Military Officer - June 2006 - (Page 12)

yourviews “The cover photograph on the April issue is a marvelous one and deserves a thumbs-up.” — 2nd Lt. James P. Casey, USA-Ret. TRICARE Fee Hikes I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn that the Joint Chiefs of Staff testiﬁed before Congress in support of the administration’s ill-conceived plan to quadruple TRICARE fees [“Fee, Fie, Fumble” in “Washington Scene,” April 2006]. What a colossal breach of faith with the force, especially [with] retirees! I suspect that some in Congress will attempt to use this testimony for decades as a rationale to save money by cutting our extremely hard-earned beneﬁts. It is bad enough when the administration’s DoD political appointees like Dr. David Chu and Dr. William Winkenwerder provide misguided or misleading testimony to Congress, but having the Joint Chiefs cave in makes [one] want to weep. If these fee increases are enacted, I predict it will cause catastrophic damage to enlistments and retention. … I was also dismayed to learn that only 40,000 of MOAA’s 360,000 12 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2006 members sent in the tearout letters from the February 2006 Military Ofﬁcer urging committee leaders to stop the Pentagonproposed TRICARE fee increases. While I’m conﬁdent that many of our members sent personal letters and e-mails on their own, that still means that only 11 percent of our membership made the effort to utilize the tear-out letters to oppose this unwise increase in our health costs. That politicians would propose such steep increases in our health care costs at a time of war is telling. Imagine what they will propose in the future when we have been at peace for a few years and the sacriﬁces of the warriors are distant memories. I urge my fellow MOAA members to get proactive in preserving our hard-earned beneﬁts. Maj. Michael S. England, USA-Ret. via e-mail believe they should be free. … We currently have a $9 trillion budget deﬁcit. While I do not like increases to premiums or copayments, I understand they are a fact of life. It is inappropriate to think just because I am a retired veteran that my premiums and copayments should never increase. The average American has to accept such increases as a matter of having any level of beneﬁt. Why should military retirees believe they should be exempt from such increases? I agree that if the administration managed the budget the way it is intended by law, the cost increases would not be part of the DoD budget. However, why would they follow the rules in this instance, when they haven’t followed the rules of budget or ﬁscal constraint? Our current president has made a mess of the budget process and is on a path to bankrupt the government. While it will probably not affect me signiﬁcantly, my children and grandchildren are going to pay a very high price for the indiscretions of this administration. … We should all share the costs of putting constraint into the budget process. If that means higher TRICARE For Life premiums, I vote for higher premiums. James R. Miller, USAF-Ret. via e-mail Fighting Spirit The cover photograph on the April issue is a marvelous one and deserves a thumbs-up. I am a retired U.S. Army infantry ofﬁcer and had the great privilege of commanding a riﬂe platoon in Vietnam. … I was terribly wounded during combat in early June of 1968 at age 20. I spent the ensuing 18 months getting put back together at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, I appreciate and applaud MOAA for its concern and efforts to ensure retirees have reasonable and affordable beneﬁts, especially health care beneﬁts. While I support the concept of health beneﬁts for life, I do not

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - June 2006

Military Officer - June 2006 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities MOAA Member Services Living Well 5 Foods for Life The Kindest Cut Winning the Battle Cover Story: Choppers Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - June 2006

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