Military Officer - February 2008 - (Page 32) washingtonscene Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2007 and will work to get that inequity corrected in 2008.) Increases the maximum annual drill points creditable for retirement from 90 to 130, effective for 2007. Guard/Reserve GI Bill: Authorizes Selected Reserve members 10 years after separation to use GI Bill benefits earned from active duty service. Selected Reserve members who spend at least three years on active duty can earn up to 80 percent of the active duty GI Bill benefit. Wounded warrior care: Requires comprehensive plan for care, management, and transition of wounded servicemembers by July 1, 2008. Requires recovery, medical and non-medical care case managers for recuperating servicemembers and establishes maximum caseloads for each. Wounded warrior family support: Authorizes medical care, training, and jobplacement service for family members of recovering servicemembers and authorizes respite care for primary caregivers of servicemembers with a serious injury or illness. Authorizes leave (from civilian employers) for family members of injured military personnel. DoD/VA electronic records: Requires establishment of a joint interagency office as single authority to develop, implement, and administer a fully interoperable electronic DoD/VA health record. Requires development of a process to send electronic records necessary to support eligibility for VA benefits, including the form DD-214, from DoD to the VA. Deployment of single parents and dualmilitary couples: Requires procedures to Veto Won’t Have Much Effect ■ President George W. Bush surprised Congress by vetoing the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Act in late December over an Iraq lawsuit liability issue. At press time, Hill leaders expected to delete that provision and quickly return the bill for the president’s signature. and to evaluate programs and services that prepare and support military families. Follow-on TRICARE eligibility: Authorizes continuation of active duty-level TRICARE coverage for servicemembers separated or retired from the armed forces for a serious injury or illness when care is not reasonably available through the VA. Expires Dec. 31, 2012. Disability retirement: Requires DoD — by July 31, 2008 — to develop a standardized process for medical and physical disability evaluations that takes into account timely decisions, provides uniformity between services, and provides servicemembers with advice and counsel. Requires DoD to ensure disability rating awards include all conditions that render a servicemember unfit for duty in determining disability ratings for military disability retirement purposes (rather than merely selecting the single least-disabling condition, as sometimes occurred in the past). Requires three pilot programs: use of the disability rating assigned by the VA, use of a joint DoD/VA rating system, and use of a single DoD Web site for accessing disability evaluation information. Wounded warrior separations review: ensure parents with minor dependents have adequate plans for family care upon deployment. Authorizes deferment from deployment under certain circumstances. Military Family Readiness Council: Establishes council of servicemembers, spouses, and representatives of military family organizations to make recommendations for DoD policy on military family readiness 32 MILITARY OFFICER FEBRUARY 2008 Requires review of all disability separation cases between Sept. 11, 2001, and Dec. 21, 2009, in which a rating of 20 percent or lower was assigned. Review is to be conducted upon request of servicemember or next of kin or by the service’s own initiative. Disability severance pay: Eliminates the requirement to deduct VA disability compensation from disability severance pay amounts awarded by the parent service. Increases the minimum disability severance pay to 12 months of basic pay and raises the maximum award to 38 months of basic pay. (Note: The increases only apply to separation pay awarded for combat-related injuries.) VA Health Care: Authorizes five years (versus two) of automatic VA health care eligibility for servicemembers who serve in a combat theater.
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