FReeper Foxhole - Military News in Review - April 28, 2003

various

[snippy_about_it]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

.

FReepers from the The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

.

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U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

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Operation Iraqi Freedom

Mission Objectives

1. End the regime of Saddam Hussein

2. Identify, isolate, and eliminate Iraq’s WMD, systems, and facilities

3. Capture or drive out terrorists sheltered in Iraq

4. Collect intelligence on terrorist networks and on Iraq’s illicit WMD activity

5. Secure Iraq’s oil fields and natural resources for the Iraqi people

6. End sanctions and immediately deliver humanitarian relief and assistance

7. Help the Iraqi people rapidly transition to a representative form of self-government that does not threaten its neighbors and is committed to the territorial integrity of Iraq

Progress to Date

April 24

For the first time since military operations began, oil began flowing from Iraq’s southern fields, and electrical power has been restored to parts of Baghdad.

175,000 barrels of oil per day are now being pumped from the oil fields near Rumaila to an oil refinery in Basra and various power plants in the vicinity.

In the next day or two, it is expected that another 60,000 barrels per day will be pumped into the Baija refinery from oil fields in the north.

One gas well in the north is also operational. Gas is critical to the operation of the gas turbines which drive most of the electrical power grid in the Baghdad area.

Under the direction of retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance is up and running.

Coordinators have been appointed for humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, as well as for the country’s northern and southern regions. Gen. Garner also has two deputies, one for policy and one to coordinate international aid and other ctivities.

American Power Moves Beyond the Mere Super

Stealth drones, G.P.S.-guided smart munitions that hit precisely where aimed; antitank bombs that guide themselves; space-relayed data links that allow individual squad leaders to know exactly where American and opposition forces are during battle — the United States military rolled out all this advanced technology, and more, in its lightning conquest of Iraq.

No other military is even close to the United States. The American military is now the strongest the world has ever known, both in absolute terms and relative to other nations; stronger than the Wehrmacht in 1940, stronger than the legions at the height of Roman power.

For years to come, no other nation is likely even to try to rival American might.

Which means: the global arms race is over, with the United States the undisputed heavyweight champion. Other nations are not even trying to match American armed force, because they are so far behind they have no chance of catching up.

The great-powers arms race, in progress for centuries, has ended with the rest of the world conceding triumph to the United States.

Now only a nuclear state, like, perhaps, North Korea, has any military leverage against the winner.

Paradoxically, the runaway American victory in the conventional arms race might inspire a new round of proliferation of atomic weapons. With no hope of matching the United States plane for plane, more countries may seek atomic weapons to gain deterrence.

North Korea might have been moved last week to declare that it has an atomic bomb by the knowledge that it has no hope of resisting American conventional power. If it becomes generally believed that possession of even a few nuclear munitions is enough to render North Korea immune from American military force, other nations — Iran is an obvious next candidate — may place renewed emphasis on building them.

For the extent of American military superiority has become almost impossible to overstate. The United States sent five of its nine supercarrier battle groups to the region for the Iraq assault. A tenth Nimitz-class supercarrier is under construction. No other nation possesses so much as one supercarrier, let alone nine battle groups ringed by cruisers and guarded by nuclear submarines. More...

Army Co-Sponsors Transformation Wargame

The Army and U.S. Joint Forces Command have entered into a partnership and will co-sponsor the latest in the Army's annual series of its premier transformation wargame, which will be conducted at Carlisle Barracks, Penn.

Unified Quest 03 will last from April 27 until May 2, and it will be a capstone event in a yearlong series of wargames, experiments and seminars.

The theme of the exercise is, ‘Expanding the Power of Coherent, Joint Operations.’ This year’s exercise will focus on solutions to address current interoperability issues as well as planning for future capabilities, which is a significant change from previous exercises. MORE

Miscellaneous Current Military and Veteran News

TRICARE Complying With Stricter Rules on Healthcare

TRICARE, like all other healthcare providers nationwide, is working under stricter rules when it comes to protecting patients' rights and the privacy of their health information. More...

Certain Veterans May Be Eligible for Copayment Refunds

Veterans insured by the Hartford Life Insurance Company or the USAA Life Insurance Company may be eligible for a refund of their VA copayments. More...

Study Needed Before Force 'Footprint' Changes in Gulf

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, April 27, 2003 – The footprint of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region will change in the coming months, but it is too soon to say how, defense leaders said following meetings with leaders of the United Arab Emirates today.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Army Gen. Tommy Franks met with Shaykh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and Lt. Gen. Muhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the chief of staff of the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates, on the first day on the secretary's visit to the region. Franks heads U.S. Central Command and has led Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Franks said that in each place the secretary and he visit, there is an understanding that with the regime of Saddam Hussein gone, "that in the days and months ahead there will likely be a rearrangement of the footprint in the region."

Forces, for example, are no longer needed for operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch. But Franks said this does not necessarily mean U.S. forces will be reduced. More...

South Fla. Army Reservists Build POW Camp They'll Guard

CAMP BUCCA, Iraq — When the 724th Military Police Battalion arrived at the coalition’s temporary holding facility here, a plan was already in place for the nearby semi-permanent facility they’d be guarding - complete with electricity, plumbing, more space and better tents.

The only problem was, it hadn’t been built yet. And so last week 18 soldiers assigned to guard part of the new facility found themselves put to work laying down the very concertina-wire fence line they’d soon be patrolling.

Spc. Jose Lopez cheerfully grumbled, “You know the joke about what MP stands for - ‘multi-purpose.' You name it, we do it. We’re out here pulling shifts in the towers and along the perimeter, waiting for this camp to be done so we can start doing what we came here to do, and now they want us to build the thing ourselves.” More...

Navy MWR Announces New Discounted Travel Program
Release Date: 4/26/2003 12:00:00 PM

By Ingrid Mueller, Navy MWR Communications Group

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) has established a partnership with the Government Armed Forces Travel Cooperative (GAFTC) to provide a wide range of discounted travel opportunities to active-duty and Reserve personnel, military retirees, and Department of Defense employees and their family members.

“This program gives our authorized patrons access to significantly discounted travel opportunities,” said Karen Fritz, program manager for Navy MWR’s information, Tickets and Travel (ITT) Section. “Using this program is also beneficial to Navy MWR, because vendors pay a commission for every booking placed by Sailors. That money goes directly back into Navy MWR programs for Sailors and their families at the local base level.”

The GAFTC Web site -- govarm.com – allows users to shop for hotel rooms, airline tickets, car rentals, cruises, golf packages and travel insurance. The Web site features access to more than 50,000 hotels, hundreds of airlines, 24 car rental companies, all major cruise lines, 400 golf vacations and the leading travel insurance companies in the world.

More

Homeward-bound crew thankful for support

4/26/2003 - WASHINGTON -- Among the many missions B-52s flew during Operation Iraqi Freedom, crewmembers aboard one Stratofortress said their most eagerly awaited sortie was the one they were on April 24.

The crew spoke to reporters at the Pentagon via a radio-to-telephone connection as they flew home to Minot Air Force Base, N.D. From their position at more than 30,000 feet above the Irish Sea, the crew of “Ironman 1” said they were glad to be on the last leg of their journey.

"I can tell you for the eight guys on board right now, we are all very excited to be headed home," said Lt. Col. John Stuwe, the aircraft's commander.

After the nearly nine-hour flight home, the crew will be given some well-deserved down time before going back to work, Stuwe said. He said the crew already has plans for how they will spend that time. More

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Fleet's in!

[gitmo]

I have a political question about veterans, and thought there was no better place to go than the FReeper Foxhole.

My Father-in-law is a retired Airforce officer. He claims that when he was in the service he was promised 100% lifetime medical and drug coverage. He says that the Republicans took this away from the vets, and that they were completely without coverage. However, Clinton came along and gave them coverage under Medicare or Medicade.

I'm pretty ignorant on the subject. I know my parents had few medical benefits, but Dad was retired Navy and he wasn't an officer.

Can someone educate me about this?

Thanks, guys.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for the link Spunky, beautiful pages, too.

[snippy_about_it]

Good evening Sam, my cable is restored. I'm calmer now. :)

[SAMWolf]

I don't know what has changed over the years for Retired Military Heath Care benefits or which administration took away or added benefits.

I know they came up with something called TriCare a while back.

Here's a link to a site with info on Tricare:

Military Report - TriCare

Here's the VA's site on Health Care Benefits:

Veteran's Administration

I didn't do my twenty so I didn't retire with any benefits. Any ideas on where to find more info, AntiJen?

[GATOR NAVY]

I found this. It was recruiters making promises that couldn't be kept. What they never told anyone is the whole promise was based on "space available".

Veterans Lose Health Care Suit Against Pentagon

News & Links America's Veterans Homepage

View complete ruling at: http://www.fedcir.gov/ case 99-1402

To read more about the lawsuit: http://www.classact-lawsuit.com

Associated Press Wednesday, November 20, 2002

A divided, reluctant federal appeals court denied claims yesterday by World War II and Korean War veterans who said the government reneged on promises to provide free lifetime health care if they stayed in the service for 20 years.

Although the government conceded that military recruiters made the promises, the Defense Department convinced the court that there was no valid contract because the assurances were not backed up by law. The 9 to 4 decision was made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. The veterans have been on both the winning and losing sides of the case. A federal judge in Jacksonville, Fla., ruled against them in 1998. In February, a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled in their favor.

The veterans will seek a Supreme Court hearing, said their lawyer, George "Bud" Day, a retired Air Force colonel. He was a prisoner of war in Vietnam with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

The veterans received free benefits until 1995, when the Pentagon ended those benefits for veterans 65 and over because they were eligible for Medicare. Many had to buy supplemental policies, including Medicare Part B, to fill coverage gaps.

Even the judges in the majority acknowledged that they were uncomfortable with the ruling. They wrote that they "can do no more than hope Congress will make good on the promises made in good faith" to soldiers entering the service between 1941 and 1956. "We cannot readily imagine more sympathetic plaintiffs than the retired officers of the World War II and Korean War era involved in this case," Circuit Judge Paul R. Michel wrote for the majority.

The four dissenting judges expressed disdain for the government's actions.

"They were told, in effect, if you disrupt your family, if you work for low pay, if you endanger your life and limb, we will in turn guarantee lifetime health benefits," wrote Chief Circuit Judge Haldane Robert Mayer. "There is no doubt that the government made an unambiguous offer."

The two lead plaintiffs are Air Force and Navy veteran William Schism, who served from 1943 to 1979, and Robert Reinlie, who served in the Army and Air Force between 1942 and 1967. Both now live in Fort Walton Beach, FL., along with their lawyer, Day.

Reinlie, who said he flew 30 missions in Europe as a B-17 navigator during World War II, noted that he spent about $15,000 of his own money for medical care after his coverage was withdrawn. Now 81, Reinlie said he is disappointed, but he vowed the case will continue.

Congress recently passed legislation providing free health care for these older veterans, beginning in 2002. At stake in this case are the costs, estimated by Justice Department officials as billions of dollars, paid by older veterans between 1995 and 2001, when the Pentagon issued regulations providing free coverage only for veterans under age 65.

[SAMWolf]

I was wondering if you wentr back to work to get access LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Here's a short history on Military Medical Benefits. Maybe this will answer your question.

A History of Lost Benefits

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Gator Navy. I knew someone at the Foxhole would know where to look.

[gitmo]

Thanks. I was getting nowhere fast on this.

[snippy_about_it]

Gitmo, I don't know if you just want the history or what is available now. I know from experience my father was retired Army and used both Medicare and VA benefits.

My brother wasn't retired but served his six year term in the Air Force and also used both the VA and Medicare.

Both suffered terminal illnesses and the costs were catastrophic. Also the VA hospital is 100 miles from our town so they would use our local teaching hospital when needed and on rare occasion use the VA hospital. They both arranged for their doctors to work with the VA to get their meds at the local VA clinic.

I guess what I'm trying to say is they were able to use both depending on the drugs needed and the treatment required.

My mother currently uses the VA in her town based on her own prior service.

The VA recently raised the copay for drugs but it is still very inexpensive.

Neither was eligible for Medicaid which is the State Fund.

Hope that helps.

[snippy_about_it]

I forgot to say thanks for helping out while I was computerless. :(

And thanks for jumping in with help even had I been here!

Sam, I was in withdrawl but not quite enough to go back to work to get it. LOL.

[gitmo]

Mostly I'm curious about which political parties have supported the vets in this issue. My in-laws are adamant that Republicans have taken away medical benefits and it wasn't until Clinton restored some of the benefits that they were at all "cared for".

[snippy_about_it]

Oh, sorry. I'll have to leave that to someone else. Thanks for asking here, I'm sure you'll get some assistance.

[SAMWolf]

Sam, I was in withdrawl but not quite enough to go back to work to get it. LOL. LOL. I've done it.

[snippy_about_it]

Number of U.S. Forces in Gulf Will Decline, Rumsfeld Says

By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service

DOHA, Qatar, April 28, 2003 — The number of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region will drop as a result of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.

Rumsfeld spoke following meetings with Qatari leaders, U.S. Central Command chiefs and Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill. He said he does not know how the forces will be configured in the future, but he does know there will be fewer.

The secretary listed three reasons. First, Operations Northern and Southern Watch are no longer necessary, "and those capabilities can be moved," he said. Coalition aircraft flew the two operations to enforce no-fly zones above the 36th parallel and below the 33rd parallel, respectively, over Iraq to monitor compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Second, liberating Iraq required a large number of service members. As operations wind down and the stabilization phase goes into effect, there won't be the same need, he said.

" Third, Iraq was a threat to the region," the secretary said. More

[SAMWolf]

You have to remember it's not necessarily the Preident. you have to look at who was controlling the Congress at the time.

[snippy_about_it]

Now that's bad! tsk tsk.

[PhilDragoo]

AMERICA'S HOSPITAL: HEALING THE WOUNDS

Flight physicians from the St. Joseph, Missouri Air National Guard, comfort a wounded U.S. Army soldier on a C-130 Hercules at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) on April 22, 2003. The patients were staged at a Medical Airlift Staging Facility (MASF) at BIAP while waiting for the aircraft to arrive. The MASF, consisting of only 15 personnel, is responsible for getting the sick and wounded out of the combat environment and into a hospital where they can receive more extensive care. The MASF at BIAP has been up and running for only six days and has already medically evacuated 56 patients. Baghdad International Airport is a primary base of operations for U.S. troops, cargo and humanitarian airlift for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Sadaam Hussein. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby) (Released)

Photo by: STAFF SGT. CHERIE A. THURLBY, 1ST COMBAT CAMERA
Record ID No. (VIRIN): 030422-F-7203T-025

SADDAM'S HOSPITAL: CONCEALING THE GUNS

On 19 April, 2003 an ammunition dump on Tikrit Airstrip of AK-47 fully-automatic assault rifles found in a hospital by Marines in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi freedom is the multinational coalition to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraqi's weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Nicholas S. Hizer) (Released)

Photo by: SGT NICHOLAS S. HIZER, MWSS-373
Record ID No. (VIRIN): 030419-M-5266H-003

[gitmo]

Yeah, I know. But they don't quite get that point. I'm just trying to gather some history to help open their eyes to the differences in the 2 parties, and how our government works.

I find it interesting. They live their lives like conservatives, but their politics are very left-wing.