Austin, Texas Chapter

The Association for all Military Officers
Companion Bulletin-March 2007
Companions,
   Many of you know that we were forced to cancel our February meeting. This was not due to extreme weather or our guest speaker's nonavailability, but to insufficient attendance by our membership. Too many of our members have priorities that do not include the Preamble of the Military Order of the World Wars. Truly, some of us have become too old and/or infirmed to regularly attend our monthly meetings, but some of our members are no longer inclined to help sustain our Chapter even when they do attend. Companion Bullard, with good reason, now hesitates to arrange for quality guest speakers for fear that insufficient numbers of our membership will make that second effort to attend, thereby embarrassing our guests. We have not scheduled an evening meeting in March for that reason.
   This is my seventh and last year as the Chapter's Chairman of the Junior and Senior ROTC certificate and awards program. The National Sojourners have come to our rescue for the past several years and actually presented more of our medals last year than we did. Unless someone steps forward and assumes responsibility for this very worthwhile program, our Chapter will not be able to support the area's ROTC students next year.
   Companion Chuck Szendrey, our Chapter Adjutant, has just had surgery for one of two herniated disks that along with his chemo-therapy recovery have severely retarded his ability to leave his current rehabilitation facility.		  He is in room 427 of the Trinity Care Center at 1000 East Main Street, Round Rock. Chuck may be reached at 512-634-3060. Your calls are welcome. The Hollands, Howards, McVeighs and Rudys have been recurring visitors. He is easy to find: about one mile east of the RR 620 - IH-35 intersection on East Main.
   If you desire a particular speaker or subject at a future meeting, please contact Companion Stanley Bullard at sgbullard@sbcglobal.net or
926-8438. We aim to please.
   Please do not forget that each of us has 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 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.

Andrew J. McVeigh III
Chapter Commander





VA PRESCRIPTION POLICY UPDATE 02: Ever wonder why so many VA prescribed medications call for splitting pills to meet dosage requirements. One reason could be that United States Code; 38 USC 1722a. Paragraph (a)(1) subject to paragraph (2), states the Secretary shall require a veteran to pay the United States $8.00 for each 30 day supply of medicine. If the amount supplied is less than a 30 day supply the amount of the charge may not be reduced. Paragraph (2) states The Secretary may not require a veteran to pay an amount in excess of the cost to the Secretary for medication as described in paragraph (1). VA’s interpretation of this law allows the splitting of pills into smaller dosages and charging the $8.00 copay for 15 vice 30 pills which can be split to provide a 30 day supply. Thus, by purchasing pills in larger dosages at a lower cost and splitting those to fill prescriptions VA can further reduce their overall cost of purchasing medications by doubling the return o!
n each pill purchased. In other words if VA purchases 900 pills at $1 each and dispenses them as whole pills in 30 day dosage increments VA will collect $240 in copays making their net cost for the pills $660. However, if they dispense the same pills in half pill dosages in 30 day increments they will collect $480 in copays making their net cost for the pills $420.

Pressures on Guard Concern Governors
Associated Press | February 26, 2007
WASHINGTON - Governors concerned about the demands the war in Iraq is placing on their National Guard forces met with a top Guard official Sunday and said they were closely monitoring deployment of their troops, worn-out equipment and how ready they would be for domestic emergencies.

Governors also hoped to convince Congress to reverse a step taken last year in response to Hurricane Katrina that gave the president greater power to deploy troops for problems at home, a power previously reserved for the states' top leaders.


$1.9 Billion Retiree Health Fee Hike
An assumption in the Department of Defense's 2008 budget request that $1.9 billion will be saved by raising TRICARE fees on military retirees next year "poisons the water" for the work of the Task Force on the Future of Military Healthcare.


Quote to Ponder
When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.
James H. Boren

Inspiration Selection
So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. ~ Matthew 6: 34

Staff Meeting
The next staff meeting will be at the call of the Commander. 

 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

 Austin Chapter Website
 If you have items for the website contact  LTC Howard  255-2206 or e-mail: jr99howard@austin.rr.com

 

 


SOLDIERS RETURNING FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN:
The Long-term Costs of Providing Veterans Medical Care and
Disability Benefits
Linda Bilmes
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This paper analyzes the long-term needs of veterans returning from the Iraq and
Afghanistan conflicts, and the budgetary and structural consequences of these needs. The
paper uses data from government sources, such as the Veterans Benefit Administration
Annual Report. The main conclusions of the analysis are that:
(a) the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is already overwhelmed by the volume of
returning veterans and the seriousness of their health care needs, and it will not be able to
provide a high quality of care in a timely fashion to the large wave of returning war
veterans without greater funding and increased capacity in areas such as psychiatric care;
(b) the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is in need of structural reforms in order
to deal with the high volume of pending claims; the current claims process is unable to
handle even the current volume and completely inadequate to cope with the high demand
of returning war veterans; and
(c) the budgetary costs of providing disability compensation benefits and medical care to
the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan over the course of their lives will be from $350 -
$700 Billion, depending on the length of deployment of US soldiers, the speed with
which they claim disability benefits and the growth rate of benefits and health care
inflation.
Key recommendations include: increase staffing and funding for veterans medical care
particularly for mental health treatment; expand staffing and funding for the ¡§Vet
Centers,¡¨ and restructure the benefits claim process at the Veterans Benefit
Administration.
This paper was prepared for the Allied Social Sciences Association Meetings in Chicago, January, 2007.
The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent any of the institutions with
which she is affiliated, now or in the past.
Details are on the web or if requested, they can be available at our next meeting.

 

 

As a fighter pilot only two bad things can happen to you and one of Them will be:
a. One day you will walk out to the aircraft knowing that it is your last flight in a fighter.
b. One day you will walk out to the airplane NOT knowing that it is your last flight in a fighter.

 

 

— Excerpts - Brookings Institute
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, February 15, 2007
 Debating the Troop Surge in Iraq
Martin S. Indyk, Director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy
    TONY JONES, HOST: Well, the question being asked ... is what would be the consequences for Iraq if US combat forces, all of them, were withdrawn by March of 2008. What do you think the consequences would be?
    MARTIN INDYK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON: I think the consequences of America's defeat in Iraq will be very bad. That's not something that keeping the troops there or withdrawing them is going to make a significant difference to, in my opinion. In my view, we have to shift now from a policy of trying to intervene in the civil war to a policy of trying to contain this implosion in Iraq from exploding and affecting American interests in the wider region and, therefore, in my view, what we need is a phased redeployment, essentially to the borders of Iraq, whereby we can deter neighbouring countries, like Iran or Turkey, from intervening and provide safe havens and humanitarian relief for the Iraqis who will be fleeing what increasingly will become a process of ethnic cleansing, and that is the best way, I think, that we can prevent defeat in Iraq from becoming a complete disaster for American interests in the broader region.
So, in my view, a redeployment, a reduction of the

forces of about 75,000 troops, makes more sense than pulling the plug in the way that Senator Obama would like.  But, there is a legitimate debate here about what is the best thing to do. For the Prime Minister to suggest that those who are debating this issue are somehow responsible for the disaster there is, I think, the kind of argument that we hear from Vice President Cheney, but the American people aren't listening to that anymore because they understand that the original sin, if you like, sits with the Bush administration for getting us into this horrible mess in the first place.
    TONY JONES: Forced by the Prime Minister to give a specific answer to that question that I raised before, Kevin Rudd has now virtually adopted the Baker Hamilton plan of a staged withdrawal. Was that wise?
    MARTIN INDYK: Look, Tony, you're asking me to intervene in Australian politics, which I would rather not do.
    TONY JONES: Well, let's put it this way, what's your assessment of the Baker Hamilton plan, as a preferred option?
    MARTIN INDYK: Well, as I said, I think that a phased redeployment to Iraq's borders and a focus on trying to contain the implosion makes sense. That is part of what Baker Hamilton recommended. They also recommended a stepped up effort to train the Iraqi forces. That, I think, will be a lost cause, simply because, as things fall apart, I think, the Iraqi Army will fall apart and join either the Sunnis or the Shiahs in this process.


Comments on Preparation of Marines for Combat in Iraq
Colonel George Bristol, USMC
 
 I know that EVERY Marine knows how to do sight alignment and sight picture (clear tip of the front sight post in a fuzzy "bullseye"). That is why we are the world's best all-purpose marksmen. Weapons handling remains simple ("never be more than three feet from your weapon"; "keep that weapon functionally clean"; "complacency kills" - these are all sayings that ALL Marines over here know by heart). I see Marines all the time working with that weapon; it is great to see. In firefights, I truly cannot tell the difference between a Marine who has been in 50 fights or 5 - and I have looked while it is happening. They keep it simple.