The Army released suicide data today for the month of August. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 19 potential suicides: three have been confirmed as suicides and 16 remain under investigation. For July 2011, the Army reported 22 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, five cases have been confirmed as suicide, and 17 cases remain under investigation.
During August 2011, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were nine potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicide and nine remain under investigation. For July 2011, the Army reported 10 potential suicides among not-on-active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, one case has been added for a total of 11 cases. Three cases have been confirmed as suicide and eight cases remain under investigation.
“Suicide prevention training and awareness are vital components of the Army's health promotion and risk reduction efforts against the tragic occurrence of suicide within our ranks,” said Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1. “It is a priority that deserves our full attention and continued emphasis by all leaders. Junior leaders and first-line supervisors can be especially effective in assisting those in a moment of crisis. We collaborate extensively with other federal and national programs to assure we remain abreast of the very latest research and best practices. To date, our focused efforts have resulted in thousands of trained individuals throughout the Army who now have the skills to recognize the signs of suicide, exercise appropriate intervention techniques, and engage the numerous organizations within the Army and DoD that stand ready to help at any hour of the day or night. These skills are invaluable and have equipped many in our Army to lend a hand to fellow soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, and their families in their daily encounters,” said Bostick.
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and can be contacted by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website athttp://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf and Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .
The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.preventsuicide.army.mil .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20 (requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).
Information about Military OneSource is located athttp://www.militaryonesource.comor by dialing the toll-free number 1-800-342-9647for those residing in the continental United States. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource website for dialing instructions for their specific location.
Information about the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf/.
The Defense Center for Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil .
The website for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is http://www.afsp.org/, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Council site is found athttp://www.sprc.org/index.asp .
The website for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is http://www.TAPS.org, and they can be reached at 1-800-959-TAPS (8277).
As Americans pause tomorrow to observe POW/MIA Recognition Day, teams of military and civilian experts will be excavating sites in Europe and the South Pacific looking for remains to help identify service members still missing from past wars.
Teams from Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, will be on the job, working to provide the fullest possible accounting of America’s missing, and living up to their command’s motto, “Until they are home.”
Additional teams are preparing for similar missions over the next couple of months to South Korea, Laos, China, Vietnam and Germany, said Army Maj. Ramon Osorio, a JPAC spokesman.
POW/MIA Recognition Day honors the sacrifices America’s missing service members and their families have made for their country, Osorio said.
But as President Barack Obama emphasized today in his POW/MIA Recognition Day proclamation, it also provides an important reminder that the United States is committed to bringing its fallen service members home to their families – and that it won’t give up, no matter how long it takes, or how difficult it might be.
“We will never give up the search for those who are held as prisoners of war or have gone missing under our country's flag,” he said. “We honor their sacrifice, and we must care for their families and pursue the fullest possible accounting for all missing members of our armed forces.
“Together, we must serve our nation's patriots as well as they have served us – by supporting them when they come home, and by carrying on the legacy of those who do not,” he continued. “This is a promise we keep for our fallen, for our veterans past and present, and for all those whose loved ones have not returned from the battlefield.”
JPAC’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for about 84,000 U.S. servicemembers from the nation’s wars. The vast majority of these – 74,184 – are from World War II, but the lost also include 1,680 from Vietnam, 7,979 from Korea, and 127 from the Cold War.
In addition, two U.S. soldiers from the current operations are classified as “Missing-Captured.” Army Spec. Ahmed Altaie, an Army Reserve soldier assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Baghdad, allegedly was kidnapped in October 2006 while on his way to visit his family in Baghdad. The Pentagon changed his status from “Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown” to “Missing-Captured” in December 2006.
Army Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, a member of the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, was captured in Afghanistan’s Paktika province on June 30, 2009. His status was changed to “Missing-Captured” on July 3, 2009 after the Taliban released video of him that was later authenticated by U.S. officials.
Because they are associated with ongoing operations, U.S. Central Command has lead responsibility for these efforts, Osario said.
But for all other cases, JPAC is committed to the fullest possible accounting of every missing U.S. military member. “That’s what we would love to do, and to be able to tell every family member that we are going to find every last person,” Osario said.
But it’s an admittedly daunting task, particularly in light of the many World War II MIAs who served aboard aircraft lost at sea. “The number is staggering,’ Osario said.
Despite the challenges, JPAC has had a solid track record of success. Since 2003, its 400 military and civilian specialists have identified more than 750 missing Americans. Combined with efforts of its predecessor units dating back to the 1970s, it has identified close to 2,000 service members, Osario reported.
Earlier this month, on Sept. 1, the Defense Department announced that the remains of one more, Air Force Maj. Thomas E. Reitmann who was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965, had been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
JPAC is working to build on those successes, sending teams that include forensic anthropologists, forensic archeologists and scientific directors to potential crash and burial sites around the world. Teams returned during the past week from Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Europe and, possibly to some people’s surprise, to Canada, where an underwater recovery team investigated a World War II aircraft downing just off the coast.
Two additional missions are under way at World War II sites: one west of Frankfurt, Germany, and another in Vanuatu in the South Pacific.
Once remains or other personal artifacts such as dogtags are repatriated to JPAC’s headquarters in Hawaii, experts at the command’s Central Identification Laboratory – the world’s largest forensic anthropology lab – use the most advanced science available to match them to a specific missing service member.
Among tools used is mitochondrial DNA, which includes unique signatures from the maternal line and helps the JPAC staff make identifications once not considered possible.
But JPAC doesn’t work alone in fulfilling its mission. It works “all the time, every day” with the Armed Forces DNA identification Laboratory in Rockville, Md., which runs DNA sequences for JPAC and provides a system of double-checks for findings, Osario said.
In addition, the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Washington provides policy guidance and oversight for its missions. And each service has an office that works directly with families of the missing throughout the accounting process.
As JPAC pauses tomorrow to host a POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the “Punchbowl,” and other military bases around the world commemorate the day, Osario emphasized that accounting for America’s MIAs is 365-day-a-year mission.
“The reason we continue to do this is because it is the right thing to do,” he said. “People understand the importance of not forgetting the sacrifices that those who have gone before us have made ….
“For those who decided to raise their right hand and go forth to do that, we owe it to them and we definitely owe it to their families so they know we are going to give our 200 percent to do what’s right and work as hard as we can to find as many of them as we possibly can.”
This, he said, sends a powerful message to those serving in today’s conflicts.
“If we are going to ask you to go off and put yourself in harm’s way and potentially pay the ultimate price, if tragedy were to strike, knowing that your country has your back and will do everything it possibly can do to ensure you end up with your family,” he said. “That is huge. It clearly shows the men and women who are serving today at America stands behind them, regardless of what may occur.”
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Teams from Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, will be on the job, working to provide the fullest possible accounting of America’s missing, and living up to their command’s motto, “Until they are home.”
Additional teams are preparing for similar missions over the next couple of months to South Korea, Laos, China, Vietnam and Germany, said Army Maj. Ramon Osorio, a JPAC spokesman.
POW/MIA Recognition Day honors the sacrifices America’s missing service members and their families have made for their country, Osorio said.
But as President Barack Obama emphasized today in his POW/MIA Recognition Day proclamation, it also provides an important reminder that the United States is committed to bringing its fallen service members home to their families – and that it won’t give up, no matter how long it takes, or how difficult it might be.
“We will never give up the search for those who are held as prisoners of war or have gone missing under our country's flag,” he said. “We honor their sacrifice, and we must care for their families and pursue the fullest possible accounting for all missing members of our armed forces.
“Together, we must serve our nation's patriots as well as they have served us – by supporting them when they come home, and by carrying on the legacy of those who do not,” he continued. “This is a promise we keep for our fallen, for our veterans past and present, and for all those whose loved ones have not returned from the battlefield.”
JPAC’s mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for about 84,000 U.S. servicemembers from the nation’s wars. The vast majority of these – 74,184 – are from World War II, but the lost also include 1,680 from Vietnam, 7,979 from Korea, and 127 from the Cold War.
In addition, two U.S. soldiers from the current operations are classified as “Missing-Captured.” Army Spec. Ahmed Altaie, an Army Reserve soldier assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Baghdad, allegedly was kidnapped in October 2006 while on his way to visit his family in Baghdad. The Pentagon changed his status from “Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown” to “Missing-Captured” in December 2006.
Army Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, a member of the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, was captured in Afghanistan’s Paktika province on June 30, 2009. His status was changed to “Missing-Captured” on July 3, 2009 after the Taliban released video of him that was later authenticated by U.S. officials.
Because they are associated with ongoing operations, U.S. Central Command has lead responsibility for these efforts, Osario said.
But for all other cases, JPAC is committed to the fullest possible accounting of every missing U.S. military member. “That’s what we would love to do, and to be able to tell every family member that we are going to find every last person,” Osario said.
But it’s an admittedly daunting task, particularly in light of the many World War II MIAs who served aboard aircraft lost at sea. “The number is staggering,’ Osario said.
Despite the challenges, JPAC has had a solid track record of success. Since 2003, its 400 military and civilian specialists have identified more than 750 missing Americans. Combined with efforts of its predecessor units dating back to the 1970s, it has identified close to 2,000 service members, Osario reported.
Earlier this month, on Sept. 1, the Defense Department announced that the remains of one more, Air Force Maj. Thomas E. Reitmann who was shot down over North Vietnam in 1965, had been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
JPAC is working to build on those successes, sending teams that include forensic anthropologists, forensic archeologists and scientific directors to potential crash and burial sites around the world. Teams returned during the past week from Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Europe and, possibly to some people’s surprise, to Canada, where an underwater recovery team investigated a World War II aircraft downing just off the coast.
Two additional missions are under way at World War II sites: one west of Frankfurt, Germany, and another in Vanuatu in the South Pacific.
Once remains or other personal artifacts such as dogtags are repatriated to JPAC’s headquarters in Hawaii, experts at the command’s Central Identification Laboratory – the world’s largest forensic anthropology lab – use the most advanced science available to match them to a specific missing service member.
Among tools used is mitochondrial DNA, which includes unique signatures from the maternal line and helps the JPAC staff make identifications once not considered possible.
But JPAC doesn’t work alone in fulfilling its mission. It works “all the time, every day” with the Armed Forces DNA identification Laboratory in Rockville, Md., which runs DNA sequences for JPAC and provides a system of double-checks for findings, Osario said.
In addition, the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Washington provides policy guidance and oversight for its missions. And each service has an office that works directly with families of the missing throughout the accounting process.
As JPAC pauses tomorrow to host a POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the “Punchbowl,” and other military bases around the world commemorate the day, Osario emphasized that accounting for America’s MIAs is 365-day-a-year mission.
“The reason we continue to do this is because it is the right thing to do,” he said. “People understand the importance of not forgetting the sacrifices that those who have gone before us have made ….
“For those who decided to raise their right hand and go forth to do that, we owe it to them and we definitely owe it to their families so they know we are going to give our 200 percent to do what’s right and work as hard as we can to find as many of them as we possibly can.”
This, he said, sends a powerful message to those serving in today’s conflicts.
“If we are going to ask you to go off and put yourself in harm’s way and potentially pay the ultimate price, if tragedy were to strike, knowing that your country has your back and will do everything it possibly can do to ensure you end up with your family,” he said. “That is huge. It clearly shows the men and women who are serving today at America stands behind them, regardless of what may occur.”
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
President Barack Obama today draped the pale blue ribbon suspending the Medal of Honor around the neck of Marine Corps Sgt. Dakota L. Meyer, the first living Marine to receive the award for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.
“It’s been said that where there is a brave man, in the thickest of the fight, there is the post of honor,” the commander in chief said. “Today we pay tribute to an American who placed himself in the thick of the fight again, and again, and again.”
Obama said Meyer, who is now 23 and was just 21 that day in Afghanistan, is “one of the most down-to-earth guys you will ever meet.”
When the president’s staff called the young Marine so the commander in chief could officially notify him of the medal, Obama said, Meyer was at work on his new civilian job at a construction site.
“He felt he couldn’t take the call right then because, he said, ‘If I don’t work, I don’t get paid,’” Obama said.
“So we arranged to make sure he got the call during his lunch break,” the president added.
Obama then turned to the events of Sept. 8, 2009, the day Meyer earned the medal as a corporal serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar province, Afghanistan.
Just before dawn, a patrol of Afghan forces and their American trainers, on foot and making their way through a narrow valley, was planning to meet with a group of village elders, the president said.
“Suddenly, all over the valley, the lights go out – and that’s when it happens,” Obama said.
About a mile away, Meyer and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez could hear the ambush over the radio.
Gunfire poured from houses, the hillsides, and even the local school, Obama said.
Soon, the patrol was pinned down, taking ferocious fire from three sides. “Men were being wounded and killed, and four Americans – Dakota’s friends – were surrounded,” he said.
After asking four times to go closer to the fight and help, and hearing each time that it was too dangerous, the two Marines got inside a nearby Humvee and headed into the fight, Rodriguez-Chavez at the wheel and Meyer manning the gun turret.
“They were defying orders, but they were doing what they thought was right,” the president said.
On two solo trips into the ambush area, Meyer repeatedly got out of the Humvee to help Afghan troops, many wounded, inside the vehicle and back to safety.
“A third time they went back, insurgents running right up to the front of the Humvee, Dakota fighting them off,” Obama said.
This time, the men drove right up to the line of fire, and helped a group of wounded Americans battle their way to safety.
They then headed back on the fourth trip with Meyer wounded in the arm and the vehicle riddled with bullets and shrapnel, the president said.
“Dakota later confessed, ‘I didn’t think I was going to die, I knew I was.’ But still, they pushed on, finding the wounded [and] delivering them to safety,” Obama said.
On the fifth trip, the two Marines drove through fire “that seemed to come from every window, every doorway, every alley,” he said.
Finally, the two reached the four Americans who had been surrounded.
“Dakota jumped out and he ran toward them, drawing all those enemy guns toward himself; bullets kicking up the dirt all around him,” Obama said.
Meyer and others who had joined him picked up the fallen Marines and, “through all those bullets, all the smoke, all the chaos, carried them out one by one – because as Dakota says, that’s what you do for a brother,” the commander in chief said.
“Dakota says he’ll accept this medal in their name,” the president said. “So today, we remember the husband who loved the outdoors, Lt. Michael Johnson; the husband and father they called ‘Gunny J,’ Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson; the determined Marine who fought to get on that team, Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick; the medic who gave his life tending to his teammates, Hospitalman 3rd Class James Layton; and a soldier wounded in that battle who was never recovered: Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook.”
Obama said while he knows Meyer has thought of himself as a failure because some of his teammates didn’t come home, “as your commander in chief, and on behalf of everyone here today and all Americans, I want you to know it’s quite the opposite.”
“Because of your honor, 36 men are alive today,” the president said. “Because of your courage, four fallen American heroes came home, and in the words of James Layton’s mom, [their families] could lay their sons to rest with dignity.”
Meyer’s father, Mike, grandparents, and more than a hundred friends and family members attended today’s ceremony.
Because of Meyer’s humble example, children all across America will know that “no matter who you are or where you come from, you can do great things as a citizen and a member of the American family,” the president said.
The commander in chief then asked Rodriguez-Chavez, now a gunnery sergeant, and all those present at the ceremony who served with Meyer, to stand “and accept the thanks of a grateful nation.”
Meyer joined in the applause.
Just before the citation reading and medal presentation, Obama said, “Every member of our team is as important as the other – that’s a lesson that we all have to remember, as citizens and as a nation, as we meet the tests of our time here at home and around the world. To our Marines, to all our men and women in uniform, to our fellow Americans, let us always be faithful.”
Meyer, who has left the active Marine Corps, and is a sergeant in the Inactive Reserve, is the 298th Marine ever to have received the medal, created during the Civil War. The nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor is awarded for risk of life in combat beyond the call of duty.
Meyer is the third living service member to receive the Medal of Honor for actions during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, following Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore A. Giunta, who received the medal Nov. 16, 2010, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, who accepted the award July 12.
Of ten Medal of Honor recipients for actions during the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, the only other Marine is Cpl. Jason E. Dunham, who died April 22, 2004, of wounds received when he covered a live grenade with his own body to save the lives of fellow Marines in Iraq. Dunham’s parents accepted his posthumous Medal of Honor Jan. 11, 2007.
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
“It’s been said that where there is a brave man, in the thickest of the fight, there is the post of honor,” the commander in chief said. “Today we pay tribute to an American who placed himself in the thick of the fight again, and again, and again.”
Obama said Meyer, who is now 23 and was just 21 that day in Afghanistan, is “one of the most down-to-earth guys you will ever meet.”
When the president’s staff called the young Marine so the commander in chief could officially notify him of the medal, Obama said, Meyer was at work on his new civilian job at a construction site.
“He felt he couldn’t take the call right then because, he said, ‘If I don’t work, I don’t get paid,’” Obama said.
“So we arranged to make sure he got the call during his lunch break,” the president added.
Obama then turned to the events of Sept. 8, 2009, the day Meyer earned the medal as a corporal serving with Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar province, Afghanistan.
Just before dawn, a patrol of Afghan forces and their American trainers, on foot and making their way through a narrow valley, was planning to meet with a group of village elders, the president said.
“Suddenly, all over the valley, the lights go out – and that’s when it happens,” Obama said.
About a mile away, Meyer and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez could hear the ambush over the radio.
Gunfire poured from houses, the hillsides, and even the local school, Obama said.
Soon, the patrol was pinned down, taking ferocious fire from three sides. “Men were being wounded and killed, and four Americans – Dakota’s friends – were surrounded,” he said.
After asking four times to go closer to the fight and help, and hearing each time that it was too dangerous, the two Marines got inside a nearby Humvee and headed into the fight, Rodriguez-Chavez at the wheel and Meyer manning the gun turret.
“They were defying orders, but they were doing what they thought was right,” the president said.
On two solo trips into the ambush area, Meyer repeatedly got out of the Humvee to help Afghan troops, many wounded, inside the vehicle and back to safety.
“A third time they went back, insurgents running right up to the front of the Humvee, Dakota fighting them off,” Obama said.
This time, the men drove right up to the line of fire, and helped a group of wounded Americans battle their way to safety.
They then headed back on the fourth trip with Meyer wounded in the arm and the vehicle riddled with bullets and shrapnel, the president said.
“Dakota later confessed, ‘I didn’t think I was going to die, I knew I was.’ But still, they pushed on, finding the wounded [and] delivering them to safety,” Obama said.
On the fifth trip, the two Marines drove through fire “that seemed to come from every window, every doorway, every alley,” he said.
Finally, the two reached the four Americans who had been surrounded.
“Dakota jumped out and he ran toward them, drawing all those enemy guns toward himself; bullets kicking up the dirt all around him,” Obama said.
Meyer and others who had joined him picked up the fallen Marines and, “through all those bullets, all the smoke, all the chaos, carried them out one by one – because as Dakota says, that’s what you do for a brother,” the commander in chief said.
“Dakota says he’ll accept this medal in their name,” the president said. “So today, we remember the husband who loved the outdoors, Lt. Michael Johnson; the husband and father they called ‘Gunny J,’ Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson; the determined Marine who fought to get on that team, Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick; the medic who gave his life tending to his teammates, Hospitalman 3rd Class James Layton; and a soldier wounded in that battle who was never recovered: Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook.”
Obama said while he knows Meyer has thought of himself as a failure because some of his teammates didn’t come home, “as your commander in chief, and on behalf of everyone here today and all Americans, I want you to know it’s quite the opposite.”
“Because of your honor, 36 men are alive today,” the president said. “Because of your courage, four fallen American heroes came home, and in the words of James Layton’s mom, [their families] could lay their sons to rest with dignity.”
Meyer’s father, Mike, grandparents, and more than a hundred friends and family members attended today’s ceremony.
Because of Meyer’s humble example, children all across America will know that “no matter who you are or where you come from, you can do great things as a citizen and a member of the American family,” the president said.
The commander in chief then asked Rodriguez-Chavez, now a gunnery sergeant, and all those present at the ceremony who served with Meyer, to stand “and accept the thanks of a grateful nation.”
Meyer joined in the applause.
Just before the citation reading and medal presentation, Obama said, “Every member of our team is as important as the other – that’s a lesson that we all have to remember, as citizens and as a nation, as we meet the tests of our time here at home and around the world. To our Marines, to all our men and women in uniform, to our fellow Americans, let us always be faithful.”
Meyer, who has left the active Marine Corps, and is a sergeant in the Inactive Reserve, is the 298th Marine ever to have received the medal, created during the Civil War. The nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor is awarded for risk of life in combat beyond the call of duty.
Meyer is the third living service member to receive the Medal of Honor for actions during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, following Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore A. Giunta, who received the medal Nov. 16, 2010, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry, who accepted the award July 12.
Of ten Medal of Honor recipients for actions during the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, the only other Marine is Cpl. Jason E. Dunham, who died April 22, 2004, of wounds received when he covered a live grenade with his own body to save the lives of fellow Marines in Iraq. Dunham’s parents accepted his posthumous Medal of Honor Jan. 11, 2007.
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
A dispute between Walgreens and a TRICARE contractor will not stop beneficiaries from getting their prescriptions filled, despite a Walgreen’s ad campaign to the contrary, a TRICARE official said today.
Don’t let that advertising, letter and Internet outreach campaign scare you, Navy Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the TRICARE Management Agency, said. Even if contract renewal negotiations fall through and Walgreens drops out of TRICARE’s retail pharmacy network on Jan. 1, beneficiaries still will have plenty of other options for getting their prescriptions filled.
Hunter called the dispute between Walgreens and Express Scripts, Inc., the contractor for TRICARE’s retail pharmacy and pharmacy home delivery programs “a business matter” between the two companies.
A similar impasse between the two companies in 2008 ultimately was resolved by mid-November, about six weeks before the new contract was to take effect, she noted.
Walgreens is a big player in the TRICARE pharmacy network, with about 7,000 participating outlets that Hunter said have filled prescriptions for one in 10 TRICARE beneficiaries at one time or another.
Concerned about a campaign that has alarmed some TRICARE beneficiaries, Hunter offered assurance today that regardless of how this year’s negotiations go, patients will always have access to the medications they need.
“If Walgreens does drop out or fail to renew their relationship with ESI so they are not included in the network, patients will still have 56,000 other pharmacies to obtain their medications at retail,” she said.
“We have a very, very broad network” that, for the vast majority of beneficiaries, ensures them access to a participating pharmacy within two miles of their homes.
Meanwhile, Hunter emphasized other options TRICARE beneficiaries can use to get their medications: a TRICARE military treatment facility or the increasingly popular mail- order and home-delivery plans.
Hunter is a big proponent of the mail-order and home-delivery program, helping boost participation by 9.9 percent this year alone as retail pharmacy use grew by just 1.6 percent. Delivering medications directly to the beneficiary’s home assures an uninterrupted supply of medication, she said, while saving money for beneficiaries as well as the Defense Department.
“I would recommend that this is a great time to consider TRICARE [Pharmacy] Home Delivery for chronic medications,” Hunter said.
But with more than three months left on Walgreen’s current contract with ESI, she emphasized, “There is no emergency, and there is time for people to understand and consider their options.”
Those who elect to stay with the retail pharmacy option but are concerned that Walgreens could drop out of the TRICARE pharmacy network also have the option of moving their prescriptions to another pharmacy in the TRICARE network now.
“We are not taking a position about whether patients should move their prescriptions,” Hunter said. “We are allowing this issue to play itself out, but those who want to can do so, and that will absolutely be honored.”
Because all prescription information is centralized, the only thing patients need to do to move their prescriptions is to take their medication bottle or tube to another pharmacy. “They don’t need another prescription or visit to a doctor,” Hunter said.
Beneficiaries also can elect to use pharmacies not included in the TRICARE network. However, Hunter offered a reminder that these users will receive only partial reimbursement for their out-of-pocket costs and could have to file their own insurance claim, where network pharmacies do that automatically.
“Our focus is on ensuring patients have access to the care they need,” including reliable access to their prescription medications, she said. “Our goal is to be sure people have the information they need so that they get their medications in a timely fashion.”
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
Don’t let that advertising, letter and Internet outreach campaign scare you, Navy Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of the TRICARE Management Agency, said. Even if contract renewal negotiations fall through and Walgreens drops out of TRICARE’s retail pharmacy network on Jan. 1, beneficiaries still will have plenty of other options for getting their prescriptions filled.
Hunter called the dispute between Walgreens and Express Scripts, Inc., the contractor for TRICARE’s retail pharmacy and pharmacy home delivery programs “a business matter” between the two companies.
A similar impasse between the two companies in 2008 ultimately was resolved by mid-November, about six weeks before the new contract was to take effect, she noted.
Walgreens is a big player in the TRICARE pharmacy network, with about 7,000 participating outlets that Hunter said have filled prescriptions for one in 10 TRICARE beneficiaries at one time or another.
Concerned about a campaign that has alarmed some TRICARE beneficiaries, Hunter offered assurance today that regardless of how this year’s negotiations go, patients will always have access to the medications they need.
“If Walgreens does drop out or fail to renew their relationship with ESI so they are not included in the network, patients will still have 56,000 other pharmacies to obtain their medications at retail,” she said.
“We have a very, very broad network” that, for the vast majority of beneficiaries, ensures them access to a participating pharmacy within two miles of their homes.
Meanwhile, Hunter emphasized other options TRICARE beneficiaries can use to get their medications: a TRICARE military treatment facility or the increasingly popular mail- order and home-delivery plans.
Hunter is a big proponent of the mail-order and home-delivery program, helping boost participation by 9.9 percent this year alone as retail pharmacy use grew by just 1.6 percent. Delivering medications directly to the beneficiary’s home assures an uninterrupted supply of medication, she said, while saving money for beneficiaries as well as the Defense Department.
“I would recommend that this is a great time to consider TRICARE [Pharmacy] Home Delivery for chronic medications,” Hunter said.
But with more than three months left on Walgreen’s current contract with ESI, she emphasized, “There is no emergency, and there is time for people to understand and consider their options.”
Those who elect to stay with the retail pharmacy option but are concerned that Walgreens could drop out of the TRICARE pharmacy network also have the option of moving their prescriptions to another pharmacy in the TRICARE network now.
“We are not taking a position about whether patients should move their prescriptions,” Hunter said. “We are allowing this issue to play itself out, but those who want to can do so, and that will absolutely be honored.”
Because all prescription information is centralized, the only thing patients need to do to move their prescriptions is to take their medication bottle or tube to another pharmacy. “They don’t need another prescription or visit to a doctor,” Hunter said.
Beneficiaries also can elect to use pharmacies not included in the TRICARE network. However, Hunter offered a reminder that these users will receive only partial reimbursement for their out-of-pocket costs and could have to file their own insurance claim, where network pharmacies do that automatically.
“Our focus is on ensuring patients have access to the care they need,” including reliable access to their prescription medications, she said. “Our goal is to be sure people have the information they need so that they get their medications in a timely fashion.”
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
There has been no contact between Iran and the United States since the 1970s, and that concerns the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
During a stop at the University of Miami yesterday, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said that the lack of contact between the United States and Iran is troubling.
“Even in the darkest days of the Cold War, U.S. officials could still talk with the Soviets,” the admiral said. In the early 1960s, U.S. and Soviet leaders had the Hot Line that went straight from the White House to the Kremlin. The United States and Soviet Union had the two largest armories of nuclear weapons. Both nations had nuclear-armed forces on alert at all times.
The hotline allowed U.S. and Soviet leaders to quickly call each other to get accurate information if tensions ratcheted up.
Likewise, there were contacts at the United Nations and other areas. The United States and Soviet Union had embassies and consulates in each others’ country. This lessened the risk of a war starting due to miscalculation or accident, Mullen said.
The Iranian Revolution deposed the Shah of Iran in 1979. In 1980, Iranian radicals stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. They were released in January 1981, and there have been no official contacts between the nations since.
Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons and wants regional hegemony in the Middle East, Mullen said. The lack of contact between the United States and Iran could be dangerous to the region and the international community.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
During a stop at the University of Miami yesterday, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said that the lack of contact between the United States and Iran is troubling.
“Even in the darkest days of the Cold War, U.S. officials could still talk with the Soviets,” the admiral said. In the early 1960s, U.S. and Soviet leaders had the Hot Line that went straight from the White House to the Kremlin. The United States and Soviet Union had the two largest armories of nuclear weapons. Both nations had nuclear-armed forces on alert at all times.
The hotline allowed U.S. and Soviet leaders to quickly call each other to get accurate information if tensions ratcheted up.
Likewise, there were contacts at the United Nations and other areas. The United States and Soviet Union had embassies and consulates in each others’ country. This lessened the risk of a war starting due to miscalculation or accident, Mullen said.
The Iranian Revolution deposed the Shah of Iran in 1979. In 1980, Iranian radicals stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. They were released in January 1981, and there have been no official contacts between the nations since.
Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons and wants regional hegemony in the Middle East, Mullen said. The lack of contact between the United States and Iran could be dangerous to the region and the international community.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
The Navy will christen the joint high speed vessel (JHSV) Spearhead Sept. 17, at 10 a.m. CDTin Mobile, Ala.
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabamawill deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Wahlman, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. His daughter Catherine, a staff sergeant in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps at Virginia Tech University, will assist her father in the christening.
The 338 foot-long aluminum catamaran is being constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Spearhead and the nine other JHSVs under contract allow intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles, supplies and equipment. They are capable of transporting 600 short tons 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots and can operate in shallow-draft ports and waterways, providing U.S. forces added mobility and flexibility. Joint high speed vessels’ aviation flight decks can support day and night air vehicle launch and recovery operations. This platform can berth up to 146 personnel and provides airline-style seating for up to 312.
Military commanders will have the flexibility to use the JHSV in a variety of roles, including supporting overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts and special operations forces and maintaining emerging joint sea-basing concepts.
Upon delivery to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), Spearhead will be designated as a United States naval ship. It will have a core crew of 21 civilian mariners who will operate and navigate the ship. The first four JHSVs – including Spearhead – will be crewed by federally employed civil service mariners, and the remaining six will be crewed by civilian contract mariners working for private shipping companies under contract to MSC. Military mission personnel will embark as required by the mission sponsors.
Interested media may contact the Navy Office of Informationat 703-697-5342. Information on JHSV is available online at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1400&ct=4 .
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabamawill deliver the commissioning ceremony’s principal address. Retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Wahlman, will serve as the ship’s sponsor. His daughter Catherine, a staff sergeant in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps at Virginia Tech University, will assist her father in the christening.
The 338 foot-long aluminum catamaran is being constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala. Spearhead and the nine other JHSVs under contract allow intra-theater transportation of troops, military vehicles, supplies and equipment. They are capable of transporting 600 short tons 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots and can operate in shallow-draft ports and waterways, providing U.S. forces added mobility and flexibility. Joint high speed vessels’ aviation flight decks can support day and night air vehicle launch and recovery operations. This platform can berth up to 146 personnel and provides airline-style seating for up to 312.
Military commanders will have the flexibility to use the JHSV in a variety of roles, including supporting overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts and special operations forces and maintaining emerging joint sea-basing concepts.
Upon delivery to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), Spearhead will be designated as a United States naval ship. It will have a core crew of 21 civilian mariners who will operate and navigate the ship. The first four JHSVs – including Spearhead – will be crewed by federally employed civil service mariners, and the remaining six will be crewed by civilian contract mariners working for private shipping companies under contract to MSC. Military mission personnel will embark as required by the mission sponsors.
Interested media may contact the Navy Office of Informationat 703-697-5342. Information on JHSV is available online at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=1400&ct=4 .
The day before the congressionally mandated deadline to put all Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations into effect, the commander who oversaw the closing of Walter Reed Army Medical Center isn’t kicking back with a sigh of relief.
For Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) John M. Mateczun, commander of Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, some of the toughest challenges are just beginning.
Mateczun was responsible for one of the most sweeping transformations in military medicine with the closure of the iconic Walter Reed hospital.
With all its patients, staff and health care services moved to what is now known as the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia, he now has set his sights on his next, post-BRAC goal.
“This is a new beginning,” he said. “We now have the opportunity here in the national capital region to form the first truly integrated regional delivery system within the military health system.”
Getting to this point was no small feat. Since BRAC became law in 2005, 2.6 million square feet of new construction and 472,000 square feet of renovations have taken place on the Bethesda campus and Fort Belvoir to accommodate the new, expanded missions there.
Meanwhile, the civilian workforces were consolidated into one Defense Department workforce. Mateczun said the merger will benefit workers by opening up more career opportunities and enabling them to transfer more smoothly between the two facilities.
The merger also will also be a plus for the hospitals, he said, helping them better attract and retain experienced workers with highly sought-after skills.
With the facilities and workforce in place, both the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital are providing care for the former Walter Reed patients.
A convoy of ambulances transferred the last inpatients at that center to Bethesda Aug. 27, one day ahead of schedule to beat the approaching Hurricane Irene.
The final emergency-room patient at Fort Belvoir’s DeWitt Army Community Center was transferred to the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital on Aug. 31. That same day, the staff performed its first operation and also delivered its first baby in the new facility, Mateczun said.
The last pieces of medical equipment are being moved from the old Walter Reed, much of it being redistributed to the Bethesda or Belvoir facilities. Back in 2008, BRAC planners estimated that $54 million in equipment would be transferred, but the actual figure exceeds $100 million, Mateczun reported.
With both facilities now running at full-throttle, he said now is the time to generate some of the efficiencies BRAC was designed to provide.
Many of those savings will come through consolidated support services such as human resources and facilities operations.
While designed to improve efficiency and save money, Mateczun said the consolidation also will promote patient care.
The nature of the consolidations, with highly specialized care delivered at Bethesda, ensures medical staffs providing that care have sufficient patient loads to remain at the top of their game, he said.
In addition, three electronic medical networks in use at facilities within the Washington, D.C., area are being combined into one joint medical network. This, Mateczun said, will enable providers at various clinics and hospitals to more easily access and share patient records.
Other initiatives will make it more convenient for patients to get care. For example, a consolidated appointment and referral center being stood up will provide a user-friendly, standardized way for patients to schedule appointments at either facility.
A major post-BRAC emphasis is on taking these efforts to the next level to reach a “world-class standard” in medical care, Mateczun said.
That standard -- mandated by Congress in the wake of the 2007 Walter Reed scandal as BRAC initiatives already were under way -- raises the bar in patient care.
Among its recommendations were the new wounded warrior lodging on the Bethesda campus and private hospital rooms that weren’t part of the original BRAC plan.
Subsequent congressional recommendations direct that parts of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center not impacted by BRAC also be raised to this world-class standard.
That, Mateczun explained, involves upgrading additional buildings on the Bethesda campus -- all built or last renovated before 1975.
As part of that new standard, the last of existing two-patient rooms are being converted into private rooms.
In addition, individual patient rooms at both Bethesda and Fort Belvoir will soon be turned into “smart suites.” These rooms will be equipped with technology that enables caregivers to monitor patients’ vital signs electronically and even to recognize when a patient has gotten out of bed.
This technology benefits patients, too, who will be able to refer to a monitor in their room to identify who enters it and whether, for example, it’s a doctor, nurse or food-service provider.
“It is a patient’s right to know who is in their room and what they are doing there. And this technology will allow them to do that without having to necessarily question anyone,” Mateczun said.
Mateczun said he’s looking forward to seeing the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital set a new standard for military medicine.
“So this is our next step, making the improvements required in the comprehensive master plan to provide world-class care for our beneficiaries,” he said.
“We are committed to keeping the covenant we have with America’s sons and daughters who come home wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “And that is what the BRAC projects have been about. We are intent on making sure that we meet the congressional mandate to a world-class capacity and infrastructure, both here at Bethesda and on Fort Belvoir.”
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
For Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) John M. Mateczun, commander of Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical, some of the toughest challenges are just beginning.
Mateczun was responsible for one of the most sweeping transformations in military medicine with the closure of the iconic Walter Reed hospital.
With all its patients, staff and health care services moved to what is now known as the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia, he now has set his sights on his next, post-BRAC goal.
“This is a new beginning,” he said. “We now have the opportunity here in the national capital region to form the first truly integrated regional delivery system within the military health system.”
Getting to this point was no small feat. Since BRAC became law in 2005, 2.6 million square feet of new construction and 472,000 square feet of renovations have taken place on the Bethesda campus and Fort Belvoir to accommodate the new, expanded missions there.
Meanwhile, the civilian workforces were consolidated into one Defense Department workforce. Mateczun said the merger will benefit workers by opening up more career opportunities and enabling them to transfer more smoothly between the two facilities.
The merger also will also be a plus for the hospitals, he said, helping them better attract and retain experienced workers with highly sought-after skills.
With the facilities and workforce in place, both the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital are providing care for the former Walter Reed patients.
A convoy of ambulances transferred the last inpatients at that center to Bethesda Aug. 27, one day ahead of schedule to beat the approaching Hurricane Irene.
The final emergency-room patient at Fort Belvoir’s DeWitt Army Community Center was transferred to the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital on Aug. 31. That same day, the staff performed its first operation and also delivered its first baby in the new facility, Mateczun said.
The last pieces of medical equipment are being moved from the old Walter Reed, much of it being redistributed to the Bethesda or Belvoir facilities. Back in 2008, BRAC planners estimated that $54 million in equipment would be transferred, but the actual figure exceeds $100 million, Mateczun reported.
With both facilities now running at full-throttle, he said now is the time to generate some of the efficiencies BRAC was designed to provide.
Many of those savings will come through consolidated support services such as human resources and facilities operations.
While designed to improve efficiency and save money, Mateczun said the consolidation also will promote patient care.
The nature of the consolidations, with highly specialized care delivered at Bethesda, ensures medical staffs providing that care have sufficient patient loads to remain at the top of their game, he said.
In addition, three electronic medical networks in use at facilities within the Washington, D.C., area are being combined into one joint medical network. This, Mateczun said, will enable providers at various clinics and hospitals to more easily access and share patient records.
Other initiatives will make it more convenient for patients to get care. For example, a consolidated appointment and referral center being stood up will provide a user-friendly, standardized way for patients to schedule appointments at either facility.
A major post-BRAC emphasis is on taking these efforts to the next level to reach a “world-class standard” in medical care, Mateczun said.
That standard -- mandated by Congress in the wake of the 2007 Walter Reed scandal as BRAC initiatives already were under way -- raises the bar in patient care.
Among its recommendations were the new wounded warrior lodging on the Bethesda campus and private hospital rooms that weren’t part of the original BRAC plan.
Subsequent congressional recommendations direct that parts of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center not impacted by BRAC also be raised to this world-class standard.
That, Mateczun explained, involves upgrading additional buildings on the Bethesda campus -- all built or last renovated before 1975.
As part of that new standard, the last of existing two-patient rooms are being converted into private rooms.
In addition, individual patient rooms at both Bethesda and Fort Belvoir will soon be turned into “smart suites.” These rooms will be equipped with technology that enables caregivers to monitor patients’ vital signs electronically and even to recognize when a patient has gotten out of bed.
This technology benefits patients, too, who will be able to refer to a monitor in their room to identify who enters it and whether, for example, it’s a doctor, nurse or food-service provider.
“It is a patient’s right to know who is in their room and what they are doing there. And this technology will allow them to do that without having to necessarily question anyone,” Mateczun said.
Mateczun said he’s looking forward to seeing the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Fort Belvoir Community Hospital set a new standard for military medicine.
“So this is our next step, making the improvements required in the comprehensive master plan to provide world-class care for our beneficiaries,” he said.
“We are committed to keeping the covenant we have with America’s sons and daughters who come home wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “And that is what the BRAC projects have been about. We are intent on making sure that we meet the congressional mandate to a world-class capacity and infrastructure, both here at Bethesda and on Fort Belvoir.”
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
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