by Robert F. Sawallesh
01 January 2005
www.pentagonmaverick.com
This article is dedicated to WW II Veteran Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Tauber, US Army, Retired who passed away this morning in Tampa.
Several days ago I was at the Westfield Shoppingtown (Brandon Town Center) in Brandon, Florida. At this shopping center three young US Marines in uniform, perhaps recent graduates of Parris Island, were talking to two high school age young men. See http://www.mcrdpi.usmc.mil/.
Probably the last thing these young US Marines have on their mind is what their Medical Benefits will be if they retire from the US Marines 20 and 30 years from now. Lets discuss today's military retirees.
You may know a WW II or Korean War Military Retiree who has supported officer/NCO clubs, BXs/PXs and commissaries since the day he or she joined the military. Going back to WW II that personal financial support to military bases could be for some 60 years.
Just how has the White House, US Congress and the Pentagon supported the Military Retiree and his Widow? Recently I was at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC and a Congressional Staffer recommended the following Congressional Budget Office report dated September 2003. See below extract.
Extract: "In addition, the end of the Cold War brought many base closures and hospital consolidations that decreased the number of DoD's in-house medical treatment facilities. From 1990 to 2001, the number of beds at such facilities dropped by 74 percent, bed-days by 76 percent, and outpatient visits by 36 percent.(10) On the one hand, the changes made DoD's system of in-house treatment facilities more cost-effective, allowing the department to avoid the cost of maintaining facilities that it no longer required for its wartime mission. On the other hand, they amounted to a de facto decline in the level of benefits provided to Medicare-eligible retirees, many of whom had difficulty obtaining care at military medical treatment facilities on a space-available basis. The increasing difficulty that retirees and their dependents experienced in obtaining access to military medical treatment facilities is reflected, in part, in a decline in the degree to which they relied on DoD for health care during that period. (See Figure B-2 in Appendix B for more details.) "
For the entire CBO report go to http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=4520&sequence=2.
MacDill AFB in Tampa is planning to demolish the base hospital and replace it with only a clinic. What happened to the $33 million USAF hospital that was planned at MacDill? At MacDill AFB you have two four star commands: US Central Command at http://www.centcom.mil/, US Special Operations Command at http://www.socom.mil/ and the one star 6th Air Mobility Wing at http://public.macdill.amc.af.mil/index.html. Why are the General and Flag Officers in these commands doing nothing about the base hospital situation?
I have heard nothing from the MacDill AFB hospital commander regarding the downsizing of the base hospital. If the hospital commander challenged the USAF and DoD about the downsizing of the hospital he commands would he ever expect to be considered for general officer rank? See http://public.macdill.amc.af.mil/mackett.pdf.
Perhaps if Military and Veterans associations were serious and proactive several decades ago about fighting for Military and Veterans Benefits they would have hired America's top law firms to fight the battle. See today's top law firms at http://www.vault.com/nr/lawrankings_gg.jsp?law2004=1&ch_id=242. At the National Archives in Washington I have traced the battle for military retiree health care going back almost 50 years.
BRAC 2005 is now coming up. See http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/. How many military hospitals will bite the dust during this War on Terror? Will BRAC 2005 working groups officially recommend new military hospitals and break the mind set of the previous BRACs? Are today's Army, Navy and Air Force hospitals prepared, staffed and equipped with the latest state of the art and facilities to treat the combat wounded and injured returning from Iraq and Afghanistan? Is the VA for many years to come prepared to care for the catastrophic wounded returning from the War on Terror and at the same time treat the veterans from the past wars?
Is the time now for a Hollywood or New York produced 90 minute TV historical drama on what the White House, US Congress, Pentagon and Military and Veterans Associations have done to the Military Retiree and Active Duty Communities insofar as the Military Medical Health Care Delivery System? Would Humana, Inc. buy commercial time during the TV showing? Suggested name of the TV movie: "Operation Brown Bag" > http://mrgrg-ms.org/history14.html.
Would the TV series "JAG" dare air a program on what has happened to Military Health Care for Military Retirees and Widows? See http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/kapoor/22/id65.htm.
Where does the responsibility ultimately lie for the shabby state of the US Military Health Care System? The responsibility lies at the desk of the Commander-in-Chief in the White House. The responsibility also lies at the desks of the living Commanders-in-Chief who relied so much on the Military while in the White House...and who now are so quiet in their offices in their Presidential Libraries when it comes to the current status of the US Military Health Care Delivery System.