Authorization Bills Tout Reserve Benefits, Readiness

National Guard, Jun 2004

The latest Capitol Hill news from the NGAUS Legislative Staff

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees passed their fiscal 2005 defense authorization bills last month with an emphasis on Guard and Reserve readiness issues. The bills address several NGAUS issues and concerns, particularly lack of health care and equipment shortages for troops in the ReId.

In the Senate's bill (S. 2400) more than $419 billion was set aside for Defense Department programs as well as for Department of Energy national security functions. The House total (H.R. 4200) was $444 billion.

Differences between the two chambers will have to be worked out in conference committees later this year.

Each bill authorizes a 3.5 percent, across-the-board pay raise for military personnel. In addition, family separation allowances increase from $100 to $250 per month. Imminent danger pay also increases from $150 to $200 per month.

The Senate also authorized the establishment of a commission to study Guard and Reserve roles and missions, including the pay and benefit process. The commission's report would be due at the end ol 2005.

Both bills address Tricare but in slightly difIerent ways.

S. 2400 includes a new Tricare benefit-Tricare Reserve Select-which would allow all members of the Selected Reserve and families participate in Tricare.

The House version recommends a three-year demonstration project to provide Tricare coverage to Guard and Reserve personnel ineligible for employer-provided heath insurance. It also recommends making permanent the temporary Tricare benefits available to reservist dependents up to 90 days before a reservist is on active duty.

The bill also recommends service members receive medical benefits up to 180 days after separation from active duty.

Goth the House and Senate responded to equipment concerns that plagued troops in the first Operation Iraqi Freedom rotation. The Senate authorized $1 billion for additional up-armored Humvees and kits to add ballistic protection to solt skinned Humvees-$925 million above the president's budget request.

The House set aside $829 million for uparmored Humvees and an additional $358 million for add-on armor kits for the Army's truck fleet.

Each bill also addresses specific Guard needs, from unmanned aerial vehicle funding to aircraft upgrades on the existing Guard inventory. For a more comprehensive look at items contained in each bill, visit the NGAUS web site at www.ngaus.org.

Equipment, Training Sends NGAUS to Hill

Retired Maj. Gen. Richard Alexander, NGAUS president, told a House Government Reform subcommittee May 11 that redundant training lengthens stays at mobilization stations, and equipment guidelines olten don't support operating environments.

In some cases, he said, individual states have attempted to address these problems.

"Many states have taken the lessons learned from their returning or deployed units and incorporated new training regimens to prepare soldiers for their deployment in theater," he said. "Several states have initiated their own programs to prepare their soldiers for combat operations, such as additional combat arms training to enhance the basic soldier's skills outside of the [military occupational specialty] skill set. "

And while equipment shortages improved for follow-on units, the first Guard rotation in Iraq was ill-equipped.

Alexander cited a truck company forced to purchase its own radios before deployment to maintain communication among vehicles while in Iraq.

The NGAUS president joined five other witnesses, including one Guard and two Reserve members as well as the Andrew Krepinevich, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) executive director.

Lawmakers were most interested in why equipment shortages and training problems happened at all-particularly in the first rotation of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Subcommittee Chairman Christopher Shays, R-Conn., said he couldn't imagine troops sent into a war zone without the proper equipment and asked if officials thought [he troops wouldn't need the equipment-such as up-armored Humvees and Kevlar vests.

Spc. Michael Tanguay, a Guardsman from Connecticut's 143rd Military Police Company said he was told logistical issues kept troops lrom getting necessary equipment.

For Tanguay, training and equipment issues overlapped at one point. he said his unit had access to a training tool similar to "paint ball"-where troops can iire and actually hit simulated enemies with a projectilebut they didn't train with them.

When he asked a superior why they didn't use the equipment, Tanguay said he was told, "None of your business."

All news wasn't bad, however.

"The unit that replaced us was far better equipped that we were," Tanguay said.

Krepinevich from the CSBA told lawmakers the military is "a victim of its own success." Since few enemies would face the U.S. military head-to-head, they've resorted to insurgent and terrorist tactics. The problem is that the military hasn't adapted quickly enough.

"We've been out of this business," Krepinevich said. "The changing approach to warfare over die past iew decades has avoided training for insurgency operations."