Ft Riley Military Retiree Council Newsletter October 2017 Chair s Corner (Call to Action!) By Col (Ret) C. Kay Hutchinson Retiree Appreciation Day Edition When: October 20, 2017 Where: Riley s Conference Center 446 Seitz Dr., Fort Riley, KS Registration Starts at 0730 Program Starts at 0830 In addition to outstanding speakers, there will be a health fair, county fair, and inoculations provided by Irwin Army Community Hospital. Thousands of Dollars in Prizes and Give-Aways! Contents: Chair s Corner 1 RAD Press Release 2 RAD Luncheon Reservation Form 3 RAD Luncheon Speaker Bio 4 1st ID Celebrates 100 Years 5 Legislative Update 6 Still Serving! Well here it is time for me to send greetings as the new Chairman of the Fort Riley Retiree Council. First a big thank you to the Council members for electing me as their chairman a task I take with some trepidation due to the great leadership exhibited by my predecessors during the years I have served on the Council. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to emulate the terrific work done by those ahead of me such great leaders as COL (Doc) Steinkruger; CSM Richard Young, LTC Wayne Converse and CSM Terry Young. Their efforts have been impeccable and I fear that I may not live up to the standards established by these four outstanding service members that continue serving our needs as dedicated members of the Retiree Council. As way of introduction, please know that the above portrait of our two sons and me is probably the most revered photo of all that I have. This was taken in December 1986 as I was preparing for retirement and our two sons were home for Christmas. Of them, Kirk, on the left in the photo, went on to a 30-year Army career and today continues serving as a member of the Public Affairs Office staff at Fort Riley. Mark, our younger son, had 14 years in the Active and Reserve Army before he decided to give up that calling due to employment requirements. But wait there s more. My wife (Liz) also had military service, completing four years in the Army Reserve and our oldest grandson served in Afghanistan with the 3 rd Infantry Division. (See Page 5)
Page 2 THE ROAD AHEAD Fort Riley Military Retiree Council Newsletter Former Navy Blue Angels Pilot to Speak at Fort Riley s Retiree Appreciation Day Military retirees will have the opportunity to be entertained and informed about the famed US Navy Blue Angels precision flight team when former Blue Angels pilot, Steve Lambert, addresses the lunch crowd at Retiree Appreciation Day 2017 (RAD 2017) Friday, 20 October, at Riley s Conference Center, Fort Riley. Retirees wishing to attend the lunch must make advanced reservations by Monday, 16 October, by calling 785-239- 3320 or by emailing the Retirement Services Office at georgia.a.rucker.civ@mail.mil. Retirees of all military services, spouses, widows and widowers will be treated to an expanded RAD this year and will be greeted during the opening ceremonies at 8:30 by the First Infantry Division s Commanding General, Major General Joseph Martin, and the Garrison Commander, Colonel John Lawrence, followed by informative presentations by Mr. Glenn Suetter, TRICARE and healthcare expert; the Irwin Army Community Hospital Commander, Colonel John Melton, and the Commissary and PX managers. An entertaining and informative presentation on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the First Infantry Division, the Big Red One, will be provided by Dr. Robert Smith, Fort Riley s Museum Curator. This year s Retiree Appreciation Day will extend into the afternoon hours with presentations on Long- Term-Care for military retirees and their family members; a Federal Legislative Update by MOAA representative, Paul Frost, and the US Army s Recruiting for Our Future The day-long RAD 2017 begins with registration at 7:30 that Friday morning, and running until 3:30 that afternoon, offering something for all military retirees and their spouses, widows and widowers including the opportunity to get their Influenza shot and to update other inoculations including Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap), Pneumovax, and/ or Zostovax (shingles). Retirees planning to attend RAD 2017 that do not have a DoD ID card will need to go first to the Visitors Center at the Henry/Marshall Airfield Gate at Exit 301 off Interstate 70 before entering the installation. To expedite access for such attendees, and civilians providing support to RAD, such as Chambers of Commerce members and others may call 785-239-3320 to be placed on a Special Post Access List to expedite their entry at the Visitors Center. They will also need a government issued photo-id card, such as a Driver s License to gain access to the installation. (See page 4)
Page 3 THE ROAD AHEAD Fort Riley Military Retiree Council Newsletter $15.00 per person All American Buffet includes: Retiree Appreciation Luncheon, 1200-1300 HRS Friday, 20 October at the Riley Conference Center 446 Seitz Dr. Fort Riley, KS Oven Fried Chicken Roast Beef Baked Potatoes Country style Greens Beans Caesar Salad Dessert Rolls Iced Tea or water Luncheon Speaker: Mr Steve Lambert, former Blue Angels Pilot Luncheon Reservation Form To reserve your luncheon reservation Mail your reservation to address below or call the Retirement Services Office at 785-239-3320. Deadline October 16, 2017 Make check or money order payable to The Fort Riley Retiree Council Fort Riley Retiree Council Attn: LTC (Ret) Wayne Converse P.O. Box 2161 Fort Riley, KS 66442 Last Name: First Name: Guest: Phone: Cell: Email: @ $15.00 per person = $
Page 4 THE ROAD AHEAD Fort Riley Military Retiree Council Newsletter Fort Riley s Retiree Appreciation Day (continued from page 2) Doors to Riley s Conference Center and RAD 2017 open at 7:30 with formal events getting underway at 8:30. Informative health care and community activities booths at the RAD county fair will be open from 8:00 until 3:30, Friday, 20 October, at Fort Riley. Several thousand dollars in door prizes will be awarded via ongoing drawings throughout the day. Grand prize drawing for the day will be for a 20-foot telescoping flag pole with an American flag to be awarded at the close of the day s activities at 3:30. And every military retiree attending the event will receive a free American flag kit (while supplies last) as one small way of saying Thank you for your service. Military retirees should mark their calendars now for a full day of information, fun and fellowship at Fort Riley s Retiree Appreciation Day, Friday, 20 October 2017. Former Blue Angels Pilot Speaks at RAD 2017 Luncheon Steve Lambert, who was one of the famed Blue Angels pilots during his US Navy career, will thrill RAD 2017 luncheon guests with special reports of the famed precision flying organization, the United States Navy s Blue Angels. Anyone that has seen this spirited group will certainly become enchanted with stories of Steve Lambert s flying with this internationally-known flight-demonstration group as he unfolds tales of how one is selected to fly with this most-experienced group of pilots and of several incidents and near-misses during his piloting career. Steve Lambert grew up in Sacramento, California, and attended Oregon State University on a Navy ROTC Scholarship. Upon graduation in 1965, he was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy. After completion of flight school, Lambert was assigned to the USS Hancock where he flew 155 combat missions over North Vietnam in the F-8 Crusader. As noted by Lambert, he survived 250 carrier landings, with over 100 of those being at night. After Vietnam, Lambert served as an instructor pilot at Naval Air Station Miramar in the F-8 Replacement Squadron, and was one of the initial flight instructors at Fighter Weapons School (which later became known as Top Gun ). Steve was then selected to join the Blue Angels as a solo pilot. He served with the demonstration team in 1972-1973. Although Lambert was selected for promotion to Lieutenant Commander, he made the decision to leave the Navy for civilian life in December 1973. Following his departure from the Navy, Steve became a partner and Senior Vice President of Operations for Jim Colbert Golf, which owned, leased and operated over 25 courses throughout the country. Today, Steve Lambert enjoys a less strenuous life as General Manager of the Colbert Hills Golf Course at Manhattan, Kansas. To attend the lunch and hear former Blue Angels pilot Steve Lambert speak, military retirees must make advanced reservations by calling the Retirement Services Office at Fort Riley at 785-239-3320 or emailing the office at georgia.a.rucker.civ@mail.mil.
Page 5 THE ROAD AHEAD Fort Riley Military Retiree Council Newsletter Chair s Corner (Call to Action!) continued from page 1 Then, there s our nephew (by marriage) who is an Army physician currently assigned at Bethesda/Walter Reed Medical Center. We have a grandson (by marriage) who had 4 ½ years in the US Navy and is now assigned to a Naval Reserve unit at Indianapolis. I guess it would be OK to say, We re a military family - something of which we re very proud. Enough family reminiscing for now we ve important things to do, mainly get ready for Retiree Appreciation Day 2017 (RAD 2017) to which most of this newsletter is dedicated. We believe we are putting together a highly informative, entertaining RAD and trust that you will make every effort to be a part of this great venture RAD 2017, at Riley s Conference Center at Fort Riley, Friday, 20 October. Hope to see you here for that event. Warm regards, COL (Ret) C. Kay Hutchinson, Chairman, Fort Riley Retiree Council. 1st Infantry Division Marks 100th Year with Monument MG Joseph M. Martin, Commander of the 1 st Infantry Division and CSM Joseph Cornelison, Division Command Sergeant Major unveil the 1st Infantry Division s 100th Anniversary Monument to kick of Victory Week on Fort Riley. The dedication was held August 18 at Victory Park next to division headquarters. The black granite monument features the division s centennial logo and was presented as a gift from the Historical and Archaeological Society of Fort Riley. ON DISPLAY 24/7: Salina, Kansas On duty 24/7, at the Salina Regional Health Center cafeteria in a curio cabinet with other pertinent documents is a Fort Riley Retiree Council Certificate of Appreciation that was given to the Regional Health Center Foundation for being a 2016 Retiree Appreciation Day sponsor. The certificate is seen by all visitors and employees. Great exposure for the Fort Riley Retiree Council and the RAD.
Page 6 THE ROAD AHEAD Fort Riley Military Retiree Council Newsletter Legislative Update by LTC (Ret) Wayne Converse Trading Set to Begin on Key TRICARE Issues As the House and Senate Armed Services Committees prepare to meet to hash out their respective positions on the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), these are the key issues of importance to every TRICARE beneficiary: TRICARE enrollment fees, as well as other fees, would be hit with significant increases according to the Senate s proposed bill. The Senate is looking for ways to plow savings back into readiness and other unspecified projects, and it wants to do this by repealing the grandfathering clause for TRICARE fees contained in last year s law, which shielded current TRICARE beneficiaries from new fees. The proposed fee structure, which could start immediately depending on the negotiations, would result in the doubling of fees for many beneficiaries. Rising TRICARE pharmacy cost shares, as proposed in the Senate s NDAA version, would impact TRI- CARE For Life beneficiaries the most. These increases are especially appealing to the Senate because the pharmacy benefit consists of mandatory spending for beneficiaries over the age of 65. The Senate s plan proposes that the savings resulting from these fee hikes could then be used to fund other accounts and programs programs like the Special Survivor indemnity Allowance (SSIA) to remedy the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)/Dependency Indemnity (DIC) offset, also known as the widows tax, which offsets a military survivor s monthly SBP annuity by any DIC they receive. The Senate s proposal to tie all TRICARE fees to a national health care index would increase the cost of your health insurance. Premiums, copayments, deductibles, and catastrophic caps would rise annually based on increases in health care costs as measured by per capita growth in the National Health Expenditures (NHE). (see page 7) Supply and Demand: The challenge of maintaining an all-volunteer force. (Col Dan Merry, USAF (Ret)) Quality recruits come at a cost. Are we willing to pay for it? The Senate defense authorization bill doesn t look promising. Many military veteran organizations have lobbied to ensure adequate troop strength, but haven t devoted as much attention to quality. It is now critical to discuss both. They are inseparable, and they are both in jeopardy. Why the alarm? Because our nation has relied on the all-volunteer force since 1973, and all that time we have taken the volunteer pool for granted. That s about to change because the pool has changed. MG Jeffry Snow, commanding general of the Army s Recruiting Command, identified the crux of the problem: The problem that we are facing is that so few actually can meet the qualification requirement to join the military.only three in 10 of today s youth can actually meet the requirements. That number gets even smaller, around 20 percent, when you take college-bound young people out of the equation. This problem stems from a bigger picture: There are approximately 20 million 17-21 year olds in America. Of those, 11.3 million meet academic requirements. Only about 4.4 million of those are even eligible to join. Assessing propensity to join, we are left with about 465,000 potential recruits. From that pool, DOD needs 250,000 a year. (see page 7)
Page 7 THE ROAD AHEAD Fort Riley Military Retiree Council Newsletter Legislative Update by LTC (Ret) Wayne Converse Tricare Issues (continued from page 6) Currently, TRICARE fees and applicable costs shares are tied to the annual rise in COLA. Swapping this index for an arbitrarily selected index, the NHE, would result in beneficiaries paying substantially more for health care over time. A beneficiary s fees would have increased more than 48 percent over the past 10 years if fee increases were linked to the NHE. Compare this to only 18 percent for the same period as currently indexed to COLA. Supply and Demand: The challenge of maintaining an all-volunteer force (continued from page 6). Adding to the challenge: 52 percent of parents would not recommend military service to their children. This likely cuts the pool of potential recruits even further. Our nation is facing a basic but significant supply and demand challenge. While President Donald Trump and several members of Congress support an increase in our troop strength, they do so in an environment constrained not only by budget, but also by the pool of qualified and interested recruits whose top reasons for joining are centered on pay and educational benefits. In this environment, it defies logic for the Senate s version of the FY2018 defense authorization bill to propose a reduced military pay raise of 2.1 percent, versus the 2.4 percent raise that would be consistent with the Employment Cost Index the legislated benchmark. Further, the Senate proposes to eliminate a dependent-rate housing allowance for military couples stationed together with children. This erosion of military compensation is out of touch with today s demands of repeated deployments and worsening recruiting environment. This is an immediate problem, warranting contact with your members of Congress. Meanwhile, a similar problem might loom in the near future: the 13th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC) and the President s charge to the Secretary of Defense to assess the adequacy of military compensation and, essentially, decide if a salary system would be more effective for recruiting and retention. This government Study of military compensation is required by law and must take place no less that every four years. The findings of this study will result in a report to Congress. The focus on the potential for a salary system is of concern if it is used to continue reducing military compensation in any way. Our nation s ability to field the most effective armed forces, of the size and quality needed, is in jeopardy, and there are two key aspects of this problem: First, the supply is dwindling. This is a national problem, which Congress cannot fix. Second, the compensation and benefits that help motivate people to join and stay are eroding. This is a problem Congress can and must fix.
Fort Riley Military Retiree Council PO Box 2161 Fort Riley, KS 66442 PLACE STAMP HERE