August 1, 2005

Page 14 - Newslines (The Navy) - The once-maligned Osprey sheds its troubled past, sort of. It should be ready for deployment by 2007. Selling infantryman on a new aircraft, especially one with a reputation like the Osprey, may be tough. Page 24 - Newslines (Pay and Benefits) - Bad funding estimates prompt VA budget review as a new request for patient care money (caused by injured soldiers returning Iraq and Afghan) irks lawmakers. The lawmakers make a good point in that the VA knew there was a war (or struggle) going on when they made their initial budget requests. Page 25 - Newslines (Pay and Benefits) - After turning 65, retirees are enrolled in Tricare for Life. They are no longer eligible for Tricare Prime ... as such they are put at the end of the line when seeking treatment at military treatment facilities. The solution ... go to the Medicare provider of your choice, get care more quickly and still get it free - or almost free. Page 26 - Newslines (Pay and Benefits) - Mix-ups leave 2 families without Tricare coverage. The lesson to learn from this article is to when making a geographical move, make sure your new address is updated with DEERS (for PHS officers, simply check the secure area, Officer,Liaison, and Leave Maintenance Clerk Activities, of the DCP website to verify DEERS enrollment). Page 31 - Newslines (The Military) - The Pentagon is seeking to raise the age limit for recruits from 35 for active duty and 39 for reserves to age 42. This request was made as part of a package of "urgent wartime support initiatives."

August 8, 2005

Page 15 – Newslines - Pay and benefits. As of Jan 1, for the first time, Basic Allowance for Housing covers 100 percent of average rental costs for a given location. President Bush this year has appointed a top-level commission, the Defense Advisory Committee on Military Compensation, to study a range of pay and career issues. Its chairman, retired Navy Adm. Don Pilling, said he is interested in studying whether housing allowances should be tied to the cost of home purchases instead of rentals since more than half of all Americans own homes. Page 20 – Newslines - Pay and benefits. The Thrift Savings Plan is rolling out five new ‘Lifecycle’ funds in August aimed at putting retirement investments on autopilot. Also, a new military pay commission that is meeting this summer is considering whether the Pentagon should offer matching funds as part of a potential overhaul of the active-duty retirement system. Page 22 – Newslines - Pay and benefits. Tricare for Life beneficiaries are asking about the coming Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. Although enrollment in Part D will be voluntary, people are concerned that, at some point, Congress will make enrollment mandatory for continued participation in the Tricare Prescription Program. This article provides an explanation of why mandatory enrollment is unlikely and provides some arithmetic to help TFL beneficiaries decide whether enrolling in Part D would save money. Page 26 - Newslines - Washington – Delays of the 2006 defense authorization bill until fall creates a cloud of uncertainty over the bill and some of the provisions it contains. Some items in the bill need to be enacted by Oct. 1 to prevent disruption, such as the military death gratuity. This survivor benefit, raised to $100,000 under temporary change in law approved in May, will revert to $12,420 on Oct. 1 unless Congress approves an extension or permanent change in law.

August 15, 2005

Page 14 - Newslines - The Navy - Navy officials want to pump up incentives for healthy lifestyles. This may include cash bonuses to reward sailors who don't smoke, eat well, and workout regularly. Page 15 - Newslines - The Navy - Next summer the US Navy may add elliptical machines and stationary bicycle trainers to the options sailors have for testing their cardiovascular fitness. Currently, the only options include a street run, swimming, or treadmill. (Will the PHS follow suit in the future?) Page 36 - Newslines - Pay and Benefits - New $30 million National Armed Forces Physical Rehabilitation Center to be completed by Jan. 2007 in San Antonio, TX. The center will offer troops top-notch amputee care.

August 22, 2005

Page 6 – FastTrack – What did you do in the war, Granny? Five members of the Tucson, Ariz., chapter of the Raging Grannies pleaded not guilty in a July incident where they tried to enlist in the military and go to Iraq so some younger people would not have to deploy. The women ranged in age from 55 to 81. Page 23 – Newslines – Lawmakers brush off request for benefits freeze. White House pleas for a one-year moratorium on major improvements in military pay and benefits do not seem to have dissuaded lawmakers from floating a long list of proposals to the 2006 defense authorization bill. When the Senate returns after Labor Day to work on the bill, they face more than 150 pending amendments to the bill and no limit on how many more could be offered, including many that would increase pay, allowances, and other benefits. Page 25 – Newslines – Germ ‘complicates care’ at military hospitals. Military doctors and nurses are stepping up their fight against the spread of a germ that has been entering military hospitals via sick and wounded troops evacuated from war zones. Service members admitted to military hospitals from overseas are assumed to be carrying the potentially fatal Acinetobacter baumanii bacterium until proven otherwise.

August 29, 2005

Page 13 - Newslines (The Navy) - U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th circuit found that Tricare is barred by law from paying for abortions except when the mother's life is in danger. The case is with regard to a Navy wife who sued to have her aborted pregnancy paid for by Tricare. Her fetus had anencephaly (no cerebellum or forebrain), which even the judges acknowledged is an ultimately and unequivocally fatal birth defect. Page 23 - Newslines (Pay and Benefits) - Some 1940's era Armed Services Exchange regulations designed to protect civilian stores outside military gates are being revamped. In particular, the exchanges will begin selling big screen projection TV's (in time for the Super Bowl). Page 33 - Newslines (Washington) - Push for drug refills by mail. A pilot program at three bases showed the DOD could save money if it transferred its refill pharmacy business from military installations to the Dept. of Veterans Affair's Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy. DOD is awaiting the results of a Rand think tank study before making any decisions on the preliminary data. Page 40 - Lifelines - Track workouts should be the most grueling part of any workout. A number of track exercises are detailed in this article.