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How to Be Vigilant Without Being Fearful of a Terrorist Attack

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A recent New York Times and CBS News poll shows that Americans fear that a terrorist attack is eminent more so now than at any time since September 11, 2001. In a poll taken December 4-8, 2015, a staggering 79% of respondents said they fear that a terrorist attack will occur in the next few months.

It’s hard not to be fearful when you turn on the TV and see recent terrorist attacks such as those in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. Change the channel and you’ll find experts saying the threat level is high and recommending citizens be vigilant in everyday outings.

How can the average American be vigilant without being fearful?

I had a friend recently tell me that she was sitting in the food court with her children when the thought occurred to her that a terrorist attack could happen. She immediately started looking for possible escape routes, just in case. She became so overwhelmed with fear that she rushed the kids out. There wasn’t a terrorist threat there; it was all in her head. The fear of terrorism has become crippling for some people and is disrupting their routines.

How to Be Vigilant Without Being Fearful of a Terrorist Attack

The No. 1 thing to do is to be aware of your surroundings.

As I sit here sipping on my coffee and writing, I am reminded of a recent bomb threat on Camp Lejeune. The caller said there was a bomb at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. That threat was later determined to be unsubstantiated, but if I were the fearful type, I might question my safety here now. I don’t, though. I feel safe in my environment.

I consider myself someone who is vigilant. It isn’t something on the forefront of my mind that makes me worry or panic. I simply notice exits when entering a building, I park in well lit areas, walk out with people, have my keys ready before I head to my car, keep my head up and aware of my surroundings, turn lights on at home at night and set the alarm. These aren’t things I do in fear of a terrorist attack; they were just everyday precautions my father instilled in me when I was younger.

The No. 1 thing to do is to be aware of your surroundings. Put your phone down and pay attention to what’s going on around you. A key phrase that is widely being said of late is “if you see something, say something.” A neighbor of those responsible for the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif., said she questioned if she should call the authorities earlier in the year because of their suspicious behavior, but feared that she would be labeled a racist. If that neighbor had spoken up earlier, maybe the events of that tragic day could have been altered. We’ll never know though.

Fear is widely spreading throughout the United States. You can’t let it dictate your life though. Take some time out of your busy schedule and just think about what you would do in a terrorist attack. Having a plan of action ahead of time, just in case, could turn an awful situation into possibly a survivable one. Read about how to survive a terrorist attack and think about how you would handle the situation. Would you run, hide or attack? Those are the three options most experts will say you have when it comes to these situations.

If at all possible, run as fast as you can to get as far away from the situation as you can. If there is an active shooter, run in a zigzag motion. It is much harder to hit a moving target, especially when the direction of movement changes rapidly.

If you can’t run, hide. Try to hide behind something bullet-proof or something thick. If you’re in a small room, turn off the light, lock the door, if possible and push something heavy in front of the door. Sit quietly and silence your phone. Terrorists try to inflict as much damage as possible in a short amount of time. They look for easy targets and are more likely to move on than struggle to get the door open.

Your last resort in a terrorist attack may be to fight. If you’re in an open area with nowhere to go and nowhere to hide, you might be left with the option to fight or die. Try to arm yourself, if possible. Anything can be a weapon. One teacher in Alabama recently sent home letters recommending children bring a canned good to school to throw at an attacker. It sounds ridiculous, but it shows that anything can be a weapon.

Remember, the goal of a terrorist attack is to spread fear and disrupt daily life through panic and instability. Be vigilant, be aware of your surroundings, but live your life.

Are you fearful of another terrorist attack? How do you balance valid concerns with irrational fear?

Can a Spouse Harm Her Service Member’s Career?

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As a military spouse and civilian, you may not feel like your actions can affect your husband’s career, but they can and do.

Racking up financial debt, breaking the law, having questionable habits and acting inappropriately can all strip your spouse of their security clearance and prevent them from promotion, moving to desirable duty stations and more.

Think that sounds far-fetched or embellished? Think again.

Each month the Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals (DOHA) releases the results of security clearance rejection hearings and appeals. Each case appealed is described in detail and many of the security clearance withdrawals are listed as due to the service member’s negligence with respect to the actions of their military spouse.

How can a military spouse cause a service member to lose security clearance?

When the government issues a security clearance they are giving that person access to classified information. While it is only granted to the individual, it is a process that includes the military spouse. Their information is included on background investigation paperwork and they can be interviewed. Their actions reflect the service member’s judgment.

Can a Military Spouse Harm Her Service Member's Career?

Can you cause your service member to lose his security clearance?

For example, one case in which a security clearance was denied was when a military spouse racked up $50,000 in consumer debt. The judge specifically said that allowing his wife to “manage all finances was an example of poor judgment, and not the level of responsibility expected of a clearance holder.”

It isn’t just poor financial management by a military spouse that can get a service member in trouble. Your career field and poor habits can also lead to a clearance being revoked.

Another case involved a military spouse working at a recreational marijuana store in Denver, where it is legal to use such substance. Federal law overrules state law in this case, however. Marijuana is still considered a controlled substance and knowing of intentional possession is illegal even if the person has no plan to use or sell it.

In the eyes of the federal government, your (the service member’s) ability to maintain a relationship of trust, understanding and integrity with your spouse is a reflection of your ability to do so with Uncle Sam.

If a service member’s security clearance is pulled it can change their career path. They could be taken off of their team and placed on administrative leave or simply moved to another position. This setback could also prevent them from getting orders to desirable duty stations or even from rising in rank.

If nothing else, it will at least land them in a counseling meeting with a superior which could be a written counseling. A written counseling can take away points from promotion or rank a service member further down in the line-up for promotion.

There are other actions that a military spouse could take that would harm their service member’s career. While it isn’t suppose to influence duty assignments or promotion, a military spouse’s actions in reality can hinder the service member from receiving ideal duty stations or moving up in rank because after all, superiors are human and will remember how a service member’s military spouse has acted, if it is poorly.

Constantly harassing the command to send home a service member from deployment or showing up at the installation with gossip and being a distraction can make a difference. A service member is required to follow the chain of command and if a military spouse talks to a higher ranking person about problems this could reflect poorly upon the service member.

Having an affair with another service member in your spouse’s unit, will make a difference as well. This also falls under the domain of integrity. If the family lives on an installation and the military spouse doesn’t follow the rules of housing, they may be removed from the living situation. Having base privileges revoked will also look poorly upon the service member.

Can a Military Spouse Harm Her Service Member's Career?

What do you think? Does a military spouse’s behavior on or off base affect her service member’s career?

On the flip side, being part of the Family Readiness Group (FRG) might help. If the commanding officer really feels like the military spouse has had a substantially positive impact on the morale of families they may want to keep the service member around and look more favorably upon them. The opposite could be true as well.

Doing nothing at all, not being part of command events for example, most likely will have no influence on your spouse’s career.

If you want to see your service member succeed, obey the law, manage your family’s finances sufficiently, keep your morals in check and help out where you can. The one consistency with the military is that everything and anything can change at any time. Go with the flow and be a positive role model to other military spouses.

What do you think? Does a military spouse’s behavior on or off base affect her service member’s career?

Calling Military Spouses ‘Simply Civilians’ Really Gets Under My Skin

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“Military spouses are just civilians.”

“Spouses are not military; they are civilians like everyone else.”

“Just because you are married to someone in the military doesn’t mean you are in the military, quit saying you are.”

Have you heard any of these phrases before?

I have.

I have even had to backtrack when someone assumed that I had served too because I said something about how “we” were in the military when talking about our experiences as a military family. That was frustrating.

I get it.

As military spouses we are not actually IN the military. I am not sure many military spouses think they are. However, life is different when you are married to someone in the military. Life is more complicated and just so different from life in a civilian family.

When my husband joined the military, everything changed. We had spent about 3 years as a married couple before he joined. When he signed up, everything was different. We were no longer a civilian family, we were a military one.

Having lived both types of lives, I see a huge difference. When people tell me they are similar, I just have to laugh. Life could be exactly the same for some military spouses, but that has not been my personal experience at all. Life changed when he enlisted.

Although military spouses are technically civilians and not in the military themselves, hearing that we are “simply civilians” can seem a bit shallow.

Hearing that can make you feel like you don’t matter or that what you have been though doesn’t matter. Hearing those words can cause military spouses to feel like they are not a part of the military when they really are.

The truth is, when you are married to a member of the military, you are not living a civilian lifestyle, you are living a military one. The military has a lot of say over your life. They tell you where you need to live, when your spouse will be home, if you will have to go months and months without seeing them, whether you can go on vacation, etc. Living a military life is very different from living a civilian one.

Before the military my husband worked a job where he left at about 7 a.m. and was home before 5 p.m. He could take time off without much issue. If he was sick, he didn’t have to go anywhere, he would just pick up the phone and call in. If we wanted to go somewhere, he didn’t have to get a special pass to go further then 250 miles. He didn’t have to get his leave approved only to have that taken away at the last minute. Life was simpler because although he had a boss and an employer, they didn’t have the same type of control over him that the military would.

We should stop saying that military spouses are “simply civilians” because it just doesn’t make any sense to do so. Yes, we know that military spouses didn’t sign up to serve in the military. We understand that but there is no reason to call us civilians. Doing so puts up a wall that doesn’t need to be there.

So what are military spouses? If we are not serving in the military but we are not quite civilians, what are we? Some sort of hybrid?

Half military, half civilian? I don’t like that description either.

I think we are military spouses and we should be called just that. Military spouses are the backbone of the military community. They are the ones that can support the military service member and help them through their career.

How do you feel when someone points out that military spouses are “simply civilians?”

Should Commissary Privilege Go to All Veterans?

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Shopping at the commissary is a great benefit of being part of the military community.

Not all veterans are authorized to shop at the commissary however.

Should the Commissary Privilege Be Extended to All Veterans?

The commissary will not allow anyone to shop there without proper ID.

There are certain qualifications that must be met to be granted access. It isn’t up to the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) to decide who can shop there.

The Department of Defense Instruction 1330.17, DoD Commissary Program outlines all authorized patrons to include: active duty, Guard and Reserve members, military retirees, Medal of Honor recipients, 100 percent disabled veterans and their authorized family members.

The DoD exercises close scrutiny over patronage of military commissaries to ensure the continued effectiveness of military commissaries as an integral part of the military compensation package.

This privilege is also extended to USPHS Commissioned Corps, the NOAA Commissioned Corps and its predecessors, cadets and midshipmen of the Military Service academies and Wage Marine Personnel. There are certain categories of retired military that also are granted access.

These categories include: all military personnel that are on the official retired list, whether active or reserve, who retired with pay, were granted retirement pay for a physical disability or are entitled to retirement pay even if this pay is waived or pending due to the age requirement. Enlisted men and women that are transferred to the Fleet Reserve of the Navy or Marine Corps Reserve after 20 or more years of active service are also allowed to take advantage of the commissary privilege.

Another group that is also granted access to the commissary includes: officers and crew members of vessels, lighthouses keepers and depot keepers of the former Lighthouse Service that retired. This group includes retired civilian employees of the Coast Guard who were lighthouse keepers of the previously named Lighthouse Service and who retired as civilian employees of the Coast Guard as lighthouse keepers or who were on lightships or other vessels.

Retired wage Marines, including retired noncommissioned ships officers, and those who were on NOAA are also able to utilize commissary benefits. 100 percent disabled veterans who were honorably discharged that have a 100 percent service-connected disability or those that are 100 percent unemployable can use the commissary as well.

Families that are able to shop at the commissary include: dependent children and spouses, serving family members and unmarried former spouses. These benefits are also extended to DoD civilian employees and their families when stationed outside of the United States and outside of its territories. Official DoD organizations are able to purchase goods from the commissary as well.

Some service members will leave with a short time to maintain their commissary benefits. A member that is involuntarily separated from active duty can use the commissary for 2 years after the separation. This also includes members of Select Reserve of the Ready Reserve that are separated and granted access to the commissary for 2 years. Service members that receive sole survivor discharge can shop at the commissary for 2 years after service ends.

Should the Commissary Privilege Be Extended to All Veterans?

A commissary cashier checks groceries at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. (U.S. Air Force/Margo Wright)

Employees of DeCA can purchase goods at the commissary for immediate consumption, such as for lunch while at work. Other civilians that are allowed to shop at the commissary include DoD presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed officers and their families that live on a military installation that has a commissary. DoD civilian employees who are stationed TDY overseas can also use this benefit. Some military personnel of foreign nations can also use the commissary.

In overseas areas American National Red Cross and United Service Organizations (USO) can also take advantage of the commissary privilege. The Armed Services Young Men’s Christian Association can also shop at the commissary overseas. Emergency access may be granted to others overseas.

This is a very extensive list and a few more civilian personnel that can shop at the commissary can be found here under the DoD Instruction. Further information can also be found on this site.

Military service that does not continue through retirement are not allowed to use the commissary. This means even if you served in war and put your life on the line, you cannot use the commissary unless you stayed in until retirement.

In regard to disabled veterans, if the disability is less than 100 percent previous service members cannot shop at the commissary.  Those on delayed entry into the service cannot use the commissary either.

You can contact the Pass and ID office on a military installation to ask if your situation grants access to the commissary or not. The commissary will not allow anyone to shop there without proper ID that specifically states commissary benefits.

What do you think? Should shopping at the commissary be available to all veterans?

More and More Military Children Are Missing Their Vaccinations

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We all want to keep our children healthy and on track with immunizations, but it can be tricky when you constantly move. Switching doctors multiple times becomes frustrating when you have to repeatedly ask for your medical records to be sent to your new provider. You come to trust and rely on one doctor and then before you know it, it’s time to move again. Transitioning to a new health care provider can be stressful on both parents and military children.

Navigating the military health care system can be quite frustrating and keeping your military children on target for immunizations becomes difficult.

How can you as a parent of military children ensure they get the proper treatment on time?

According to a study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics this year, 28% of military children between the ages of 19 and 35 months are not up to date on their immunizations compared with 21.1% of all other insured or uninsured U.S. children.

The conclusion of the study was that the most likely reason for this is that military children move so often.

Two other reasons for this include the lack of a universal military children immunization registry to collect and store all the records of immunizations as well as incomplete documentation of vaccinations.

Some parents of military children are diligent about keeping track of their kids’ vaccination schedules and continue to make appointments on time no matter where they are stationed. There are an array of circumstances that could prevent military children from receiving regular medical care however that is beyond the parents’ control. There was an Hib (haemophilus influenza type b) shortage between 2007–2009, which prevented many military children from receiving this shot, for example.

Not all doctors recommend the same shots, nor do they all follow the same timeline for when each vaccination should take place. The American Academy of Pediatrics does provide a recommended schedule of vaccinations that is meant to introduce immunizations at a particular period in a child’s development, but it isn’t always followed. Some parents fear the potential risks that may be involved with different shots or getting multiple shots in one visit.

This can lead to some vaccinations being delayed or missed all together for military children.

Finding a new medical provider and getting an appointment each time the military sends a family and their military children to a new military installation can be difficult.

In small hospitals, such as the one on NSF Dahlgren which only has 2 doctors, it can be difficult to get an appointment. It can be just as hard to get an appointment at military treatment facilities on large military installations where there are many doctors because there are so many military children and other dependents trying to make appointments.

How can you as a parent of military children ensure they get the proper treatment on time?

Most importantly, you should keep track of their medical records and not rely on a hospital to do it for you. Ask for a copy of the documentation of each vaccine they receive at the time of that appointment. You can get an immunization tracker card from your health care provider. You will need a copy of your child’s immunizations for child care, school enrollment, camps and international travel and it is much easier to have this on hand than to wait for your clinic to provide one.

Take the time to become knowledgeable about vaccines. If a previous physician has recommended an immunization and your new one does not, or vise versa, you need to know why and be able to make an informed decision as to whose recommendation you want to follow. Some doctors suggest spreading out vaccines while others lump multiple shots into one office visit. You need to understand why and speak up if you want to separate them.

If you are able to, while you are at the doctor’s office, make the next appointment for your military children to have their next well visit. This will ensure that you keep them on time for getting the next round of vaccinations.

If the office does not make appointments that far in advance then put a reminder on your calendar to call closer to the date needed. It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll remember to do so, but life gets in the way and especially when the military sends you and your military children to a new location.

What has been your child’s experience with the military’s health care system? Are they getting their vaccinations on time?

Army Families Burdened by Backlogged Child Care

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Many Army families are facing huge debt from child care that they were expecting to be covered by the Army’s child care fee subsidy program.

Many Army families are facing huge debt from child care that they were expecting to be covered by the Army's child care fee subsidy program.

Have you been affected by the Army’s child care fee subsidy program backlog?

The Army fee assistance (AFA) is meant to cover the higher cost of off-post child care for eligible families. This program was designed to assist families when on-post child care is not available or when a family is too far away from the military daycare center. The coverage includes full-time or part-time care, before- or after-school care, respite care, as well as weekend and evening duty care. The AFA has not been doing this lately and families are struggling to pay for child care.

Many Army families are facing huge debt from child care that they were expecting to be covered by the Army's child care fee subsidy program.

A Fort Jackson Family Child Care provider plays with a 17-month-old boy. Source: Army.mil

The backlog started when the Army switched from the program being run by Child Care Aware, which continues to run the program for the Air Force, Navy and Marines successfully, to the General Services Administration (GSA). The reason for the transfer of services has not been made transparent at this time.

The information on how poorly GSA has managed the program however is clear.

The problem started as soon as GSA took over program management. GSA went from managing a case load of 200 families to a significant increase by 9,000 Army families. They weren’t prepared for the substantial change and failed to put into place a plan to carry the new load. So far each plan they have tried to gain control of the program has failed and the backlog continues to grow exponentially. Processing has become so slow that as of the end of July they are behind in paying 9,100 invoices.

Army families that depend on the subsidy have waited months to receive reimbursement or are still waiting.

There are many that report falling into debt so much that they have had to file bankruptcy or had a civilian spouse quit their job or stop going to school since they can’t afford child care. A huge frustration to the majority is the lack of communication.

Staff at GSA have admitted that they have deleted voice messages and purposefully not responded to emails because they didn’t have the “luxury” of time to devote to them as the backlog of other tasks is so high. This simply outrages many struggling military families searching for information.

GSA said that they have been tackling the long list of email queries and that the number of emails not receiving a reply has gone down from 4,000 to 621 since the end of July. That isn’t much comfort to the more than 600 people left in the dark and in debt.

GSA said its goal is to pay off all invoices by the end of this year by hiring more staff. Getting fingerprints and having background checks completed as well as being unable to find enough qualified candidates to apply for the positions has delayed the acquisition of more processors. As the days on the calendar quickly tick by, few people believe they will obtain this goal. GSA is meeting with Army officials to discuss the matter and if and how the program may be transferred to another management company.

In the meantime, Army families around the country will be waiting anxiously to find out if they will be receiving financial relief anytime soon.

The holidays are quickly approaching and this hardship that many families are enduring could put a damper on travel and gift giving. Hopefully, a solution will come soon and the season will be bright for all.

Have you been affected by the Army’s child care fee subsidy program backlog? What has your experience been like?

Why the Breastfeeding Soldiers Photo Went Viral

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Military culture is changing a little bit every day. The military is no longer a man’s world. Military culture unites women and men, gay and straight under the same oath to serve the United States of America.

A recent photo that went viral on social media illustrates those changes in military culture. The photo, taken by former airman and military spouse, Tara Ruby, shows 10 female soldiers breastfeeding their babies in uniform at Fort Bliss, Texas. Ruby, who normally takes family portraits, said “her aim for the photo was to normalize breastfeeding in the military” and she planned to donate the photo to a new nursing room at Fort Bliss.

When she posted the breastfeeding soldiers photo on her Facebook page, she had no idea how popular it would become.

Ruby’s breastfeeding soldiers photo went viral when it rack up 2.5 million views on her Facebook page.

But why? Why did this photo go viral? Why did a photo of breastfeeding soldiers become a source of discussion on CNN and Fox News?

Here are the 3 reasons why I think that breastfeeding soldiers photo went viral:

3 Reasons Why the Breastfeeding Soldiers Photo Went Viral

Why do you think a breastfeeding soldiers photo went viral?

National Movement to Normalize Breastfeeding

There are many organizations working to normalize breastfeeding. These organizations encourage mothers to post photos of themselves breastfeeding their children with the hashtag #normalizebreastfeeding on social media. When Ruby posted her photo, she used that hashtag and I think that contributed to its popularity. Individuals who support breastfeeding are looking for that hashtag and ways to show their support on social media.

Movement to Normalize Female Service Members

While there’s a central and concentrated effort to normalize breastfeeding and support mothers who choose to breastfeed, there isn’t the same direct public relations campaign to showcase women in the military.

But it’s there.

There is a grassroots movement, especially among women like Ruby who are former active duty, to show that women can be soldiers, wives, and mothers all at the same time.

“Breastfeeding their babies doesn’t make them less of a soldier, I believe it makes them a better one. Juggling the tasks and expectations of a soldier, plus providing for their own in the best way they possibly can, makes (these) ladies even stronger for it,” Ruby told CNN.

Ruby said on Facebook that she thinks this is the first group photo to show support of active-duty military mommies nursing their babies.

One interesting aspect of this photo is the female service member’s eyes. They aren’t looking at the camera. They are looking into the eyes of their babies.

Civilians Are Intrigued with Military Life

As less and less people serve in the Armed Forces, more and more people know very little about military life. Their knowledge of the military comes from the media and let’s face, there aren’t any military movies showing a female soldier as the protagonist. Wait, correction. There’s one. G.I. Jane.

Therefore, when something like this photo hits Facebook, civilians are intrigued. They post comments on Facebook saying things like “soldiers can’t breastfeed in uniform!” when in fact they can or “oh boy, I bet the Army won’t like this” when the photographer worked with public affairs officer specifically for this photo shoot. Remember the Ruby’s intent was to donate this photo to hang in the nursing room at the Fort Bliss headquarters building.

Civilians don’t expect to see mothers as soldiers simply because they don’t see it in the movies.

In contrast, today’s service members aren’t surprised by this photo because they know that female soldiers pump breastmilk and deliver it to their babies at the child development centers. They know that female Marines return to work 6 weeks after giving birth. They know that female airman work with their supervisors to ensure that they are given an empty office in order to pump during working hours. They know mothers are soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen.

Now it’s your turn: Why do you think this breastfeeding soldiers photo went viral?

Is DoD’s PCS System Wasteful, Inefficient?

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Arizona Republican Senator John McCain released a statement criticizing the government for wasting money by not budgeting for PCS (Permanent Change of Station) moves.

Is DoD's PCS System Wasteful, Inefficient?

With all the government monitoring out there, it is hard to believe that there is no government oversight with PCS moves.

More than 600,000 service members and their families PCS each year. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain received the Government Accountability Office’s report which criticized the government for not tracking the money spent on PCS moves and did the math. This lack of oversight is costing the government a lot of money.

In a statement Sen. McCain said

Despite the crippling effects that sequestration is having on our military services, the Defense Department continues to throw millions of dollars out the door as it fails to adequately manage the costs and budget for service member relocations.

The government has been spending more on PCS moves lately, with a remarkable increase over the last 14 years. That is an increase from $3.8 billion annually to $4.3 billion last year according to the Government Accountability Office’s report.

Interestingly enough, these costs are rising while the number of PCS moves continue to go down. Annual moves are actually down 12 percent. In 2001 for example 731,000 troops had PCS moves while only 646,000 moved in 2014.

Why are PCS costs so high?

PCS moves incur fees for shipping household goods, storing them and issuing travel allowances, temporary lodging expenses and other costs. Officers are allocated more money for PCS moves than enlisted service members and the Air Force has more officers than any other branch. Having troops PCS more frequently then they are suppose to is also causing an increase in cost.

There are time frames set by the government for how long a service member is suppose to be stationed in one location. The time actually allocated between PCS moves is not being followed or tracked. While commands are suppose to report how long service members are in a location, they are not doing so. They are also allowing troops to PCS before they are scheduled to.

The entire PCS system is not being monitored at all. With all the government monitoring out there, it is hard to believe that there is no government oversight here. Because DoD does not evaluate whether the PCS system is efficient, it cannot identify changes that need to be made to lower costs or to determine how to control it.

The Government Accountability Office’s report recommends that DoD initiates a system to report all PCS budget data, evaluate the PCS program often and make a point to seek out data on why service members are moved before their minimum station length is reached. It would also recommend required waivers for early PCS moves.

DoD agrees with Government Accountability Office’s recommendations. What will actually happen now or how long it will take is undetermined. One thing for sure is that military families will be keeping an eye out for changes to PCS moves.

What do you think? Do you agree with Sen. McCain? Do you have any suggestions on how DoD can save money when military families PCS?

 

Tricare’s Long-Term Prescription Policy Changes

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It seems as if every time you turn around there’s talk of Tricare changes. It isn’t just talk any more. As of October 1, 2015, there is a big policy change by the Defense Department. It issued a major change to how beneficiaries receive long-term medication that is brand name.

Tricare will no longer allow these maintenance medications to be filled at retail pharmacies.

All reoccurring medications must now be either ordered through the Tricare mail order pharmacy system, Express Scripts, or picked up at a military treatment facility (MTF).

Why is Tricare changing their policy on maintenance medication refills at retail pharmacies?

The reason why is abundantly clear, to save money. The government is always looking for ways to save money and this is yet another avenue they are choosing to go down. 61 million prescriptions, last year alone, were filled at retail pharmacies using Tricare. That cost the government $5.1 billion.

Using military treatment facilities or Express Scripts will save the government 32% on brand-name maintenance medications over retail store purchases. Government officials estimate moving to this new policy will save $88 million annually.

It isn’t just the Department of Defense that will save money. Beneficiaries are forecasted to save around $176 per prescription over the course of a year by no longer paying co-pays at retail pharmacies and instead having them filled at an MTF or through Express Scripts.

How Tricare's Long-Term Prescription Policy Changes Affect Military Families

What will happen if you don’t switch to Tricare mail order pharmacy and instead try to fill your brand name drug at a retail pharmacy? You will pay 100% of the cost.

For immediate needs, new prescriptions for brand-name long-term care medications can be filled at retail pharmacies, but only for a 30-day supply or less. If more than 30 days is needed, the beneficiary is required to get further medication from a MTF or through the Tricare mail order pharmacy.

What happens if you run out or there is an emergency and you can’t get to a military treatment facility?

Tricare will continue to grant case-by-case exceptions for beneficiaries to include personal hardships, emergency and other circumstances. Those requests will need to be made through Express Scripts.

What will happen if you don’t switch to Tricare mail order pharmacy and instead try to fill your brand name drug at a retail pharmacy? You will pay 100% of the cost.

Because it doesn’t cost the government nearly as much, beneficiaries can still fill generic drugs using Tricare at retail pharmacies. Medications that treat acute illnesses and prescriptions that are covered by other insurance can also continue to be filled at retail pharmacies.

What are maintenance drugs?

Maintenance drugs are medications taken on a regular basis for chronic, long-term conditions. These include drugs that control blood pressure, antidepressant medications and painkillers, for example.

Related: Military Families May Need to Pay for ER Visits in the Future

They do not include short-term prescriptions such as drugs prescribed for short term uses, such as antibiotics.

How can you be sure if you need to fill your prescription through Express Scripts?

The Defense Health Agency has a list of drugs it categorizes as maintenance medications. This list will be available to beneficiaries on the Tricare Pharmacy Program website and will be available through Tricare Pharmacy Program Service Center phone system. You can also review the list of brand name maintenance drugs here.

If you are unsure if your prescription should be switched over to Tricare mail order pharmacy system, call Express Scripts at 1-877-882-3335.

What questions do you have about Tricare’s change to long-term prescriptions?

Should Women Be Included in the Draft?

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Women are invading a man’s military, or at least that’s the perception you’ll get if you read some online comments on news articles and Facebook posts regarding DOD’s decision to allow women to serve in all combat roles.

The decision has been made: Women will be able to be Army Rangers or Navy SEALS if they can pass the same standards as their male counterparts.

Should Women Be Required to Register for the Military Draft?

Women have never been drafted in the U.S. military because they couldn’t serve in combat. Will that change in the future?

But like all great decisions in our military’s history (think President Harry Truman’s order of racial integration in the 1940s or the more recent elimination of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy regarding homosexuality), the policy decision is only the first step. The fallout of these policies and how they will be applied are equally as historic, yet they lack headline appeal.

Let’s examine the current issue—women in the military.

Since women will soon be able to serve in all aspects of the military, is it time for women to be required to register for the draft? Is the act of requiring 18-year-old women to register with Selective Service the final step in gender integration of the U.S. military?

One New Jersey teen thinks so. A class-action lawsuit filed by a 17-year-old through her mother asserts that the Military Selective Service Act violates the civil rights of women aged 18 to 25 by making them ineligible to sign up for the draft registry.

“With both males and females available for such roles today, the two sexes are now similarly situated for draft registration purposes and there is no legitimate reason for the government to discriminate against the female class, so equal protection applies,” says the complaint, cited by Courthouse News. “Further, with both males and females available for such combat roles, there is no reasonable basis for infringing the associational interests of the female class by preventing them from registering.”

In this class-action lawsuit, the young woman reports that she tried to register for the draft on the Selective Service website, only to be rejected when she checked the “female” option. Under current law, only males are required to register for the draft.

Here’s my favorite line in the lawsuit:

If the two sexes can fight and die together, they can register together; if not, then no one should have to register.

This lawsuit isn’t the first of its kind.

In 1981, the Supreme Court reversed a U.S. District Court’s decision that the Military Selective Service Act’s gender-based discrimination violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment (Rostker v. Goldberg, 453 U.S. 57).

Since that decision the idea to include women in the draft has been discussed several times, but Congress hasn’t amended the Selective Service law to include women.

The reason? Because women weren’t allow to serve in combat they shouldn’t be required to register for the draft.

But that argument has been flipped on its head since former Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s announcement that DOD would end the direct ground combat exclusion rule for female service members.

Should Women Be Required to Register for the Military Draft?

Is the act of requiring 18-year-old women to register with Selective Service the final step in gender integration of the U.S. military?

We know that while the United States has the ability to draft for military service, we don’t use the draft unless we have to and future presidents will be very reluctant to initiate a draft with or without women registered in it. We are proud of our all-volunteer force. But in a worst-case scenario shouldn’t we consider having women registered for the draft?

I believe this requirement will be the last step in gender integration for the U.S. military. Once women are required to register with the draft, women will finally be viewed as equals both on and off the battlefield.

Do you think women should be required to register for the draft, like men?