Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has

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1 Volume 24 Number 3 May - Jun 2010 Secretary Shinseki Announces Gulf War Task Force Report Comprehensive approach to delivering care and benefits to Veterans Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has announced that the department s Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Task Force has nearly completed a comprehensive report that will redefine how VA addresses the pain and suffering of ill veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and At VA, we advocate for veterans it is our overarching philosophy and, in time, it will become our culture, Secretary Shinseki said. Every day we must challenge our assumptions to serve our nation s veterans. The mission of VA s Gulf War Task Force is to identify gaps in services as well as opportunities to better serve veterans of the Gulf War. Of the almost 700,000 service members who deployed to Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and Operation Desert Storm in 1991, there have been 300,000 Gulf War veterans with claims decisions, over 85 percent were granted service connection for at least one condition, and over 14 percent were not granted service connection for any condition. We must learn from the past and take the opportunity to anticipate the future needs of our veterans, Shinseki said. This new approach is the first step in a still unfolding comprehensive plan of how VA will treat and compensate veterans of the Gulf War era. The chairman of the Gulf War Task Force is John R. Gingrich, Chief of Staff at Veterans Affairs and retired Army officer who served during the Gulf War. Reaching out to Gulf War veterans is not only essential to our transformation of VA, for many of us it is also personal, Mr. Gingrich said. Having commanded troops in the Gulf War, and then witness some of them fall to mysterious illnesses has been very difficult to watch. With this Task Force, I am hopeful we can provide these men and women a better quality of life. VA s Gulf War Task Force recommendations build on the findings from the 2008 VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illnesses. The Task Force s recommendations include: continued on page 4 Presidential Commission by Chuck Partridge Government Relations By executive order, President Obama established the Bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in February. He named former Wyoming Republican Senator Alan Simpson and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles as the commission s co-chairs. The commission will be composed of 18 total members will be appointed by Senate and House leaders (three each by the Republican and Democratic leaders of both chambers). All members must be sitting members of Congress. The additional six will be appointed by the President with no more than four from the same political party. Fourteen of the 18 votes cast are needed to report out recommendations. The final report is due to Congress by 1 December President Obama stated that he is confident the commission will build a bipartisan consensus to put America on the path toward fiscal reform and responsibility. I know they ll take up their work with the sense of integrity and strength of commitment that America s people deserve and America s future demands. The commission s job will be to make recommendations that will bring down the Federal deficit to 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The deficit is now over 9% of GDP. The commission will also propose ways to reduce costs of other government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The panel is also expected to review the US tax code. The President has not ruled out tax increases for the middle class if the commission deems it necessary. The makeup of the commission means that some of its members will be in the states and congressional districts of AMS members. Also, we expect public hearings, so you can hear some of what they do. We all need to watch what this commission does carefully. The work of some commissions is ignored and the recommendations gather dust on the shelf. However, the ideas brought up by these panels may very well stay around and be damaging long after the commission is forgotten. Other commissions such as the continued on page 3

2 E D I T O R S C O L U M N John P. May Elsewhere in this issue the matters of cuts in Medicare payments to doctors and the failure by congress to pass a $250 payment to recipients of government pensions and disability payments are discussed. The reasons for the failure, so far, to find a permanent fix to the pending Medicare cuts and the failure to pass the $250 payment are the same: paying for them. And the difficulty in paying for them is because of the massive federal debt. Many elected officials and others in Washington are finally starting to get very nervous about continuing to borrow money from China, Japan and countries in the Middle East, among others. But they know there are only three ways to bring down the debt: cut spending, raise taxes, or both. They also know those choices are not popular with voters, and unhappy voters tend to vote against elected officials who do either of those things. One way to try and get around those problems is to appoint a commission to study the problem and make the unpopular recommendations such as they did in the past with the Base Realignment And Closing Commission (BRAC). As Chuck Partridge reports in his column, President Obama has appointed the commission because Congress couldn t even agree on setting up their own. As we said above, the commission only has the options of cutting spending or raising taxes. So the only questions will be what programs they recommend cutting and whose President Signs Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act taxes they recommend raising. Just to give you an idea of what they are dealing with, the Congressional Budget Office reported in 2008 that defense spending was 21 percent of the federal budget. In addition, 21 percent of the budget paid for Social Security; 19 percent paid for Medicare, Medicaid and child health programs; eight percent paid for interest on the national debt; six percent paid for federal and military retirement, survivor programs and VA benefits; 11 percent went to federal safety net programs; and 14 percent went to all the other programs in the federal budget. When you add up defense, Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid, and federal & military retirement/survivor programs and VA benefits, you come up with 67 percent of the federal budget. Given that huge number, it is simply not reasonable to expect the commission will not in some way try to reduce benefits provided within those budgets. In short, after the commission delivers its report, which is due December 1, we are likely to have to fight as hard as we ever have to keep our promised and earned benefits. You can be sure AMS will be in the middle of that fight and we will keep you up-to-date on the commission and its recommendations and on what actions Congress may try to take on them. Please remember we ll need your continued support and membership more than ever. ` Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) has praised President Barack Obama s signing of the Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act of For veterans with limited insurance, a trip to the emergency room should not result in financial ruin, said Chairman Akaka, who introduced the bill in the Senate last year. With this new law, VA will be positioned to help veterans who are enrolled in VA care whose insurance does not cover the full cost of emergency treatment. The Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act will enable the Department of Veterans Affairs to reimburse veterans enrolled in VA health care for the remaining cost of emergency treatment if the veteran has outside insurance that only covers part of the cost. Previously, VA could reimburse veterans or pay outside hospitals directly only if a veteran had no outside health insurance. In addition to reimbursing veterans for emergency care in the future, the bill allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide retroactive reimbursements for care received prior to the passage of this bill. Akaka has received correspondence from veterans who were unable to receive financial assistance under the previous rules, and plans to share their information with Secretary Shinseki. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this legislation will cover approximately 700 future claims per year and as many as 2,000 veterans retroactively. `

3 Report from the Hill continued from page 1 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission resulted in major changes and not always good ones. We don t yet know what the results of this commission will be and for that reason it could be very dangerous to us. It is our opinion that commissions are a bad idea. Members of Congress and the President are the ones we elect to make the tough decisions. They should shoulder their responsibilities in broad daylight and have the debates in the open and listen to their constituents. Commissions, just as the BRAC commission did, are designed to give politicians cover while taking unpopular actions and leaving us no alternative. It is critical that the work of this commission be kept under close watch and that we provide input to them at every opportunity. Medicare Physician Payment Cut As I write, this Congress finally acted and once again suspended the legislated 21% cut in physician payments under Medicare. This has been an annual problem over the past several years. However, the suspension is for just 30 days, so the issue will have either been dealt with again by the time you read this -- or the payment cuts will have gone into effect. While we don t believe Congress will actually let those cuts take place, the consequences would be very severe if they do. Since TRICARE payments to physicians are based on Medicare rates, any cut in Medicare would create access problems not only for Medicare but for TRICARE and TRICARE for Life beneficiaries as well. Many TRICARE beneficiaries are having increasing difficulties in finding doctors who accept TRICARE. Any cut in payment rates would be devastating to our membership. There is no doubt that Medicare needs to be fixed. However, there are many steps that can be taken other than reducing access for beneficiaries or otherwise throwing beneficiaries under the bus. Concurrent Receipt There is still no resolution of the full concurrent receipt issue for disabled military retirees. Many thousands of disabled retirees who receive retired pay from the Department of Defense and also draw disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs lose a portion of their retired pay based on the amount of disability they receive. Thus, they are paying for the disability they incurred in service to our country. This is a national disgrace. Retired pay is provided for years of service -- disability compensation is provided to compensate in some degree for injuries, disease or illness resulting from that service. Now is the time for Congress to act on the bills that have been introduced to fix this. They are HR 333 in the House by Representative Jim Marshall (D-Ga.) and S 546 in the Senate by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to act. If you don t know whether they are a cosponsor or not, ask them. That will stimulate a staffer to find out and learn something about the bills. Survivor Benefit Plan and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation In a related matter, Congress also failed to provide full relief for the survivors of disabled military retirees who receive an SBP annuity from the Department of Defense and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Except for a small stipend, surviving spouses of retirees who draw an SBP annuity have it reduced dollar for dollar by the amount of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation they receive based on their military spouse s death due to a service connected disability. This is an outrageous situation. Again bills have already been introduced: HR 775 in the House by Representatives Henry Brown (R-S.C.) and Solomon Ortiz (D-Calif.) and S 535 in the Senate by Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). As a result of a lawsuit, surviving spouses in this situation who have remarried after age 57 are allowed to draw both SBP and DIC. We urge you to contact your members of Congress and urge them to support these bills. Military Health System Efforts have been made over the past several years to impose additional health care fees on military retirees. Government officials, including Secretary Gates, have complained about health care costs to Congress this year as well. One major reason for the increase in cost is that more and more care is being provided by the private sector which is more expensive than care in Military Treatment Facilities. Some progress has been made in DoD recognizing this, but little or nothing has been done to fix it. We need more uniformed medical personnel, more access to MTFs, greater use of military pharmacies and mail order home delivery of medications. DoD also should push for Medicare reimbursement for treatment of Medicare eligible retirees in MTFs. As we quoted a military medical care expert before: "increasing fees might save millions, but increasing capability of MTFs will save billions." Defense Funding We expect to face significant challenges this year. The size of the deficit, the level of unemployment, the overall poor performance of the economy, and the increasing cost of health care are serious matters. We can expect to be caught up in efforts to slash spending -- despite the fact that there are two wars going on and the military is stretched thin to meet all of its requirements. We need to work hard to protect what we have and continue to seek equity in those areas where the government has fallen short. The Defense Department is underfunded and we can expect further attacks on adequate funding for the military. We owe an all out effort not only for veterans, retirees and their families, but also for those currently serving who have no voice but ours. `

4 Rep. Walz Fights for Veterans in Intelligence Bill The House of Representatives recently passed an amendment introduced by Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) to ensure that veterans who are experts in keeping our country safe are treated fairly in the security clearance process. Veterans have the kind of expertise and experience that is valuable to the intelligence community. said Walz. When determining if a veteran is granted a security clearance, I want to make sure the intelligence community makes those decisions based not only on suitability but also on the unique experiences these heroes had as a result of their service. Our nation s veterans do not want preferential treatment, but it is up to us to provide them a fair playing field when it comes to getting a job in the national security field. Mr. Walz s amendment requires the intelligence community to train their security clearance adjudicators on all combat injuries, including PTSD, affecting combat veterans. HR 2701, the Intelligence Authorization Act, supports our intelligence officers by improving oversight of covert actions, directing essential funding for efforts abroad, and boosting foreign language capabilities to ensure that officers have the critical tools they need to carry out operations around the world. Secretary Shinseki Announces Gulf War Task Force Report continued from page 1 Improve data sharing with Department of Defense to notify veterans of potential exposures, monitor their long-term health and inform them about decisions regarding additional follow up. Improve the delivery of benefits to veterans with Gulf War-related disabilities by (a) reviewing, and if necessary, updating regulations affecting Gulf War veterans, and (b) expanding training for VBA examiners on how to administer disability claims with multiple known toxin exposure incidents. Improve VA healthcare for veterans through a new model of interdisciplinary health education and training. Increase number of long term, veteran-focused studies of veterans to enhance the quality of care VA provides. Transition from reactive to proactive medical surveillance to help better manage veterans potential hazardous exposures. Find new treatments for Gulf War veterans through new research. Enhance outreach to provide information and guidance to veterans about benefits and services available to them for injuries/illnesses associated with Gulf War service. ` Obama Budget 2011: Investing in America s Veterans House Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Bob Filner recently conducted a hearing to address the Obama Administration s budget request for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Under a new law, the Administration is able to request two budgets for the VA: one to provide fiscal 2011 total funding and another to provide fiscal 2012 funding for certain VA medical accounts. For fiscal year 2011, the Administration has proposed a VA budget of $125 billion, an $11 billion increase from the 2010 enacted budget. The Administration is requesting $51.5 billion in resources for VA medical care, an increase of $4.1 billion over fiscal year 2010 levels. For fiscal year 2012, the Administration has requested a five percent increase in funding above the amounts requested for fiscal year After years of working to provide adequate VA budgets, I am pleased that the recommendations of the Independent Budget have been addressed, said Chairman Filner. I am impressed by this robust budget request and its emphasis on funding many of the priorities of this Committee, including addressing the plague of homelessness, rural health care access, and the mental health care needs of our veterans. This budget addresses the problems faced by our newer veterans while not forgetting the sacrifices and service of veterans from previous conflicts. I am very pleased with the direction taken by President Obama and VA Secretary Shinseki. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki presented an overview of the 2011 budget for VA and provided detail on key investments in high priority performance goals, which include reducing the claims backlog, eliminating veteran homelessness, automating the G.I. Bill benefits system, establishing a virtual lifetime electronic record, improving mental health care, and deploying a Veterans Relationship Management System. Secretary Shinseki highlighted specific budget proposals necessary to transform VA into a 21st century o rg a n i z a - tion and provided updates on current projects, including the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and re-engineering the Veterans Benefits Administration into a paperless system. Rest assured that this Committee will be working closely with our counterparts in Congress and with the Administration as the process moves forward to ensure that veterans have the medical care resources they need, said Chairman Filner. Under Secretary Shinseki s leadership, we are able to build on the historic past increases in funding and better meet the needs of America s veterans. `

5 Akaka Continues Focus on the Invisible Wounds of War VA leaders and former troops with firsthand knowledge discuss veteran suicide-prevention U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, held an oversight hearing recently on veteran suicide and mental health issues. Akaka, who has championed a number of veterans mental health and suicide-prevention bills which are now law, sought to hear from veterans and VA leadership on the implementation of these measures. Just as we must provide our troops with the equipment and tools they need when they are sent to battle, we must do more to help veterans battle the Burglars Don t Take Vacations enemy of mental illness, said Akaka. VA has made important improvements in recent years, but we must continue to work until what now seems impossible becomes a reality: that no veteran who returns from service is lost to suicide. Akaka is the author of the Veterans Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act (Public Law ), a sweeping veterans mental health bill passed in 2008 to address the dual issues of substance abuse and PTSD among veterans. This legislation paid tribute to Justin Bailey, a veteran who died of a drug overdose while receiving treatment from VA for PTSD and substance abuse. Akaka also cosponsored the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, passed in 2007 to improve VA s suicide prevention efforts and establish a counseling hotline that has led to over a thousand rescues. The hearing witnesses drew from firsthand knowledge to discuss the challenges faced by veterans with invisible wounds, which sometimes produce tragic consequences. Mr. Daniel Hanson, an Iraq war veteran, discussed his difficult road from attempted suicide to recovery, to which he largely credited a year-plus residential recovery program outside of VA. A witness from VA s suicide prevention hotline described the successful rescue of a veteran who had attempted to take his own life. ` While you re away on vacation, the last thing you want to worry about is burglars invading your home and stealing your personal belongings. So before you leave, take these precautions. They ll help protect your property and give you peace of mind. Lock all windows and use dead-bolts on exterior doors. Install security bars on sliding doors to prevent them from being lifted off their tracks. Leave a few shades or curtains open to maintain a lived-in appearance. Set light timers in a few rooms so that it appears people are at home when it s dark. Stop newspaper delivery so that papers don t pile up at your door. Store cash, jewelry and other valuables in a bank safe-deposit box. Don t leave an outgoing message on your answering machine announcing you are on vacation. Lower the volume on the machine and your telephone ringer. Install outside lights, preferably with motion detectors. If you can afford one, install and activate a security system. Or at the very least, put security system warning decals on doors and windows to deter intruders. Finally, ask your neighbors to keep an eye on your property and to notify you if they suspect a problem. Even better, ask a friend or relative either to house sit or to stop by daily to collect your mail, put out your garbage, and check that everything s okay. Don t forget to exchange the favor yourself. This information brought to you by Liberty Mutual and the American Military Society. Our partnership with Liberty Mutual offers competitive rates and superior service to AMS Members. For more information or to request a quote, please call or visit us at com/ams. Please mention client #3825 when you call Liberty Mutual Group. All rights reserved. `

6 Retiree Dental Coverage Available for Purchase Good oral health is an important part of maintaining overall health and a military retiree s access to dental coverage doesn t end when they hang up their uniform. With the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program, retired service members can purchase affordable dental coverage for themselves and their eligible family members. The TRICARE Retiree Dental Program is available around the world to retired service members who receive retirement pay, gray area retired National Guard and Reserve members who are entitled to (but not yet receiving) retirement pay and Medal of Honor recipients. The spouses and children up to 21, or 23 if they are full-time students, of these retirees are also eligible for the retiree dental program. Participants in this voluntary plan can get dental care from any licensed dentist within the program s designated service area. However, visiting an out-of-network dentist may require participants to pay higher out-of-pocket expenses and file their own claims. The TRICARE Retiree Dental Program is a premiumbased plan administered by Delta Dental and it has cost shares for certain services after beneficiaries reach their $50 per-person deductible. Most preventive, diagnostic and emergency dental services are covered or available for costsharing immediately after enrollment, but some services including orthodontics, dentures and crowns are available with a cost-share only after 12 months of continuous enrollment. The monthly premium rates vary based on the retiree s location and the number of people covered by the plan. These premiums are automatically deducted from retirement pay. The rates are available at and adjust Oct. 1 for the next year. Those interested in the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program may enroll online, by telephone or by mail. Visit and click Prospective Enrollees for more information on rates and benefits. ` Know Before You Go: Some Services Need Prior Authorization Some health care services like visiting a primary care provider when sick or for a follow-up appointment are, as their name implies, routine. However, for other services such as care from a medical specialist or special tests TRICARE requires prior authorization. Routine care includes general office visits for the treatment and follow-up care for an ongoing medical condition. These do not need prior authorization. However, when a provider recommends special tests, services, hospitalizations or other procedures, a prior authorization may be required. Some services requiring prior authorization are: home health services, hospice care, anesthesia, transplants and nonemergency inpatient admissions. Because there is no all-inclusive list of services requiring prior authorization, beneficiaries should speak with their provider and regional contractor to confirm prior authorization before getting care. In most cases, the health care provider recommending the procedure requests the prior authorization from the regional contractor and coordinates the process on the beneficiary s behalf. If the physician fails to get prior authorization, the patient may be responsible for payment. Standard beneficiaries in particular, since they often make their own appointments and self-refer to specialists, should be careful to follow TRICARE s prior authorization guidelines. Beneficiaries who have other health insurance need to follow the rules of their commercial health plan. Generally, they don t need prior authorization for TRICARE-covered services, but there are exceptions. To learn more about prior authorization and what is covered go to www. tricare.mil. To verify prior authorization, beneficiaries can contact their regional contractors: North Region: TRICARE ( ); South Region: ; West Region: ` The AMS Advocate is published bi-monthly by the American Military Society: 1 (800) Executive Editor Catherine Tavarozzo Managing Editor/Designer Sue Boyles Membership: 1 (800) Insurance Coverage/Billing: 1 (800) Insurance Claims: 1 (800) Material may be quoted or reprinted in part or whole as long as proper credit is given to AMS. Membership in the American Military Society is open to all members from all branches of the armed forces, both officers and enlisted personnel, including Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, Retired and Veterans, as well as spouses and widows of the uniformed services family. Any individual who supports the aims and purposes of AMS is eligible for Associate Membership. Any business entity, local government, or civic group that supports the aims, objectives, and purposes of AMS is eligible for sustaining membership.

7 Korean War 60 th Anniversary Memorial Committee THE LITTLE ANGELS CHILDREN S FOLK BALLET OF KOREA 16-NATION TOUR To Honor the UN Korean War Veterans On this year of the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, the Little Angels Children s Folk Ballet of Korea will tour the U.S. to celebrate the enduring Korean-American friendship and to express the deep gratitude the Korean people still feel toward all Americans for preserving their freedom. America paid a huge price in blood and tears that we ll never forget, said Dr. Bo Hi Pak, founding director of the Little Angels, which was launched in Pak, a retired diplomat and Korean Army lieutenant colonel, is himself a Korean War veteran. The Little Angels tour, which will include all 16 nations that contributed troops to the United Nationsled Korean War effort, will begin in the United States in June. The group will hold performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC from June 9-12 at 7:30 p.m., followed by performances in New York City at the Manhattan Center on June 15 and 16 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. both days; at Fort Benning, Ga., at the River Center on June 27 at 7:30 p.m.; and in Atlanta at the Cobb Energy Center on June 28 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and on June 29 at 7:30 p.m. The organizing committee will invite hundreds of Korean War veterans and their families, through their local veterans organizations, to accept complimentary seating at the events. On June 23, the Little Angels will participate in a wreath-laying and memorial service at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at 10 a.m. for those Korean War veterans buried in Arlington National Cemetery. And on June 25, the 60 th anniversary day of the beginning of the Korean War, the Little Angels will participate in a memorial service at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the Mall at 10 a.m. They will follow it with a public performance at the site. The ballet troupe is composed of mostly girls aged 9 to 15. Though young, their professional level of singing and dancing has inspired audiences all over the world for the past 48 years, thrusting them into the role of representatives of the Korean nation to the world and Angels of Peace and Ambassadors of Good Will to many nations. All South Koreans are gratefully aware of the sacrifice of the international community that protected freedom in their nation, which has become one of the most prosperous in the world, as well as a bastion of democracy in Asia. Thus, it s with a sense of a national outpouring of gratitude and friendship that the Little Angels, who have received awards three times from the Korean government for their international ambassadorship, are being dispatched on this 16-nation tour. And they re coming on a wave of national pride in the 5,000-year-old rich culture of Korea, with its enthralling dance and thrilling music. Former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, general chairman of the Korean War 60 th Anniversary Project Committee, which is coordinating the Little Angels tour, said of the dance troupe, Their beauty, innocence, and professionalism have been experienced and acknowledged by millions. Now, they will perform for the Korean War veterans and their families, to express the Korean people s unforgettable thanks and gratitude for their sacrifice made by those who defended their peace and freedom. The year 2010 will be one of our last chances to show our gratitude to the surviving Korean War veterans and to their families. In addition to the 16 nations that contributed troops to the UN-led war effort, there were 25 more that gave medical supplies and other material support. The exceptionally bloody conflict, which killed about 1 million South Koreans and 2 million North Koreans, including civilians, ended with an armistice in 1953 after 54,000 American soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice. The 16 nations that provided troops to protect Korea s freedom were Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The desire of the Korean War 60 th Anniversary Memorial Committee (KW60), the name of the formal organization sponsoring the Little Angels tour, is to present a special gift to America s Korean War veterans. We want to give U.S. veterans a performance that will thrill and delight them, and at the same time astound them with the contrast between the ragged children they remember begging in the gutter in 1953 and those visions of perfection they will see on stage today, said Pak, who is chief executive of KW60. The Little Angels were started at a time when life in South Korea was still very poor. There were few resources available, and Pak and his associates had to scrape and sacrifice to make the vision of the dance troupe a reality. But as the years passed, the children worked hard and became a world-class group, eventually performing in major capitals everywhere. But our most important performances of all, said Pak, are awaiting us on this upcoming tour, because they will be perhaps the final thank you we can make to our precious Korean War veterans in the twilight years of their lives. `

8 American Military Society P.O. Box Washington, D.C Address Service Requested Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID American Military Society Remember: Armed Forces Day is May 15th Memorial Day is May 31st Flag Day is June 14th Secretary Shinseki Announces Gulf War Task Force Report page 1 Report from the Hill page 1 Editor's Column page 2 President Signs Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act page 2 Obama Budget 2011: Investing in America s Veterans page 4 Rep. Walz Fights for Veterans in Intelligence Bill page 4 Akaka Continues Focus on the Invisible Wounds of War page 5 Burglars Don t Take Vacations page 5 Retiree Dental Coverage Available for Purchase page 6 Know Before You Go: Some Services Need Prior Authorization page 6 The Little Angels Children s Folk Ballet of Korea page