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Please Help Us

The Association lost many records in the fiasco of the Virginia Beach office. Several recipients of the Non Sibi, Sed Patriae award have expressed an interest on forming a Non Sibi, Sed Patriae Society as a part of the Association. Unfortunately we no longer have the records of who has received the award. We ask the membership to help us out in this matter.



The e-WORD
October-November-December 2009

EDITORIAL COMMENT


I find it necessary to apologize for the fact that I have been unable to find the time to prepare the e-WORD on a monthly basis as I had planned to do. I also ran into some technical problems trying to send out the MCRA e-Newsletter to those of you who have provided e-mail addresses. Hopefully the new year will find the Association in better shape to continue on with the mission and bring members more information and to work on behalf of the membership as well as the Marine Corps Reserve and the Marine Corps as a whole. As we struggle to recover from the financial disaster of Virginia Beach, we continue as best we can to carry-out the essential functions of the Association. I'm sure many of you would like to know the details of the Virginia Beach fiasco, but at this time we are working with the Virginia Beach police and we find it to be in the best interests of the Association to refrain from commenting on the situation at this time.

For well more than a year Tom Green has been working on recovering our database, but through no fault of the good Gunny, most of his efforts brought us no closer to an operational database for the Association than we were two years ago. Several months ago the Board of Directors appointed Tom and myself to the task of creating a database which we could have under our own control and not be dependent on an outside provider. Tom and I have researched the problem with some assistance from the Marine Heritage Foundation. In November we agreed on a package and presented our opinion to the Board. With the Board's approval, we began to to work on recreating the database from available records, some of which are old, making it difficult to track down some people. One of the reasons I haven't put time into publishing the e-WORD is that I have been spending beaucoup hours trying to "sanitize" the records we have. Considering the size of the problem, we have also enlisted the services of Gary Schroeder to help resolve some of the problems we have with duplicate records (members with two or more addresses on record).

Your Board of Directors has also been working on other matters of running the Association. We have scheduled an Association Annual Meeting for the first week-end in February. This will include a vote on proposed changes to the Association by-laws, and an election of officers. I will be putting a proxy statement on the Web as soon as a slate of nominees is finalized. Members who are unable to attend the meeting in person are strongly encouraged to vote using the form provided on the Web site.

The LPM



THE MILITARY COALITION
GUARD and RESERVE COMMITTEE
Legislative Goals For 2010

One of the activities of your Association is to work with "The Military Coalition" on behalf of our entire military community. The following is a list of the legislative goals of "The Military Coalition."

Reserve Retirement Under 'Operational Reserve' Policy – TMC deeply appreciates Congress’ passage of prospective early retirement for certain activated members of the Guard and Reserve, effective 28 January 2008. However, in recognition of the continuing service and sacrifice of Reserve Component members and as an inducement to longer service and to maintain the Operational Reserve Force, more must be done.

TMC strongly urges further progress in revamping the reserve retirement system in recognition of increased service and sacrifice of Reserve Component members, including at a minimum, extending the new authority for a 90 day retirement reduction for the initial, three months and each succeeding month to all Guard and Reserve members who have served since 9/11 following commencement of orders.

The TMC further believes as the nation is committed to increase utilization of Reserve Components and to maintain and retain a viable Operational Reserve Force we must move forward to provide a reduced retirement pay age entitlement for all Reserve Component members, that is an age / service formula or outright retirement at age 55 to include provisions for 'gray area' retirees, and to include TRICARE access.

Reserve mission increases and a smaller force mean Guard-Reserve members must devote far more of their working lives to military service than envisioned in 1948. Repeated, extended activations make it more difficult to sustain a full civilian career and will impede Reservists' ability to build a full civilian retirement, 401(k), etc. Regardless of statutory protections, periodic long-term absences from the civilian workplace can only limit Guard-Reserve members' upward mobility, employability and financial security. Further, strengthening the reserve retirement system will serve as an incentive to retaining critical mid-career officers and NCOs for continued service and thereby enhance readiness. Recent improvements in the Reserve Retirement system excluded those that have already given tremendous sacrifices. The country can ill afford to treat service members, their families, and their employers in this manner.

  • TMC most strongly urges Congress to authorize early retirement credit to all Guard and Reserve members who have served on active duty tours of at least 90 days retroactive to September 11, 2001. Ultimately, TMC supports modernizing the reserve retirement system to reflect the increased service and sacrifice of operational reservists including appropriate credit for active and inactive duty service.
Wounded Warrior and Seamless Transition for Activated Guard and Reserve and Their Families - Over 725,000 members of the Guard and Reserve have been activated since 9/11. Congressional hearings and media reports have documented the fact that at separation, many of these service members do not receive the transition services they and their families need to make a successful readjustment to civilian status. TMC goals:

  • Fund and field “yellow ribbon reintegration” programs by modeling best practices in states like Maryland and Minnesota and ensure that Federal Reserve veterans have access to services and support that are available to National Guard veterans.

  • Implement GAO recommendations (GAO Rpt. 08-901) for the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program.

  • Speed development and implementation of bi-directional, standards-based electronic medical records between DoD-VA systems.

  • Oppose distinguishing between disabilities incurred in combat versus non-combat in determining military and veterans’ disability compensation.

  • Authorize "Flexible Spending Account" claims filing for a prior reporting year after return from active duty for mobilized Guard and Reserve members.

  • Authorize employers and employees to contribute to 401(k) and 403(b) accounts during active duty service of at least 90 days.

  • Permit waivers on scheduled licensing / certification / promotion exams scheduled during a mobilization.
Full Veteran Status For Certain Guard/Reserve Retirees


Some Guard and Reserve servicemembers complete 20 years of qualifying service for retirement without having been called to active duty service during their careers. At age 60, they are entitled to reserve military retired pay, government health care and other benefits of service including some veterans’ benefits. However, current statute denies them full standing as a “veteran” of the armed forces. TMC goal:

Amend Title 38 to include in the definition(s) of 'veteran' retirees of the Guard / Reserve components who have completed 20 or more years of service, but are not considered to be veterans under the current statutory definitions.

Continuum of Health Care Insurance Options – TMC is very grateful for passage of TRICARE Standard coverage for “Gray Area” reservists in the FY 2011 National Defense Authorization Act. Earlier Congressional upgrades for G-R health care include: TRICARE Reserve Select; P.L.109-233 that requires reinstatement protection of any employment-based civilian health insurance for certain activated G-R members released from their orders prior to a scheduled reporting date. These improvements point to Congressional recognition that Guard and Reserve health care access must be commensurate with their increased responsibilities.

TMC notes that DoD complied with direction from Congress to reduce TRS premiums to the actual cost of coverage. For 2009, monthly TRS premiums have been reduced to $47.51 (vs. $81) for member-only coverage and to $180.17 (vs. $253) for family coverage. TMC believes a review of the current statutory methodology for adjusting premiums based on program costs should be conducted to assess whether any of the costs currently included are in fact costs of maintaining readiness or “costs of doing business” for the Defense Department that don’t contribute to delivering benefit value to beneficiaries (and therefore should be excluded, with the result that premiums would go down).

TMC also notes that the federal government pays the family premium for the Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) program during a period of active duty service performed by Guard or Reserve servicemembers who are Federal workers. From TMC’s perspective, a similar government commitment should be extended as an option to reservists who wish to keep family coverage under existing employer or private health plans.

The lack of a comprehensive dental care program continues to seriously inhibit readiness and deployability of G-R formations and individuals. TMC calls upon Congress to ensure that dental health care resources and policies undergird reserve component service. TMC goals:

  • In principle, TMC believes Congress should establish a moratorium on TRS premium increases and direct DoD to make a determined effort for the most efficient use of resources allocated and to cut waste prior to the consideration of any adjustment in such premiums. TRS is an earned benefit and TMC believes the regulation governing TRS premiums should align with any adjustment applied to covered services for the overall TRICARE population.

  • Seek to make DoD fiscally responsible for medical and dental care to Reservists beginning with the issuance of an alert order and 180 days post mobilization to ensure service members meet readiness standards when DoD facilities are not available within a 50 mile radius of a member's home.

  • Ensure Guard and Reserve members have adequate access and treatment in the DoD and VA health systems for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury following separation from active duty service in a theatre of operations.

  • Allow the option of an equivalent offset to civilian plan premiums during activation - similar to the provision of up to 24 months of FEHB premium coverage for mobilized federal workers.

  • Allow eligibility in Continued Health Care Benefits Program (CHCBP) for Selected Reservists who are voluntarily separating and subject to disenrollment from TRS.

  • Change Gray Area TRICARE item: Permit members of the IRR who qualify for a reserve retirement at age 60 to participate in Gray Area TRICARE Standard as an incentive for their continued service (and higher liability for recall to active duty).

  • Oversee the implementation of Gray Area retiree access to TRICARE Reserve Select to ensure the program is implemented in a timely manner and that this population is not charged above a 100 percent premium level when compared to serving Guard and Reserve members.

  • Allow beneficiaries of the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan who are Selected Reservists the option of participating in TRICARE Reserve Select.
GI Bill – Selected Reservists Left Behind. TMC is most grateful to Congress for passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The Post 9-11 GI Bill incorporates a number of major TMC goals for the GI Bill including benefits that match the cost of education, extension of the post-service usage period to 15 years, and cumulative credit for G-R service on active duty. However, volunteers who join the Selected Reserve were left behind in this legislation. Benefits for joining the Selected Reserve were not upgraded or integrated in the Post-9/11 GI Bill as TMC has long recommended. Today, the ratio between these benefits and active duty Montgomery GI Bill benefits has plunged to 24.9% against a historical ratio of 47-50%. Moreover, these benefits are not just about the principle of “proportional equity” but also are essential to successful recruitment programs for the Guard and Reserve. TMC goals:

  • Restore basic reserve MGIB benefits for initially joining the Selected Reserve to the historic benchmark of 47-50% of active duty benefits. That would raise current rates under Chap. 1606, 10 USC from $329 per month to between $621 - $660 for full time study.

  • Include Title 32 Active Guard Reserve duty toward eligibility for the Post 9/11 GI Bill which will affect about 30,000 full time Guardsmen currently excluded.

  • Ensure all reserve members utilized in post 9-11 in support of contingency operations on active duty orders or transferred out of Selected Reserve status due to loss of their billets in response to downsizing or force structure changes in response to BRAC are afforded opportunity to participate in the GI Bill improvements.

  • Integrate reserve and active duty MGIB laws in Title 38.

  • Enact academic protections for mobilized Guard and Reserve students including: refund guarantees; and, exemption of Federal student loan payments during activation.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) Protections

Activated members often find it difficult to meet their personal financial and legal obligations as a result of military orders. The SCRA was created to ease this burden. The changing nature of civil law and the conditions of service today indicate that the SCRA must be continuously reviewed to protect service families. TMC appreciates passage in 2008 of a change to the SCRA that permits servicemembers facing deployment or PCS to terminate cell phone contracts without financial penalty. TMC goals:

Require institutions of higher education to refund to activated members of the National Guard or Reserve tuition and other fees paid for the program of education the member did not receive academic credit for as a result of a call-up.
  • Permit employers and employees to contribute to defined contribution retirement plans (401(k) – 403(b)) during a period of active duty service performed by Guard and Reserve servicemembers.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)


TMC is grateful for passage in 2008 of USERRA amendments that require faster complaint resolution and more stringent reporting requirements by Federal agencies involved in compliance with the law. Reemployment protections for our nation’s “operational reserve” warriors cannot be over-emphasized. At the same time, TMC sees a need to expand employer incentives – enacted in 2008 -- for retaining Guard-Reserve employees. TMC goals:

  • Extension of USERRA protections to servicemembers working in domestic response operations, such as hurricane or wildfire missions.

  • Clarify that USERRA disputes are not subject to employer-employee binding arbitration agreements

  • Require that States which accept federal funds for any state programs or activities must waive their sovereign immunity in cases of USERRA actions.

  • Give reservists the right to bring their cases against either a State or private employer in their choice of State or US district court. Require courts to act to prevent discriminatory firings.

  • Provide punitive damages in the worst cases of reemployment discrimination.

  • Amend USERRA to require documentation, confirming military service during a period of absence.

  • Make a single entity accountable for overseeing USERRA complaint resolution process.

  • Amend USERRA to preclude an exclusion or waiting period for reinstatement of employer health care.

  • Extend reemployment rights to military spouses who must suspend employment to care for dependent children due to a military sponsor’s deployment.

  • Require the DoL Office of Special Counsel to enforce USERRA for Federal Agencies.
Family Support Programs to Meet the Unique Needs of Guard and Reserve Families. TMC notes considerable progress in outreach and services for returning G-R warriors and their families. But much more needs to be done. Family support programs promote better communication with service members, specialized support for geographically separated Guard and Reserve families and training and back-up for family readiness volunteers. TMC goals:

  • Authorized Travel and Transportation Allowances for a family member or designated representative at Yellow Ribbon Events.

  • Ensure that programs are in place to meet the special information and support needs of families of individual augmentees or those who are geographically dispersed

  • Fund programs between military and community leaders to support service members and families during all phases of deployments

  • Provide robust preventive counseling services for service members and families and training so they know when to seek professional help related to their circumstances

  • Enhance education for Guard and Reserve family members about their rights and benefits.

  • Authorize and fund occasional child care, including preventive respite care, family readiness group meetings and drill time

  • Improve the joint family readiness program to facilitate understanding and sharing of information between all family members
Guard-Reserve Readiness
- DoD and the military services have stated the level of Reserve component contributions to the total force will continue at the same pace for many years. Currently, over 725,000 Guard and Reserve members have been mobilized. Yet, the FY 2007, FY 2009, FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Acts authorized cuts in the Navy Reserve, Air Reserve, or the Army Reserve based only on projected budgets, not mission contribution. The current and projected use of these forces and growing shortages of equipment for training and deployment are causing enormous strains on readiness in the Guard-Reserve. High utilization and turnover and loss of equipment greatly affect retention and recruiting for the Guard and Reserve.

  • We strongly urge Congress to maintain and increase Guard and Reserve force end-strengths across all services, and provide proper funding for their equipment and training.

  • We strongly urge Congress to properly fund NGREA accounts for each service to ensure that an Operational Reserve Component can maintain deployment cycles
Out-of-Pocket Travel Expenses of National Guard and Reserve Members - Restoration of full tax-deductibility of non-reimbursable expenses related to military training was accomplished by the FY04 NDAA using a distance of 100 miles. As other government agencies use a 50-mile minimum for travel compensation, Title 10 should be revised so that "the deductions allowed…for any period during which such individual is more than 50 miles away from home in connection with such services."

Expand Tax Credits for Employers of the Guard and Reserve – TMC is very grateful to Congress for passage in 2008 of a first-ever tax credit for certain small businesses that pay a wage differential to G-R members called to active duty (P.L. 110-245). The new authority expires on 31 December 2009. TMC is pleased to note that this employer benefit recognizes the enormous burdens that America’s employers bear under operational reserve policy. Today's increased OPTEMPO makes employer support more important than ever. Employer pressure is listed as one of the top reasons members of the Guard and Reserve quit. TMC goal:

  • Congress should make permanent and expand employer tax credits as a means to help offset costs associated with employees' Guard or Reserve activities and reinforce employer support.
Reserve Compensation System - Increasing demands of qualifications, mental skills, physical fitness, and training readiness on the Guard and Reserve to perform national security missions at home and abroad and increased training requirements indicate that the compensation system needs to be improved to attract and retain individuals into the Guard/Reserve. The added responsibility and the reality of returning to active duty multiple times over the course of a reserve career require improvements to the compensation package and to make it more equitable with the active component.

  • Allow full-retirement credits for all inactive duty training points earned annually (annual IDT points are capped at 130 presently)

  • Provide parity in special incentive pay:
    o Career enlisted/officer special aviation incentive pay
    o Diving special duty pay
    o Special duty assignment pay

  • Pro-pay for reserve component medical professional

  • Eliminate BAH II, and full BAH for any active duty service

  • Improve Space-A Travel policy for Guard and Reserve member and their spouse

  • Recalculation of Retirement Points After 1 Year Mobilization. Certain recent provisions allow flag and general officers to recalculate retirement pay after one year of mobilizations. TMC believes this opportunity should be made available to ranks.
     o Change USC to permit all ranks, officer and enlisted who are recalled from retirement to have their retired pay recomputed after one year of mobilized – recalled active duty.

  • Improve Reserve Income Replacement program for mobilized reserve components. Sustained and continuous long term activations of Operational Reservists make a civilian income replacement insurance or tax incentive program necessary to maintain readiness and retention

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SPONSORS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL RECEPTION 2009























MEET THE CHALLENGE
Join the PFC Ryan Jerabek USMC Challenge Run on 14 August 2010

Ryan Jerabek, an 18 year old Hobart, Wisconsin, native had served our Nation in the United States Marine Corps with Honor, Courage, and Commitment. Ryan was assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, 2nd Battalion, 4th Regiment, ECHO Co. Weapons Platoon. (2/4 Second to None) He gave his life for the cause of Freedom on 6 April, 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ryan was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V for extraordinary heroism. He also received the Purple Heart. This event is planned to take place on the roads that Ryan ran to prepare himself for his service in the Marine Corps.

The intention of this non-profit event is to honor and thank our veterans, all of our servicemen and women, and to Honor and Remember our Fallen Heroes.

The inspiration and driving force behind this event came from Ryan himself. In his senior year at Pulaski High School, he gave a speech about the Marine Corps. At the end of the speech, he implored his fellow students with the following:

"I'd like to ask of you to thank those who fought and are fighting in the battles to keep this country at the pinnacle of Freedom."
Ryan Jerabek 2 Dec 2002

This event is one way that we can honor Ryan's request.

For more information visit the PFC Ryan Jerabek Challenge Run Web site.
www.jerabekchallenge.us