family re-enlists
Military Construction Funds Diverted to Fund Border Wall
The Trump Administration has informed Congress that it
will divert $3.6 billion in funding from the Military construction to build 175
miles of border wall on the Mexican/American border.
Defense officials declined to release a full list of the
affected projects until the Pentagon has finished notifying the lawmakers who
oversee the districts where they are planned, but said that family housing,
barracks or projects that have had contracts awarded or are expected to be
awarded in fiscal year 2020 will not be affected.
The goal, according to the Pentagon’s director of
operations for the Joint Staff, is to build new or reinforce existing barriers
in 11 locations that will help channel migrants to manned, designated ports of
entry, eventually reducing the need for troops to be stationed at the border in
those areas.
About 3,000 active duty and 2,000 National Guard troops
are currently deployed to the south-western border helping the Homeland
Security Department with surveillance, detention of migrants and processing
asylum requests. The merits of the border wall are outside the scope of FRA’s
legislative advocacy. However, adequate funding for barracks and childcare
centers is a concern of the association.
New ASDHA and DHA Director Sworn In
Thomas McCaffery was recently sworn in as Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. The ASDHA is the principal advisor to
the Secretary of Defense on all DoD health policies, programs and activities.
In addition to exercising oversight of all DoD health resources, the ASDHA
serves as director of the TRICARE Management Activity. McCafferty was the
subject of the featured story of the FRA Today, February 2019 issue. McCaffery,
a former civilian health care executive, has served as the principle deputy
secretary for health affairs since August 2017. The Defense Health Program
provides health care to 9.5 million beneficiaries (service members, retirees
and their families) through the TRICARE health benefit, at both military
medical treatment facilities and through civilian networks.
He will now also oversee a series of reform efforts,
including:
• Transfer the management of hundreds
of military hospitals and clinics from the Army, Navy and Air Force to the
Defense Health Agency (DHA), which will assume responsibility for U.S.-based
medical facilities on October 1, and all DoD treatment facilities around the
world by October 2021.
• Deployment of a new electronic
health record system, MHS GENESIS, which will enable the DoD to have a single
record-keeping system for all medical care, from the battlefield to
home-station facilities. The Department of Veterans Affairs is deploying a
similar health record system. It will eventually provide seamless
record-keeping from the time a service member enters the military until they
enter the VA health system care.
• Better alignment of medical
operations to the National Defense Strategy to increase Joint Force readiness
and provide the highest quality of care possible to all Military Health System
beneficiaries.
“The mission is
unique for me and a great opportunity to be a part of an organization with a
true purpose,” added McCaffery. “It is a privilege to work alongside people
every day who are committed to the mission.”
In related news DHA director, Navy RADM Raquel Bono
retired after completing a 36-year career. Bono became the DHA director in
2015, just two years into its existence, and only a few months before Congress
enacted historic changes to military medicine through the FY2017 National
Defense Authorization Act. The legislation accelerated many changes that the
Department of Defense had already begun (listed above). Bono is the first
female Navy medical officer to achieve the three-star rank. She was replaced by
Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place. Former NED Tom Snee attended her retirement
ceremony.
Pentagon Tells Military To Not Use DNA Test Kits
Welcome to the Monkey House: Confronting the ugly legacy
of military prostitution in South Korea
USS Arizona and USS Oklahoma to Sail Again, Navy's Acting
Secretary Says
New Law Restricts the Navy to 35 Littoral Combat Ships
Pentagon Ordered to Add Blast Exposure to Troops' Medical
Histories
US Adds Detail on How Soldier Died in Afghanistan
This Retired Navy Nurse Left Millions to a Military
Charity
Pagan Nevada Guard Soldier Gets Waiver to Grow Beard;
More May Follow
Air Force Base Announces New Restrictions on Personal
Weapons
Three Lawsuits Filed in San Diego over Marine Corps
Families' Housing Conditions
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH)
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