militaryhistory

 The following information was re by the National Guard Association of Illinois, This proposal is more reflective of civil service or civilian retirement programs. I completely support this effort.

-Gene Stevens

A group looking at military compensation has recommended dramatic changes in themilitary retirement system. The recommendations are part of the second volume put out by members of the 10th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation. The first volume, released in March,looked at cash compensation. Retired AirForce Brig. Gen. Jan D. “Denny” Eakle was director of the panel, and she briefed the press during a Pentagon news conference Aug. 5. General Eakle said critics of the current military retirement system say it is not equitable, it is not flexible and it is not efficient. “There is a perception that the system we havetoday is inequitable because only 15 percent of all enlisted personnel and less than half of officers will ever receive anything in the system,” she said. Reserve-component personnel also believe the current system discriminates against them, especially at a time when reserve forcesare being called on more, she said. The retirement proposal would offer a defined benefit, defined contributions, “gate”pays and separation pays.The defined benefit would be 2.5 percent of the average basic pay for the highest 36months of the individual’s career multiplied by the number of years of service, with servicemembers vested at 10 years of service. Payments to retirees would begin at age 60 for those with less than 20 years of service and at age 57 for those with 20 years of service or more. Servicemembers could opt for an immediate annuity, but the payout would follow the Federal Employee Retirement System methodology: a 5 percent penalty per year for early withdrawal.The defined contribution portion would  be an automatic government-funded Thrift  Savings Plan. Servicemembers would not have to match any government payment.The government would not put any money in for the first year, but would put in 2 percent of base pay for two years of service, 3 percent for three and four years of service, and 5 percent for five and more years of service.Again, this would be vested after 10 years of service. The military also would make “gate pays”to servicemembers who reach specific years of service. These would vary by years of service and skills, General Eakle said. “This is a payment made for achieving aparticular year of service,” she explained. “And within the services, they would have the flexibility to vary this by year of service as well as by skill. That way, they could beginto shape the skills by dragging people further into their career by offering them an incentive.”Finally, the system would include separation pay to servicemembers that would also vary by years of service and skills. “The separation payments would be madeavailable by the service to members that they wished to entice to leave,” General Eakle said. This would be a permanent tool services would have available, she added. The panel used a Rand Corporation computer model to test the recommendations,but General Eakle said the panel members would like a large-scale test in the Defense Department. “Therefore, the recommendation of this QRMC is that the Department of Defense  conduct a multi-year test of this system,” General Eakle said. “The way the test would work is this: All four services would beasked to identify some skills that have different types of retention patterns — some that stay not very long, some that stay longer periods of time — and ones they wish to influence.”The test would offer people in those skills in the first eight years of service an opportunityto volunteer. “If someone was selected for the test, they would be paid all of the TSP that they should have earned up until that point, and it willbe put in their TSP account for them,” she said. “The program’s vesting rules would in fact apply to all those individuals. So should they achieve 10 years of service while they are in the test, they would fully own it.”At the end of the test period, people whoare in the new system who wish to revert to the original retirement system would be allowed to do so, she said. Any change in the retirement system would require action by Congress. DOD officials said they will carefully examine the panel’s recommendations and then decide if hey should move forward. The study will take at least six to 12 months, so any decision would be made by the next administration, DOD officials added.

I was privilaged to witness (on CSPAN) the promotion of Ann Dunwoody to the rank of Army Four Star General. In the very emotional ceremony, US Army General George Casey awarded Dunwoody her new rank, forging a new era for women in the US Military.General Dunwoody’s 33-year Army career was peppered with military firsts. She was the first woman to command a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division. She was also the first female general officer at Fort Bragg. She was also among the Army’s first female three-star generals. The Senate confirmed her four-star rank in July of this year. There are currently twenty one female general officers in the Army and nearly sixty throughout the army.  Dunwoody stated that “while she was the first, she will not be the last female four-star general”.

Barrack Obama has become a major attraction in Chicago. Local news in our area has reported that Obama has gained the undivided attention of tourists who now pay to get a glimpse at his residence, to vendors selling Obama related items and even the pizza place where Obama gets his favorite pizza from, which is reported to be garbage pizza (a pie with everything jumbled on top). It is also rumored that Hillary Clinton also made it into Chicago under the radar, and was completely missed (much to their embarassment) by Chicago media. The possible subject matter of her meeting with Obama,  is the Secretary of State position, which it is rumored that Senator Clinton will be taking over.

In another story the Chicago Police Department has been at the beckoned call of the Obama group to provide protection for the President elect. The Superintendent of Police was heard to say that the Secret Service has requested their assistance and has a tendency to change their plans hourly, whih has most certainly placed a strain on the Police Department in a city where the crime rate has been soaring in recent months.  The Superintendent also said, that Police Officers are working on a buy back basis on their off time.