St. Patrick's Day - Navy Dispatch

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4 • www.navydispatch.com • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011 Mullen continues Middle East trip in Qatar by Donna Miles DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 21, 2011 – The top U.S. military officer arrived here in the Qatari capital today, continuing his weeklong trip through the Middle East after concluding what he called frank, reassuring talks with leaders in Saudi Arabia about widespread regional unrest. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters concern about violence surrounding many of the pro-democratic movements that have rippled through the region – and how Iran might exert its power in the process – dominated his talks today with Saudi political and military leaders. The chairman emphasized that he does not believe Iran played a role in toppling the regimes of Tunisian President Zine al- Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak or in stirring up other protest movements. “These are, by and large, internal issues, as opposed to is- Your Invitation to a Fun & Romantic Getaway To place your ad in our Getaway Directory Call Sandra 619.280.2985 To place your ad in our Getaway Directory Call Sandra 619.280.2985 sues fomented by some external force,” he said. But nonetheless, Mullen said, the United States and its allies in the region are wary that Iran might use the upheaval as a chance to exert influence. He called Iran “a country that continues to foment instability in the region and take advantage of every opportunity.” “There are always concerns in this region with Iran. Certainly the United States has them, as well as all the regional players,” he told reporters after concluding today’s meetings in Riyadh. “Certainly that was part of the discussion today with the Saudis.” In the Saudi capital of Riyadh, the chairman met with Prince Mohammed bin Niyif, assistant interior minister for security affairs; Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, commander of Saudi Arabia’s national guard; Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, assistant defense and aviation minister for military affairs; and Lt. Gen. Qubail, deputy chief of the general staff. He also met with U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Smith and his staff. Mullen said his talks focused largely on the tumult in Bahrain, where a violent weekend left many anti-government protestors dead. “Obviously the Saudis, in particular -- but everybody in the region -- is watching what’s happening in Bahrain very closely,” he said. The Saudi government, concerned that whatever happens there could spill over to Saudi Arabia’s eastern province, has expressed support for Bahrain’s ruling Khalifa family and sent a warning to Iran. “The kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands with all its capabilities behind the state and the brotherly people of Bahrain,” the government-run Saudi Press Agency announced in a statement. Saudi Arabia expressed “absolute re- jection” of foreign tampering in Bahrain’s affairs. Mullen credited Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa’s decision not to use force against the protestors and to begin a national dialogue to address their issues with bringing about an apparent reduction in violence iover the last 36 hours in Bahrain. “He has taken some significant, positive steps from a leadership standpoint … to resolve the grievances and the concerns,” the chairman said. The chairman arrived here today for the second leg of a trip that also includes stops in United Arab Emirates, Djibouti and Kuwait, and possibly Bahrain. Tonight in Doha, Mullen will be the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by Maj. Gen. Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah, the Qatari armed forces’ chief of staff. He has meetings slated tomorrow with Sheikh bin Hamad al Thani, ruling emir of Qatar since 1995. SEE Mullen, page 5 VACA ACA ACA ACATION ACA TION RENT RENT RENTALS RENT RENTALS ALS IN IN MAMMOTH MAMMOTH LAKES LAKES Enjoy Elegance In Accommodations Visit Our Year Round Resort! "Ask about our 4-7 night specials! Ask for Military Discount (ABC) 5 to 25% 1 1 (800) (800) 336-6543 336-6543 book online: www.mammothpremiere.com To place your ad in our Getaway Directory Call Sandra 619.280.2985 National Military News Brief Leaders outline improved services by Lisa Daniel WASHINGTON (Feb. 18, 2011) - The Defense Department has taken a number of recent steps to improve health care and family support services for military members and their families, the department’s two top leaders told a Senate Feb. 17. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee about several areas of improvement during a hearing about the department’s fiscal 2012 budget. Gates said he has made quick implementation of the shift to electronic medical records for service members and veterans one of his top priorities. The issue is important enough, he said, that he and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki met one-on-one two weeks ago to discuss how to push the change faster. They will meet again in March and follow up with a staff meeting in April on the issue, he said. “I have found with these huge bureaucracies, whether it’s DOD or VA, that things don’t move very fast unless they get high-level attention,” he said. “We’re committed to getting fast progress on this. We’ve made a lot of progress, but it’s not fast enough as far as Secretary Shinseki and I are concerned.” Officials also have stabilized programs, particularly in mental health and family support services, by removing them from the supplemental war funding budget to the base budget, Gates said. In the past three years, he added, “we’ve moved virtually all of it to the base budget, so long after the war funding ends, we’ll still be able to sustain these programs.” The Defense Department has improved the delivery of mental health services by hiring 6,000 mental health care workers since 2001, when the department had only about a thousand, Mullen said. “There have been extraordinary efforts to address this within the services,” he said, noting that civilian health care also is short of mental health practitioners. Because of that and education and outreach campaigns, officials have a better understanding of problems like post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, the chairman told the senators. “Early on, there was a great deal of focus on spouses in terms of their stress, but there’s been an increasing awareness and understanding to address the whole family, including kids,” he said, noting that today’s military children have had parents at war most of their lives. Navy Dispatch/AT EASE wants you to be a WINNER! Win two tickets to Mardi Gras Tues., March 8 - Gaslamp Rules: Fill out the entry form below and send it to us at: Navy Dispatch/Mardi Gras Giveaway, P.O. Box 600600, San Diego, CA 92160. Entries must be in our office by Wed., March 2, 2011 at noon. One entry per family. Must be 18 or older to enter. Entries may also be submitted via email to contest@navydispatch.com Subject: Mardi Gras Giveaway. Include all information requested below in email entries. Winners notified by telephone. Must exchange vouchers for seats at box office. Navy Dispatch/Mardi Gras Giveaway Entry deadline is Wed., March 2, 2011 at noon. Please answer all questions to be eligible. name ___________________________________ address _________________________________ city, state, zip _____________________________ phone __________________________________ What radio station do you listen to?_______ � Active duty military (which base): _______________________________________ � Military spouse/family member � � Civilian � Retired military please indicate base where sponsor is stationed on the line above
—————————— VETERANS NEWS ———————————— First-ever report on homeless veterans issued For the first time, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development today published the most authoritative analysis of the extent and nature of homelessness among Veterans. According to HUD and VA’s assessment, nearly 76,000 Veterans were homeless on a given night in 2009 while roughly 136,000 Veterans spent at least one night in a shelter during that year. This unprecedented assessment is based on an annual report HUD provides to Congress and explores in greater depth the demographics of Veterans who are homeless, how the number of Veterans compare to Mullen continued from page 4 others who are homeless, and how Veterans access and use the nation’s homeless response system. HUD’s report, Veteran Homelessness: A Supplement to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress , examines the data in the department’s annual report to Congress in-depth. “With our federal, state and community partners working together, more Veterans are moving into safe housing,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “But we’re not done yet. Providing assistance in mental health, substance abuse treatment, education and employment goes hand-in-hand with preventive steps and per- manent supportive housing. We continue to work towards our goal of finding every Veteran safe housing and access to needed services.” Last June, President Obama announced the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness, including a focus on homeless Veterans. The report, Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, puts the country on a path to end Veterans and chronic homelessness by 2015; and to ending homelessness among children, family, and youth by 2020. Read more about the Administration’s strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness in America . Budget includes TRICARE fees, doc fix FRA’s National Executive Director Joe Barnes and Healthcare Advisor Bob Washington attended a meeting last week with Dr. Clifford Stanley, Under-Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection Dr. George “Peach” Taylor. During the meeting, DoD laid out healthcare proposals that are part of the Administration’s FY 2012 budget request that was also delivered to Congress this week. The Pentagon seeks to increase the TRICARE Prime annual enrollment fee from $230 to $260 for individual retirees and from $460 to $520 per retired family in 2012. Starting in 2013, the annual enrollment fees will be increased to keep pace with a yetto-be-determined medical inflation index. There are no proposed increases for TRICARE Standard and TRICARE-for-Life beneficiaries, survivors and those who are medically retired. The proposal doesn’t affect current beneficiaries enrolled in the Uniformed Service Family Health Plans, but future USFHP enrollees will be required to enroll in Medicare when they reach age 65 and use TRICARE for Life as a second payer, just as TRICARE Prime beneficiaries do now. Active duty service members will not incur additional outof-pocket expenses under the proposal. The proposal also eliminates pharmacy co-pays for mail-order generic drugs and increases the current $9 co-pay to $12 for brand-name medications distributed through the mail-order pharmacy, which is now called “home delivery.” Concurrent receipt update Unlike the previous two years, the Obama Administration did not seek funding for concurrent receipt improvements in its FY 2012 budget request, but several lawmakers are working to expand eligibility for the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation, without offset. Rep. Joe Wilson (S.C.) introduced legislation (H.R. 186) that expands concurrent receipt for service members who were medically retired with less than 20 years of service. From there, Mullen is slated to travel to United Arab Emirates, where he will meet with leaders and attend the International Defense Exposition and Conference in Abu Dhabi. Later this week, he will visit Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, then will conclude his trip in Kuwait with ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of its liberation during Operation Desert Storm. Although the visit had been long-scheduled, Mullen told reporters traveling with him, its context changed dramatically in light current events. He dismissed the notion that his trip shows the United States is taking sides in regional conflicts, emphasizing the importance of peaceful resolution to the current situation in the strategically important Gulf region. “We have a longstanding relationship with the leaders in these countries,” he said, noting his own close ties with their military leaders. “That doesn’t mean we don’t all share concern about what has happened and look to the future,” he said. “It is really important that we reaffirm the relationship” and evaluate “what has occurred and how we are going to look to the future together.” The chairman said he would press throughout his trip for all sides in these situations to show restraint as they work through their differences. “We certainly would like to see whatever happens happen in a nonviolent way -- that where there are differences, they be resolved nonviolently, and that governments and their people figure this out,” he said. Meanwhile, in response to a reporter’s question, Mullen expressed no particular concern about Egypt’s decision to allow Iranian warships to pass through the Suez Canal. Noting that he has transited the canal himself more than once, the chairman said it’s an issue for Egypt, which controls the canal, to address. “It is really for the government of Egypt and the government of Iran to work that out,” he said. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011 • www.navydispatch.com • 5
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Page 3: National Military Sergeants Course
Page 7 and 8: Navy seeks 'Spirit of Hope' nominat
Page 9 and 10: 6.5 in. On Base & On Board NEW THIS
Page 11 and 12: Science continued from page 8 Disti
Page 13 and 14: California business, community lead
Page 15 and 16: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011 • www
Page 17 and 18: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011 • www
Page 19 and 20: SAN DIEGO (Feb. 21, 2011) - Finalis
Page 21 and 22: Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Cen
Page 23 and 24: Omarr’s weekly Astrological forec
Page 25 and 26: Q: When Gracie, our 8-yearold Golde
Page 27 and 28: TV Listings SUNDAY MORNING/AFTERNOO
Page 29 and 30: RENTALS APARTMENTS MOVE IN SPECIAL!
Page 31 and 32: Concerts FEBRUARY R o g e r H o d g

St. Patrick's Day - Navy Dispatch

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