Military Officer - August 2007 - (Page 39)

washingtonscene MOAA applauds the task forces’ blunt assessment of the state of military mental health care and agrees that leadership, education, and resources are equally crucial to address the problems. We must make it a major priority to increase the capacity of the system to deliver care. And we must motivate leaders, troops, and families to appreciate that destigmatizing, facilitating, and encouraging mental health treatment is essential for the long-term well-being of military families and military units alike. disabled and ill soldiers are medically treated and vocationally rehabilitated to prepare them for a successful return to duty or transition to civilian life. Another change being considered is a complete revision of the military disability evaluation process. According to Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones, the Army’s adjutant general, a possible option is to have the services determine “ﬁtness for duty” but pass the responsibility for assigning a disability rating to determine retirement eligibility to the VA. MOAA supports this proposal, which also has received endorsements from other commissions and task forces on the severely wounded. Other recommendations from the leadership, all of which MOAA supports, include: ■ reducing the eight-year rule affecting separation for pre-existing conditions; ■ offering early retirement to all servicemembers found unﬁt for duty with 15 or more years of service; ■ eliminating the deduction of VA pay from disability severance payments; ■ retaining injured, recalled retirees on active duty for medical care (versus the current process of immediately returning them to retiree status); and ■ expanding eligibility for retroactive traumatic injury protection under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. Do You Have Legislative Questions? ■ Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., MOAA’s chief lobbyist, answered a range of questions during a June 27 online chat. We have archived this chat along with five previous chats on other topics for your convenience. Visit www .moaa.org/junelegischat for a complete recap. Send questions for upcoming chats to legischat@moaa.org. Army Says System Failed Leadership briefs new road ahead on wounded care. A t the Army’s June 5 Military and Veterans’ Service Organization Leadership Conference, top Army leaders acknowledged the Army health care system had broken down, and the gaps in care identiﬁed by The Washington Post at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), Washington, D.C., were “a wake-up call.” The new leadership is focused on ensuring that problems get ﬁxed in a way that puts soldiers and families ﬁrst. Speakers included Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, acting Army surgeon general; Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, WRAMC commander; Lt. Gen. James Campbell, director of the Army staff; Gen. George Casey, chief of staff of the Army; and Pete Geren, acting secretary of the Army. Each speaker expressed a clear message of positive, immediate change. They highlighted the new Army medical action plan (AMED) that will be fully implemented by June 1, 2008. AMED is the Army’s initiative to develop a sustainable system under which VA Ratings “Out of Sync” Study recommends overhauling the system. O n June 7, the Veterans’ Disability Beneﬁts Commission received a brieﬁng from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a group established by Congress to advise the government on medical issues. The IOM brieﬁng recomAUGUST 2007 MILITARY OFFICER 39 http://www.moaa.org/junelegischat http://www.moaa.org/junelegischat

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

Military Officer - August 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: No Longer in Reserve A Different Path Weird Science Charge? Pages of History Faces of MOAA Member Books Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - August 2007

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