Rao bulletin 1 August 2017 html edition
Download 5.83 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- NDAA 2018 Update 08 ► TREA 19 JUL SITREP
- NDAA 2018 Update 09 ► VA Medical Tests Using Dogs
- DoD Fraud, Waste, Abuse ► Reported 16 thru 31 JUL 2017 Red River Army Depot, TX
- POW/MIA Recoveries ► Reported 16 thru 31 JUL 2017 | Sixteen
- Vietnam
NDAA 2018 Update 07 ► Taiwan China reiterated it is firmly against any military contacts between the United States and Taiwan, after the passage of a new U.S. defense bill that could lead to American warships visiting Taiwan. "China firmly opposes any forms of official exchange and military contact between the U.S. and Taiwan," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said 17 JUL. Kang said Beijing had made "stern representations" to Washington over the section on Taiwan in the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2018, which was passed Friday by Congress. The bill directs the Pentagon to submit a report to Congress on the possibility of reestablishing port calls between the U.S. and Taiwanese navies. It also calls for increased training for Taiwan's military and encourages it to increase defense spending. Beijing has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the 1940s and tries to limit the island's international profile. [Source: VOA News | July 17, 2017 ++] *********************** NDAA 2018 Update 08 ► TREA 19 JUL SITREP The House and Senate have been working on their own versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which they must pass each year. While they are behind schedule, the House of Representatives finally passed its version of the NDAA on 14 JUL and the Senate Armed Services Committee released its version a few days later. The House NDAA authorizes increases in the size of Army, Navy, Air Force, Army Guard and Reserve, Naval and Air Reserve, and Air Guard and it fully funds the 2.4% pay raise for active duty personnel while blocking the President's ability to reduce troop pay. It also extends special pay and bonuses for servicemembers. The bill prohibits the attempt to close military medical facilities which are outside of the United States and which deployed troops and their families rely on. It also permits the services to reimburse a service member up to $500 for a spouse's expenses related to obtaining licensing or certification in another state because of a military move. Perhaps the best news is that the House NDAA makes no changes to TRICARE For Life, TRICARE Prime, or last year's new TRICARE Select. It also keeps the current grandfathered fee structure which means those now serving and retired servicemembers and families will not face the large fee hikes included in last year's defense authorization bill. Only those who enter the service after Jan. 1, 2018 will come under the increased fee structure. The Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the FY2017 NDAA is a different story, however. The Senate's version of the NDAA increases TRICARE pharmacy co-payments and repeals the grandfathered TRICARE fee structure that we just received when Congress was changing the complete structure of TRICARE. The House's version on the other hand, proposes to maintain the current grandfathered TRICARE fee structure and drug co-pays with any future fee increases only tied to COLAs. The Senate uses part of the money that saves to fund permanent survivor allowances and to extend TRICARE Reserve Select along with paying for funding readiness. If the Senate gets its way, co-pays will rise from 2018 through 2026 for prescriptions filled at TRICARE retail outlets or through its mail order program. Your cost for a 30-day supply of a brand drug at retail would climb to $28 in 2018 and $45 in 2026 and for a 90-day supply by mail order or 30 days of a brand drug on the DoD formulary you would pay $28 in 2018 and $45 by 2026. Costs for a generic drug at retail would climb from $10 to $14 by 2026. And while generic drugs ordered through the mail currently are free, the Senate wants to add a $10 co-pay for mail order generic, which would increase to $14 by 2026. Obviously, this continues the trend of Congress wanting military personnel to pay more for their health care. Now Congress, or at least the Senate Armed Services Committee, wants to start charging co-pays for generic drugs ordered through the mail and also take away the grandfathering in of working-age retirees they voted for just last year and now force them to start paying several higher TRICARE fees. Below is a chart created by MOAA that shows the different pending proposals: 
[Source: TREA Washington Update | July 19, 2017 ++] *********************** NDAA 2018 Update 09 ► VA Medical Tests Using Dogs The House voted 26 JUL to ban all Department of Veterans Affairs medical testing that causes pain to dogs, language that is now part of a multi-agency funding bill. By voice vote, lawmakers approved an amendment that would prevent the VA from spending any money on those tests. The bipartisan proposal was offered by Reps. Dave Brat (R-VA) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). "My amendment combines three bipartisan issues — puppies, veterans, and government accountability," Brat said on the House floor. Lawmakers will now vote on the dog testing ban as part of the chamber's "minibus," a bundle of four national security appropriations bills they are angling to pass before the August recess. Brat and Titus began working on legislation this year after reports of experimentation on dogs at the McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Va., where he said the animals were given amphetamines and experienced induced heart attacks. "From what I read, the type of work that they were doing was on the level of torture," Brat said. Titus said the VA should not be using taxpayer money to fund the painful and unnecessary experimental procedures when technological advances offer other options to live animal testing. "In our culture, [dogs] are considered cherished pets, and they are a member of the family; they are not to be used for experiments," Titus said. "I firmly believe we should not be using taxpayer dollars to perform painful and unnecessary experimental procedures when we have technological advances that can move us toward alternative methods." [Source: Washington Examiner | Travis J. Tritten | July 26, 2017 ++] ++] ********************** DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ► Reported 16 thru 31 JUL 2017 Red River Army Depot, TX -- An ex-inspector at the Red River Army Depot in Texas must serve more than two years in prison and repay the government $762,000 for stealing parts and selling them for scrap. Jason Allen Autrey of Maud in February pleaded guilty to theft of government property, in a plea agreement involving stolen military items. Prosecutors say the 37-year-old Autrey was sentenced Friday in Texarkana to 30 months in federal prison, plus must make restitution. Investigators say Autrey, from July 2015 to May 2016, stole batteries and armor kits while working as a heavy equipment mechanic inspector at the depot in Northeast Texas. [Source: The Associated Press, July 18, 2017 ++] *********************** POW/MIA Recoveries ► Reported 16 thru 31 JUL 2017 | Sixteen “Keeping the Promise“, “Fulfill their Trust“ and “No one left behind“ are several of many mottos that refer to the efforts of the Department of Defense to recover those who became missing while serving our nation. The number of Americans who remain missing from conflicts in this century are: World War II more than 73,000, Korean War more than 7800, Vietnam War more than 1600, Cold War (126), Iraq and other conflicts (5). Over 600 Defense Department men and women -- both military and civilian -- work in organizations around the world as part of DoD's personnel recovery and personnel accounting communities. They are all dedicated to the single mission of finding and bringing our missing personnel home. For a listing of all personnel accounted for since 2007 refer to http://www.dpaa.mil/ and click on ‘Our Missing’. If you wish to provide information about an American missing in action from any conflict or have an inquiry about MIAs, contact: == Mail: Public Affairs Office, 2300 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-2300, Attn: External Affairs == Call: Phone: (703) 699-1420 == Message: Fill out form on http://www.dpaa.mil/Contact/ContactUs.aspx 
Family members seeking more information about missing loved ones may also call the following Service Casualty Offices: U.S. Air Force (800) 531-5501, U.S. Army (800) 892-2490, U.S. Marine Corps (800) 847-1597, U.S. Navy (800) 443-9298, or U.S. Department of State (202) 647-5470. The remains of the following MIA/POW’s have been recovered, identified, and scheduled for burial since the publication of the last RAO Bulletin: Vietnam The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced the identification of remains and burial update of 3 U.S. servicemen who had been previously listed as missing in action from Vietnam. Returning home for burial with full military honors are: Directory: uploads uploads -> 587 Return function, r i(X) r i(0) r i(1) r i(2) r i(3) 1 0 2 4 6 Thermal Station, I 2 0 1 5 6 3 0 3 5 6 10 uploads -> Department of science and humanities department of mathematics part-a questions and answers uploads -> The Case Against the nypd’s Quota-Driven ‘Broken Windows’ Policing What Is It? uploads -> For want of a nail uploads -> Ownership Models There are two different types of ownership models uploads -> Police Militarization uploads -> City of rising star regular meting thursday, july 14, 2016 uploads -> Township of winfield uploads -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 uploads -> The Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program What We Want Now! Download 5.83 Mb. Share with your friends:
|