NewsBytes June 19, 2020
In this issue:
Veteran’s Suicide to the Forefront
Agent Orange Presumption for Guam Denied
Hearing on Racial Disparity
TRS Beneficiaries to Be Reinstated
President Brings Veteran’s Suicide to the Forefront
President Trump held a news conference at the White House to announce the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) Task Force created by Executive Order 13861. After the press conference, FRA staff were invited to participate in the conference call with Barbara Van Dahlin, the executive director of PREVENTS, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie and other senior White House officials.
PREVENTS seeks to change the culture surrounding mental health and suicide prevention through enhanced community integration, prioritized research activities, and the implementation of strategies that emphasize improved overall health and well-being. The goal of PREVENTS is to prevent suicide — not just among veterans but all Americans. By adopting a holistic public health approach, PREVENTS is acting on the knowledge that suicide prevention is everyone’s business. By working together, both locally and nationally, they can prevent suicide. PREVENTS is building on the successes of suicide prevention pioneers and agencies that are working with service members and veterans. The PREVENTS task force is partnering with stakeholders from multiple sectors, including nonprofits, state and local organizations, Fortune 500 companies and government leaders, to implement best practices to improve [mental] health and prevent suicide.
VA Denies Agent Orange Presumption for Service on Guam
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has denied a request for rulemaking to cover veterans exposed to herbicide on Guam, American Samoa and Johnston Island. The VA Under Secretary for Benefits Paul Lawrence claimed that herbicides sprayed on the central pacific islands were commercial rather than tactical herbicides. Presumptive service connection only applies to chemicals in “an herbicide used in support of the United States and allied military operations.”
As noted in the May 22 issue of NewsBytes, the FRA and several other organizations have dispatched a letter to key lawmakers on the Senate and House Armed Services Committee urging them to add a provision to the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to authorize the National Academy of Medicine to perform an independent study to determine if Agent Orange was or was not used in Guam. FRA members can go to the Action Center online to ask their legislators to support this important provision.
HASC-MP Hearing on Racial Disparity in Military
In the wake of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Rayshard Brooks killing in Atlanta, Georgia, the House Armed Services, Military Personnel Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss racial disparity in the military. The hearing focused on a recent Government Accountability Office report (GAO-19-344) regarding racial disparity in the military justice system and the need for reform, based on the recommendation of the GAO report. Some of the recommendations include the collection of demographic information for all types of courts-martial, evaluations to identify the causes of disparities, and taking steps to appropriately address these disparities. Col. Don Christensen (Ret.) from Protect our Defenders also made recommendations for Congress to maintain an active account of the issue by requiring the DoD to send an annual report (as is now required for sexual harassment cases) and command requesting input from rank and file.
African Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population and make up 16 percent of active duty military. Less than 9 percent of military officers are African American and only 7 percent are flag officers (Admiral or General). The Navy and Marine Corps have no African American admiral or general above the two-star level. The Army has one African American four-star general out of 14 four-star general positions.
General Collin Powell once served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later served as Secretary of State, but no African American has ever served as chief of staff. However, the Senate recently approved (98-0) General Charles Brown, Jr. to serve as the Air Force Chief of Staff. He will be sworn into office in the near future.
The Navy and the Marine Corps recently banned Confederate flags on ships, vehicles and elsewhere across the service. In addition, the Chairman of the Naval Academy Board C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger has requested that buildings on campus with Confederate names be changed.
The Senate version of the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act has been amended to require the Defense Department to rename military installations that were named after Confederate generals.
DHA Allows TRS Beneficiaries Who Failed to Pay Premium to Be Reinstated
The Defense Health Agency has extended the period for the Reserve Component using TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) who lost coverage because of unpaid premiums to request reinstatement from three to five months. The extension is an acknowledgment of the financial turmoil the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some members of the Reserves. Once qualifying members pay all delinquent and current premiums, they can request reinstatement back to the date their coverage terminated. This policy is in effect for 90 days, following the end of the national health emergency. For more information members can go online.
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