Gimpy
02-04-2004, 03:23 PM
Just got this from retired Col. David Hackworths site!
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Another Backdoor Attack on Vets
By Ralf W. Zimmermann, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Retired
Vets and military retirees must be on heightened alert during 2004 and beyond.
As I have predicted, the war on terror could soon be taking its economic toll on America?s home front. After committing $87 billion to military operations and the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan, and after overpaying Halliburton for oil and gasoline frauds, the administration and certain Pentagon henchmen are now looking to save a few bucks at home.
While corporate CEO pay, contractor salaries and senior administrator pay are on the rise, the Washington bureaucrats are targeting a patriotic, but politically disjointed segment of American society for cuts ? military retirees and veterans.
The new benefits squeeze includes not only base closings and re-tabling the cutting of critical commissary services, but also dramatic increases in co-payments for prescription drug benefits.
I don?t mind sacrificing for my country when it is in dire straits and everybody pitches in. But that?s not the case! I?ve yet to see freezes or cutbacks in benefits and salaries for our Washington elites. My family and I, together with millions of others, have paid our dues while serving our country in many undesirable places ? not warm office buildings. Most of us pulled several overseas tours. We froze at the borders of Germany and Korea. We fought in diverse conflicts and we paid with injuries and degradation of our health.
In return for the risks we took, we were promised adequate health benefits and certain services. We trusted our government?s word. Today, a great number of vets and retirees only keep off the poverty rolls because of military hospital treatment, reduced grocery prices at the commissaries, and prescription drug benefits. And please don?t misunderstand ? many of these proud American veterans and retirees would still defend this nation today. They?ve already proved their loyalty with actions, not empty words.
In contrast, the scheming behind the Defense Department?s curtains and in a few congressional committees borders on outright treason. While we?re resurrecting Iraq with better schools, improved medical care and access to more consumer goods, a few political bureaucrats are planning to wreck the benefits of former troops.
Unbelievably, the cold-blooded number crunchers in the five-sided wind tunnel want to roll back a drug benefit just extended 30 months ago. Recently uncovered documents reveal that retirees may be asked to pay $10 instead of $3 for each 90-day generic prescription filled through Tricare (often called ?try to get care?) by mail. The currently $9 co-payment for three months of brand name drugs would rise to $20.
Additionally, the latest retiree squeeze would also charge for prescriptions filled in military treatment facilities. There, generic drug prescriptions would go from zero to $10, while $20 would be due for brand name medications.
Not surprising, the Pentagon once again declined to comment on its latest backdoor plan, calling it ?pre-decisional.? I wouldn?t call it pre-decisional, but rather, a horrific pipe dream ? caused by some bad weed.
What can be done? All retirees and veterans and their organizations must stand tall and together on this issue. A new line has just been drawn and it?s essential to forget differences and separate agendas. Together vets and retirees must fight to protect commissary privileges and prescription benefits ? now and in the future.
This isn?t about whining and begging for handouts! It?s about honoring our service and honoring promises to those who sacrificed. And it?s also about the future of the force ? declining benefits will have an impact on recruiting and retention. Most importantly, it?s about the little man, who needs these earned benefits most. Benefits, such as prescription drug benefit, are essential to for the economic survival of many retired noncommissioned officers and their families.
If vets and retirees stick together and make their voices heard as one, the walls in the halls of Congress, the Pentagon and the White House will soon reverberate with a warning. It will be a reminder that America?s government was designed to be from the people and for the people.
Those in Congress should understand that many of us gave them the privilege to serve us ? by voting. That trust and privilege can easily be withdrawn in the future. Let?s take action and tell the politicians to move this ?pre-decisional? Pentagon plan from the hold-box to the trashcan.
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Contributing Editor Lt. Col. Ralf W. Zimmermann (USA Ret.) is a decorated Desert Storm veteran and former tank battalion commander. Since his retirement, his columns have regularly appeared in Army Times and other publications. His recent novel, ?Brotherhood of Iron,? deals with the German soldier in World War II. It is directly available from www.iUniverse.com and through most major book dealers. Zimm can be reached at r6zimm@earthlink.net or via his website at www.home.earthlink.net/~r6zimm.
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Another Backdoor Attack on Vets
By Ralf W. Zimmermann, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Retired
Vets and military retirees must be on heightened alert during 2004 and beyond.
As I have predicted, the war on terror could soon be taking its economic toll on America?s home front. After committing $87 billion to military operations and the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan, and after overpaying Halliburton for oil and gasoline frauds, the administration and certain Pentagon henchmen are now looking to save a few bucks at home.
While corporate CEO pay, contractor salaries and senior administrator pay are on the rise, the Washington bureaucrats are targeting a patriotic, but politically disjointed segment of American society for cuts ? military retirees and veterans.
The new benefits squeeze includes not only base closings and re-tabling the cutting of critical commissary services, but also dramatic increases in co-payments for prescription drug benefits.
I don?t mind sacrificing for my country when it is in dire straits and everybody pitches in. But that?s not the case! I?ve yet to see freezes or cutbacks in benefits and salaries for our Washington elites. My family and I, together with millions of others, have paid our dues while serving our country in many undesirable places ? not warm office buildings. Most of us pulled several overseas tours. We froze at the borders of Germany and Korea. We fought in diverse conflicts and we paid with injuries and degradation of our health.
In return for the risks we took, we were promised adequate health benefits and certain services. We trusted our government?s word. Today, a great number of vets and retirees only keep off the poverty rolls because of military hospital treatment, reduced grocery prices at the commissaries, and prescription drug benefits. And please don?t misunderstand ? many of these proud American veterans and retirees would still defend this nation today. They?ve already proved their loyalty with actions, not empty words.
In contrast, the scheming behind the Defense Department?s curtains and in a few congressional committees borders on outright treason. While we?re resurrecting Iraq with better schools, improved medical care and access to more consumer goods, a few political bureaucrats are planning to wreck the benefits of former troops.
Unbelievably, the cold-blooded number crunchers in the five-sided wind tunnel want to roll back a drug benefit just extended 30 months ago. Recently uncovered documents reveal that retirees may be asked to pay $10 instead of $3 for each 90-day generic prescription filled through Tricare (often called ?try to get care?) by mail. The currently $9 co-payment for three months of brand name drugs would rise to $20.
Additionally, the latest retiree squeeze would also charge for prescriptions filled in military treatment facilities. There, generic drug prescriptions would go from zero to $10, while $20 would be due for brand name medications.
Not surprising, the Pentagon once again declined to comment on its latest backdoor plan, calling it ?pre-decisional.? I wouldn?t call it pre-decisional, but rather, a horrific pipe dream ? caused by some bad weed.
What can be done? All retirees and veterans and their organizations must stand tall and together on this issue. A new line has just been drawn and it?s essential to forget differences and separate agendas. Together vets and retirees must fight to protect commissary privileges and prescription benefits ? now and in the future.
This isn?t about whining and begging for handouts! It?s about honoring our service and honoring promises to those who sacrificed. And it?s also about the future of the force ? declining benefits will have an impact on recruiting and retention. Most importantly, it?s about the little man, who needs these earned benefits most. Benefits, such as prescription drug benefit, are essential to for the economic survival of many retired noncommissioned officers and their families.
If vets and retirees stick together and make their voices heard as one, the walls in the halls of Congress, the Pentagon and the White House will soon reverberate with a warning. It will be a reminder that America?s government was designed to be from the people and for the people.
Those in Congress should understand that many of us gave them the privilege to serve us ? by voting. That trust and privilege can easily be withdrawn in the future. Let?s take action and tell the politicians to move this ?pre-decisional? Pentagon plan from the hold-box to the trashcan.
###
Contributing Editor Lt. Col. Ralf W. Zimmermann (USA Ret.) is a decorated Desert Storm veteran and former tank battalion commander. Since his retirement, his columns have regularly appeared in Army Times and other publications. His recent novel, ?Brotherhood of Iron,? deals with the German soldier in World War II. It is directly available from www.iUniverse.com and through most major book dealers. Zimm can be reached at r6zimm@earthlink.net or via his website at www.home.earthlink.net/~r6zimm.
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