Military Officer - April 2007 - (Page 42) washingtonscene COLA Watch— Inflation Down ■ The CPI, which de- termines cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for military retired pay, dropped almost 1 percent from October through January. The only other years that happened were FY 2002 and FY 2005, when inflation ended the year at 1.4 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively — the smallest and largest COLAs since 1999. House. Their new legislation proposes to: ■ consolidate active duty and Selected Reserve MGIB programs under the jurisdiction of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the VA. Reserve benefits now are overseen by the Armed Services Committee and DoD, and the split oversight has led to inconsistent and inequitable structuring of the two programs; ■ ensure that Selected Reserve MGIB benefits rise in proportion with active duty MGIB rate increases. This would help address the growing inequity of benefits between the two; ■ provide a 10-year period after leaving service to use Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) benefits. Unlike active duty servicemembers, Guard and Reserve servicemembers must forfeit all education benefits once they separate from service; and ■ allow mobilized servicemembers of the Selected Reserve to accrue active duty level benefits on a month-by-month basis during mobilization — up to the maximum allowable benefit (36 months of benefits at $1,075 per month). Since Sept. 11, 2001, reserve MGIB rates have risen only 13 percent, while active duty rates have been increased by 60 percent. More than 550,000 Guard and Reserve troops have served on active duty in the war on terrorism, and over 85,000 have pulled two or more tours of duty. MOAA Deputy Director for Government Relations Col. Bob Norton, USARet., was one of the speakers at the press conference, thanking the legislators for their leadership on MGIB reform. “Since World War II,” Norton noted, “Guard and Reserve veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are the only veterans denied access to their earned GI Bill education benefits after they complete their service.” MOAA pledged to work closely with The Military Coalition, the American Legion, and higher education associations to speed enactment of the legislation. APRIL 2007 Wounded Care Wake-Up Call Shameful shortfalls are cropping up at Walter Reed. L ate February media reports of problems experienced by wounded troops at Walter Reed Medical Center got MOAA, government leaders, and the public up in arms. Defense and Army leaders were quick to assert their commitment to ensuring these servicemembers and families the best possible care and support. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody took the lead, saying, “I’ll take responsibility for this and I’ll make sure it’s fixed,” after military leaders up and down the chain failed to keep proper tabs on the troops’ welfare. Bipartisan calls for congressional hearings reflect public outrage at any insensitivity to the needs of the 1 percent of the population who’ve borne 100 percent of the nation’s wartime sacrifice. There is an old saying that a leader must “inspect to get what you expect.” Failure to live up to that leads to destruction of trust, and that risk is vastly increased when wounded servicemembers and their families’ inputs don’t get priority in the decision tree. We need more resources for health care givers, facility upgrades, repairs, rehabilitation, and family outreach and support. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has appointed a panel to review the situation, indicating those responsible will be held accountable. It’s sad it took a newspaper story to generate concern that should’ve been there all along. MO — Contributors are Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., director; Col. Mike Hayden, USAFRet.; Col. Bob Norton, USA-Ret.; Cmdr. René Campos, USN-Ret.; Cmdr. John Class, USN-Ret.; Col. Ana Smythe, USMC-Ret.; Cass Vreeland; and Bret Shea, MOAA’s Government Relations Department. 42 MILITARY OFFICER
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.