The Front Page

The following message was delivered from the USPHS that restricts new calls to active duty, severely limiting any additions to the applicant pool for certain professional categories and making only certain programs a destination for recruitment beginning in 2012:

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Throughout 2011, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) has received overwhelming interest in career opportunities with the Commissioned Corps. This is positive news following a temporary pause in calls-to-active duty in 2010. We are currently working with over 1,200 applicants in various stages of the application process. For comparison, our calls-to-active duty in any given year have numbered approximately 500.

Even as applications more than doubled, we also underwent an internal reorganization. We have a renewed commitment to improving the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the application process to streamline functions, optimize performance and improve customer service.

To manage the current volume of applications amidst organizational and process changes, we will focus our efforts on professions, groups and positions of identified need. Beginning Jan 1, 2012 - and until further notice - the Commissioned Corps will only accept new application packets for the following professions and groups:

· Physicians and Dentists.
· CDC EIS candidates forwarded to USPHS from the Agency.
· IHS Pharmacy Residency candidates that have been forwarded from the Agency.
· USUHS candidates forwarded to USPHS from the program.
· DOD Wounded Warrior Initiative applicants (psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and licensed clinical social workers). http://usphs.gov/Articles/Dod.aspx
· Student programs (i.e. Jr and Sr COSTEP).

We will continue to accept new application packets from all categories through Dec. 31^st, 2011 (postmarked on or prior to Dec 31^st). As well, all candidates who have already submitted their applications prior to December 31, 2011 will continue to be processed and will be called to active duty if they fulfill the necessary criteria of commissioning.

In order to improve customer service and satisfaction, we will focus our efforts on new calls-to-active duty from our existing applicant pool of all professions and candidates. The intent is to assign existing applicants (and applicants within the groups listed above) as efficiently as possible to our Agencies and other customers. As we continue to call candidates to active duty, we will refine the application process to one that is more efficient and customer-centric.

In the interim, candidates and other customers are encouraged to continue to visit our website for updates on the application process. Additionally, beginning this December, there will be informational sessions (via webinar, conference call, etc.) for those interested to explain the new process. We have shared this information with Agency contacts, liaisons and other key stakeholders. A calendar of these informational sessions will be provided on our website and Facebook page in late November, 2011.

The increased focus on calls-to-active duty from our existing applicant pool and additional emphasis on specific professions and groups will better meet the identified needs of our customers. Once again, we will continue with calls-to-active duty throughout 2012. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work to improve our processes to better meet your needs.

The following article in USA TODAY shows a service gap that could be filled USPHS Officers:

By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

Senate Veterans' Affairs committee has been pressing the VA hard in recent months on delays in treating mental health cases after a survey done within the department earlier this year showed that 70% of clinicians believe the VA lacks staffing or space to handle the mounting numbers of veterans seeking care.

A USA TODAY analysis of VA data showed that new mental health patients at about a third of department hospitals wait longer than the VA's goal of treating patients within 14 days or less. The VA insists that it is meeting scheduling deadlines and that any delays are the result of problems it cannot control, such as patient rescheduling or failing to show up for appointments.

USA TODAY reported Wednesday that 10,000 combat veterans with PTSD sought care at VA hospitals every three months this year, pushing the total number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated by the VA for the disorder to 211,000.

Full USAToday Article: Senate panel hears of battles for care by veterans with PTSD http://usat.ly/vDU9Um

By Kyle Trygstad
Roll Call Staff
Sept. 26, 2011, Midnight

Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo

Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona told the Associated Press that members of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ (D-Ariz.) political team have asked him to consider running for Senate.

A Democratic source confirmed to Roll Call that Carmona has been meeting with Giffords media consultant, Jason Ralston, for weeks. Their most recent meeting last week took place at Carmona’s Canyon Ranch office and included former Giffords campaign manager Rodd McLeod.Former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona told the Associated Press that members of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ (D-Ariz.) political team have asked him to consider running for Senate. McLeod had been serving as the Congresswoman’s interim district director since Giffords was shot in the head in January in an assassination attempt.

Link to the story...

09-02-2011 02:26 PM

In 2009, President Obama initiated the 11th Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, due in 2012. You can follow the link to see where he wanted the reviewers to focus. Here's the link to the completed report from the 2008 review. The review under the Bush administration specifically mentioned that the review must investigate "the implications of changing expectations of present and potential members of the uniformed services relating to retirement". The current review due in 2012 under the Obama Administration has no requirement to specifically look at retirement.

This is what the '08 study said about retirement (with my bold highligts):

Executive Summary
Military Retirement

The military retirement benefit is a major component of military compensation, costing approximately $13 billion per year, or over 7 percent of current active duty personnel costs. It is a noncontributory, defined benefit plan that is available immediately upon retirement to active duty military personnel who have served a minimum of 20 years . Members of the reserve components are also provided a retirement benefit after 20 years of creditable service, but reservists generally must wait until age 60 before drawing retired pay. Although the retirement system provides a substantial benefit to eligible retirees, it is important to note that the vast majority of service members never receive a retirement payment . According to the Department of Defense (DOD), less than 15 percent of enlisted personnel and 47 percent of officers become eligible for the military retirement benefit. Military retirement reform has been a topic of lengthy review and discussion, dating back to the 1948 Hook Commission and continuing to the present day. Concerns with the system tend to focus on three areas: the system is inequitable, inflexible, and inefficient. The equity argument stems from the fact that the benefit does not vest until 20 years of service, so only a small fraction of the force ever receives retirement pay. The different treatment of reserve component members is another area of concern, particularly as their contributions to military operations have expanded over the past decade, making them an increasingly essential part of the total force.

An equally important argument involves the impact of the current system on the shape of the force and on member retention patterns, which greatly reduces the flexibility force managers have to influence military careers. Personnel who reach 10 to 20 years of service have a strong incentive to remain in the military for a 20-year career; similarly, the Services are reluctant to separate members after they reach 15 years of service, knowing that they will leave with no retirement benefit. This “one-size-fits-all” approach encourages all personnel to follow the same career path regardless of whether it is consistent with Service needs or appropriate for a particular occupation. It is often desirable, for example, for “youth and vigor” occupations to have shorter careers, while in certain professional fields longer careers are desirable . Because of the 20-year vesting point, it is difficult for force mangers to shape careers in ways that would better match changing Service requirements. Finally, the fact is that the current military retirement system is made up entirely of deferred compensation, which is less efficient than cash. It costs the government more to provide than its value to many military personnel, primarily due to the relatively young population in the uniformed services, who tend to value cash in hand over compensation paid in the future. A retirement benefit with both cash and deferred elements would be more efficient than the current system of deferred benefits only—less costly to the government and of greater value to the service member.

QRMC Retirement Reform Proposal

Based on these concerns, the QRMC judged that retirement reform, leading to a more flexible, cost-effective, and equitable system, would benefit the uniformed services . The underlying philosophy of the QRMC proposal was to replace some of the current system’s deferred benefits with cash compensation, thus improving cost-effectiveness and introducing flexibility. The foundation of the system would be a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan, as well as earlier vesting. The system would also include other elements of cash compensation that force managers could vary to achieve different retention patterns .

The key elements of the QRMC retirement plan are as follows:

■ A defined benefit plan providing retirement pay equal to 2 .5 percent of high-3 annual basic pay multiplied by the number of years of service. The benefit would be payable at age 57 for those with 20 years of service and at 60 for those with fewer than 20 years. The plan would vest at 10 years. Members who opt to receive the defined benefit immediately upon retirement would receive a reduced benefit.

■ A defined contribution plan under which DOD would annually contribute up to 5 percent of basic pay (the precise contribution would vary based on years of service). The plan would vest at 10 years of service and begin paying benefits at age 60.

■ Gate pays payable at specified year-of-service milestones.

■ Separation pay provided to members when they leave the military.

The defined benefit and defined contribution elements would be the same across the uniformed services . However, requirements for gate pay and separation pay are expected to vary across the Services and by occupation depending on requirements. The QRMC plan does not distinguish between reserve and active duty service members—both would have the same vesting requirement and become eligible for the defined benefit and defined contribution benefit at the same age. This system offers many benefits. Vesting the retirement benefit at 10 years of service would substantially expand the number of personnel eligible for a retirement benefit, resulting in a more equitable system. Earlier vesting, gate pays, and separation pays enable force managers to achieve more variation in career lengths, while continuing to allow personnel to choose how long they prefer to remain in the military. Such elements infuse flexibility into the system and would enable force managers to change the retention patterns that have long dominated the shape of the force. Further, the combination of current and deferred elements leads to greater efficiency and lower cost to the government. This proposal, while sound in its construct, does represent a significant reform with potential for considerable impact on recruiting and retention. Thus, the QRMC believes that a field test of the reform proposal should be conducted before any system changes are implemented force wide.

RECOMMENDATION

DOD should conduct a multiyear demonstration project of the QRMC’s proposed retirement benefit prior to implementing the new system force wide. DOD should undertake a demonstration project to better ascertain the new system’s actual effects on the force—effects on retention, costs, vesting, and other critical elements of force management. The test should include a representative sample of enlisted personnel and officers who will substitute the new retirement system for the current system. The test should run for a minimum of five years. Participation should be voluntary but should be drawn from all four DOD Services, the active and reserve components, as well as from diverse occupational areas in which different career lengths are desired. A test constructed along these lines would enable the Department to determine whether the proposed system is sufficiently flexible to achieve a range of different retention patterns and career lengths. Precedent for such demonstration projects exists.