Military Officer - October 2007 - (Page 22)

rapidfire T Managing Your Mind In Review Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War Edited by Andrew Carroll. Doubleday, 2007. $16.95. ISBN 0-385-51974-8. “just in case” letter to his infant on the eve of battle. Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present By Michael B. Oren. W.W. Norton & Co., 2007. $35. ISBN 0-393-05826-3. he Mental Health Self-Assessment Program (MHSAP) is a DoD-funded initiative that offers servicemembers and their families the opportunity to take free, anonymous mental health and alcohol screenings online, by telephone, or at special events held at military installations. The screenings help servicemembers and their families identify symptoms and ﬁnd assistance before any problems become more serious. The screenings address depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and alcohol abuse. After completion of the screenings, individuals receive referral information about helpful services and places to visit for a full evaluation through DoD and the VA. To complete the screenings, visit www.militarymen talhealth.org or call (877) 877-3647. For additional information, visit www.pdhealth.mil/mhsa.asp. TRICAREUPDATE CHANGES TO the TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) health care option for National Guard and Reserve servicemembers will take effect Oct. 1. The current tieredeligibility structure and its pricing (based on mobilization status and access to other health care insurance) will be eliminated. TRS access will be available to all active drilling reservists, except those who are eligible for the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). TRS mailed its beneficiaries letters in mid-August inquiring about their access to FEHBP. Those who still can access health care insurance coverage through FEHBP no longer are eligible for TRS. Failure to respond to this letter will result in disenrollment from TRS. To learn more, visit MOAA’s Web Base at www .moaa.org/trs. Be sure to view the Guard and Reserve TRICARE Reserve Select program brochure. 22 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2007 Letters written during war have had value like no other correspondence has. Andrew Carroll has collected letters from seven American wars that reveal the faith, fear, love, uncertainty, and humor of frontline servicemembers and their families before and after battle. This selection features letters from fathers to sons, chaplains to mothers, husbands to wives, brothers to brothers, and sons to parents. Carroll adds background to each letter, but the letters themselves are the book’s real strength. Poignant, sad, sometimes bitter and distressed, and often funny, the letters show the human spirit’s power when faced with uncertainty and sacriﬁce. In one letter, an ofﬁcer writes about identifying his own dead brother. In another, a nurse tells of a funny meeting with the pope. In others, brothers share advice about boot camp, and a father writes a sensitive American involvement in the Middle East is not a recent phenomenon. In 1778, John Ledyard was the ﬁrst American to explore that region. Michael Oren offers an analytical history of more than 200 years of American engagement. He discusses America’s hot-and-cold relationships with the Middle East, from the Barbary pirates to the support of Israel, highlighting unusual events few people know about. Abe Lincoln protested the presence of Egyptian troops in Mexico in 1863, and Woodrow Wilson actually encouraged the arbitrary partition and colonization of the Middle East by Europeans in 1919. Despite American intentions, Oren concludes that America’s relationship with the Middle East will remain tenuous, uncertain, and dangerous. — William D. Bushnell IMAGES: LEFT, GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT, STEVE BARRETT http://www.militarymentalhealth.org http://www.militarymentalhealth.org http://www.pdhealth.mil/mhsa.asp http://www.moaa.org/trs http://www.moaa.org/trs

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Military Officer - October 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: A Hero's Welcome? Partners in Patriotism Tales from Beyond the Battlefield Financial Results of MOAA Pages of History Information Exchange Faces of MOAA Member Books MOAA Scholarship Donors Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - October 2007

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