Weekly newsletter of the Fleet Reserve Association
April 20, 2018
In this issue:
House Guard & Reserve
Caucus Breakfast
Bills to Expand VA Choice Stall
Commandant Hearing in Senate
New Study on Military Suicide
FRA Co-sponsors House Guard and
Reserve Caucus Breakfast
As part of its strong support of Sea Services
Reserve Component enlisted personnel, FRA joined other military and veterans'
organizations in co-sponsoring the House Guard and Reserve Caucus breakfast on
Capitol Hill. Representative Steven Palazzo (Miss.), co-chair of the bipartisan
caucus, directed the meeting. Attendees included caucus members Rep. Bobby
Scott (Va.), Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio) and Rep. Mike Coffman (Colo.), legislative
staff, Reserve Component senior enlisted leaders and members of key military
associations, including FRA.
Speakers included General Joseph L. Lengyel,
who is the Chief of the National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff; Rear Admiral Andrew McKinley Director, Reserve & Military Personnel,
U.S. Coast Guard; Lieutenant General Rex McMillian Commander of Marine Forces
Reserve; and Lieutenant General Mary Ann Miller, Air Force Reserve. The Navy
Reserve was not present at the meeting.
USMCR Lt. Gen. McMillian stated to the group
that the Marine Reserves are at 99 percent of end strength. He explained the
difficulties faced when Congress does not pass a budget which results in
limited training. Additionally stating that 16,000 Marines were scheduled to go
to training this past year, but only 8,000 actually received training. He also
thanked the staff NCOs for their dedication and professionalism.
USCGR Rear Admiral Andrew McKinley informed
the audience that his authorized end strength is 7,000 but only has 6,200. He
also mentioned that the Coast Guard Reserve has been mobilized seven times
since September 11, 2001.
USAFR Lt. Gen. Mary Ann Miller pointed out
that the reserves have 96 percent of their needed pilots and the shortage of
pilots in the active duty Air Force is much worse. She claimed the Air Force
end strength has been reduced by 30,000 over the past eight years.
Bills to Expand VA Choice Stall in
House and Senate
In December, both the House Veterans' Affairs
Committee (HVAC) and the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee (SVAC) passed
legislation improving VA Choice. The SVAC passed "Caring for Our Veterans
Act" (S.2193) and HVAC passed "The VA Care in the Community
Act" (H.R.4242). Both bills streamline the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) community care accounts into one veteran-centric program that replaces the
Choice Program, removing the current 30-day, 40-mile requirement to give
veterans more timely access to community care.
The Senate bill (S.2193), unlike its House
companion bill (H.R.4242), includes expansion of the VA Caregiver program.
Currently, the program only provides benefits to veterans disabled on or after
September 11, 2001. FRA's 2018 Legislative Agenda calls for extending the VA
Caregivers Act to full-time caregivers of catastrophically disabled veterans
from conflicts before September 11, 2001.
Despite initial success, the bills have
stalled. Efforts to include the bill on the FY2018 omnibus spending bill failed
and there are legislators concerned about how much care should be provided
outside the VA. Previous VA Secretary David Shulkin supported the expansion of
choice but his untimely termination did not help move these bills
forward.
Members are urged to use the FRA
Action Center to weigh in on this issue and encourage your Senators to
support the Senate bill (S.2193).
CG Commandant Designee Hearing in
Senate
As first reported in the March 16, 2018
Newsbytes, President Trump has appointed Vice Admiral Karl Schultz to take over
as the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. This appointment requires Senate
confirmation and will replace Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft after he steps
down later this year.
Recently the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation held a confirmation hearing for Vice Adm. Schultz.
Acting Committee Chairman Senator Roger Wicker (Miss.) described Schultz as
"Well qualified."
Schultz indicated the Coast Guard had a
tremendous year and has shown its value by seizing an estimated $6.6 billion
worth of cocaine, apprehending more than 600 smugglers and responding to the
busy hurricane season. Adm. Schultz described the Coast Guard as an
"unparalleled relevance." Schultz continued by saying the Coast Guard
will remain responsive to the Nation's needs and stay true to their motto of
"Semper Paratus" (always ready) by being ready, relevant and
responsive.
During questioning, Schultz pointed out that
Congress's Continuing Resolutions are problematic for the Coast Guard. They
interfere with the civilian employees as well as maintaining force readiness.
He communicated to the committee that he agrees with Admiral Zukunft about
needing a 5 percent budget increase just for maintenance purposes.
Some other topics discussed during the
hearing included the number of ice breakers needed, the new Coast Guard museum,
the Coast Guard's role in the opioid epidemic, and a $1.6 billion backlog in
maintenance and sexual misconduct.
Vice Admiral Schultz has been with the Coast
Guard for more than 30 years and has headed its operations in the Atlantic area
since 2016. If confirmed, he would become the 26th Commandant of the Coast
Guard.
New Study on Military Suicide
Recently, a new military suicide study was
published in the Journal of American Medical Associations (JAMA) Psychiatry
from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. It indicated an
increase in suicide risk when service members are repeatedly deployed with six
months or less between rotations; and also when being sent to war too soon
after they join the military. Unfortunately, by having troops present in
Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, frequent deployment has become common in the
military.
The study looked at 593 men and women in the
U.S. Army who had been deployed twice and who attempted suicide between 2004
and 2009. The research looked for specific factors affecting suicide risk. FRA
has long sought improved mental health service for deployed active duty as a
vital priority, along with a better understanding of these conditions.
_______________
|