Timely Part D Info

As the caregiver for my mother [the spouse of a retired Army officer], who suffers from Alzheimers, I have been trying to figure out if Part D is something she should be signed up for. … Your article on this subject [“Say NO to Part D,” “Rapid Fire,” November 2005] was informative and timely.

Jackie Scofield
via e-mail

Aftermath

As one who has been to the morgue six times, been attacked (IEDed thrice), and knew someone who was killed downrange in Iraq, I really needed the reassurance of [“Aftershock,” November 2005]. Operation Iraqi Freedom II with a battalion of MPs was the best and worst experience of my life. I am so proud of our MPs and all soldiers who serve our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. … Building Strong and Ready Families is a great opportunity to make a marriage stronger after a deployment. Please let us chaplains help. I appreciate this article. You have given soldiers permission to vent. That is so important! I would like to thank the [combat stress teams] that helped many of my soldiers.

Chaplain (Capt.) Henry McCain, USA
Mannheim, Germany

While most of the information [in “Aftershock”] was very good, I was disheartened to read a quote by Carolyn Martin, a former Marine who now works as a federal contract investigator. Martin stated, “Sure, the military offers medical assistance, but I can tell you right now [the servicemember’s] career will probably be over.” ...

In reality, within the Air Force, only 3 percent of those who self-refer experience any adverse consequences when seeking help via mental health channels. This percentage increases when servicemembers are command-directed to seek assistance. This suggests that early intervention is beneficial and that delaying assistance may degrade both personal and professional performance. ...

It is imperative that we create a culture in which help-seeking is encouraged and expected. We must ensure that our human weapon system is maintained as well as our other instruments of power.

Maj. Jill Scheckel, USAF
Chief, Air Combat Command Behavioral Health Branch,
Office of the Command Surgeon, Langley AFB, Va.

Trudeau Defended

It appears that Maj. Fred B. Thompson III’s personal sensibilities are too easily offended [“Unfunny Funnies,” “Your Views,” November 2005].

Garry Trudeau’s book The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time is pretty much apolitical and ideology-free. Trudeau’s general “antiwar, anti-Iraq” political posture is not exactly unique. Millions of Americans, on the left, right, and the middle, many of whom have served or are currently serving in our armed forces, view our military involvement in Iraq as a failed policy. ... Few cartoon strips are completely void of acerbic content. One can, if one wishes, view the “Beetle Bailey” comic strip to be disrespectful of and anti-military.

CWO4 Janis Sunins, ARNG-Ret.
via e-mail

Capital Gains Confusion

[“Long-Distance Landlord,” November 2005] states that “you can move back into a rental” [property to avoid paying capital gains taxes on its sale]. This is no longer always necessary.

President George W. Bush signed the Military Family Tax Fairness Act Nov. 11, 2003. That bill contained a stipulation that active duty military personnel … may suspend the ownership and occupancy tests (two of the five years prior to selling a house) on rental property for up to 10 years. This essentially allows a person on active duty, who rents [out] a home while ordered away from that location, to go back as far as 15 years to apply the two-year ownership and occupancy tests. IRS Publication 523 addresses the specifics. …

I rented a house from 1987 until I sold it in 2000 [and] paid full capital gains. Once the new law came out in 2003, I amended my 2000 return, asking for a refund of $24,000. It took me 18 months and several involved sessions with two IRS auditors, but I got the refund (with interest!).

Capt. John Eldridge, USN-Ret.
via e-mail

Destroyer Disappointment

... I am a strong advocate for the “destroyermen” who fought the Korean War in the ships known as the “sitting ducks” of Inchon. So, I was quite happy to see that the cover of the October 2005 issue of Military Officer featured a photo of four U.S. destroyers and … an article in the magazine about the “Greyhounds of the Sea” — i.e., U.S. Navy destroyers. ...

While we applaud what Maddox and Turner Joy did in Vietnam, we are not happy [that the article] bypassed any mention of destroyer action in the Korean War.

Capt. William H. Barnes III, USNR-Ret.
Annapolis, Md.

Continuing the Fight

I continue to hear from MOAA members and other constituents in Nevada who are frustrated that Congress has not fully eliminated the illogical and unjustified deduction of VA disability benefits from earned military retired pay. Some seem to think that efforts to make further progress have somehow been abandoned. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I want to make it clear to MOAA members and others in the military community that I remain committed to ending this unfair penalty — this extra tax — imposed on disabled military retirees. Military retired pay is earned by the time, demands, and sacrifices of a military career. Disability pay is a separate recompense for pain, suffering, and future loss of earning power caused by a service-related injury. By denying full concurrent receipt, we are cheating thousands of long-serving veterans out of their earned compensation.

I have consistently fought beside MOAA and others to correct this injustice, and together we’ve made considerable progress. To date, we’ve won law changes restoring earned retired pay to combat-disabled retirees and others with 100 percent disability ratings, and establishing a schedule to restore it for others with 50 percent or higher ratings over the next eight years.

Most recently, the Senate adopted my plan to overturn the Bush administration’s exclusion of retirees deemed “unemployable” by the VA from immediate retired pay restoration. I am doing all I can to preserve this provision in the final FY 2006 Defense Authorization Act.

I pledge to continue working with MOAA until we convince Congress to pass my bill (S. 558) authorizing full and immediate concurrent receipt.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Washington, D.C.

Correction: In “Sounding Taps,” page 94 of the November issue, Capt. William Pizzano, USN-Ret., incorrectly was listed as a deceased member. We are pleased to note the captain still lives, though we deeply regret our error.