WASHINGTON REPORT

NAUS remembers the War in Korea and honors those who served

In the predawn of June 25, 1950, ninety thousand North Korean soldiers, their columns led by Soviet-built tanks, crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea.

The attack into South Korea caught America unprepared. Meager military budgets of the late 1940s failed the war fighters. Troops were not trained or organized. The weapons they needed were in disrepair, in warehouses, in storage parks or yet to be updated and put into production.

Of the ten active divisions, only the one in Europe was up to strength. The other nine lacked the normal third battalion in their infantry regiments and had just two instead of three firing batteries in the artillery battalions.

The initial North Korean assault pushed the South Koreans and Americans into a defensive perimeter around Pusan. The enemy had overrun the remaining peninsula. The fighting was savage.

With backs against the sea, officers gathered to hear General MacArthur's field commander, Lt. Gen. Walton Walker, speak to the assembled staff.

"We are fighting a battle against time." Walker said. "There is no line behind us to which we can retreat. We must fight until the end. Capture by these people is worse than death itself. We will fight as a team. If some must die, we will die fighting together. Any man who gives ground may be personally responsible for the death of thousands of his comrades. We are going to hold this line. We are going to win."

With heroism, daring and resourcefulness, our troops finally stopped the initial North Korean surge, and with the Marine Corps landing at Inchon, they brought the fight for freedom to hill tops and mountainous battlefields pushing back the North Koreans from their attack on that historically infamous day in 1950.

Clearly one of the main lessons learned from the horror of this war is that freedom is not free.It’s a lesson American must never forget. The cost was great in American lives. Our unpreparedness for the war in Korea brought the deaths of 54,246 Americans.

Welcome to the NAUS Weekly Update. Please email us any feedback, corrections or tips. You can join NAUS online here.

RAND Study Questions Pentagon Energy Policy

This week the RAND Corp. released is with three new reports on the role of energy in U.S. national security: one on Air Force roles, another on Turkey and the Caspian, and a third onsea lanes to Asia. One of the findings is that renewable fuels will not go down appreciably in price anytime soon, and, while Pentagon fuel purchases are enormous, they are not big enough to affect petroleum prices. The study could have a big effect on an authorization debate over how much the Defense Department should invest in biofuels.

As NAUS has previously reported the Navy has determined that it would use defense dollars for development of alternative fuels such as biofuels. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says the U.S. government can create a market for alternative fuels that is large enough to drive down prices to the point where they would be competitive with petroleum.

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) wants the Secretary to explain his logic on how alternative fuels can reach price competiveness with petroleum fuels. "We are absolutely opposed to the Secretary trying to spend taxpayer money to create alternative markets.”

Not only has the Navy Secretary endorsed having the Pentagon go into alternative fuel development, Secretary of Defense Panetta recently announced spending of $1 billion each of the next two years on alternative fuels while continuing to recommend TRICARE increases.

NAUS knows that the DoD has misplaced priorities, and we urge you to continue to write, call, tweet, email and show up at “town hall” meeting to let your elected representatives know how you feel, not only about TRICARE but any other issue that affects you and those where you feel the government is simply wasting time and money.

More Possible Delays in Ft. Hood Trial

Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, charged with killing 13 fellow soldiers and wounding 31 others in a November 2009 shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, will again seek a delay in his trial because he has changed lawyers who require additional time to prepare adequately for the trial. This would be the third delay of the trial.

In a related issue, it was disclosed that the Army Major has grown a beard since his last court appearance. The presiding judge has stated that Hasan must shave to participate in court. If not, he would have to observe the proceedings via closed circuit TV from another room.Speculation is that if this does happen, the U.S. Army psychiatrist might then claim religious persecution which would further delay the trial.

It is an Army disgrace that Hasan’s stated beliefs, sharp adverse pronouncements of jihadist sympathies, general unfitness and deeply questionable standards of conduct prior to his murderous rampage failed to prevent his graduation as an Army “psychiatrist.” Unfortunately, his superiors placed the progressive value of diversity above nearly every other disturbing behavior. As a result, today 13 American soldiers are dead and Hasan stands charged with their murder.

Navy to Award New Pharmacy Automation System Contract

According to Navy Bureau of Medicine (BuMed) officials, the Navy plans to award a contract worth up to $49 million for a new pharmacy automation system (PAS) to be installed in 25 of its outpatient pharmacies that fill 100,000 or more prescriptions a year.

The current Navy automatic system is more than nine years old and will reach its “end-of-life” status this September.

BuMed officials say the new system with its centralized acquisition and management program will provide a more standard system. In addition, it will fit with the new pharmacy information management system planned for the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs integrated electronic health record. This new centralized contracting approach should hopefully reduce PAS unit cost and life-cycle cost.

Pentagon-Wide Review of PTSD Cases Announced

Last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the Pentagon plans to review all military mental health cases dating to 2001 to ensure that troops were not denied appropriate diagnoses or service-related benefits. Panetta ordered his service chiefs to review the case files of all current and former service members screened for medical separation by a medical evaluation board for mental health issues. The exact number of service members and veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or other combat related behavioral health disorders is not known.

Panetta did not give an estimate on the number of cases that would be reviewed as a result of this Pentagon-wide review. However, one Congressional Budget Office estimate suggests that one in four Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) between 2004 and 2009 have been diagnosed with PTSD. Panetta said, this review is necessary to “build a better system between the Department of Defense and the VA … and frankly, that’s a whole area we have to do much better on.”

AF MSgt Returns Issued Boots Made in China

Air Force Reserve MSgt Steve Adachi was surprised to discover that the green boots he was issued for wear with his standard airman battle uniform, prior to his deployment to Afghanistan, were made in China. He tried to exchange them for an American-made pair at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam clothing store. While there, he was informed that he could not exchange them because the Chinese-made boots were not Berry Amendment compliant.

The Berry Amendment requires that Defense Department give preference in procurement to domestically produced items such as food, clothing and other products purchased by the Pentagon in the US. There are, however, several exemptions. Under certain provisions, the Berry Amendment does apply to purchases under $150,000. According to Defense Logistic Agency officials, items purchased “outside the US in support of combat operations” are also exempt.

NAUS Note: MSgt Adachi was eventually able to exchange his issued pair of boots for a pair made in America and is awaiting a second pair from the original vendor. NAUS wonders if deployments could or would be held up waiting for a shipment of boots from China?

Processing of Retroactive Agent Orange Claims Nearly Complete

On Tuesday, the VA announced that nearly 230,000 claims have already been processed for the three newest Agent-Orange related conditions through June 2012, including over 150,000 claims required to be adjudicated under the order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The near completion of these complex Nehmer claims enables VA to redirect 1,200 employees who were dedicated to reviewing the Agent Orange cases toward addressing the current backlog of disability claims.

The Agent Orange claims stemmed from a 2010 amendment of VA regulations to add ischemic heart disease, hairy cell and other chronic B-cell leukemias, and Parkinson's disease to the list of diseases presumed to be related to exposure to the herbicide used in Southeast Asia.

Given the complexity of the historical casework, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) allocated its most experienced decision makers, about 37 percent of its rating staff, to processing Agent Orange claims. The 13 VBA resource centers were exclusively dedicated to re-adjudicating these claims.

New Orlando Hospital Falls Behind Schedule

Late last week Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), requested that the VA send him an answer on why the new VA hospital being built in Orlando was two years behind schedule and why there seems to be so much confusion surrounding the contract.

Chairman Miller said, “This project has been a multi-million dollar debacle, and a failure of this magnitude deserves accountability at the highest level. Unfortunately, we have seen this pattern before. VA management and oversight of large construction and IT projects across the country has been sorely lacking and fraught with incompetence.”

NAUS agrees with the Chairman that the construction delays are inexcusable. The entire situation deserves scrutiny to figure out the problems and bring this important hospital on line to deliver appropriate care to sick and disabled veterans.

NAUS Note: Clearly, VA needs to be much more involved to get this project back on line and within budget.

Newest Army Echoes Available

The latest edition of the Army Echoes, the newsletter for retirees, survivors and their families is now available on line here.

Contacting Your Elected Official

Following a recent suggestion from a member, NAUS suggests you use our email system, known as NAUS CapWiz, to contact your elected representatives. Congressional email links are automatic, once a zip code is inserted, using the NAUS CapWiz < NAUS Email System>.

Messages of any type can be sent directly in NAUS CapWiz, regardless of whether the message is pre-written or self-written.

You can also locate the CapWiz system using our homepage. Click on the photo of the Capitol in the left-hand column, then scroll down to the area titled “Find Your Elected Officials” and fill in your zip code. That will bring up a form that will already be addressed to your Representative, Senators and even the President if you want.

NAUS Annual Meeting Week - October

This year’s Annual Membership Meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Old Town Alexandria, VA, on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. The week’s events kick-off Wednesday with the NAUS Regional Vice Presidents workshop at NAUS HQ. On Thursday, your Board of Directors and legislative staff will be “storming the Hill,” followed by the Board of Directors meeting on Friday at the hotel. Events for members start Friday and include a Potomac River lunch cruise, and a “Meet the NAUS Board” reception at the hotel Friday evening. The Annual Meeting and luncheon follows on Saturday. More details, including costs and registration information are found online here, or you may contact Ms. Vicki Sumner, NAUS Director of Administration. Please plan to attend and help make this annual event a memorable and effective one as we continue to serve as The Servicemember’s Voice in Government.

Reminder: Online registration is encouraged – it’s easy and saves you and the NAUS staff time. When you register, be sure you indicate which functions you want to attend. If you need hotel accommodations, you will need to make those reservations separately with the hotel directly.