Opinions/Editorials

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Administration Plan Threatens Military Benefits

Association of the United States Army's (AUSA) campaign, to educate those who would place military health care and retirement benefits in the crosshairs of attempts to solve the Nation's fiscal woes, is just beginning.

Last week, [September 18-25, 2011] the Obama Administration unveiled a plan that it says will trim the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade.  Included in the plan are $27 billion in cuts to the military health care package and the establishment of a BRAC-style commission that could cut even more from military retirement.  Here are some of the lowlights.

• Initiate annual fees for TRICARE-For-Life enrollment (TFL). The Administration is proposing to introduce modest annual fees for the TFL program, beginning with a $200 annual fee in 2013.  The fee would then align with a yet-to-be-named health care index and would increase each year.

• Targeted increases to TRICARE pharmacy benefit co-payments.  The plan states that the co-payments for military members have lagged behind other Federal and private plans and that the new proposal would move the TRICARE pharmacy program closer to parity with the Federal employee health plans and "closer to the health plans that most Americans have from their employers.  This option would have no impact on active duty members, but would affect active duty families and all military retirees regardless of the age of the beneficiary."

• Establish a commission to review military retirement benefits.  This is what the Administration's plan says verbatim:  "The current military retirement system has served the military well in past years.  In an era when defined-benefit plans were common, it helped the military to retain the personnel needed to maintain a vigorous and highly effective force.  But the system was designed for a different era of work, and is now out of line with most other Government or private retirement plans.  The non-disability program provides generous benefits to the relatively few members who stay for at least 20 years and [provides] no benefits for the roughly 80 percent of servicemembers who stay less than 20 years.  To consider reforms the Administration plans to set up a commission to develop recommendations for reforming the current military retirement system.  The commission will review the impacts of reform proposals on military readiness, recruiting, retention, costs, and the quality of the force.  The Administration plans to propose that the Commission's recommendations be handled in a manner similar to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission's recommendations.  Under this approach, DOD would make a proposal to the commission, which can alter the proposal as it deems appropriate.  The commission proposals then go to the President, who may not alter the proposals but can decide whether to forward them to the Congress.  The Congress must approve or disapprove without any modifications.  The Administration believes that any major military retirement reforms should include grandfathering provisions that ensure that the Country does not break faith with military personnel now serving, including those serving in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Grandfathering the current force is an excellent idea; however, we must also look to the future.  Why would an individual elect to sacrifice 20-30 years of his or her life enduring the hardships that accompany military service, to only be rewarded with a civilian-style retirement?  Altering the military retirement system converts the military profession to that of a job.

AUSA President Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., fired off a letter to President Obama that expressed how deeply troubled he is with the Administration’s proposal.

Sullivan said, "As Commander-in-Chief, you are aware of how much we ask of our military personnel.  At a time when we are fighting in Afghanistan, and threats remain around the world, our military personnel--less than one percent of our population who volunteer for decades of service and, in essence, write a blank check to the United States for an amount up to, and including, their life--should not have to wonder what benefits they will retain and what the retirement system will look like in the future.  Perceived erosion of benefits, proposed or implemented, creates enormous morale, recruiting, and retention problems and leads to perceptions of betrayal of trust among those serving, those retired, and those who would join the all volunteer force in the future.

"Modernizing" the military retirement system and health care benefits, to make them mirror more closely industry standards, fails completely to account for the vast difference between civilian jobs and the military profession.  Military retirement and health care benefits are not gifts--they have been earned through blood, sweat, repeated deployments, missed birthdays and anniversaries, and sometimes loss of limbs or life.  They are designed to provide a powerful incentive for top-quality people to serve full careers, despite the hardships of such service for troops and their families."

AUSA's Institute of Land Warfare also produced a Torchbearer Alert, U. S. Army Retirees:  Retired Pay and Health Care at Risk that we sent to all members of Congress.  You can find it at this link:  http://www.ausa.org/publications/ilw/Documents/TB_Alert_Retirement_web.pdf.

Finally, Gen. Sullivan would like for you to add your voice to his.  We have placed two letters on our website, www.ausa.org.  Click on "Legislative Agenda" and then "Contact Congress."  Put your zip code in the box entitled "Elected Officials."

• The first letter titled, "No Attack on Military Retirement and Health Care Benefits" should go to the President.
• Please send the second letter, "Protect Military Benefits" to your Senators and Representative.

Only by working together can we push back against all of the misguided proposals that are emerging weekly.  ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY 2425 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201, telephone 800-336-4570