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At the National Guard Memorial |
NGAUS Board to Discuss Legislation, Budget |
Maj.
Gen. Frank Vavala, the NGAUS chairman, will convene the first NGAUS
board of directors meeting of the year this weekend at the National
Guard Memorial, the association headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The
weekend-long meeting agenda includes discussion of the current
legislative session and the president’s fiscal 2012 defense budget
request, and an update from senior National Guard Bureau officers.
Membership,
marketing and plans for the 133rd NGAUS General Conference and
Exhibition, scheduled for Aug. 27 to 29 in Milwaukee, also will be on
the schedule.
Also, the National Guard Educational Foundation
will welcome several new members to the Legion de Lafayette. A reception
will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at the National Guard Memorial. Events
begin Friday with the meetings of the company-grade officer, officer
professional development and warrant office committees.
The
29-member board is the association’s governing body. Its members are
elected by delegates to the annual conference and serve staggered two-
and three-year terms.
The NGAUS-Insurance Trust and
the National Guard Educational Foundation boards also meet Friday and
will report to the association board over the weekend. |
Try, Try Again: Bill Better Defines Veteran |
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Sen.
Mark Pryor, D-Ark., is taking another shot at better defining who can
legally call themselves a veteran. An attempt at this during the
previous Congress died when one senator blocked action.
Pryor introduced a bill Friday that has the full support of NGAUS.
Current
law requires someone to have served a certain period on federal status
to qualify for full standing as a veteran. Someone who served 20 years
in the National Guard or Reserve without that qualifying period is a
military retiree, but not a veteran.
Pryor’s bill, S. 491, has been referred to the Committee on Veterans Affairs.
Although
it will not add any benefits and, therefore, has no cost to the
government, the bill would allow someone who serves honorably for 20
years in the Guard or Reserve the simple privilege of legally being a
veteran.
Technically, a person who is not a legal
veteran is not supposed to wear medals on Veterans Day, for example, or
salute the playing of the national anthem, although this happens
frequently, of course. |
Senate Guard Caucus Leaders Pledge Support |
The
National Guard is a treasure that brings irreplaceable skills to
domestic support, to civil authorities and to the overseas war fight,
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told fellow senators and senior Guard
leaders last week in Washington, D.C.
"A Guard unit
can do more in Afghanistan and Iraq than almost anyone, because every
problem has to be fixed in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. "You're a
[Guard member] by day, a plumber by night . . . and the skills you bring
to the fight are irreplaceable."
Graham, along with
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., his fellow co-chair of the Senate National
Guard Caucus, commented on the relationship they have with the Guard and
their plans to showcase the Guard's talents and necessity to fellow
members of Congress.
"The Guard caucus in the Senate
is more important than it ever has been," Leahy said. "The Guard seems
like a tailor-made solution for those who want to just cut the budget
and for those looking to increase military capabilities, while the
[members of the Guard] can accomplish both of these together."
Graham said he realizes the necessity for budget cuts and drawbacks.
"The
budget is going to be reduced because we are deep, deep, deep in debt,"
he said. "We're going to have to start making some decisions that are
long overdue. You have our pledge that we will protect this budget the
best that we can."
"The National Guard does every
mission there is," Leahy said. "Now those of us in Congress will make
sure you have what you need to do it." |
Supreme Court Ruling Boosts Employee Rights |
The
U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in favor of an Army reservist who
had claimed a hospital in Peoria, Ill., unfairly fired him because his
military duty disrupted his work schedule.
Vincent
Staub, a first sergeant in the Reserve and an angiography technician at
Proctor Hospital, claimed he was fired in 2004 after 15 years on the job
because his supervisor was unhappy with Staub’s military
responsibilities, which included time spent in Iraq in 2003 as part of
the 801st Combat Support Hospital.
Staub used the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act to buttress
his case. The USERRA prohibits an employer from using a person’s Guard
or Reserve status as a basis for termination or disciplinary action.
Staub also claimed his supervisor had assigned him extra duties as
punishment for missing work while on active duty.
At a federal trial in 2008, a jury found in his favor and awarded Staub $57,640 in back pay.
The
hospital argued that while his immediate supervisor may have been
biased against his military service, his firing was handled by another
official who, the hospital claimed, based the decision on Staub’s
attitude and work performance.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago bought the hospital’s argument, sending the case to the Supreme Court. |
Survey Seeks Input from Guard Employers |
The
Defense Department is surveying 80,000 employers of National Guard and
Reserve members to learn the benefits and challenges of having reserve
component service members on a payroll.
The surveys
were sent last week to employers of every size and industry all across
the country. They were selected randomly and will receive a letter
telling them how to complete the survey online. They are asked to
complete the survey within eight weeks.
Adm. Mike
Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is encouraging
employers to take part in the survey and calling them “critical partners
in our national defense.”
“Your feedback will allow
us to build on the success of the past and chart a mutually beneficial
course for the future,” he said.
Dennis McCarthy,
the assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, said, “Our goal
for this survey is to identify best practices in support of employers of
Guard and Reserve members and evaluate the effectiveness of Department
of Defense programs.”
The Defense Department
National Survey of Employers is the largest study of its kind since the
U.S. entered sustained military operations nearly 10 years ago. Employer
Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Defense Department agency, is
administering the survey. |
Panel Finding: Allow Women in Combat Units |
A
commission established to study diversity among military leaders is
recommending that the Defense Department rescind its policy that
prevents women from being assigned to ground combat units below the
brigade level.
In a report issued Monday, the
Military Leadership Diversity Commission recommends that the department
and the services eliminate combat exclusion policies for women, as well
as other “barriers and inconsistencies, to create a level playing field
for all qualified service members.”
Retired Air
Force Gen. Lester L. Lyles, who chaired the commission, said the
recommendation, one of 20 in the report and the only one specific to
women, is one way the congressionally mandated body suggests the
military can get more qualified women into its senior leadership ranks.
“We
know that [the exclusion] hinders women from promotion,” Lyles said.
“We want to take away all the hindrances and cultural biases” in
promotions.
The commission was established as part
of the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act to evaluate and assess
policies that provide opportunities for promotion and advancement of
women and racial and ethnic minorities in the armed forces.
The
1994 combat exclusion policy, as written, precludes women from being
“assigned” to ground combat units, but women have for years served in
ground combat situations by serving in units deemed “attached” to ground
units, Lyles said.
That distinction keeps them
from being recognized for their ground combat experience, recognition
that would enhance their chances for promotion, Lyles said. |
TRICARE Contract to Humana Subject of Protest |
The
health insurance provider that lost out on a contract from TRICARE
Management Inc. is protesting the award, according to Reuters.
UnitedHealth
Group Inc. lost the contract to Humana Military Healthcare Services
last month when a previous protest by Humana was upheld. UnitedHealth
filed a formal protest Monday, according to the news service.
The
contract is to provide health insurance for 3 million active and
retired military members and their families in the TRICARE South Region.
The protest triggers a stay in the contract.
UnitedHealth
claims Humana’s contract would pay doctors and hospitals at rates so
low that doctors would leave the military health care network. |
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The National Guard Association of the United States
One Massachusetts Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20001 | www.ngaus.org
P: 202.789.0031 | F: 202.682.9358 | newsletter@ngaus.org
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