NewsBytes April 15, 2022
In this issue:
Roundtable on VA Dental Benefit
New MCPOCG and MCPOCGR
HVAC Hearings
Navy Review Certain OTH Discharges
SVAC Roundtable on VA Dental Benefit
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (Mont.), Ranking Member Jerry Moran (Kans.), and Senator Bernie Sanders (Vt.) hosted a bipartisan roundtable with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials to discuss enhancing veterans’ access to dental care. The VA currently provides dental care services to a fraction of veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system, including veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability, veterans with service-connected dental conditions, former prisoners of war, and homeless veterans. According to the VA, only six percent of the almost nine million VA enrollees receive VA dental care.
At the roundtable, the Senators engaged Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Dentistry Patricia Arola in various topics, such as, expanding the VA’s capacity to provide in-house dental care to more veterans, expanding rural veterans’ access to dental services and increasing research on veterans’ dental health programs.
New MCPOCG and MCPOCGR Announced
Master Chief Petty Officer Heath Jones will serve as the next Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG) and Master Chief Petty Officer Timothy A. Beard as the next Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Reserve (MCPOCGR). Jones will relieve MCPOCG Vanderhaden and Beard will relieve MCPOCGR George M. Williamson at a change of watch ceremony scheduled for May 19, 2022, at Training Center Cape May, New Jersey.
Jones enlisted in the Coast Guard in May 1995. He has served as Command Master Chief of Coast Guard Pacific Area, of the Eighth Coast Guard District, and Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads. He served as officer in charge of Coast Guard Cutter Sea Horse, Station Pensacola, Coast Guard Cutter Bollard, and Station Cape Charles. He assumed the duties as the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support Command Master Chief in June 2021. Jones is a graduate of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy Class 124, the Coast Guard Senior Enlisted Leadership Course Class 48 and is a Keystone 18-1 Fellow. Jones holds Bachelor and Master of Arts Degrees in Organizational Management with a specialty in Human Resource Management.
In December 1998, Beard enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserve. He has served as the Command Master Chief of the Thirteenth and Eleventh Coast Guard Districts, Port Security Unit 312, and Coast Guard Sector Columbia River. Beard assumed the duties as Coast Guard Pacific Area Reserve Command Master Chief in August 2018. Beard holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. He recently retired from his civilian occupation as a patrol sergeant with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office in Oregon.
HVAC Hearings
The House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) held an oversight hearing to discuss the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care workforce recruitment and retention challenges. The VA health care system has about 50,000 vacancies across the country right now. The VA healthcare system also has about 40,000 employees who have requested an exemption to the vaccine mandate. VA staff who testified at the hearing discussed steps the VA is taking to attract and retain employees, such as maximizing bonuses, increasing opportunities to advance, and invest in programs like VHA Reduce Employee Burnout and Optimize Organizational Thriving (REBOOT).
The HVAC Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a hearing to review legislation regarding education, employment, transition and housing. Some proposals include creating permanent policies to protect VA education benefits in cases of national emergency, expanding eligibility of the self-employment track within Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E), and making it easier for veterans facing housing insecurity to receive rental assistance.
The HVAC Subcommittee on Health also convened a hearing to discuss pending health care legislation. VA staff replied to questions about its policies and procedures regarding non-VA emergency care reimbursement, long-term care alternatives, lactation stations, and an increase in the structural alterations amount for disabled veterans.
Navy to Review Certain OTH Discharges
Navy and Marine Corps veterans who were experiencing trauma, were involuntarily separated, and later tried but failed to have discharges upgraded will have their cases re-evaluated. This action is a result of a settlement from the class action lawsuit (Manker v. Del Toro) in which the Navy agreed to review certain discharges with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and other conditions. The Navy will automatically review Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharges from March 2, 2012, to February 2022. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates as many as 25 percent of OTH discharges are a result of PTSD, TBI and other mental conditions.
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