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Army Will Discontinue TERA Program-Deadline January 15th

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army retiredBy Debbie Gregory.

Soldiers who have served in the U.S. Army at least 15 years but less than the 20 years and are eligible for the Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA) program will only have until January 15th to submit their requests through their chain of command.

In recent years, each military branch has used different methods to reduce force size, including offering servicemembers the opportunity to get an early transition from active duty to the Guard or Reserves, transition to another branch of the military, or even separate early through Force Shaping or other measures.

Members retired under the TERA program receive the same retirement benefits as those that retire under the 20-year program – complete with TRICARE and TRICARE for Life, starting immediately upon retirement, the same COLA adjustments, base access, ID Card, etc. – the only difference is their retirement pay is reduced.

TERA, in general, applies to both officers and enlisted.

The Army originally put the program in place in 1993, and ended it in 2002. TERA was reinstated in 2012.

In a December 15th memo, Army Secretary Mark Esper said that the end of the Army’s drawing down of its force strength was the reason why he has decided to rescind the TERA program.

Applications will be approved or denied by February 28, according to the memo.

TERA was an effective tool for drawing down the Army’s end strength, but now needs to grow its active-duty force strength by September with an additional 7,500 soldiers.

Soldiers who are awaiting the results of pending 2017 promotion boards after January 15th will have 30 calendar days following the promotion announcements to submit an early retirement request to their chain of command.

Soldiers who are approved to retire through the TERA program will be required to separate by September 1st.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Army Veteran, Gunman in Colorado Shooting, had History of Mental Illness

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matthew-riehl

By Debbie Gregory.

He was once a standout student in law school and an Army medic. But in the very early morning hours on New Year’s Eve, 37-year-old Matthew Riehl shot four sheriff’s deputies who responded to a complaint at his apartment in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, killing Sheriff’s Deputy Zackari Parrish.

At 5:15 a.m, law enforcement was called out to the apartment to investigate a complaint of a “verbal disturbance” involving two men. One of the men told them the suspect “was acting bizarre and might be having a mental breakdown” but the deputies found no evidence of a crime.

They were called back less than an hour later and came under fire almost immediately after entering the apartment and trying to talk with the suspect, who was holed up inside a bedroom. They were forced to retreat.

Riehl was killed during the subsequent shootout with a police tactical team that left a SWAT officer injured.

Deputy Parrish, 29, leaves behind his wife Gracie and two young daughters.

Riehl enlisted in the Army Reserves in 2003, and in 2006 he joined the Wyoming Army National Guard. He deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom from April 2009 to March 2010. He was honorably discharged in 2012.

Riehl had a history of mental issues, and had escaped from a veterans mental health ward in 2014 during a stay for a psychotic episode. His mother told authorities that her son had post-traumatic stress disorder from his Iraq war deployment and was refusing to take his medication to treat the condition.

By mid-2016, Riehl was at the center of a string of worrisome events reported by police in Colorado and Wyoming. He posted tirades on social media about the faculty at the Wyoming law school and sent harassing emails to police after getting a speeding ticket.

Riehl posted videos criticizing Colorado law enforcement officers in profane, highly personal terms. He also used social media to livestream the confrontation leading up to the shooting.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Heroic Soldier Dies Rescuing Neighbors from Bronx Fire

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emmanuel

By Debbie Gregory.

A decorated Army National Guard soldier died of smoke inhalation while attempting to rescue his neighbors from December’s deadly apartment building fire in the Bronx, New York.

Private Emmanuel Mensah went back into the building twice to rescue neighbors. But he did not make it out alive.

“He’s always had that nature that I’m going to help people,” sister Vanessa Mensah said.

The 28-year-old Mensah immigrated to the Bronx from Ghana five years ago, and had just graduated from boot camp. He was home for the holidays.

“His heroism exemplifies the best of our city,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Rest in peace.”

A child playing with a kitchen stove started the fire, which quickly spread through the 29-unit building. The fire killed at least 12 people, including four children.

Mensah, who had been awarded a medal for marksmanship, had been planning to become a military policeman.

“When he came here he just said, ‘Dad, I want to join the Army,’ ” recalled Kwabena Mensah, Emmanuel’s father.“At first I didn’t agree with him, but I decided that’s his choice.”

Mensah’s uncle, Twun Bredu, said before firefighters arrived, his nephew saved his roommate’s family of six.

Private Mensah was found in Apartment 15, his uncle said, but he lived in Apartment 11, with a friend of his father’s, who was at home with his wife and four children.

Rather than letting them go out the front door, Mensah pulled them back into the room. Bredu said the family made their way out through a fire escape, a move that saved their lives, as Mensah started helping other people.

In addition to Emmanuel Mensah, 11 others lost their lives.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

New Credit Card Rate-Limit Rules in Effect

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credit

By Debbie Gregory.

The Federal Military Lending Act credit card rules took effect in October was enacted to add consumer protections for service members and their dependents.

Defense Department rules on new credit cards issued to service members and their dependents specify that interest rates cannot exceed an annual percentage rate of 36 percent. Since most credit cards issued offer interest rates well below the 36 percent rate cap, the rules probably won’t impact many military consumers.

But the rule was put in to play to thwart payday lenders who prey on the military community. There was the potential that some predatory credit cards could evolve in the future.

“As it will become more difficult for payday lenders to continue to make loans to service members, there was the chance payday lenders could try to evolve their products to become credit card products,” said Christopher Peterson, a professor of law at the University of Utah, who has conducted research on payday lending and effects on the military community.

Predatory lenders have been very resourceful in their attempts to take advantage of military members and their  families. So for the last several years, the DoD has been working to keep in front of them.

Many unscrupulous lenders salivate over the prospect of lending to people with financial immaturity and a steady income, such as young adults who have just started a four-year enlistment.

In October, 2016, the DoD implemented expanded rules to include all types of consumer credit, such as overdraft lines of credit, deposit advance loans and installment loans extended to active-duty members and their dependents.

It is important to remember that the rule only applies to new credit cards obtained since the rule went into effect. Service members with questions about the rule or who think that a new card doesn’t comply with the rules can see their judge advocate general for legal advice.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Women Veterans Rock

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vet of the day

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the appointment of a new chairwoman and four new members to the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, an expert panel that advises the VA Secretary on issues and programs of importance to women Veterans, their families and caregivers.

“As VA continues to work toward modernization, the committee’s guidance will assist the department in meeting the important and evolving needs of women Veterans,” said VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin. “The new chairwoman and new appointees’ deep and broad perspectives are invaluable in anticipating these needs.”

Established in 1983, the committee provides policy and legislative recommendations to the Secretary.

Current member Octavia Harris, a retired U.S. Navy command master chief petty officer from San Antonio, Texas, is appointed as the new chairwoman of the committee.  The following are new members of the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans:

  • Moses McIntosh, of Hephzibah, Georgia, is a retired U.S. Army chief warrant officer and immediate past national commander of the Disabled American Veterans, where he served as the official spokesman and provided leadership to the National Executive Committee.
  • Yareli Mendoza, of Iowa City, Iowa, is a U.S. Air Force Veteran. She is pursuing a doctorate of philosophy degree in higher education and student affairs, with a specialization in higher education administration and policy.
  • Keronica Richardson, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, is a U.S. Army Veteran with deployments in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. She serves as the assistant director for Women and Minority Veterans Outreach at the American Legion.
  • Wanda Wright, of Tempe, Arizona, is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, currently serving as the director of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services, where she is a state cabinet member, providing leadership and direction for administering benefits and services to Veterans and their dependents.

In addition, committee members Dr. Kailyn Bobb, a U.S. Air Force Veteran, from Plumas Lake, California, and Commander Janet West, of the U.S. Navy, are reappointed for an additional term.

For information about VA’s benefits and services for women Veterans, visit www.va.gov/womenvet or contact the Women Veterans Call Center at 855-829-6636.  The call center is available to address concerns of women Veterans, their families and caregivers from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (EST), and Saturday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (EST).

Army Promises Medical Care for Test Subjects

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tested

By Debbie Gregory.

Decades after the U.S. Army used soldiers to test the effects of potent chemical and biological warfare agents – including some prohibited by the Geneva Protocol – it has begun notifying veterans that they may be eligible for government-paid medical care for related injuries and illnesses.

The Army is notifying veterans that they may be eligible to receive medical care if they participated in U.S. Army chemical or biological substance testing from 1942 to 1975 and have an injury or disease that they believe was proximately caused by their participation.

While thousands of U.S. veterans won a 2009 class action suit filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America against The Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Army over being used in the testing, the group’s attorneys say the service branch is falling short of meeting its obligations. The Army is also withholding details veterans are seeking about what agents they were exposed to.

Testing programs with names like Project MKULTRA, Project Bluebird and Project Artichoke exposed military personnel to a variety of substances including psychoactive drugs and irritants such as mustard gas.

The Army tested over 100 “biological and chemical warfare/threat agents and substances, as well as medications, vaccines, and other chemical and biological agent countermeasures,” said MEDCOM Public Affairs Chief Maria L. Tolleson.

According to now-declassified records on many of the programs, soldiers who participated were required to sign oaths of secrecy and received no formal documentation that would prove their involvement.

The Army says its Medical Command is conducting “an exhaustive search” for veterans who may have been research subjects “so that no individual who may benefit from medical care is inadvertently omitted.”

To apply, eligible Veterans must: (1) have a DD214 or the equivalent; (2) have served as a volunteer medical research subject in a U.S. Army chemical or biological substance testing program from 1942 to 1975; and (3) have a diagnosed medical condition they believe to be a direct result of their participation in a U.S. Army chemical or biological substance testing program. For more information, visit the Army Medicine website.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Price Tag of President’s Military Buildup- An Extra $638 Billion

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troop buildup

By Debbie Gregory.

President Trump’s ambitious plan to rebuild America’s overstretched military would cost $683 billion more than current spending plans over the next decade, according to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.

President Trump came into office pledging the largest defense spending spree since the administration of Ronald Reagan — assuring the troops that they would see “beautiful new planes and beautiful new equipment.”

More missile defense systems, an upgraded nuclear arsenal and hundreds of additional fighter aircraft were also on the president’s wish list.

The budget for President Trump’s goals for the military would be more than 20 percent larger than peak spending during the 1980s.

The buildup’s projected 10 percent manpower increase (an additional 237,000 troops), its addition of 20 percent more naval vessels, and its increased purchases of other new weapons, adds up to a 12 percent increase over the Obama administration’s plans for defense spending over the same period.

For the Air Force, rising costs result primarily from existing plans to replace aging weapon systems and increased purchases of the F- 35A to allow the Air Force field five additional fighter squadrons.

The projections were based on administration documents, congressional testimony and the 2018 budget request’s five-year plan. The administration is due to produce a 2019 budget request and its National Defense Strategy, which will likely add more clarity.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in congressional testimony earlier this year the buildup would begin in 2019.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

 

Three Cities Sue DoD over Gun Database Reporting

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First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs

By Debbie Gregory.

Three cities have filed suit against the Pentagon for lapses that allowed a mass shooter in Texas to buy a gun, even though he carried a conviction in military court that should have barred his purchase.

Air Force veteran Devin P. Kelley murdered 25 people and an unborn child at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas in November. The former logistics specialist had been court-martialed in 2012 and was convicted of two counts of domestic violence against his wife and their child. Kelley was sentenced to 12 months confinement and received a bad conduct discharge in 2014.

In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., the three cities – New York, San Francisco and Philadelphia, allege that the defendants, which include the military branches and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have failed to properly submit fingerprint cards, as well as information about the results of a criminal proceeding, to the FBI database if troops are charged with or convicted of certain violent crimes, including domestic violence and child abuse.

According to a report by the Department of Defense Inspector General, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps did not submit fingerprint cards to the FBI for 24% of the 2,502 convictions handed down in courts-martial in 2015 and 2016. The branches also neglected to submit final disposition reports in 31% of the cases.

Had the Air Force reported Kelley’s criminal record to the FBI, he wouldn’t have been able to legally purchase the gun he used to conduct the mass shooting.

According to the complaint, ““No new laws are required to achieve that goal. Instead, this Court need only grant Plaintiffs’ request to compel Defendants to diligently implement, and consistently apply, the unambiguous laws that have been on the books for decades.”

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

New Battle Skills Test All Marines Must Pass

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basic skills

By Debbie Gregory.

In October 2016, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Ronald Green said the Corps was considering reviving the common skills test, which some enlisted Marines and officers used to take. But now, beginning in January, 2018, that proposed testing will become a reality.

At the start of 2018, all U.S. Marines, from privates through general officers, will need to be on their toes as the Corps launces the first of what will be an annual Battle Skills Test.

Marines will be tested on 30 of the 178 common skills that recruits learn at boot camp and the School of Infantry or Marine Combat Training. All Marines will have to pass the skills test each year.

The few/ the proud will need to demonstrate a variety of skills that fall in the following categories: basic infantry skills, communications, first aid, history, leadership and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Each section has specific time requirements and parameters that will determine if the Marine has passed or failed the evaluation. It will be up to the discretion of the small unit leader on how the tests are administered.

“This is the commandant directing units to be able to go back and do fundamental, basic Marine skills that they may not have in their training plans,” said Lt. Col. Stuart Glenn of Training and Education Command.

Glenn said all Marines will be tested on “the basic fundamentals of what it means to be a Marine,” which will help Marines prevail in both conventional and irregular warfare.

“The Marine Corps emphasizes the ethos of every Marine a rifleman,” Glenn said. “Getting back to these basic skills, now I know that no matter what a Marine’s MOS is, no matter what his unit is, he knows how to put on a tourniquet; he knows how to treat a cold weather injury; he knows how to operate a radio.”

Information about the required training and the evaluation checklists can be downloaded from Training and Education Command’s SharePoint site and the Marine Corps Training Information Management System.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.

Former Marines Develop App to turn Emails into Letters

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sandboxx

By Debbie Gregory.

Did you know that U.S. Marine recruits aren’t able to make calls or send emails from boot camp? Now there is an app to address that problem.

SANDBOXX is a mobile app that connects the military community with their friends and loved ones by giving them the ability to send physical mail to those in basic training, boot camp or on deployment directly from their cell phones.

The SANDBOXX app allows loved ones to type a note on their smartphone and have it turned into a printed letter, which is then sent the old-fashioned way: snail mail. Recruits can then write a letter in return and have it converted back to email.

Former Marine Ray Smith was supposed to be retired, but instead he has teamed up with fellow former Marine Sam Meek after discussing their mutual interest for connecting the extended military community.

They founded SANDBOXX in 2013 and launched the letters app the following year to assist servicemembers and their spouses, parents, friends, siblings – anyone with a connection to the armed services.

The culture shock of suddenly losing contact to the online world can take a toll on morale and interfere with training, especially for the generations of men and women who have come of age with smartphone in hand.

Since the app was launched, SANDBOXX has passed some 900,000 letters through its platform, with about 70 percent of the company’s current letter volume coming from the Marine Corps.

But as word of the app spreads, more people are using it to contact deployed Army soldiers and Air Force personnel, with the app available to new Coast Guard members starting in January.

The ultimate goal of the company’s founders is to build a social media platform unique to the military community. They have already created a social media app called “units” based around the military’s organizational structure. Any current or former member of the U.S. military can log in, put in their unit and year, and be connected solely with people from that unit and year.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve,  and their families.


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