Military Officer - September 2007 - (Page 44)

washingtonscene were at risk of potential compromise.” The company said the situation was a “totally unacceptable failure on our part.” SAIC indicated, “Forensic analysis has not yielded any evidence that any personal information was actually compromised; however, the possibility cannot be ruled out.” As of the last week in July, SAIC was in the process of notifying approximately 580,000 households — 870,000 beneﬁciaries — that could have been affected by the incident. MOAA inquired whether the exposure affected any particular category or categories of beneﬁciaries, but no particulars had been identiﬁed as this article went to press. The SAIC Web site provides additional information, including a news release, questions and answers, and contact information. Visit www.saic.com/response. As this article went to press, SAIC sent affected beneﬁciaries packets containing more information and offered free identity theft protection services. MOAA is deeply troubled to learn of yet another potential breach of security concerning personal information of the uniformed services community. The government and its contractors owe more to the men and women who spent their lives protecting those organizations’ security. The other three active components met or surpassed their June recruiting goals, while ﬁve of the six reserve components met or exceeded their goals. Only the Air National Guard didn’t make it, achieving 75 percent of the June mission. As for retention, all components met their June goals except the Air National Guard, which came in slightly under the mark at 98 percent. Army and DoD ofﬁcials have expressed concern that “inﬂuencers” (coaches, teachers, parents, and other adults) are discouraging young men and women to serve due to the current conﬂict in Iraq and its declining popularity with Congress and the American public. The Army has responded by adding more recruiters, increasing advertising, and promoting a $2,000 referral bonus program. VA Secretary Resigns Nicholson leaves after 2 1/2 years. S Army Misses Recruiting Goal July and August results will prove critical. T 44 MILITARY OFFICER he Army came up nearly 1,400 short of its June goal for active duty recruits — the second straight monthly shortfall. Because of successes in earlier months, the Army was still 740 recruits ahead of its year-to-date goal. ecretary of Veterans’ Affairs James R. Nicholson announced July 16 he had tendered his resignation to President George W. Bush with an effective date no later than Oct. 1. In making the announcement, Nicholson said he would turn 70 years old next February and, “I feel it is time for me to get back into business, while I still can.” Nicholson assumed the job in February 2005. His early tenure was marked by controversy over exposure of veterans’ personal data on a stolen laptop computer and the failure of the VA to anticipate and budget for large numbers of returning war veterans. Nicholson sought a $3 billion increase for VA care over the previous year, which Congress endorsed and increased even more. SEPTEMBER 2007 http://www.saic.com/response

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

Military Officer - September 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Plan for Your Future At Home in a High-Rise Lone Star Living Common Ground Insert: Community Source Cover Story: Waging War on Disease More Than Beaches MOAA Scholarship Donors Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - September 2007

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