Military Officer - November 2007 - (Page 33)

washingtonscene PTSD discussion panel: This panel em- phasized the necessity of overcoming the historical stigma associated with mental health conditions in the military and enhancing and “normalizing” education and treatment programs. The panel unanimously agreed the key is to: ■ adjust leadership attitudes; ■ recognize there are successful treatments; and ■ acknowledge failure to encourage and destigmatize treatment can only undermine military readiness. The panel raised a disturbing issue that many exemplary servicemembers have turned into disciplinary cases following return from combat and have been given other-than-honorable discharges that bar eligibility for VA treatment. Panelists suggested that in many cases the root cause of the problem is untreated PTSD, and we might need to adjust eligibility rules to preclude creating a future generation of homeless vets who have been denied treatment for service-caused conditions. Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, highlighted the overriding need for seamless transmission of personnel and health record data between the services and the VA, bemoaning the current situation in which extensive paperwork must be printed and faxed. He said both systems need to be “patientcentric” rather than focusing on their own respective administrative desires. VA Secretary R. James Nicholson wrapped up the event, citing the VA’s goal of providing hassle-free care, but recognizing the growing challenge of caring for a far greater proportion of severely wounded veterans than in past wars — simply because better protection and better medicine is successfully treating wounds that previously weren’t survivable. He highlighted ongoing efforts to address the VA’s top challenges, including hiring and training enough mental health professionals to meet the growing need and reducing the very large backlog of disability claims. The Incredible Shrinking COLA ■ The August Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased 0.2 percent from July and has risen a cumulative 2.1 percent for the first 11 months of FY 2007. This is the only time in 30 years that inflation dropped in both July and August. With one more month to go, it looks like the 2008 COLA might be around 2.2 percent. Commission Delivers Panel endorses concurrent receipt, standardized ratings. T he Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission met in September to make ﬁnal adjustments on more than 100 recommendations to be included in its Oct. 1 report to the president and Congress (which was not available at press time). Here are some highlights of the commission’s proposals: ■ Authorize “vesting” of service-earned military retired pay, in addition to eligibility for VA disability compensation. ■ End the deduction of VA survivor beneﬁts from military Survivor Beneﬁt Plan annuities in cases of service-caused death. ■ Reassess the DoD policy of allowing separation without compensation for individuals with less than eight years of service who are found to have a preexisting disability and are medically unﬁt for service. ■ Eliminate the premium servicemembers now pay for traumatic injury coverage under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. ■ Change the VA compensation effective date to that of the VA award. ■ Increase special monthly compensation to address more profound impacts on quality of life. ■ Authorize the VA to provide support services for families of severely injured veterans similar to those provided by DoD. ■ Establish new VA rating criteria speciﬁc to PTSD. ■ Establish a holistic VA approach to PTSD that combines treatment, compensation, and vocational assessment in the NOVEMBER 2007 MILITARY OFFICER 33

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

Military Officer - November 2007 Contents From the Editor President’s Page Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Cover Story: Commanding the Corps With Love, From Home Financial Guidebook Financial Tuneups Banking on Your Time Pages of History MOAA Scholarship Recipients Faces of MOAA MOAA Scholarship Donors Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - November 2007

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