Military Officer - May 2007 - (Page 38)

washingtonscene making the CNGB a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be fundamentally inconsistent with the status of the Army and Air National Guard as reserve components of the Army and Air Force.” The report, however, recommends that the CNGB should be a senior advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Although MOAA has not taken a position on the four-star issue, we agree there is a pressing need for a greater voice for the Guard — and for Reserve force leaders as well — under the current “operational reserve” philosophy. The President’s Commission’s recommendation generally reﬂects the results of last August’s Web survey of MOAA members’ opinions. Fiftyfour percent of responCmdr. John Class, USN-Ret., MOAA dents favored making the deputy director of Government Relations, Guard chief a four-star, briefs House staffers on MOAA’s views of while 41 percent were DoD’s TRICARE fee hike proposal. opposed. MOAA Offers TRICARE Brief Capitol brieﬁngs draw dozens of Hill staffers. C MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., (left) met with military health care champion Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) in March to discuss ways to protect military beneficiaries from disproportional TRICARE fee increases. 38 MILITARY OFFICER M AY 2 0 0 7 mdr. John Class, USN-Ret., MOAA deputy director of Government Relations, conducted special Capitol Hill brieﬁngs for Senate and House staffers March 19 and March 30, respectively, to provide MOAA’s perspective on DoD’s proposal to increase military retiree health care fees. The brieﬁngs outlined the speciﬁcs of the Pentagon plan to increase retiree health care fees by 50 percent to 270 percent, depending on grade, and explained why MOAA thinks this is the wrong approach. The brieﬁng highlighted the thousands of dollars in annual ﬁnancial sacriﬁces already absorbed by servicemembers forced to retire at depressed pay rates over the past 25 years and provided a list of options to reduce military health care costs without penalizing beneﬁciaries. The brieﬁng urged senators to cosponsor TRICARE protection bills introduced in the House (H.R. 579) by Reps. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and in the Senate (S. 604) by Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). MOAA President Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret., and the entire government relations staff were on hand at both brieﬁngs to answer questions. “With recruiting in trouble and retention at risk, the last thing we should be doing is cutting military retirement beneﬁts by as much as $1,000 a year,” said Ryan. “Why give already overstressed mid-career servicemembers and families another reason to reconsider their military career decisions?” PHOTOS: LEFT, SEAN SHANAHAN; TOP, STEVE BARRETT

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - May 2007

Military Officer - May 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Back Home Capt. David Porter, Pirate Hunter Where Valor Rests Emblems of Courage MOAA Member Services Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index Member Books MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2007

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