UNDERSTANDING NEEDS OF TODAY’S OFFICERS AND FAMILIES

MOAA has established the President’s Currently Serving Spouse Advisory Council with the purpose of helping the organization better understand the needs and issues facing today’s officers and families. The council, which met for the first time Sept. 12, consists of 14 military spouses representing the active duty service branches and the active components of the Guard and Reserve.

“While MOAA already does a lot for spouses and families of currently serving military members, we want to increase our knowledge of their issues and concerns so we can provide better support to them,” says MOAA’s president, Vice Adm. Norb Ryan Jr., USN-Ret. The council is an internal focus group that reports directly to Ryan with its deliberations, discussions, and recommendations. Council members will meet quarterly and fulfill one-year terms. Each serves on one of four committees: Outreach, Government Relations, Products/Services, and Communications.

The council members, chosen by MOAA headquarters staff, represent a diverse mix of spouses who can offer a range of perspectives. Council members are: Diane Sams, Tammy Guthrie, Alison Loeffler, Kelly Kimball, Wanda Castellaw, Nina Valli, Cathy Jackman, Debbie Koss, Paula Sumrall, Bill Hammond, Michele Rubeor, Nicole Alcorn, Rosemarie Nemeth and Tanya Biank. continue reading

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HERE’S WHAT’S NEW WITH HR 3997

HR 3997 was hung up in the Senate and House just before they broke for the Christmas recess. Now it appears to have lost its momentum. From checking Thomas, it looks like the Senate did it’s thing and sent it to the House on 20 Dec, then nothing. I have seen references to S.1974 but no text. Is there a relationship there?

What is happening? continue reading

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VETERANS ADMINISTRATION ADDS 20 NEW VET CENTERS
Philadelphia, February 27, 2008

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake today said an expansion by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of its Vet Centers, which provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to returning combat veterans, is well ahead of schedule.

In February 2007, VA announced it would open 23 new centers during the next two years. Fifteen of those centers are already operational, and five others are seeing patients in temporary facilities while finalizing their leases. The other three facilities will begin operations later this year.

“Building on our past successes, 2008 will see a permanent increase in the number of Vet Centers, as we bring the remaining facilities on line to reach a record 232 Vet Centers by the end of the year,” Peake said. continue reading

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WEST POINT GRADUTATE IN SERIOUS LEGAL TROUBLE

Captain Sargent Binkley, USA (RET), USMA 1997, has found himself in a pretty tight spot. He is facing 12-24 years for Armed Robbery.

Background information may be found at http://www.supportsarge.org/

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) will play a major role in the defense strategy. I am interested in talking with any graduate who specializes in PTSD either from a law or clinical background.

Troy Ryder, USMA ‘94
tfryder@gmail.com

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THE FUTURE IS NOW
by Fred Edwards
Feb. 22, 2008

China used a ballistic missile on Jan. 11, 2007, to shoot down one of its aging weather satellites. It seemed that the Chinese Foreign Ministry was unaware of this. Or did Chinese officials want to keep their intentions hidden in case of failure?

U.S. officials, on the other hand, openly declared their intention to shoot down a disabled American satellite before it could re-enter the earth’s atmosphere, and that’s exactly what happened. On Feb. 20 of this year, a single SM-3 missile fired from the USS Lake Erie, an Aegis-class cruiser, hit the dead satellite at 10:26 p.m. Eastern Time. The missile struck the satellite about 150 miles above earth while it was traveling more than 17,000 miles per hour. Military officials said they had hoped to rupture the satellite’s fuel tank to prevent 1,000 pounds of hazardous hydrazine from crashing to earth like a deadly bomb. Or did they want to prove to powers like China and Russia that the United States can destroy satellites — or missiles — at will? continue reading

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LET’S SUPPORT LEGISLATIVE WOMENS CAUCUS ACTIVITIES

I have been approached by the Legislative Womens Caucus to support their activities with a financial contribution for their 501(c)4 account.

The Womens Caucus has declared March to be Women Veterans History Month and they will have a Women Veterans display in the Capitol Rotunda for the month of March.

They also conduct an annual Woman of the Year ceremoney each year (this year on 3/7) in which each of the 120 legislators honors a Woman of the Year from their district.

These are very wortwhile causes. continue reading

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OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM IN IRAQ

For those of us who are unaware, at a military theater, the National Anthem is played before every movie.

I recently attended a showing of “Superman 3,” here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings.

As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. all was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem the music stopped. continue reading

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THE INSCRUTABLE CHINESE
by Fred Edwards
Feb. 15, 2008

In my column of Feb. 2, (Crosshairs on Taiwan), I referred to the interplay between the Peoples Republic of China and Taiwan as if the PRC were solely a military monolith whose actions are inscrutable. Consequently Edward Van Court, an international affairs researcher, reminded me that, based on foreign trade information from basic sources such as the CIA Factbook, Taiwan is essential to both U.S. and foreign trade. Consequently, the PRC’s military option might lie somewhere down the list of Chinese priorities.

Noting that China is less than a century out of feudalism, he pointed out indications that the current situation is a hybrid of geographical and functional feudalism under the leadership of the Central Party in Beijing. This suggests a feudal melange among several ministries and agencies, with residual warlord tones. To carry Chinese inscrutability a step further, just overlay the PRC’s Military Regions on an ethno-linguistic map of this disparately populated land mass. Now compare the bios of the leaders of the Central Military Commission and it becomes evident why the MRs are established “for centralized control and decentralized operation.” continue reading

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