Rao bulletin 15 January 2015 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles
Soldiers relax after completing the land navigation course at the 2014 Army Reserve
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- ******************************** Army Modular Handgun Program ► M9A3 Monkey Wrench
- ******************************** USMC Tuition Aid Update 01 ► Stricter 2015 Program
- ******************************** DANA ► Frontline Brain Thermometer
- ******************************** Military Retirement Pay Update 01 ► Congress Went too Far in 2006
- Star-rank officers won’t get a 2015 pay raise.
- EXECUTIVE PAY CAP LIFTED
- ******************************** Medal of Honor Citations ► Vandegrift, Alexander Archer WWII
- The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor To
Soldiers relax after completing the land navigation course at the 2014 Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition. Time commitment. One weekend … or maybe more. "For people who are leaving active duty and join a National Guard or Reserve unit, the thing they don't know is the actual time commitment," said Sgt. 1st Class Ann Marie Schult-Slosser, who joined the Illinois Army National Guard after 12 years of active duty. "As a senior officer, those two days a month are not adequate to complete all the tasks: Not the administrative tasks, not your job tasks. A lot of Guardsmen think nothing of spending their personal time to get things accomplished. They use their personal vehicles, their personal computers. That was a surprise to me." Health(ier) care. The brochure promises discount health care, but members may be surprised at just how deep that discount goes, especially if they've just left active duty for the private sector. The average family pays $204 a month for Tricare Reserve Select, while the average commercial policy runs $304, said Andy Jandik, spokesperson for Navy Reserve Minneapolis. The savings may come as a happy surprise to many. The money may also be better than expected. You'll drill at your full active-duty rate, with a drill weekend equivalent to four days of active-duty pay, Jandik said. Between all ranks, that averages to $400 for the weekend. Finding your groove. Staff Sgt. Neil Limber left active duty in 2011 after nine years and joined the Illinois Army National Guard. Like many in the same position, he felt unprepared for the shift in routine. "I didn't know the daily lifestyle, what normally happens — the battle rhythm," he said. "Coming off active duty, the days were very regimented. You start off with PT; you have your normal duty job; you go home at a certain time. It was very structured." That approach doesn't work in the Guard, where service is just one aspect of people's working lives. Rather than feel out of sync, Limber has tried to turn the new mentality to his advantage. "I speak with my soldiers during the month, to make a game plan for the drill weekend. If there's anything we can do beforehand, we will get that done so we're not just running around until late in the evening when our weekend comes," he said. Making contacts. Few people join the reserves thinking they will be advancing their civilian careers, but often the two go hand in hand. Reserve service can connect you to prominent people in the community. Show a strong work ethic and professional ability, and you may get noticed by someone in a position to help your career, said Master Sgt. Shawn J. Jones, a public affairs specialist working for the Air Force Reserve Command Recruiting Service. "It's certainly not unusual to hear stories about how unintentional networking during Reserve duty helped a citizen airman find a civilian job," Jones said. Being prepared. On active duty, you're always at the ready, physically and mentally, said Gunnery Sgt. Robert Noyes, a career planner in the 4th Marine Division in New Orleans. That's not always so in the reserve components. To stay in top form, reservists need to take greater responsibility for their personal program. "You need to find ways to challenge yourself to continue to be physically ready. You have to continue your routine outside the drill weekend," Noyes said. "Mentally, you need stay engaged if you are going to lead Marines. You have to stay up on the latest news and the latest policies so that you can influence Marines and train Marines when the drill weekend comes." In the balance. For Schult-Slosser, Guard service is worth balancing these pros and cons. "With 12 and a half years of active-duty service, I didn't want to lose my retirement potential. I wanted to maintain my proficiency, and I wanted to keep my foot in the door with regard to deployment because I love deploying," she said. "And I think that being a soldier in any capacity is a worthwhile cause." [Source: ArmyTimes | Adam Stone | Dec. 27, 2014 ++] ******************************** Army Modular Handgun Program ► M9A3 Monkey Wrench They may as well call it the M9A3 Monkey Wrench. Beretta USA has submitted an engineering change proposal (ECP) for the M9 pistol contract in a move that could short circuit the Army’s attempts to outfit soldiers with a brand new pistol. The ECP comes within days of the expected release date of the Army’s final request for proposal documents that outline the government’s requirements to industry for its new Modular Handgun System. The Army has stated the final RFP would be posted in early January 2015. Drafts of the new contract call for as many as 750,000 new pistols in orders that would be split among the service branches. In an October 2014 press release the Army stated they plan to purchase 287,000 pistols while other military services may purchase as many as 212,000. In addition to pistols, the contract calls for magazines, holsters, spare parts, maintenance and testing equipment, suppressors, and training, placing the value of the contract anywhere from $650 million to more than $1 billion dollars depending on exercised options. Beretta USA Vice President of Military Sales and Marketing Gebriele de Plano says the proposed M9A3 program would cost less than the current M9 and says they could implement the ECP on the remaining 80,000 pistols that are part of the government’s existing 2012 order for 100,000 M9 pistols. Aside from savings, there are other compelling reasons why the M9A3 could derail the Army’s modular handgun program. Beretta says the M9A3 is compatible with current holsters and accessories, and soldiers will need little or no retraining to operate and maintain the pistol. Beretta says the pistols are similar enough that the major components of the M9 and M9A3 can be swapped with one another. This means current and future pistols can be maintained and upgraded with existing parts stockpiles and major components can be swapped in the field in an emergency. 
The updated M9A3 configuration features a long list of improvements that address many gripes soldier’s have voiced over the M9’s nearly thirty years fielded as the Army’s service pistol. The list of new features and improvements include a 1/2″- 28 TPI threaded barrel, Tritium night sights and a removable, dovetail front sight, a three-lug Picatinny accessory rail, a recontoured safety selector that is angled 10 degrees upward to avoid accidental engagement during slide racking, a smaller, a slimmer grip with aggressive front and backstrap checkering, an included wraparound grip cover that increases the grip size to that of the original M9, an oversized, reversible magazine release, a beveled magazine well, a sand-resistant 17-round magazine and an earth tone Cerakote finish. Another major change is the addition of a new universal slide that accepts Beretta’s ‘G’ decocker-only conversion kit. Under the hood improvements include a third generation barrel and locking block with improved geometry that Beretta says will last more than 20,000 rounds. A polymer recoil spring guide rod, improved extractor pin and other improvements to small components round out the list of M9A3 upgrades. The Army’s MHS program seeks to address lethality concerns with the existing pistol and its 9mm round, however. Should the Army ignore the M9A3 proposal, one reason may be because they are looking for a handgun system in a larger caliber. The Army’s exploration of an alternate caliber has already become controversial. Moving away from the 9mm round would erase interoperability with NATO members. Depending on several factors, larger caliber rounds increase the weight of ammunition, reduce the amount of ammunition a pistol can carry, affect recoil and in some situations can increase wear on weapon systems. If the M9A3 fails to peak the interest of the Army, the proposal could find support in fiscally conservative members of Congress that may ask the Army to justify the cost of a new start pistol program compared to the price of upgrading an existing platform. [Source: http://gearscout.militarytimes.com/2014/12/30/the-m9a3-berettas-shrewd-move Dec. 30, 2014 ++] ********************************_Military_Retirement_Pay_Update_01_►_Congress_Went_too_Far_in_2006'>********************************_DANA_►_Frontline_Brain_Thermometer'>********************************_USMC_Tuition_Aid_Update_01_►_Stricter_2015_Program'>******************************** USMC Tuition Aid Update 01 ► Stricter 2015 Program The Marine Corps recently published details of its fiscal 2015 tuition assistance program, incorporating stricter requirements created earlier this year. The most notable among them stipulates that Marines who do not successfully complete a course for which they received TA will have to pay the money back. Satisfactory completion means a C or higher for undergraduate courses and a B or higher for graduate studies, according to Marine administrative message 687/14, signed Dec. 30. Those who do not meet those requirements will be unable to take additional courses using TA until they have paid the service back. Among other requirements, Marines can only use TA for tuition and not associated course costs like lab fees. Also, first-time applicants must have completed at least 24 months of active-duty service, according to other rule highlighted by the MARADMIN. (Source: MarineCorpsTimes | Staff | Jan. 06, 2015 ++] ******************************** DANA ► Frontline Brain Thermometer Army medics will soon use what's been dubbed a "brain thermometer": a mobile phone application that can, within minutes, provide health professionals data to help diagnose and measure a soldier's injuries. The Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment, produced by AnthroTronix (DANA), includes five-, 20- and 45-minute batteries of both neurocognitive tests and psychological survey questions. DANA will not only help a health professional diagnose traumatic brain injury, but also provide valuable information that can help isolate depression, post-traumatic stress, and other neurocognitive issues, according to AnthroTronix CEO Corinna Lathan. The test, similar to a video game, consists of various on-screen exercises during which a soldier's speed and accuracy are scored. Ultimately, a medical provider — potentially in theater — would analyze the post-injury test in concert with the pre-deployment baseline tests. "In essence, measuring reaction time is like taking the temperature of the brain," Lathan said in an Army news release. "It's a vital part of the data that any health professional needs to evaluate his patient." The Army, this fall, received Food and Drug Administration clearance, said Lt. Col. Chessley Atchison, the program manager for the Technology Enabled Capability Demonstration: Brain in Combat portfolio of the Combat Casualty Care Research Program. That clearance means it's safe to use; the FDA did not test its clinical usefulness. It also means providers can use the tool in the field, though the Army is not pushing it on clinicians at this point. The tool has tested as reliable and durable in a variety of harsh combat environments in a peer-reviewed study in the Military Medicine journal, Lathan said. A Johns Hopkins researcher found in another study that its results correlated highly with the mini-mental state examination, regarded as a highly reliable cognitive impairment assessment tool in clinical and research settings. The new tool will continue to be vetted for battlefield use, the Army reports, and work is underway to use it with tablets in addition to smartphones. "Once we get it right, we're going to put it fairly far forward in the field," Atchison said. There are also ongoing studies of the tool regarding its capacity to help assess concussions with the athletic department at the University of Wisconsin and PTSD at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The tool will not replace the mandated pencil-and-paper Military Acute Concussion Evaluation as an in-theater assessment, nor the computer-based Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metric used for a pre-deployment baselines. Atchison said that would be a matter of policy and doctrine changes outside the scope of the joint project. But clinicians can used DANA now to supplement that information. [Source: ArmyTimes | Kyle Jahner } Jan. 03, 2015 ++] ******************************** Military Retirement Pay Update 01 ► Congress Went too Far in 2006 At the urging of then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Congress in 2006 took aggressive steps to raise pay and future retirement of currently serving general and admirals, particularly those serving beyond 30 years. Having been a well-compensated industry executive, Rumsfeld viewed admirals and generals as underpaid. Besides raising star-rank pay, he wanted the military basic pay table expanded to incentivize longer service. He got what he wanted, and maybe more. In September 2006, a newly retired member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who served 38 years drew initial retired pay of $114,000 a year. Today a JCS member retiring after 38 years draws more than double that amount, about $241,000. If that four-star officer completes a 40-year career, his or her retired pay today would be higher. Four officers today receive more than $256,000 in retired pay and one get more than $277,000, according to the Defense Department actuary. 
Star-rank officers won’t get a 2015 pay raise. The fact is generals and admirals recently have been enjoying a kind of golden age of star-rank compensation, shaped in wartime and not likely to be seen again, particularly given a change in law that takes effect 1 JAN. Star-rank officers won’t get a 2015 pay raise. More significantly, any additional years they serve won’t have the hefty consequences on retired pay seen since 2006. Star-rank annuities jumped so far and fast that recently retired three-star and four-star officers now make considerably more in retired pay than did while on active duty. That’s true even counting housing allowance of about $40,000 annually or, more often, the comparable value of residing in three-star and four-star base housing. Congress included in the fiscal 2015 Defense Authorization Act a provision that phases out a “too generous” retired pay anomaly gradually, fully protecting the pay of senior officers already retired and easing the impact too on currently serving officers who already wear stars. The universe of three- and four-star officers drawing more pay in retirement than they did on active duty is small, about 130. But the pay disparity is large, $70,000 or more for some O-9s and O-10s above what they received in basic pay while on active duty. To understand why, we need to look at all of the levers Congress pulled seven years ago: RETIRED PAY MUTIPLIER – Before 2007, service members received no retirement credit for years served beyond 30. The multiplier for calculating retired pay was still 2.5 percent of basic pay per year served but the years were capped at 30, capping retirement at 75 percent of basic pay. Effective Jan. 1, 2007, the 30-year cap was lifted for retirements on or after that date. Service members who stayed beyond 30 could continue to earn 2.5 percent of basic pay toward retirement, all the way to 40 years where annuities top out at 100 percent of basic pay. 40-YEAR PAY TABLE – On April 1, 2007, a 40-year pay table went into effect, adding new “longevity” steps in basic pay for officers O-6 and above, warrant officers in grades 4 and 5, and enlisted E-8s and E-9s. Longer-serving O-8s saw two new longevity raises at 30 and 34 years. E-9s, W-5s, O-9s and O-10s saw three, at 30, 34 and 38 years. So for longer careers, the combination of higher retired pay multipliers and added longevity raises led to far more generous retirements. EXECUTIVE PAY CAP LIFTED – Before 2007, basic pay for generals and admirals could not exceed Executive Level III pay for federal civilians. Even with retired pay limited by the 75 percent multiplier, this executive level pay cap led to a dampening of star-rank annuities. Congress raised that cap to Executive Level II on Jan. 1, 2007, which lifted basic pay for senior officers sharply. Today that change alone adds more than $14,600 to senior officer pay. But then Congress granted one more big favor. It changed the law so that the executive level pay cap is ignored in calculating retired pay of flag and general officers. The effect of all of these changes was huge. A member of the Joint Chief who retired in April 2007 with 38 years service began drawing retired pay 83 percent higher than the JCS member who retired after 38 years in September 2006 or earlier. Four-star retired pay popped by $95,000. Longer serving enlisted members also benefited, at least from the 40-year pay chart and expanded retired pay multiplier. An E-9 retiring in April 2007 after 38 years drew 53 percent more retired pay than a colleague of equal grade and longevity who retired seven months earlier. Congress never expressed a regret about the generous star-rank retirement it voted until last January. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the COLA-minus-1 fiasco, when Congress rushed to cut the value of military retirement then quickly reversed itself, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) referred to news article. Today’s highest-ranking officers, she said quoting from the piece, could earn more military compensation in retirement than that did while on active duty. Wasn’t that a negative incentive to continue to serve, she asked. The committee found no proof that it was. However, it didn’t seem right that retired pay exceeded active duty compensation by a wide margin. So senators included language in the 2015 defense bill (HR 3979) that restores the Executive Level II cap on retired pay calculations. The change is designed to land softly, however. It applies only to years served after 2014. “That means if you’ve earned above the cap up until this point, you can keep that but go no higher,” explained one congressional aide. “And if you retired before Dec. 31, 2014, this doesn’t even apply.” So finance centers will conduct two computations to determine retired pay of senior officers serving today and will use the one that delivers higher annuities. One calculation will be retired pay based on current law and rank at retirement, capped at Executive Level II, which is $183,300 for 2015. A second will determine retired pay these officers would have if they retired on Dec. 31, 2014, at the rank then held and years then served. The second calculation will protect a lot of retired pay at first, and become less important over time. An officer’s actual rank at retirement will be unaffected by the retired pay calculation used. [Source: Stars & Stripes | Tom Philpott | Dec. 31, 2014 ++] ******************************** Medal of Honor Citations ► Vandegrift, Alexander Archer WWII 
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor To Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2015 2015 -> Police Militarization 2015 -> 2015 ihbb championships: hs history Bowl Round 4 – Prelims First Quarter 2015 -> Wrtp/big step · 3841 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, wi 53208 2015 -> Rao bulletin 1 December 2015 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles 2015 -> Darton College 2015 -> Training Workshop on Planning and Implementation of Multi-Sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) in Bihar Date : 6th 2015 -> Rao bulletin 15 June 2015 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles 2015 -> Rao bulletin 1 September 2015 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles 2015 -> Rao bulletin 1 August 2015 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles 2015 -> Science, and transportation united states senate Download 6.84 Mb. Share with your friends:
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