House passes new vet benefits bills

The House passed the Disability Claims Modernization Act, sponsored by Rep. Hall (D-NY) yesterday.  It will speed up the claims process for veterans with disabilities clearly related to their service.  Rep. Murphy (D-PA) sponsored another bill that expands legal and financial protections for deployed service members.  Murphy, an Iraq war veteran, said the bill will also levy $10,000 fines for violations of financial protections.  H.R. 6580, The Hubbard Act, permits early discharge without penalty of a sole surviving child if a mother, father, or one or more siblings are killed, captured, or permanently disabled while serving our country.  The eight bills that were passed on Wednesday dealing with veterans benefits will not become law until the Senate signs off on them.

Iwo Jima Flag Raiser gets Citizenship

Until Tuesday, Sgt. Michael Strank, who helped raise the American flag at Mount Suribachi during World War II was not a U.S. citizen.  The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services honored Sgt. Strank by presenting his sister, Mary Perot, with a certificate of citizenship at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, VA.  Strank was born in 1919, in Jarabenia, Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1922.  In 1935, his father became a naturalized citizen so his children got automatic citizenship.  Even though his formal Marine Corps paper said he was born in western Pennsylvania, a Marine Corps security guard, Gunnery Sgt. Matt Blais, found out through research that Strank was not a natural born citizen and petitioned for his formal citizenship. 

Strank fought in World War II on the Pacific front, including battles at Pavuvu and Bougainville.  He won the Bronze Star for valor. He died March 1, 1945.

A 30 Year Coast Guard Vet and Former Marine Retires

Donald Swanger is the last active duty, regular enlisted Vietnam vet to retire from the Coast Guard.  Swanger, 58, will retire after 30 years in service.  When he was 17, he signed up for the Marine Corps because he was told undoubtedly that he would be drafted and he figured he would sign up for the best.  He served two tours in Vietnam.  One as an anti-tank assaultman with 1st Anti-Tank Battalion and then as an infantryman with the 3/7.  The rest of his time with the Corps was spent in the 2/14.  Swanger was one of the 1,500 Marines who fought against 22,000 Viet Cong in the 38 day battle for Hue City.  In November 1973, he joined the Coast Guard and stayed in until 1978.  Then after another short break he returned to the Coast Guard in 1985.  Swanger created the Independent Duty Health Services Technicians School at the Coast Guard Training Center in CA and the Coast Guards Patrol Forces Southwest Asia Combat Tactical First Aid Training Program in 2004.  He will remain an instructor even after his retirement.

Marine Corps to send utility bill to active Marines

Families who conserve energy will be rewarded, but residents of privitized housing will have to start paying their own energy costs if they overconsume.  No more leaving the lights on or running the air conditioner all day.  The Navy Department is planning to start implementing the 1998 Defense Department policy that will force residents to start footing their own bill.  Meters have already been installed in some Marine Corps communities, but the first bills aren’t expected until around 2015.  The Corps is going to track usage for a year before it determines what the baseline is and how much is considered excessive usage.  About 25% of Marine Corps families live on base housing and would be affected by this policy.

Korean War Vets get recognition well overdue

Yesterday, lawmakers held a gathering to commemorate legislation that gave the Korean War Veterans Association a federal charter.  Federal charters do not award money or privileges, but it does allow groups to participate in veterans’ congressional advisory panels.  The event was held on the 55th anniversary of the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the hostilities.  The charter was renewed by legislation passed on June 17th and signed by President Bush on June 30th. 

Two legislators, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Sen. John Warner (R-VA) attended the ceremony.  Rep. Johnson flew 62 combat missions as an Air Force pilot during the Korean War and was shot down in Vietnam and held as a POW for 7 years.  Sen. Warner was a Marine during the Korean War and later joined the Navy. 

The Korean War Veterans Association is the only organization dedicated to serving only veterans of the Korean conflict.  There are about 17,000 members and approximately 1.3 million veterans still living in the U.S.

Vets denied pay

Recently, a congressional report said that at least 28,283 disabled retirees were denied retroactive pay during a time when quality assurance of claims was put to the wayside in order to try and clear up a huge backlog.  Of the original 133,057 veterans, 8,763 died waiting for their cases to be reviewed.  The report was released on July 15 by the majority House Oversight and Government reform domestic policy subcommittee and it is entitled “Die or Give up Trying: How Poor Contractor Performance, Government Mismanagement and the Erosion of Quality Controls Denied Thousands of Disabled Veterans Timely and Accurate Retroactive Retired Pay Awards.”   The issue is with Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments and Combat-Related Special Compensation programs, approved by Congress in 2003 and 2004 to allow large numbers of disabled retirees to receive full concurrent military retirement pay and veterans’ disability compensation.  At a hearing on July 16, the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), called the problems “an intolerable insult to veterans,” and said he would look into it.

Register now to vote by absentee ballot

For those stationed overseas who want to vote on November 4th, you must register now to vote by absentee ballot.  http://www.militarytimes.com/projects/community/absenteevoting08/  Officials at the Military Postal Service Agency play a major role in getting the votes stateside.  For the 2004 election, they moved 110,000 ballots.  Troops can register by filling out the Federal Post Card application available from unit voting assistance officers.  If a servicemember doesn’t receive from their state within 5 weeks of the election they have the option of using a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot.  More information is available on the MPSA Web site or by contacting unit voting assistance officers.

Re-enlistment bonuses are up

Eligible Marines who re-enlist in fiscal 2009 may be able to get up to $90,000 in bonus cash, $10,000 more than was offered this year. But fiscal 2009 will still not be a large re-enlistment year.  These big money bonuses are limited and offered on a first-come first serve basis.  The new bonuses are available to Marines who re-enlist on or after Oct. 1, 2008, including:

* Any active-duty, first-term Marines whose contracts end between Oct. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2009.

* Any active-duty career Marines with contracts expiring between Oct. 1, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010 who re-enlists within 365 days of the expiration date.

* Any former active-duty Marines who return to active duty with less than four years of broken service time between contracts.

“Retaining our combat-experienced Marines, and their combat experienced leaders, is one of the commandant’s highest priorities and is a crucial component of achieving the future 202K Marine Corps,” Marine officials said in the message announcing the bonuses.

Other re-up highlights include:

* First-term Marines whose contracts expire in fiscal 2009 can re-enlist immediately, under the fiscal 2008 program amounts. Rates for fiscal 2009 will not go into effect until Oct. 1, but the change allows some Marines to get a head start on their peers in competitive job specialties.

* Flat-rate SRBs will again replace the old SRB multiple system. These pre-calculated amounts show the bonus authorized, based on the Marine’s grade on the date of re-enlistment and whether the Marine re-enlists for at least 48 months of additional obligated service. That four-year window is measured from the expiration of the Marine’s current contract to the expiration of the new contract.

* In certain specialties, sergeants and below may be eligible to receive an additional $25,000 “kicker” bonus, designed to keep certain Marines working in the operating forces. To get the kicker, eligible Marines must agree to remain in the operating forces for two more years beyond the date they were scheduled to rotate to a new command. The bad news: sergeants already selected for promotion to staff sergeant are ineligible. 

Even with tougher competition, re-up bonus rates continue to grow. The maximum re-up bonus for 2009 is $90,000, up $10,000 from this year’s maximum.   Next year, however, bonuses will be specifically tied to rank and MOS targets. 

(Information from Marine administrative message 370/08, Marine Corps Times

Marine Motorcycle Fatalities Hit All Time High

Since October 1, 2007, 20 Marines have died due to motorcycle accidents.  That statistic makes this fiscal year the deadliest year ever.  Gunnery Sgt. Michael Hoffman is the most recent fatality.  This marks the 5th motorcyle fatality this month.  These accidents continue to occur even though the Corps has instituted tougher motor vehicle and motorcycle safety rules.  More courses and more instructors are now being offered by the Marine Corps to try and cut down the loss of life while operating a motorcycle.

Lighten up on the cell phone contracts

A House Committee passed legislation yesterday that would allow service members to cancel cell phone, utility, and cable contracts if they change duty stations or if they are deployed.  Deployed troops can keep their phone numbers and reactivate their cell phone accounts when they return.  H.R. 6225 allows a service member to cancel or suspend a contract if they are deployed for 90 days or longer or if they are ordered to make a permanent reassignment move to another location.  No early termination fees can be charged.  Any company that fails to suspend or terminate a service members contract will face misdemeanor penalties of up to $5,000 per person or up to $10,000 per organization.  The bill, Improving SCRA and USERRA Protections Act of 2008, would also give the service member the right to sue for damages.  The bill passed by a voice vote and is expected to be voted on by the House this summer.