Austin, Texas Chapter

The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin-January 2007
Commander's Comments  
We owe a hearty thanks to our First Vice-Commander, Companion Stanley Bullard, for sponsoring the "TAKE FIVE" group of five singers and a pianist who provided almost an hour of outstanding musical entertainment at our December meeting at the Austin Club. In a setting of festive decorations and after a sumptuous meal, the group gave us every encouragement to enjoy the impending Holidays. We all missed those of you who were unable to attend this event.
   My close association with Lt Col Juste Sanchez, commander of Texas Det. 861, AFJROTC at Westwood High School goes back several years to when I first supported him as our Chapter's Third Vice Commander in my capacity as the JROTC Medal, with certificate program coordinator. We are honored that Lt Col Sanchez will be our guest speaker next Thursday and talk on the merits, growth and general status of JROTC in the greater Austin area.
   Each of us have an opportunity to contribute to our Chapter's Junior and Senior ROTC support programs. A $10.00 contribution will just about cover the costs of the medal, certificate and presentation folder for the 25 MOWW ROTC presentations that we are projected		 to make in 15 ceremonies during the months of April, May and early June. Each of the 15 ceremonies requires the attendance of one of our Companions in military uniform or civilian suit. We have (8) Air Force, (3) Army, (1) Marine Corps and (3) Navy units to physically present medals and certificates.
   We are attempting to arrange for the return of author James D. Hornfischer who at his first visit gave our chapter a PowerPoint presentation on his best selling book The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. Since then, this book was selected by the US Navy to be included in their non-commissioned officer required reading program and placed in every Navy ship and base library worldwide. His newest book, titled Ship of Ghosts, is equally exciting and addresses the lives and fortunes of the crew of FDR's legendary lost cruiser, the USS Houston.
   We should all be sensitive to the needs of our members that require assistance to facilitate their attendance at our meetings. Please do not hesitate to call me at 261-6272, to arrange for this service.
      May you all enjoy a Happy New Year!

Andrew J. McVeigh III
Chapter Commander




 Upgrading An Airman's Eyesight
Airmen who wear glasses or contact lenses know how difficult it can be to deploy to an environment riddled with sand and dust. The Wilford Hall Refractive Surgery Center is offering to fix this problem, giving Airmen the chance to surgically correct their vision, with no wait. There are many surgical options for patients at the refractive surgery center including Laser-In-Situ Keratomileusis (or LASIK) and Photorefractive Keratectomy, known as PRK.  From Military.com


Meeting. 11 Jan. 2007  
Holiday Inn Northwest (Mopac & Hwy 183) The cost for the evening is $18.00. If you are not called by 9 Jan., contact LtC Howard at 255-2206. 

Schedule:
1830-1900-Social
1900-1905- Invocation & Salutes
1905-1945-Dinner
1945-2000-Break
2000-2015 -Awards & Festivities
2015-2045-Speaker
2045-2100-Adjourn

Menu
Brest of Chicken with mushroom sauce, Garlic mashed potatoes, fresh vetagables, deserts, tee, coffee

Adjutant
As of this writing, Charles Szendrey is recovering from surgery in the St. David's Round Rock Hospital on RR 620.

Chapter Officers
Commander - COL McVeigh
Senior Vice Cmdr. - MAJ Bullard
Junior Vice Cmdr. - COL Holland
Adjutant - COL Szendrey
Treasurer - CAPT Burrill
Chaplain - CDR Cochran
Surgeon - MG Bernstein
Judge Advocate - COL Philips

Speaker:
Lt Col Juste Sanchez, commander of Texas Det 861, AFJROTC at Westwood High School  is our guest speaker next Thursday. He will talk on the merits, growth and general status of JROTC in the greater Austin area. We support him with our JROTC Medal with certificate program.

Pick Paper Over Plastic
Commissaries are hoping shoppers in the United States will say yes to paper bags for bagging their groceries as part of the Defense Commissary Agency's measures to offset recent major cost increases of plastic and paper bags. The cost of paper bags has increased 34 percent in the past three years, while plastic bag costs have risen 84 percent. Commissaries in the United States are trying to reach usage goals of about 70 percent paper and 30 percent plastic. Customers can bring and use their own mesh or canvas tote bags. Customers may bring paper or plastic bags back to the commissary to use for their own grocery order, but commissaries are not able to recycle bags due to health concerns.  From Military.com

Inspiration Selection
Love is patient, love is kind; it does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud, it is not rude, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.                        Corinthians 1:13

 


Quote to Ponder

"I have seen yesterday, I love today, I am not afraid of tomorrow."               Chrystal  Whitzel

 


Restoring Order Practical Solutions to Congressional Dysfunction

Report Summary
The goal of Restoring Order is to raise awareness about practical solutions to legislative dysfunction through the development and dissemination of a report that addresses five major pillars of reform: regular order, deliberation, oversight, corruption, and enforcement. The project is directed by congressional scholars Norman Ornstein (American Enterprise Institute) and Thomas Mann (Brookings Institution), both members of the Institute's Advisory Board.
Regular Order refers to the set of rules, norms and practices that facilitate the orderly conduct of business in a legislature. Needed changes include restoring transparency and accountability to the legislative process, imposing a waiting period on bills reported to the floor so that members have time to read them before voting, allowing the minority party to introduce amendments, and opening the doors to the minority in conference committees that are currently a closed-door process. The House of Representatives' three hour vote on the Medicare prescription drug bill, a vote that was supposed to take fifteen minutes, is one example of the collapse of the regular order; the refusal to consider meaningful amendments to the bankruptcy bill in either the House or Senate, 

and the sharp expansion in the House of closed rules banning all amendments for consideration, and of "self-executing rules," that waive all points of order before any consideration of a bill, are others.
Deliberation in committee, on the floor, and in conference, is essential to lawmaking. Committees need more scope to scrub legislative proposals. Members and their staff need more time to review the details of legislation before the vote is called on the floor. More genuine debate needs to occur at every level of the legislative process. The Medicare bill and the Patriot Act were among the major bills pushed through Congress without much debate and deliberation either in committee or on the floor. The same has been true of the massive budget packages the past few years.
Oversight of the executive is essential to our system of checks and balances. Congress needs to monitor major policies of the administration and its agencies before public outcry for a reversal on policy ensues. The failure of either chamber to do any meaningful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security or its component parts, such as FEMA, contributed to the failure to respond to Katrina. This lack of congressional oversight allows for a continued failure to provide interoperable communications to first responders facing another terrorist attack or natural disaster. The Dubai Ports debacle and the White House wiretapping program are additional examples of the need for congressional oversight
 

 
Corruption undermines the integrity and legitimacy of government. Steps need to be taken to thwart the undue influence of special interests and lobbyists on the policy making process through earmarking, the solicitation of campaign funds, and the provision of benefits in return for a sympathetic hearing on Capitol Hill. From the famed "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska, a $230 million earmark tacked onto the transportation bill by Alaska's senior Senator per the request of special interest groups, to the action taken by House Appropriations Committee Chair Jerry Lewis that resulted in a windfall for a New York investment firm shortly after it held a fundraiser bringing in $150,000 for his leadership PAC, examples of corruption big and small, legal and illegal, abound.
Enforcement is essential if existing and new laws and rules are to have any force. New mechanisms are needed in both the House and Senate to investigate and enforce ethics rules and lobbying laws without the inherent conflict of interest plaguing the House and Senate Ethics Committees. To this day, the House Ethics Committee remains in a partisan stalemate over ethics investigations related to the former Majority Leader.
— Excerpts - Brookings Institute		 TRICARE
 Stars and Stripes reports that TRICARE is to get the word out to service members and their families that TRICARE will take care of them while they are traveling. If you have to go to the emergency room and have to pay a bill afterward, you can file with TRICARE for reimbursement. For urgent care, which is non-emergency care that could worsen if not treated, TRICARE advises service members to seek treatment at the nearest Military Treatment Facility or TRICARE Network Provider. A list of MTFs can be found online at www.TRICARE.osd.mil/mtf. For service members traveling to remote areas where military treatment facilities are scarce, service members can have TRICARE arrange medical assistance by contacting International SOS.

 Austin Chapter Website
 If you have items for the website contact  LTC Howard  255-2206 or e-mail: jr99howard@austin.rr.com
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Staff Meeting
The next staff meeting will be at the call of the Commander. 


From U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs
MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Coalition ships from the British-led Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 continue to maintain a presence off the east coast of Africa in response to the recent events in Somalia.
CTF 150 includes USS Ramage (DDG 61) and USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and other coalition ships. These warships are conducting maritime security operations (MSO) to ensure continued security and

stability of international waters surrounding the Horn of Africa.
Coalition naval forces are performing  boardings on a number of vessels to deter individuals with links to al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations the use of the sea as a potential escape route.
The coalition ships of CTF 150 maintain a maritime presence in the international waters of the Gulf of Oman, North Arabian Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea.