Michelle Howard - Fleet Reserve Association · Admiral Michelle Howard has achieved many firsts ......

M A R C H 2 0 1 5SEQUESTRATION, FEE INCREASES, DOC FIX AND COMMISSION REPORT THREATEN BENEFITS 8

Admiral Michelle Howard : Charting the Course

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4 SecDef Hagel Restores Base Access to VSOs, MSOs

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Volume 94 Number 3

Featured18 ADMIRAL MICHELLE HOWARD:

CHARTING THE COURSEAs the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michelle Howard has experienced many firsts in her distinguished Naval career. Read about her experiences, inspiration and vision for the future.

Departments 2 COMMUNICATIONS

4 FROM THE FANTAIL SecDef Hagel Restores Base Access to VSOs, MSOs

6 SHIPMATE FORUM

8 ON & OFF CAPITOL HILLSequestration, Fee Increases, Doc Fix and Commission Report Threaten Benefits

14 MEMBERSHIP MATTERSFinal Countdown

16 FRA NEW LIFE MEMBERS

28 TAPS

32 REUNIONS

34 NEWS FROM THE BRANCHES

36 NEWS FROM THE AUXILIARY OF THE FRAMessage from Northwest Regional President Lauren A. Wynn

ON THE COVERAdmiral Michelle Howard has achieved many firsts in her Navy career. She is the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, the first female and first African-American to serve as the Navy’s #2 officer. (U.S. Navy photo)

FRA IS A CONGRESSIONALLY CHARTERED, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION ADVOCATING FOR CURRENT AND FORMER ENLISTED MEMBERS OF THE U.S. NAVY, MARINE CORPS AND COAST GUARD ON CAPITOL HILL. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP, PLEASE VISIT WWW.FRA.ORG OR CALL 800-FRA-1924.

LOYALTY, PROTECTION AND SERVICE

March 2015

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COMMUNICATIONS

Lauren Armstrong is FRA’s Director of Communications and serves as the Managing Editor of FRA Today. Please contact her at [email protected].

Lauren Armstrong

NATIONAL OFFICERS/BOARD OF DIRECTORS

National President John D. Ippert, Honolulu Branch 46

National Vice President Roger E. Mitchell, Tampa Branch 188

National Executive Dir. Thomas J. Snee, Navy Department Branch 181

Finance Officer Stephen R. Cox

Junior PNP Virgil P. Courneya, High Sierra Branch 274

National Parliamentarian PNP J. C. “Jim” Eblen, Imperial Beach

Branch 289

National Chaplain William H. Hall, Gen State Branch 382

REGIONAL PRESIDENTS

Northeast / New England Floyd G. Hunt, Iroquois Branch 214

East Coast John J. Willis, Ocean View Branch 60

Southeast Larry L. Cox, Low Country Branch 269

North Central Curry Sanders, Mo Kan Branch 161

South Central Michael D. Oliver, Old Naval Home

Branch 307

Southwest Agustive A. Hermes, Jr., Chula Vista Branch 61

West Coast Larry S. Briggs, Jr., Silver Dollar Branch 192

Northwest Michael H. Archer, Cheyenne Branch 59

ACTIVE DUTY ADVISORY COUNCIL

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael Stevens

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Micheal Barrett

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Steven Cantrell

RESERVE ADVISORY COUNCIL

Force Master Chief of the Navy Reserve Clarence “CJ” Mitchell

USMC Reserve Force Sergeant Major Anthony Spadaro

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Reserve Force

Eric Johnson

FRA TODAY MAGAZINEThe monthly membership publication of the Fleet Reserve Association

Publisher Fleet Reserve Association

National Executive Director Thomas J. Snee

Communications Director Lauren Armstrong

Managing Editor William Kohudic

Contributing Photographer Paul Gunther

Design and Art Direction

FIREBRAND, Alexandria, VA www.firebrandstudios.com

Design Director Scott Rodgerson

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FRA TODAY (ISSN 1935-7192) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FRA, 125 N. WEST ST., ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314-2754. A MEMBER’S SUBSCRIPTION IS COVERED BY THE MEMBER’S ANNUAL DUES. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ALEXANDRIA, VA AND ADDITIONAL OFFICES. PUBLICATION OF NON-SPONSORED ADVERTISING IN FRA TODAY DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT BY THE FRA OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: MEMBER SERVICES, FRA, 125 N. WEST ST., ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314-2754. FRA TODAY IS PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF ALL CURRENT AND FORMER ENLISTED PERSONNEL OF THE U.S. NAVY, MARINE CORPS, AND COAST GUARD. ELIGIBLE NON-MEMBERS ARE NOT ENTITLED TO SUBSCRIPTION RATES. ESTABLISHED 1 NOVEMBER 1923. TITLE REGISTERED WITH U.S. PATENT OFFICE.

FRA ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS: 125 N. WEST ST., ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314-2754 • PHONE: 703-683-1400, 800-FRA-1924 •

FAX: 703-549-6610 • E-MAIL: [email protected] • WWW.FRA.ORG

VOLUME 94 NUMBER 3

You’ve Come a Long Way, BabyONE OF THE THINGS I enjoy most about my work as FRA’s director of Communications is the opportunity I have to meet and interview a wide variety of interesting people. Whether it’s talking with shipmates and Auxiliary members at National Conventions, learning about flight deck operations from the Sailors who do their dangerous work aboard today’s aircraft carriers or combat veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan, everyone has a story to tell. It’s truly my privilege to retell these stories to our readers.

Admiral Michelle Howard, the Navy’s first female Vice Chief of Naval Operations, was gracious enough to share her story with FRA Today readers for this month’s feature story, which begins on page 18. She’s been on the cutting edge of many changes for women in today’s military and is the quintessential example of how the opportunities for women in the armed forces have grown over the past few decades. Juxtapose her story with those told by the Coast Guard SPARs featured in the August 2014 issue of the magazine and it’s easy to see just how far women in the military have come.

The types of duty assignments available to females has grown from primarily administrative and nursing duties to include virtually every facet of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, as well as the other military branches. And the number of women serving has grown, too and is predicted to increase dramatically over the next 30 years.

Statistically, women make up nearly 51 percent of the U.S. popula-tion (based on 2010 census data) and currently account for about nine percent of all military veterans. Although the number of military veter-ans is projected to decrease overall, the Department of Veterans Affairs predicts that the percentage of female veterans will increase to more than 16 percent of the overall veteran population by 2043.

Like many military and veteran service organizations, FRA is a cross-section of our nation and the military branches we serve. Since FRA opened its ranks to women in 1970, female shipmates have con-tributed to our efforts in many ways, including service as branch and regional officers. However, only about 3 percent of FRA’s current mem-bership is female, far below the current veteran population.

As the FRA moves forward to increase our membership base, it’s important to ensure that we don’t exclude this growing pool of pro-spective shipmates. By opening our recruiting aperture, we cannot only improve the size of our organization, but also enhance its quality by including those with diverse experiences and perspectives.

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RETIRING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Chuck Hagel made a generous parting shot as he prepared to leave his post. After years of military installations barring organizations like FRA from offering information and services on bases, Hagel’s recent directives (outlined in the article below) should make it a lot easier for FRA shipmates to share the good news about our organization. It’s a safe bet that our engagement on these installations will still need to focus on providing information and services and that blatant recruiting drives will still be prohibited.

FRA has a lot to offer current and former service members and their families. Our legislative advocacy is particularly relevant as DoD and Congress consider major revisions to the military health care and retirement systems. (See page 10 for details.) FRA members and families are eligible for a broad range of scholarships sponsored by the FRA Education Foundation (see page 30) and, as an accredited Veteran Service Organization, FRA can assist as military personnel transi-tion to civilian life.

Hagel’s directive references the importance of “relationships,” echoing discussions at our 2014 National Convention in Corpus Christi and in the January 2015 feature article in FRA Today. I encourage all shipmates and branches to establish and maintain meaningful relationships with personnel on military bases, posts, recruiting stations and other military facilities.

Hagel Initiatives Enable Veteran, Military Support Organizations By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall, Jr.DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2015 —Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has set policy emphasizing the importance of relationships with veteran and mili-tary service organizations, as well as military support nonprofits, through initiatives to give the groups access to service members and their families.

The defense secretary signed two policy memorandums in December directing Defense Department (DoD) leaders to implement standardized procedures to allow veteran, military and military-support nonprofit orga-nizations better access to provide sup-port to troops and military families.

CRITICAL IMPORTANCE“National Veterans Service Organiza-tions (VSOs) and Military Service Organizations (MSOs),” Hagel said in one memo, “are a critical component of our overall framework of care for our service members throughout all phases of their military service, but especially their transition to civilian life and veteran status.”

Nonprofit non-federal entities, he said, can be of critical importance to service members throughout their

careers, and within the bounds of law and regulation, it’s in the department’s interest to maintain strong and posi-tive relationships with them.

“These memos serve to re-empha-size those privileges granted under the law or flexibilities authorized under current DoD policy,” Hagel said. These initiatives direct immediate imple-mentation of additional measures to facilitate consistent delivery across DoD, he said. The directives, Hagel said, also provide clarity to installation commanders on adjudicating requests for space or services.

POINTS EMPHASIZEDIn a letter sent to retired Army Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, president of the Association of the United States Army, and other nonprofit organizations, the defense secretary laid out six aspects of the initiatives which are designed to remove “unnecessary barriers and inconsistencies” in dealing with these organizations.

Installation commanders will pro-vide available space and associated services on military installations al-lowing national VSOs and MSOs to

provide VA-accredited representa-tion services to transitioning service members.• All requests and decisions on instal-

lation access, use of space or logisti-cal support will be made in writing.

• Installation commanders are di-rected to be welcoming and sup-portive of nonprofit organizations that enhance morale and readiness of the force, and are consistent with mission requirements and security constraints.

• Training and education will be pro-vided in regular pre-command, judge advocate and public affairs officer training courses to educate personnel on the authorities and flexibilities associated with proce-dures and support to both accred-ited VSOs and MSOs and military support nonprofit organizations.

• DoD will use consistent and stan-dard procedures to process requests for installation access with new tools and templates provided to aid in consistent and fair assessment and adjudication of requests for access and space.

SecDef Hagel Restores Base Access to VSOs, MSOs

FROM THE FANTAIL

Tom Snee

continued on page 16

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Commissary ConfusionMy wife has a friend who swears that anyone can shop at the exchange and/or commissary as long as they have someone with them who has a military ID card. I told her that it is not legal for anyone to shop anywhere on a naval station except sponsors and/or their authorized dependents. She promised if FRA said it was illegal for anyone to shop at the exchange or commissary, except authorized sponsors and their authorized dependents, she would believe it.

SKC Harvey C. Swinford

FRA Response: Guests are authorized to enter a com-missary, but are not authorized to shop. The following is from the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) website (www.commissaries.com):

“Authorized commissary patrons, as defined by Department of Defense Instruction 1330.17, Armed Services Commissary Operations, include active duty, Guard and Reserve members, military retirees, Medal of Honor recipi-ents, 100-percent disabled veterans, and their authorized family members. (Please refer to this instruction for a com-plete list of authorized commissary patrons, including orga-nizations and activities, along with qualifications and any exceptions, such as access to U.S. commissaries overseas.)

Department of Defense regulations permit an authorized patron to bring guests into a commissary during shopping vis-its. However, while you and your guest are in the commissary, you are responsible for the actions of your guest. Your guest is NOT authorized to make commissary purchases, and you are NOT permitted to make commissary purchases for your guest.

Also, you need to be aware that local military regulations in some areas prohibit guest access to a commissary. This be-ing the case, we recommend that, if you plan to bring a guest with you during a shopping visit to a commissary, you contact commissary management prior to your shopping trip to find out if you’ll be permitted to take your guest with you into the commissary.”

Exchanges have slightly different rules because there are dif-ferent PX/BX systems for each service. If you’re eligible to shop in one, however, you’re eligible to shop at any. The Military Times Benefit Handbook website (projects.militarytimes.com/benefits-handbook/pay-benefits/other-benefits/) explains it like this:

“Eligible [exchange] shoppers include all ranks of active duty, retired, National Guard and reserve members and their families, some disabled veterans and their families, surviving spouses and former spouses. Limits or restrictions may apply; check with local exchanges. Those eligible can shop at any ex-change, regardless of service affiliation.”

Troubled BranchesWhile it is good to acknowledge recruitment efforts, we should consider acknowledging those branches that are los-ing members or are in jeopardy of collapsing. For example, I recall that, at one time, there was an FRA branch in Detroit, about 70 miles from me; but it is no longer listed. Perhaps if we listed branches in trouble, distant members (like me) would be willing to affiliate with a branch even though they might not be able to regularly attend meetings. The trick would be to have events that would draw enough participa-tion to warrant an ‘occasional’ membership program.

Lorence F. Brown

Going Off ScriptHow are we to respond when Express Scripts (ES) consid-ers any package to have been received by the addressee strictly on the basis of USPS stating that it was delivered? ES does not require the addressee’s signature, so there is no other method of validation. Among the various possibilities could be that the package was placed in a different mailbox and whoever received it did not bother to bring it to me (I’m in an apartment) or to return it to the post office. My mailbox is often stuffed with mail meant for others.

I was charged by ES for such a shipment and then told that I could not receive another bottle until enough time had expired. Of course I would be charged for that as well. It happened to be a controlled medication, so obviously the doctor might think I was engaged in some illicit activity by asking for another RX, which ES would not accept anyway until it was time for a refill.

My response was to chalk that one up to experience and to use the local pharmacy. It costs more, but at least I receive it reliably. Now if only DoD and TRICARE would realize that it is not always beneficial to use ES.

John Dorosky

FRA Response: Thank you for sharing your experience. Your concerns have been relayed to our liaisons at TRICARE and Express Scripts.

SHIPMATE FORUM

Submissions Send Shipmate Forum letters to Editor, FRA Today, 125 N. West St. Alexandria, VA 22314. E-mail submissions may be sent to [email protected]. Please include “Shipmate Forum” in the subject line. FRA reserves the right to select and edit letters for publication. Letters published in Shipmate Forum reflect the opinions and views of FRA members. They do not necessarily reflect the official position of FRA as a whole. FRA is not responsible for the accuracy of letter content.

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FRA Honors Outstanding Marine Corps PersonnelFor the 16th consecutive year, FRA recognized outstanding Marines at the Combined Awards Ceremony at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Newly appointed Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford attended the event, and FRA National President John Ippert presented spe-cial certificates and FRA challenge coins to all awardees. FRA sponsored the annual recognition event for the Corps’ top recruiters, drill instructors, combat instructors, security guard, ca-reer planners and athletes of the year and also hosted a celebratory recep-tion afterwards.

John Davis

AS FRA TODAY GOES to press, there is uncertainty on Capitol Hill about whether sequestration-mandated bud-get cuts for FY 2016 will be allowed to take effect. If en-acted, these cuts will require a $38 billion reduction in the Department of Defense (DoD) budget, while the Obama’s Administration’s FY 2016 budget request seeks funding at a level 7 percent higher than sequestration would al-low. The proposed FY 2016 budgets for departments of Defense (DoD), Veterans Affairs (VA), and Homeland Security (DHS) all increase spending by 8 percent high-er than FY 2015 levels. With projected federal deficits shrinking, the president urged Congress to move be-yond the “mindless austerity” of sequestration-mandated budget cuts (see page 10), but it’s not all good news. The budget request also calls for increases to TRICARE fees, which FRA strongly opposes.

Other major concerns include the recently-re-leased Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC) report and its

15 recommendations for drastic changes to military pay and benefits (see page 10), “Doc Fix” provisions that are set to expire on April 1 (see page 12) and the need for Congress and the Administration to address the debt ceil-ing this year. The president claims that raising the debt limit does not authorize new spending, but rather allows the federal government to pay for the obligations it has already approved. House and Senate leadership claim that it is irresponsible to continue deficit spending without implementing greater fiscal restraint.

This congressional session could be the most chal-lenging in recent memory for FRA shipmates. Members should keep up to date on legislative activities that could impact their pay and benefits. If you are not already signed up for FRA NewsBytes (our weekly electronic legis-lative newsletter), please sign up today! You can subscribe to this free service by e-mailing [email protected] and putting “subscribe” in the subject line.

Sequestration, Fee Increases, Doc Fix and Commission Report Threaten Benefits

ON & OFF CAPITOL HILL

FRA Recognizes Outstanding USN RecruitersFRA’s National President John Ippert, National Executive Director Tom Snee, and members of FRA’s headquarters staff participated in several events honor-ing the Navy’s 2014 Recruiters of the Year. At a special ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial, Ippert presented awardees with a complimentary two-year FRA membership and certificate. On the final day of the event, FRA hosted a lun-cheon for the awardees on Capitol Hill and sponsored a tour of the Capitol. FRA NHQ and several branches contributed to the success of the event and were rec-ognized among a select group of “Friends of the Navy.”

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert poses for a photo with Commander, Navy Recruiting Command Rear Adm. Annie Andrews, Navy Recruiting Command Force Master Chief Earl Gray and the 2014 Recruiters of the Year during a meet and greet at the Pentagon on January 27, 2015. Greenert met with all of the Navy Recruiting Command Recruiters of Year as just one of several events throughout the week in Washington, D.C. to recognize the outstanding achievements of the 2014 Recruiters of the Year.

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Take Defense out of Sequestration

Budget cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 pose a threat to national security and will substantially impact service members’ readiness, pay and benefits. These automatic cuts, known as sequestration, require that 50 percent of the federal budget cuts come from the Department of Defense (DoD), even though DoD only makes up 17 percent of the overall national budget.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff recently spoke to the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), echo-ing FRA’s concerns and warning of dreadful consequences if DoD is hit by additional seques-tration cuts in FY 2016. SASC Chairman Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), said, “If we in Congress do not act, sequestration will return in full in fiscal year 2016, setting our military on a far more dangerous course.” He is concerned that sequestration could push our military into a slow state of decline.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert warned that a new round of sequestra-tion cuts would require a re-examination of the national defense strategy, pointing out the falling retention rate among the Navy’s highly trained sailors. He also noted that the service’s fleet is older than it has ever been and suggested the existing plan for the Ohio-class subma-rine program could be at risk if more automatic cuts occur.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said the Marines are investing in new hard-ware at “historically low levels.”

SASC Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.) said he knows the service chiefs “will manage” with whatever funding and cuts they are dealt.

FRA wants the DoD excluded from sequestration, and shipmates can use the Action Center (action.fra.org/action-center) to express their concerns on this issue to their legislators.

Secretary of Defense Hagel’s Farewell

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was honored in a farewell ceremony in Fort Myer, Va., on Wednesday, January 28, 2015. When Hagel was appointed Secretary of Defense in 2013, he became the first former enlisted man to lead the Pentagon. In early March, he is expected to be replaced by Ashton Carter.

Hagel started off his speech by thanking service members and their families. He also asked U.S. troops to secure the military’s reputation as “the most admired and trusted institution in our country.” He stated that “Of all the opportunities my life has given me … I am most proud of having once been a soldier. The lessons from my time in uniform about trust, responsibility, duty, judgment and loyalty to your fellow soldier — these I have carried with me through-out my life.” President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey attended the event.

Military Experience in the 114th Congress

The number of House members in the new 114th Congress with military experience declined from 84 to 81. The number of senators with military experience increased from 19 to 21. This is the first Congress in a many years without any World War II veterans and, for the first time, a female veteran (Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa) is serving in the U.S. Senate.

ACTIVE DUTY/RESERVE ISSUES

New Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

On February 20, 2015, Sergeant Major Ronald Green became the 18th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps — the top en-listed Marine in the Corps and Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford’s senior enlisted ad-viser. Green’s dynamic leadership style is known throughout the ranks of the Marine Corps, and his experiences during peacetime and combat make him well suited for the job, Dunford said in a statement.

Green has spent 31 years in the Marine Corps and is an artilleryman by training. He served as a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. He was selected to the rank of sergeant ma-jor in December 2004. He served in Iraq in 2005, deploying with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169 as a unit sergeant major. He later completed a deployment to Afghanistan.

Green has previously advised general officers as sergeant major of Marine Forces Europe and of Headquarters and Service Battalion at Headquarters Marine Corps, Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va., and as sergeant major of Marine Forces Europe and Africa in Stuttgart, Germany.

The post of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was established in 1957 to serve as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commandant, the first such post in any branch of the United States armed forces. The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is selected by the Commandant, and typically serves a four-year term, though his service is at the plea-sure of the Commandant.

U.S. M

arine Corps photo by Lance C

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MCRMC Releases its Much-Anticipated ReportThe Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission (MCRMC) was es-tablished as part of the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act to review the current compensation and military retirement system and make recommendations for modernizing the system. The Commission completed its review and recently released its final report that included 15 major recommendations aimed at improving the cost-effectiveness of benefits related to military service. Despite early assurances that the proposed recommendations would not impact current beneficiaries, the Commission’s proposals will impact those who currently serve, have served and will serve in the future. Among the Commission’s most worrisome recommendations are proposals to replace all TRICARE programs (except for TRICARE-For-Life or TFL) with a selection of commercial insurance plans and a plan to restructure the military retirement system for future retirees.

As this issue of FRA Today goes to press, FRA’s Legislative Team is carefully reviewing the impact of the proposed changes and members of the National Headquarters staff are in con-tinuing dialogue with the Commission. In addition to meeting with members of the MCRMC, FRA also expressed its position on the Commission’s recommendations in statements to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees (HASC, SASC), which held separate hearings on the report. (FRA’s statements are posted on the Testimony page of the FRA website: www.fra.org/testimony.)

The Commission claims that TRICARE is no longer fiscally sustainable and suggests replac-ing the current TRICARE program (except TRICARE-for Life) with a plan similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). Like FEHBP beneficiaries, retirees would be allowed to choose from a selection of commercial insurance plans and Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) would be considered in-network providers under this system. Beneficiaries would be required to pay 20 percent of all health care costs, and premiums would be allowed to increase every year. Beneficiary family members would not be covered under the plan and would be provided a Basic Allowance for Health Care (BAHC) to cover the cost of premiums and deduct-ibles for an average health care plan. Reserve Component members who are mobilized would also receive a BAHC in lieu of TRICARE coverage. This recommendation, if enacted, would shift a substantial portion of health care costs to beneficiaries, a proposal that FRA adamantly op-poses. FRA believes that health care costs for retirees have been prepaid with 20 or more years of arduous military service.

Another major recommendation is to provide a “blended” retirement benefit to future service members and future retirees. The current defined benefit plan, which vests after 20 years of ser-vice, would be replaced by smaller defined benefit plan (from 50 percent to 40 percent of mili-tary base pay). There would also be a new defined contribution plan known as a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) that would be similar to a civilian 401(k) retirement account. The government would provide a 1-percent employer contribution and an employee’s contribution would be matched by the employer up to 5-percent of pay. The TSP would be transferrable to other civilian jobs if the service member should leave the military before he/she serves for 20 years.

Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), SASC Chairman, echoed FRA’s concern that such a plan would be a disincentive for long military careers and Rep. J. Randy Forbes (Va.) referenced FRA’s statement when asking if the proposed TSP benefit could create a future retention crisis. Rep. Joe Heck (Nev.), chairman of the HASC Personnel Subcommittee, questioned how the commissioners sought to strike a balance between adopting meaningful reforms while “keeping the faith” of those who serve in uniform.

These MCRMC recommendations are just that – recommendations – and they have not been introduced as legislation. FRA also met with HASC and SASC Personnel Subcommittees to discuss the MCRMC report and is closely monitoring the legislative process as it applies to these recommendations.

RETIREE ISSUES

President Submits FY 2016 Budget Request to CongressPresident Obama submitted his Department of Defense (DoD) FY 2016 budget request, which is 7 percent above sequestration-mandated spending caps. Despite this, the proposed budget seeks to slow the growth of military compensation and benefits by in-cluding provisions FRA opposed last year. The Administration’s proposed budget includes:

• Capping military pay increases at 1.3 per-cent for FY 2016;

• Creating an annual enrollment fee for new TRICARE for Life (TFL) beneficiaries;

• Merging TRICARE Standard, Prime, and Extra into one consolidated health care plan;

• Requiring all retirees to use home delivery or a Military Treatment Facility (MTF) for maintenance drugs;

• Increasing TRICARE annual fees and phar-macy co-pays for retirees under age 65;

• Creating a small co-pay ($10) for retirees using MTFs;

• Requiring active duty family members to pay a co-pay for TRICARE services;

• Reducing Base Allowance for Housing payments by 6 percent; and

• Cutting the commissary budget from $1.3 billion to $400 million in three years with only stateside commissaries being cut.

The Association will oppose these budget-driven pay and benefit cuts and is reviewing other issues addressed in the DoD budget proposal.

FRA staff members are also examining the proposed budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and met to discuss how the proposed spending plan will impact ship-mates. Much of the VA budget is now on a two-year (advanced funding) cycle and the proposed budget increases funding for dis-ability claims processing by $166 million. FRA will closely monitor the VA and DoD budgets as they move through the legislative process.

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The FRA Legislative Team is National Executive Director Tom Snee, Director of Legislative Programs John Davis, Assistant Director of Legislative Programs Stephen Tassin and National Veterans Service Officer Chris Slawinski.

RETIREE ISSUES

Concurrent Receipt Bills IntroducedRep. Gus Bilirakis (Fla.) introduced the “Retired Pay Restoration Act” (H.R. 303), which would expand the eligibility of retirees so those with disability ratings of less than 50 percent would be able to receive service-connected disability from the VA. The mea-sure would also provide full retirement pay for retirees eligible for Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP). Currently, only CRDP disability disabled retirees with a rating of 50 percent or more are eligible for concurrent receipt of this benefit and their full military retired pay. Rep. Sanford Bishop (Ga.) has also introduced comprehensive concurrent receipt reform (H.R. 333) that includes disabled retirees with CRDP of less than 50 percent and CRDP (Chapter 61) for those who were medically retired with less than 20 years of service.

Members are urged to use the FRA Action Center (action.fra.org/action-center) to con-tact their representative to ask their support for these proposals.

Senate Sends Veterans’ Suicide Prevention Bill to PresidentThe Senate unanimously passed the “Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act” (H.R. 203) and President Obama signed it into law in mid-February. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Walz (Minn.), establishes an annual third-party evaluation of the VA’s mental health care and suicide prevention programs, promotes greater collaboration with community mental health resources and creates a pilot program to attract and retain department psychiatrists. The measure is also designed to combat veteran suicide by improving the quality of care at VA facilities and creating a strong base for future mental health initiatives.

FRA, along with other veterans’ service organizations, advocated for quick passage of the bill, which is named for a 28-year-old Marine who committed suicide in 2011 after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill was introduced on January 7, 2015; passed the House on January 15, passed unanimously in the Senate on February 3 and signed into law on February 12.

“This bill had many advocates — none more important than Clay Hunt’s parents — who fought tirelessly to shepherd this legislation through both houses of Congress. Today, we commend them for their work in this effort, and call on President Obama to sign this important bill into law without delay,” said Rep. Jeff Miller (Fla.), Chairman House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

VETERANS ISSUES

Flag Desecration Amendment IntroducedRep. Steve Womack (Ark.) has introduced a proposed constitutional amendment (H.J. Res. 9) to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States. Many brave men and women who serve and have served in the armed services feel deeply about the dignity of “Old Glory.” The physical desecra-tion of this symbol of democracy and freedom is an affront to them and to the memory of those who died in the service to this nation.

Members are urged to use the Action Center (action.fra.org/action-center) to ask their representative to vote for this proposed con-stitutional amendment.

Permanent “Doc Fix” Discussed in House SubcommitteeThe Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Health recently held a hearing to discuss reforming the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) that determines reimbursement rates for doctors who see Medicare and TRICARE patients. The threat of significant cuts to those rates has been looming for several years and the temporary “doc fix” has forestalled any changes until April 1, 2015. Congress needs to renew the current plan or make a permanent one by this deadline, or physicians will experience a 22 percent reduction in the reimbursement rates they receive from Medicare and TRICARE. If such cuts are allowed to take place, FRA believes many of these providers will stop seeing Medicare and TRICARE patients.

The cost of making a permanent adjustment has been estimated at $130 billion over 10 years and the subcommittee has been tasked to find offsets for the estimated cost. FRA strongly supports a permanent solution by establishing sufficient reimbursement rates to ensure ben-eficiaries have continued access to quality medical care. Members are urged to use the FRA Action Center (action.fra.org/action-center) to ask their elected officials to make the “doc fix” permanent.

Pharmacy Co-pay Increase Takes EffectNew co-payments for prescription drugs covered by TRICARE went into effect on February 1. The FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires TRICARE to increase most pharmacy co-pays by $3. The old and new co-pay rates are given below.

At the in-network retail pharmacies (offering up to a 30-day supply of medications):• Co-pays for generic formulary drugs increased from $5 to $8,• Co-pays for brand-name formulary drugs increased from $17 to $20, and• Co-pays for non-formulary drugs increased from $44 to $47.

For home delivery (offering up to a 90-day supply of medications):• Co-pays for formulary brand name drugs increased from $13 to $16, and• Co-pays for non-formulary drugs increased from $43 to $46.

Drugs from military pharmacies and generic drugs from TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery still cost beneficiaries nothing.

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Final CountdownMARCH IS A CRITICAL month for our membership year, which began on April 1, 2014 and concludes on March 31, 2015. This is the last month for all our members and branches to estab-lish and strengthen their eligibility for the various recruiting and reten-tion awards and incentives, which are still up for grabs. Here is a list of the awards and some tips on how you can make a difference in membership.

At the upcoming 88th FRA National Convention, scheduled for October 14 –17 in Spokane, Wash., we will present the following membership awards, based on the final member-ship reports at the end of March: • The FRA 100% Awards go to all

branches that maintain or increase their membership numbers during the year.

• The Retention Incentive Awards recognize the top branch in Groups I through V that brings in the high-est number of reinstated members. Each winning branch will receive a $100 award.

• The Charles E. Lofgren Award for Branches (in Groups I through V) recognizes the highest per-centage gain/no losses in branch membership.

• The Charles E. Lofgren Award for Individuals (in Groups I through V) is presented to the shipmate who has recruited the most members.

• The Abraham M. Rosenberg Membership Award recognizes the one branch with the highest overall gain in membership.

• The Frank J. McPherson Memorial Award, FRA’s most prestigious individual member-ship award, is presented to one shipmate who exemplifies the three FRA cardinal principles of Loyalty, Protection and Service,

particularly with regard to mem-bership endeavors. This award is selected based on nominations from branches through the re-gions to the National Headquarters (NHQ). Nominations must be sub-mitted to the region by June 30 and a regional representative will be selected during the each regional convention. The final nomination from each region must be received at NHQ by October 7, 2015.

For those shipmates aspiring to be top recruiters, take a look at some of the recruiting resources referenced in the January 2015 issue of FRA Today. When you meet prospective members, start a conversation about their mili-tary service and try to find some com-mon ground with your own military experience. Find out what their con-cerns or needs are and explain how FRA can help them. Give a brief sum-mary about the requirements to join and include a talk about FRA’s goals, objectives, projects and programs. Invite potential members to attend an upcoming meeting. Close the deal and ask them to join the Association and become members of the oldest Sea Service association.

Branches who desire to achieve top membership should use their monthly branch reports to contact new members and welcome them into the branch. In addition, contact cur-rent members who are due to renew, are past due with their membership fees or whose memberships have been terminated for non-payment of dues. Seek volunteers who will contact these members either by phone, e-mail, post-card, or letter. Many branch secretar-ies send blast e-mail messages to their branch members through the iMIS membership database and have used this method very effectively in retain-ing current members. Call Member Services at 1-800-FRA-1924 to learn more about using this helpful tool.

Please remember to also submit your branch’s annual Committee Reports for Americanism-Patriotism; Hospitals, Welfare and Rehabilitation; Youth Activities and Public Relations recognition at your regional conven-tions, in order to be considered for regional and national recognition. Honors will be presented for Shipmates of the Year in Youth Activities and Public Relations, which is an excellent way to recognize those members who are doing great things to strengthen FRA’s image and impact in local com-munities. Community involvement is also an excellent way to keep ship-mates engaged and retain them as FRA members.

We look forward to highlighting individual and branch success stories. Share your recent recruiting and re-tention efforts with us by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or calling 1-800-FRA-1924, ext. 123.

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

Penny Collins is FRA’s Director of Membership Development and a member of FRA Branch 24 in Annapolis, Md. She can be reached at [email protected].

Penny Collins

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FRA CONGRATULATES THE FOLLOWING shipmates who have recently become Life Members. Below are the names and their branches (or MAL if they are a Member-at-Large). Call 1-800-FRA-1924 to learn how you can become a Life Member.

October 2014Gregory Allen Thompson MALHenry J Stortz 219John Ponte MALRomulo R Fabunan, Jr. MALHarry L Shultz 008Richard W Brobst 156Harry E Gerhard MALJames R Curtis MALBruce C Jessen MALClyde K Hightower 008

Michael D Weber 029Lonnie L Johnson MALJames C Byrd 037Frank Z Leopard 053Russell Koym MALPaul A Wing MALRobert L Campbell 263William E Peel 060Steven J Lord MALTimothy R Woolums MAL

Odell S Armour 044Earl H Russell 334Timothy E Donovan, Sr. 186Frank J Pittman 099Terrie L Jennings MALSTanley Doug Rhoades 029Lawrence E. Hess 024Deon Whitaker MALGrover L Rollyson MALThomas F Vatter 093

Raymond J Zoglmann 013George W Starega 141Orbie L Mays 278Cipriano G Ramirez 154Maynard L Avery 251Joseph T Butswinkas MALCarlton J. Jakubec MAL

November 2014George Ferguson MALWillie L Avant 062Robert E Cayce 178Charles J Wilson MALEric Lokker MALWilliam J Barich MALGary James Dickerson MALBilly J Pope, Sr. MALKenneth M. Wallis 093

William R Goode MALFrank W Cole 089Elizabeth Carl 162Thomas A. Carl 162John H Moyna MALWilliam D Buchannan 293Floyd N McCreary 055Valjean E Hixson MALBernard W Barrick 245

Fred Pruce MALKathy Goodall 166Donald D Florang 185Theodore Jenkins MALRobert E Francella 070James E Boozer 091Seabie P Rucker 091Roy A. Welin MALAmos L Brantley 208

Carl W Hammond, Jr. MALJames J Doyle MALRobert Mathurin 289Domingo S Magat MALRalph J Ringger 022Dennis C Nardone 310Russell P Myers MAL

December 2014Benjamin O Estoque MALJohn C Holz, Sr. 061Billy F Gheesling MALJoseph H Kelly 022Kelly O Smith 024Rex E Hazlett 099Eugene C Carlson 136Billy L Humphrey MALDavid Klimek MALDonnie W Cates 072Carroll Calhoun MALHayden Spalding 367

Charles T Westcott 066Timothy L Dixon MALRaymond Webb MALMack L Pressey, Jr. MALRonald Amos King MALRonald D Eldridge 061Warren H Wood 201Antonio G Serrano 070Ronald D Thompson 054Walter B Nicoll 070David S Cox MALRalph Carrop 166

William F Harmon 072Howard E Jackson MALClarence R. Johnson 029Donald L Bronson 275Donald L Swords MALJuanito C Geronimo MALLyle L Carpenter 274William R Brown 162Timothy J Luce 005Jose B Gonzales MALZev B Levine MALHarold E Pinson 382

Donald Lemons MALJohn H Cowle 136Edward A Miller MALAntonio D Octavo 166Harold D Malone MALAndrew B Hunter 307Richard Hyrum Lewis MALGarnet D Thompson, II MALJohn M Streufert MALCharles H Piersall MALRodney K Longstratt 098

FRA NEW LIFE MEMBERS

• Commanders are authorized to use official command communica-tion channels, including Transition Assistance Program materials, to inform service troops of the avail-ability of services and support on the installation provided by VSOs, MSOs and military-supporting nonprofits.

MAINTAIN RELATIONSHIPSHagel expressed pride in what he termed a major accomplishment and explained the importance of the directives.

“These directives underscore my belief that events and support pro-vided by VSOs, MSOs and military-support nonprofits can be critically important to the welfare of our service

members and families,” he said.The department must maintain

positive relationships with those orga-nizations, Hagel said, to facilitate their delivery of services to military person-nel who need them.

Tom Snee is FRA’s National Executive Director and can be reached at [email protected].

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Michelle Howard is a woman who knows a thing or two about leadership. As the Navy’s 38th

Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Howard plays a key role in shaping the future of

our Navy and has contributed to her service in numerous

and remarkable ways.

On her way to the #2 post in the Navy, Admiral Howard has held a variety of leadership positions, including command of USS Rushmore (LSD-47), Amphibious Squadron Seven during its support of tsunami relief ef-forts in Indonesia and maritime

security operations in the North Arabian Gulf, Expeditionary Strike Group Two and Task Force 151, a Multi-national Counter-piracy effort. She’s even referenced in the 2013 film, Captain Phillips, when the movie depicted Howard’s real-life role

Interview by Lauren Armstrong

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FRA: Your Navy career started at the U.S. Naval Academy. When did you know you wanted to go to Annapolis?

ADM Howard: I knew I wanted to attend a service academy when I was about 12 years old, after watch-ing a documentary on the subject. When I went to share my excitement with my older brother, he was quite forthright in letting me know that the service academies were closed to women. I was stunned! When I talked with my mother, she verified that to be the case. It was against the law of prohibition. But she said, ‘As you get older, if you still want to apply and if they’re still closed, we’ll sue the government!’ She’s quite a woman!

The law changed in 1976 and I started at the Academy in 1978. I was in the third class that in-cluded women and graduated in 1982.

FRA: What was it like to be one of the first few women at the Naval Academy?

ADM Howard: This was a time of significant social change, not only with regard to women at Annapolis, but also within American culture as a whole. It was very challenging.

FRA: You’ve had a wide variety of duty assign-ments since then. What assignments are the most memorable for you and why?

ADM Howard: One of the first milestones, before I even graduated from Annapolis, was the change in policy that allowed women to serve on support ships. At the end of WWII, the government had put in place the combat exclusion law, so women couldn’t serve on combatant ships or fly aircraft in combat. They could, however, be test pilot of a combatant aircraft. I was at Annapolis when the

policy changed so the Navy had to designate which ships were non-combatants. That opened up salvage ships, submarine tenders, destroyer tenders, train-ing carriers. We used to have a missile test platform and a variety of other options that weren’t previ-ously available to females. It created a whole career opportunity for women at sea and I think all of us at Annapolis were pretty excited about it.

During my Second Class year, we got to spend a few days aboard the USS Spruance [DD-963] and that’s what really convinced me that I wanted to try to be part of the surface warfare community. That was the path I wanted to pursue.

Like most Surface Warfare officers, command assignments have been the most memorable. My time as a commander of the USS Rushmore [LSD-47], commodore/command as an O-6 of FIBRON [Amphibious Squadron] 7 and then as an ESG [Expeditionary Strike Group] commander were all very memorable. The command tours … and the Sailors and Marines with whom I worked … those are my best memories.

FRA: What was your reaction when you learned you had become the first female four-star Admiral?

ADM Howard: You don’t get thrust into any par-ticular rank in the Navy, coming in sideways. It’s a journey along the way. If I could put it in per-spective, probably one of the biggest moments of realization about becoming a four-star and then re-alizing I was the first female to attain that rank was figuring out that we didn’t have women’s shoulder boards made. That was a reaffirmation of how new all of this was, not just for myself, but also for the Navy and, literally, for our country.

in coordinating the rescue of the captain of the cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama after he had been captured by Somali pirates.

She’s also been a Navy trailblazer, experiencing many firsts in her extraordinary career. Howard was among the first women to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, being a member of the third class that admitted females. She is the first African-American

female to command a U.S. Navy ship and to serve as a three-star officer. And she’s not only the first woman in the Navy to wear four stars, she’s the first African-American to serve as VCNO, as well.

During an exclusive interview with FRA Today, Admiral Howard discussed her background, her mentors and her vision for the future of the U.S. Navy.

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FRA: What role models have helped guide you on your journey?

ADM Howard: I certainly count my parents in that group. Even before I came into the Navy, my par-ents were really wonderful about giving us books to read and people to think about. Harriet Tubman was one of those people. I was an adolescent when I first read about her and I was just in awe. And different iconic Navy admirals, like Grace Hopper and Admiral [Elmo] Zumwalt, have influenced me. I had the opportunity to meet Zumwalt when I was a lieutenant commander and I heard him speak a couple other times. His perspective on life and people was very inspiring to me. That has stayed with me always.

The biggest consistency that I see in the people I admire is their persistence. Think about Harriet Tubman, who was an escaped slave and kept going back, making more than one trip to help others escape to freedom at great danger to her own life. That’s a persistence of goals and character that’s pretty remarkable.

Admiral Hopper spent a great deal of her life trying to educate people, both in and out of the Navy, about computers and what they would come to mean in our lives. There was a persistence in her own subject matter expertise and keeping the rest of the world engaged in winning this transforma-tion that was going on. She was in uniform and still lecturing long after most people her age would be enjoying retirement.

When Admiral Zumwalt was Chief of Naval Operations, he was very persistent in his focus on Sailors and diversity. He refused to let the bureau-cracy or existing culture of the Navy stop him from resetting and getting the Navy to a better place, in terms of demographics of people.

FRA: Can you give your perspective on women in the military? How do you see their role evolving in the future?

ADM Howard: We are currently looking for en-listed female volunteers to serve on submarines and we’re going to start the first integration in 2016. When the Navy made the decision years ago to put women on submarines, I was absolutely thrilled. Up to that point, I had honestly believed that might still be the one area that remained closed to women

when I retired. When it was first announced that female officers could serve on subs, the opportunity was opened up for Naval Academy graduates and there was no shortage of volunteers. When I visited the campus around that time, I had several women come up to me and talk with me about it. It was exciting for them, as well.

You’re asking what new frontiers are out there for females? We’re just about all there. Even before the combat exclusion law, we had female EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] technicians and div-ers. We’ve already had a female diver who’s retired and gone on to the Diver Hall of Fame. The majority of what the Navy does is open to women. We have women on submarines, surface ships, aircraft car-riers, aviation squadrons; we have women Seabees. The head of the Seabee service is a female two-star. The only remaining area that’s still under review for all of the services is Special Forces. That effort is be-ing synchronized and led by SOCOM [U.S. Special Operations Command, a unified command for the worldwide use of Special Operations elements of the Army, Navy and Air Force]. I imagine whatever policy changes might come out of the discussion will apply to all the services.

FRA: Can you discuss your role and responsibili-ties as Vice Chief of Naval Operations?

ADM Howard: At this level, we’re responsible for the training, equipping and manning of the force. That entails oversight of a number of agencies and organizations that make that happen, and syn-chronizing all that across the Navy and sometimes

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 19, 2014) Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michelle Howard and Lt. Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater, commanding officer of the littoral combat ship USS Forth Worth (LCS 3), review the ship’s closed circuit television system in the bridge.

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across the Department of the Navy. There are also some statutory responsibilities for the Vice Chief that include the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and I’m also the Navy’s representative to the budget process. And I also serve as a backstop for the CNO, so if he’s on travel, I step in and at-tend meetings in his stead. For example, Admiral [Jonathan] Greenert is the senior naval advisor for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and, when he isn’t available, I’ve joined the Joint Chiefs of Staff [when they meet in their conference room, “The Tank”] as they develop their best military advice [for the Secretary of Defense and the President]. So my job includes the entire scope of who we are as a Navy, how we generate and employ our forces, and the support structure to make it all happen.

FRA: How would you describe the readiness of the Navy and the fleet today?

ADM Howard: Navy readiness starts with our phenomenal people. The folks we’re bringing in, whether from boot camp or through our officer candidate programs, are amazing. We are truly fortunate to have these great citizens come in and go on this wonderful adventure. The quality of the force is just stunning.

In terms of numbers, we’re at the manning we need to be. We have about 322,000 active duty personnel, 59,000 Reservists and a couple hundred thousand civilians working together as part of our total force. Where we’ve had challenges in the last few years is getting the force in the right place.

A few years ago, during my tour as deputy com-mander at Fleet Forces Command, we had the billets at sea, we had positions at sea, but we didn’t have people in those positions. We were about 17,000 people out of whack, in terms of who needed to be at sea. Chief of Naval Personnel and the fleets have done a great job in the last couple years of getting that gap closed down to just a few thousand gaps in our at-sea manning.

Our job is at sea. We are the premier maritime force for this country and, with the Marines, we’re the premier expeditionary force. We need to keep our people at sea … on ships, in aviation squadrons, on submarines, aircraft carriers … and ensure those assets are ready to do their job.

FRA: What about the health of the Navy’ person-nel force? Specifically, how about morale?

ADM Howard: The times I’ve gotten out into the fleet and connected with Sailors in the past six months, I’d say morale has been pretty darned good. It really comes across when Sailors ask questions or come up to talk with me. They’re everything you’d want a Sailor to be.

It’s interesting. The kinds of questions I get are concerns about the future. They ask where are we going. I might get a dozen questions and a lot of them are focused on operations, operational tempo or cyber security. In fact, I’ve gotten some very thoughtful questions about cyber security. I talk about gender integration, so sometimes they’ll echo that back … they sometimes feel more comfortable asking me about that.

There is a pay and compensation commission that’s looking into alternate models and I do get some questions about pay and benefits. They don’t specifically ask about the [Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission] report, which is due out very soon and we’ll all get to take a deep breath when we hear what the commission has to say, but some of their questions relate to how their current and future benefits might be impacted. For example, I’ll be asked if tuition assistance is fully funded.

Sailors want to improve themselves, but their focus in on warfighting, particularly at operational units.

WASHINGTON (July 1, 2014) Adm. Mark Ferguson III extends the Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) flag to Adm. Michelle Howard during an official change of office ceremony where Howard assumed the duties and responsibilities as the 38th VCNO.

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FRA: How will the current budget climate impact sailors’ quality of life and that of their families?

ADM Howard: When we went through part of a year sequestered, I was out in the fleet at the time and I can tell you those were unhappy times. But we were able to preserve all the things that go into Sailors’ quality of life. We need to keep child care centers and family support centers open, and that will remain a priority if we have to go through another sequester.

If or when there’s another round of cuts, its our job as leaders to communicate those needs and help Congress understand the impact of sequestration and what it does to the services. Hopefully we’ll have a different plan and path in terms of budget.

FRA: What do you see as future challenges for the Navy?

ADM Howard: Cyber threats are a big con-cern. [The Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance] is leading an integrated task force, cyber awakening, and we’re working our way holistically across the Navy, from networks, ashore and at sea, across systems commands, to make sure that we’re prioritized in terms of train-ing, equipment and manning for the cyber force. We’re also getting a better understanding of what’s needed for everyone who’s in this domain … and that’s everybody. There’s a piece that’s focused for our cyber warriors, and there’s another piece that’s there for all of us. Right now, everybody, regardless of their role in the total force, should have annual information assurance training, but I would submit that that’s probably insufficient for how we all liter-ally operate in the cyber domain.

None of us can do our jobs right now without going on the Internet and having that connectivity. If you look at it from a vulnerabilities perspective, every-one who works in the Navy or DoD is a potential node of entry for those wishing to exploit informa-tion. We’ve got to get smarter and more thoughtful about how we train all our people and what their day-to-day work routine means, in terms of poten-tial vulnerabilities and how to be better positioned in this domain. And this doesn’t just apply to our

personnel and DoD employees. When you look at social media and deploying ships, there’s an operational security piece that goes out to family members and relatives. Our training and awareness needs to be much broader than what we have in place now. Cyber security needs to be everyone’s concern.

FRA: How can the retired sea service community support today’s Sailors?

ADM Howard: There are great opportunities for retirees to support transitioning ill, injured and wounded Sailors and Coast Guardsmen through the Navy’s Safe Harbor program. The program encourages retirees and civilians to be mentors for those who have transitioned or are transitioning. Most of our Safe Harbor mentors are currently Reservists. This program is a great opportunity for those who’ve already transitioned at some point to help those who are ill, injured and wounded as they make their own transition back to the civilian world. Any number of volunteers for Safe Harbor would be helpful.

[To learn more about Navy Wounded Warrior Safe Harbor, visit safeharbor.navylive.dodlive.mil or call 855-NAVY WWP (628-9997) or e-mail [email protected]]

Less than 1 percent of the American public is serving in the armed forces. Retirees can help raise awareness in their communities about the Navy and what it does. They can help raise awareness of the great work our personnel are doing. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Reserves and is a great opportunity to talk about our citizen Sailors — who they are and how they’re integrated into the total force. Even as we withdraw from Afghanistan, Reservists will remain an integral part of who we are as the Navy and how we successfully accom-plish our mission as a total force. It’s a great time to say thank you to our citizen Sailors.

Lauren Armstrong is the Contributing Editor and Member of the FRA Auxiliary. She can be reached at [email protected].

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TAPS In Memoriam

NAME BRANCH NAME BRANCH

NAME BRANCH

Ackerman, Adrian J, SKC, USN MALAdamson, Harold Roy, SSGT, USMC 293Angell, Hal D, BM1, USN 310

Bartee, Lawrence W, RMC, USN MALBlake, James L, AMHC, USN 112Brown, Phillip L, OSC, USN 008

Cash, William N, AFCM, USN MALChapman, Harold E, ATC, USN 229Clark, Rodney R, SGTMAJ, USMC 141Cook, Bobbie F, HMC, USN 316Coulon, Charles R, CWO2, USN MALCraft, Michael D, AMSC(AW), USN 261Crowell, Edward J, OS1, USN 290

Dettinger, Max D, QMC, USN 159Drum, Hayes E, EMCM, USN MAL

Edwards, Raymond L, DCCS, USN MALEllis, Eva P, YN1, USN 261Erickson, Charles B, COL, USMC 178

Fay, Paul, STG2, USN MALFessler, Gregory D, RM1(SS), USN 029Flowers, Eddie, BMC, USN 099

Gaddie, William B, IC1, USN MALGarland, Robert T, ADRC, USN 115Getchel, Wayne B, ATC, USN 070Gobber, Lambert Y, AD2, USN 177Gordy, Robert C, FTC S, USN 159Gravelle, Thomas G, EMCS, USN 061Gray, Leonard G, RMCS, USN 047

Hale, Raymond N, CWO3, USN 126Hamilton, Deane A, YN1, USN MALHammett, Jack R, WO1, USN 175Harter, Richard S, CWO4, USN MALHeise, Frederick J, CDR, USN 042Heitzman, James W, 216Hund, David E, FN1, USN 230

Igo, John F, LTJG/ EX-PA-1, USCGR, 229

Jones, Gayle L, PO1, USNR 284Judson, Franklin F, CWO4, USMC MAL

Lee, Edwin D, Master CPO, USN MALLee, Willard, CWO3, USN 117Leftwich, Claude E, MCPO, USN 099Long, Tommy J, AOC, USN 126Louis, Terrence M, NCC(SW), USN 251

Maloy, Broaden E, PO2, USN 089McCaslin, Louis B, ET1, USN 024McKinney, Clay, TMCS, USN 123McKitrick, Robert W, ETCS, USN MALMendez, David R, DPC, USN 162Menzie, William J, PC1, USN 181Miller, Terry R, STGCS(SW, USN 162Miller, Stanley L, EN DSN, USN 068Musick, Lawson A, GYSGT, USMC 042

Nagorske, Walter E, MCPO, USN MALNoland, Ralph E, HMCM, USN 254

Palmer, Phillip M, ABH1, USN 040Peal, Richard L, USN 029Peterson, Dale A, QMC(SS), USN 020Phelps, Don A, DPCS, USN MALPorter, Calvin E, RM1, USN MAL

Rodriguez, Dana O, USCG, 159Romero, Richard, ATC, USN

Sarnowski, Michael, HTC, USNSchulze, Carl O, QMCS, USN 289Seute, Charles L, YNCS, USN 166Siemienczuk, John F, RMCM, USN 047Sims, Robert E, CPO, USN 118Singleton, John E, BMC, USN 159Souza, Jack J, BMC, USNSowa, Dennis W, RM2, USN 022Stone, William Carter, CWO4(RET),

USN 093Strauss, Modris, PO1, USN MALStyren, Harold H, AD1C, USN MAL

Thomas, William A, GMC, USN 021Thomas, John W, SN, USCG, 124Troyon, Charles A, YNC(SS), USN 342Tyldesley, Walter E, GYSGT, USMC

Wilburn, Curtis R, AOC, USN 172Wischerth, William L, AOC, USN 126Woodell, Joseph C, MKC, USCG, 040

Yaggi, Fred A, GMC, USN MAL

Names in red indicate 50 year continuous members.

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for our absent Shipmates.

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FRA’s Education Foundation awards over $100,000

in scholarship funds each year to recipients based

on financial need, academic standing, character

and leadership qualities. Our scholarship program is

open to anyone who has an affiliation with the USN,

USMC or USCG, through their own service or that of a

spouse, parent or grandparent.

To learn more about the FRA Education Foundation

and our scholarships, visit www.fra.org/foundation

where you will find descriptions of each scholarship

program, lists of past winners and, starting in

September of each year, applications for the current

year’s programs. We encourage all eligible recipients

to apply for our scholarships and to share information

about them with others.

Questions? E-mail us at [email protected]

or call 703-683-1400.

Educating our service members, veterans and their families.

Who needs money for college?

EDUCATION FOUNDATION

125 N. West StreetAlexandria, VA 22314800-FRA-1924 • [email protected]

DEADLINE:April 15th

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AE/OE Sailors AssociationSeptember 30–October 4, 2015, Dayton, OH. Contact Kurt Julsen, 907-333-0681, [email protected]

Aviation Boatswain’s Mates AssociationAugust 10 –14, 2015, Portsmouth, VA. Contact LCDR (Ret.) Doug Thornton, 5765 Jade Moon Circle, Milton, FL 32583, 619-578-1523, [email protected]

Mobile Riverine Force Association and the 9th Infantry Division (Mekong Delta)September 2– 6, 2015, Indianapolis, IN. Contact Charlie Ardinger, 1857 County Road A14, Decorah, IA 52101, 563-735-5924, mrfamembership@ mabeltel.coop

Naval Air Station Sanford, All Units & Squadrons, 1942-1968June 25 – 28, 2015, Sanford, FL. Contact CDR Ralph Feeback (Ret.), 205 Poinsetta Drive, Sanford, FL 32773, 407-302-2252, [email protected]

Naval Hospital Roosevelt Roads, PRAugust 20–23, 2015, Myrtle Beach, SC. Contact Marty or Brenda Goldman, 1205 Decatur Rd, Jacksonville, NC 28540, 910-347-6696, [email protected]

NMCB 62 & Ireland & Scotland SeabeesApril 30–May 4, 2015, Gulfport, MS. Contact Norm Hahn, 1805 Oaklawn Dr., Eau Claire, WI 54703, 715-379-4282, [email protected]

USS Antietam (CV/CVA/CXVS-36)September 16–20, 2015, Boise, ID. Contact Lyonel Young, 411 Hill Dr., Galena, MO 65656, 316-680-0252, [email protected]

USS Bexar (APA-237) and USS Pickaway (APA-222)September 17–20, 2015, Tulsa, OK. Contact Steve Malloy, 1542 10th St., Bremerton, WA 98337, 360-373-1093, [email protected]

USS Bushnell (AS-15)May 18 –21, 2015, Lancaster, PA. Contact Mike Wentzel, Box 133, Oley, PA 19547, 610-741-9190, [email protected]

USS Iwo Jima (LPH2/LHD7) ShipmatesSeptember 13–16, 2015, Baton Rouge, LA. Contact Robert G. McAnally, 152 Frissell Street, Hampton, VA 23663, 757-723-0317, YUJACK46709@ gmail.com

USS Jason (ARH-1/AR-8)June 8 –12, 2015, Branson, MO. Contact Steve Brunette, 360-301-5258, [email protected]

USS King (DLG-10/DDG-41)June 18 –21, 2015, Las Vegas, NV. Contact John Fitzsimons, 609-971-5498, [email protected]

USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635)October 11–15, 2015, St. Marys, GA. Contact Dalton Duncan, 1090 Inverness Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32940-1913, 407-766-6060, [email protected]

USS Saytr (ARL-23)June 4–8, 2015, Pensacola, FL. Contact Jerry D. Toney, 10926 Majuro Dr., Jacksonville, FL 32246, 904-641-5354, [email protected]

USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32)October 13–16, 2015, Evansville, IN. Contact Dannie Overton, 414 Hill St., Beaver Dam, KY 42320, 270-999-8625, [email protected]

USS Sterett AssociationSeptember 17–20, 2015, Tacoma, WA. Contact Steve Hayes, 17054 Palm Ridge Dr., D’Iberville, MS 39540, 228-392-6742, [email protected]

USS Trumpetfish (SS-425)November 4–9, 2015, N. Charleston, SC. Contact Terry Trump, 404 Pinehurst Ave., Summerville, SC 29483, 843-873-9563, [email protected]

USS Westchester County (LST 1167)September 8 –11, 2015, San Diego, CA. Contact John Nosek, 408-839-6566, [email protected]

USS Wiltsie (DD-716)August 23–27, 2015, Warwick, RI. Contact Ted Laurila, 360-736-3853, [email protected]

VAP/VJ61-62 “Vapper’s Reunion”October 14–18, 2015, Reno, NV. Contact Donna M. Sims, 660-259-4546, [email protected]

Members can post reunions online at www.fra.org, submit to [email protected] or mail to: FRA Reunions, 125 N. West St., Alexandria, VA 22314.

REUNIONS

IF YOU’RE HOSTING OR attending a reunion, please consider how many prospective FRA members will also be there! FRA has published a prospective member brochure with an information request form. You can easily talk through ben-efits of membership with the prospect using this brochure and offer NewsBytes or one of the FRA guides, provided by filling out the information card.

These work great for one-to-one conversations with someone who you know is eligible for membership (at least one day of enlisted service in the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard). You can request these brochures or other items for your reunion from Penny Collins at 1-800-372-1924 (ext. 123) or [email protected]. Reunions are great places to recruit. If you’d like additional information or ideas for your reunion, please contact Penny!

Reunions are a Great Recruiting Opportunity!

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NEWS FROM THE BRANCHES

BRANCH 130 MOORESVILLE, IND.

Branch members welcome Shipmate Fred Jones home from his Honor Flight to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Jones is a WWII Navy veteran and a member of the USS Indianapolis Memorial. Pictured (l to r) are Hank Jacoby, Flight Guardian Linda Lanning, Jones, PRPNC Bob Melson, Charles Cleveland and Joe Lanning.

BRANCH 22 PENSACOLA, FLA.

Shipmates Don Krauss (left), Branch President Bob Hall (center), and Junior Past President Jim Richmond (right) place a wreath at the Branch & Unit 22 Memorial at Barrancas National Cemetery as part of National Wreaths Across America.

BRANCH 247 DAGUPAN CITY, PI.

Members attended the 70th anniversary of General Douglas MacArthur’s landing at Bonuan Blue Beach, Dagupan City, Philippines. (This is where our former General landed, not in Lingayen.)

BRANCH 26 BAKERSFIELD, CALIF.

In recognition of the importance of instilling the virtues of patriotism, honor, courage and commitment in our youth, Branch President Walter Stabenow presents a check for $1,000 to Lt.(jg) Beth Karlin, Commanding Officer of Bakersfield’s O’Callahan Division, Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Similar checks were presented to two other Sea Cadet units in the region.

BRANCH 59 CHEYENNE, WYO.

FRA is proud to acknowledge Shipmate MM1 Kristen Trefren, USNR, for her dedication to the training needed to complete the October 2014 Marine Corps Marathon at Quantico, Va. Trefren ran the marathon to support the Fisher House, while also working on her doctorate in nursing. She is a nurse, a wife, mother of two boys and drills with the Navy Operational Support Center in Cheyenne. In her spare time she studies for the Chiefs exam. Congratulations & well done, Shipmate Trefren.

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NEWS FROM THE BRANCHES

To submit a photo for News From the Branches, please e-mail a photo as an attachment in jpeg format to [email protected] or mail a high-quality photograph to FRA Today, 125 N. West Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Please include a brief description of the photograph and include the names of those pictured. Laser prints and scanned copies of photographs cannot be accepted.

BRANCH 42 LINCOLN, R.I.

RPNE/NEng Floyd Hunt (right) present Shipmate Bob Shillaber (center) with his 40-year continuous membership certificate and pin as Branch Vice President Jim Pace (left) looks on.

BRANCH 201 AUSTIN, TEXAS

Branch 201 received 337 submissions to this year’s Americanism Essay Contest and grading them was quite a task. Pictured (l to r, foreground) are Branch Secretary Charley Randall, PRPSC Bob Holcomb, Branch President Richard Waltman, (l to r, background), Don Weldon, LAPRPSC Joan Miller and PRPSC Russ Miller.

BRANCH 146 JOHNSONVILLE/WILLOW GROVE, PENN.

Shipmates placed memorial wreaths on markers in the Memorial Gardens at the Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum, located on the site of the now closed NAS Willow Grove, Penn. Pictured are Shipmates Charlie Glass, Branch President Dave Carver, and Tom Concannon.

BRANCH 226 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.

Shipmate John Huey receives his 40-year pin, certificate and National President’s letter from Branch President/PRPNE/NEng Jim Brown and Vice President Al Klingele.

BRANCH 29 BREMERTON, WASH.

Shipmate Ed Foskett is recognized for 50 years of continuous FRA membership and accepts his certificate from Branch President Michelle Hodges.

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NEWS FROM THE AUXILIARY OF THE FRA

Message from the Northwest Region President

ALOHA FROM SUNNY HAWAII, I am so honored to be serving the Northwest Region of the Auxiliary as its president for the 2014–2015 year. Thus far, my term has been busy and quite eventful!

After attending the National Convention in Corpus Christi, I represented the region and Unit 46 at the 2014 Veteran’s Day ceremonies aboard the Mighty Mo on Ford Island. This sunset ceremony is always beautiful and moving.

In December, I was honored to host our National President, Doris Fri, for the December 7th ceremonies at Pearl Harbor. This visit included a wreath-laying cer-emony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial, which is awe-inspiring.

At the National President’s Dinner, hosted by Branch and Unit 46, NP Fri ad-dressed the shipmates and Auxiliary members and introduced her National President’s Project to us. We are happy to support her efforts to provide accessible homes for veterans through Building Homes for Heroes.

As we look forward to spring, I hope that many of you are making plans to attend the Pilgrimage in April. This will be my first pilgrimage and I feel privileged to be able to attend. It is my sincere hope to be able to visit many of my units on my way back across country and, hopefully, stand up a new unit in Everett, Wash., as well!

We continue to experience challenges across the region with maintaining and growing membership. In an effort to improve communication among the units in the Northwest Region, which are geographically spread out across thousands of miles, we developed a Facebook page where everyone can share their best practices and activities. The page is open to all, so please visit and “Like” us at www.facebook.com/LAFRANorthwest. If you like what you see, it’s very easy to start one for your own region or unit. I would be happy to assist anyone who is interested in creating a social media presence to help promote the FRA and LA FRA.

The Northwest Region is delighted to be hosting the National Convention this year. We are beginning the process of soliciting donations for raffles and drawings, so if you have ideas or wish to contribute something special that would appeal to our membership, please contact me at [email protected].

I look forward to seeing many of you over the course of the year. I wish you all good health.

LAUREN A. WYNNNorthwest Region President

Auxiliary RPNW Lauren Wynn (left) and NP Doris Fri attended a special wreath-laying ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial on December 7th, the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Unit 46 is proud to support Auxiliary NP Fri’s National President’s Project for this year, Building Homes for Heroes. Fri (right) is shown accepting a check from RPNW Wynn.

PERIODICALPOSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO:

MEMBER SERVICESFRA

125 N. WEST STREETALEXANDRIA, VA 22314-2754

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