RESERVE
RESERVE PROGRAM NEWSLETTER
February 2008
The Proud, The Prepared, The First
Issue LXXVI
This is the seventy-sixth issue of the electronic newsletter from the First District Office. This newsletter is intended to inform all members of the Coast Guard team throughout the District on reserve program issues. Current distribution of this newsletter is to major unit COs/XOs and senior reservists, and to reservists and selected active duty members of the First District staff. Please forward this newsletter throughout your organization by such means as e-mail, posting copies, or mailing copies to reservists at home. This newsletter shares information on the reserve program districtwide. We welcome input and news from field activities. Please note that the information in this newsletter is unofficial. Check references before taking any action based solely on information contained in the newsletter.
From the Desk of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Reserve Affairs
Happy New Year to all hands. With 2008 comes mandatory use of CAC cards for logging on to Coast Guard computer terminals. There have been some speed bumps in this process. For example, I was at Sector Northern New England in December, and one petty officer
told me he had taken time off during the work week to get a new CAC, but that the fellow running the ID desk told him, “We’re not giving them to reservists.” Well, we certainly are, and I believe we have corrected this anomaly. If you have gotten this response when trying to get a new CAC, politely ask to talk to a supervisor: everyone with authorized access to CG computers now has to use a CAC, and the supervisor will be aware of the requirement. +++++++++++++++ Back in November the Sector SRO’s and Reserve Gold Badges
gathered in Boston for a strategy conference. As a result of our work at the conference, the District Commander has sent a message to his Sector Commanders addressing 2008 reserve readiness initiatives: see CCGDONE BOSTON MA 181808Z JAN 08. Our individual readiness metrics (Dental, Physical, ASQ, and Weigh-in) have stalled at about 85% compliance, averaged across the district. The one item that keeps them below 90% (LANTAREA’s target level) is Dental. The message directs the Sector Commanders to hold the other factors at or above 90% and concentrate on Dental. The message reviews dental options for reservists, including one of the most convenient and effective methods, using DD Form 2813, a simple form that your civilian dentist can complete. All you need do, then, is get it to whoever manages your health records. This is the method I use. My dentist fills out the form, signs it, and gives it back to me. I give it to the D1 Admin shop, whence it goes to ISC Boston clinic. Another major area of emphasis in the District
Commander’s message is getting reservists to complete required drills. A surprising number of us fail to complete 48 drills per year. In fact our average across the district is around 36 drills. This is a dreadful compliance rate, and it’s caused by those very few among us who do not drill at all, plus an embarrassingly large number who seem to show up only enough to get their required 50 points for retirement. In the message, the District Commander directs the Sector Commanders to begin compliance/discharge procedures on these people following the process defined in the Reserve Policy Manual. So all hands spread the word: I want all of us to be part of the Coast Guard’s trained surge capability, and that means showing up at drill to train. I’m sure that’s what you want too. If not, you’re going to be in the crosshairs.
in December by CAPT Ray Perry. Sector Northern New England will also soon have a new commander: CAPT Jim McPherson will relieve CAPT Jim Rendon. Several of our SRO’s are tourcomplete: CAPT (sel) Dale Ferriere at SECNNE, CDR Bob Fogel at SECBOS, and CDR Greg Johnson at SECSENE. Their reliefs have not yet been named. Also, as I announced in a previous note, our D1 Reserve Gold Badge, PSCM Bill Dikun has been made LANTAREA Reserve Gold Badge. His relief has not yet been named either, but the selection board is expected to report out soon. Semper Paratus - Captain Frank Mullen Senate Passes 2008 Defense Bill The stalemate between the White House and Capitol Hill over the 2008 Defense bill has ended. The Senate passed a revised version of the measure on 22 January by a vote of 91-3, with a provision that addresses President Bush's concerns over seizure of Iraqi assets held in the U.S.
Finally, we have had or have pending a number of leadership changes. This summer RADM Tim Sullivan will be relieved as D1 Commander by RADM Dale Gable. In Sector Southeastern New England, CAPT Roy Nash was relieved back
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The measure, which sets a 3.5 percent 2008 raise retroactive to the start of the year, also authorizes payment of recruiting and enlistment bonuses, as well as other special pays. Army Draws Fewer High-Quality Recruits For the third consecutive year, the Army missed benchmarks for education standards among new recruits in 2007. The service would like to attract 90 percent of new recruits with high school diplomas; studies show that better educated new soldiers are more likely to complete their first enlistments. In 2006, 73.1 percent of all Army recruits held diplomas; in 2005, the figure was 83.5 percent. The decline is a 20-year low. The National Priorities Project, a Northampton, Mass.-based independent research group that focuses on the use of taxpayers’ money, released the figures. TRICARE Covers 'Lap-Band' Surgery Just in time for the April weigh-in? TRICARE announced it will cover certain
surgical procedures for military beneficiaries with serious obesity problems. The procedures – laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding ("LapBand") surgery, gastric bypass, gastric stapling, and gastroplasty – will be covered retroactive to 1 February 2007. TRICARE will cover the surgery for persons who are at least 100 pounds over the weight recommended for their height and bone structure, and if their weight is associated with medical conditions that relate to higher mortality rates. More information is available in the TRICARE Policy Manual, available online. Space A Travel Changes Announced Spouses and dependent children of any service member who has been deployed for more than 120 consecutive days are now allowed to travel Space-A. The change allows eligible family members to travel anywhere in the continental United States (CONUS) or overseas, and receive seating priority ahead of retirees and their families.
They can sign up for Space-A travel no earlier than 10 days before their military family members deploy, begin traveling on the day of such a deployment, and must complete their travel by the last day of that deployment. Space-A travelers must show a deployment verification letter signed by their military family member's commander, and retain possession of that letter for the duration of their travel. The Defense Department announced the change 6 December. USERRA Demo Project on Military Claims Expires The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is no longer directly accepting federal workplace claims made by federally employed servicemembers under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). A USERRA demonstration project which gave OSC authority to receive and investigate claims brought by certain federal employees against their agencies expired on 1 January.
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USERRA protects the rights of those who are absent from employment due to military service. USERRA claims now have to be submitted to the Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS). OSC will continue to have a role in USERRA enforcement. The law specifies that if VETS is unable to resolve a federal sector claim, the claimant may request that VETS refer the matter to OSC, noted Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch, who gave the demo project a thumbs up. “The authority of OSC to both investigate and prosecute USERRA claims has been effective in protecting the rights of servicemembers,” said Bloch in a statement. TSP Ticker
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The proposal would allow those with 10 years of service to begin drawing pension checks at age 62; those with 20 years, at age 60; and those with 30 years, at age 57. Retirees could make earlier withdrawals but would pay a penalty for the privilege. The commission calls for its recommendations to be phased in over a five-year period, with those who enlist during that stretch allowed to choose between the old and new systems. Those already on duty would be permitted to stay in their current retirement plan and begin collecting benefits when they retire, regardless of age. * Closing Quote "I don’t see the recommendations of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve going through.” Steve Strobridge, Director of Government Relations, Military Officers Association of America.
Commission Pushes for Revamp of Military Pensions * Virginian-Pilot (Hampton Roads, VA – 2/1/08) The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve urged Congress on 31 January to overhaul military pay and benefits, suggesting that most retiring active duty service members sacrifice part of their pensions unless they agree to wait until age 60 to begin collecting their monthly retirement checks. The commission urged that retirement benefits be provided to those who leave the military after as few as 10 years, active or reserve, and that the active force and reserve operate under the same set of rules for eligibility.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Editor/Publisher:
Joseph R. McGonagle, YNC, USCGR jmcgonagle@d1.uscg.mil
Thrift Savings Plan rates of return at the closing bell on 31 January reflect the current economic downslide:
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