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Friday, August 27, 2010
1. Court Nullifies Stolen Valor Act
A federal appeals court has declared that the Stolen Valor Act, a 2006 law that bars persons from wearing or claiming ownership of military decorations they did not earn, is unconstitutional. In an August 17 majority opinion, Judge Milan D. Smith Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, wrote that the law imposes a penalty for those who falsely purport to have merited a military honor is too strict and violates First Amendment free-speech protections. Under the Stolen Valor Act, persons convicted of falsely wearing military decorations could face a year in prison and fines. The law “concerns us because of its potential for setting a precedent whereby the government may proscribe speech solely because it is a lie,” Smith wrote. The case involved the case of Xavier Alvarez, who pleaded guilty in federal district court of violating the Stolen Valor Act under the condition that he would challenge the law’s constitutional validity on appeal to the 9th Circuit. Alvarez falsely claimed he earned the Medal of Honor during service in the Vietnam War. The ruling follows another similar decision, issued by a federal judge in Denver in July, which also declared the law an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. In that case, the ruling overturned the conviction of Rick Strandlof, who falsely claimed to be a Marine Corps officer and holder of both the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals.
2. Gates Will Likely Resign
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has served as the Pentagon’s civilian chief since President George W. Bush appointed him in 2006, has announced his intention to leave his post sometime early next year. “I think it would be a mistake to wait until January 2012,” Gates said in an interview published in Aug. 16 issues of Foreign Policy magazine. “This is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of an election year.” By the onset of the New Year, Gates said, an administration review of the new Afghan strategy would be complete as well, Voice of America reported. The Foreign Policy article did note, however, that Gates expressed similar intention to resign at the end of the Bush administration – only to be persuaded by Obama to stay on. If Obama wants him to stay on the job, “Robert Gates has always been the type to say, ‘Yes,’” the article stated.
3. Dried Plasma May Soon Become Available
In an effort to address the preponderance of survivable battlefield injuries involving blood loss, Army health officials are considering the reintroduction of dried plasma to battlefield treatment kits for the first time since the 1960s. Dried plasma, which contains proteins and clotting factor, was dropped because of concerns about hepatitis contamination. Army medics presently rely upon fluids such as Hextend, an electrolytic solution that resembles plasma, to treat battlefield injuries. But the fluids do little to stop bleeding. Officials believe that new methods of treating wounded soldiers with dried plasma before transfer to deployed hospitals could greatly improve battlefield survivability.
4. Navy Set To End Paper Records
The Navy is reminding sailors who have not yet created electronic self-service accounts to gain access to their personnel records that as of Sept. 30, the old paper enlisted field service records will no longer be available. At that date, the new Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) Electronic Service Record (ESR) will take their place. Using the new account, sailors can view all of their personnel, training, and awards information. The will also be able to update some information contained in their electronic records – as long as they have hard copies of the documents necessary to add such updates. At this point, Navy personnel officials say, some 60,000 sailors have yet to sign up for the self-service accounts. To do so, visit https://nsips.nmci.nav.mil on the Web or use the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System/ESR server on board ships.
5. Enlisted Warfare Qualifications Now Mandatory
All sailors are now required to meet initial enlisted warfare qualifications. Sailors who earn the enlisted warfare device “have a basic level of knowledge to ensure they are capable of fighting the ship, saving a shipmate and ensuring the safety of themselves at all times,” Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West said. Warfare sponsors – type commanders – will determine qualification timetables. All sailors in warfare-qualifying commands must qualify in no more than 30 months. More details are available in NAVADMIN 268-10, on the Navy Personnel Command Web site, http://www.npc.navy.mil/Channels/.
6. Bill Would Change Education Benefits
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee has approved a measure that would increase Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Among the provisions: providing reimbursement for vocational and on-the-job training programs; offering monthly stipends for students who take online courses; extending the $1,000 annual textbook stipend, now only available for veterans and retirees, to the active force and spouses; and offering reduced monthly stipends based on the number of classes a student takes. The full Senate will consider the measure, S. 3447, upon its return from August recess, the Fleet Reserve Association reports.
7. Changes Continue as BRAC Deadline Approaches
Defense Department installations officials say that the plan to relocate 123,000 military and civilian employees under provisions mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission is continuing apace. With 28 BRAC recommendations complete, “We are on a tight deadline,” Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and management, told members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs during an Aug. 12 hearing. Much of the unresolved issues have to do with infrastructure and the ability of local communities to assimilate the growth – particularly in terms of increased vehicle traffic. Fort Meade, Md., which will gain 5,700 new employees, and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., which will assume a much larger role once Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., closes, are two of the most apparent examples. While some communities grapple with growth concerns, the communities near Fort Monmouth, N.J., Onizuka Air Force Station, Calif., and the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Ga., are preparing for their closure. Onizuka will remain open in a much smaller capacity, as a satellite operations facility. The Navy Supply Corps School is moving to Newport Naval Station, R.I.; the Georgia property is being transferred to the University of Georgia. And Fort Monmouth’s operations are moving to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
8. Group Seeks Expansion of Spousal Benefit
The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is decrying a July 20 decision by the Pentagon to limit eligibility for the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program to spouses of junior service members. “We believe this decision flies in the face of the program’s original intent – which was to assist longer-serving spouses in their pursuit of educational, licensing, and credentialing programs to help offset employment disruptions caused by multiple military-oriented moves,” MOAA said in a statement on its Web site. Under new Defense Department guidelines, MyCAA is open to spouses of service members in pay grades E-1 through E-5, W-1 and W-2, and O-1 and O-2. Participants can receive as much as $2,000 per year, which they can use to obtain professional licenses or credentials or take courses toward earning an associate’s degree.
9. Changes Continue as BRAC Deadline Approaches
Defense Department installations officials say that the plan to relocate 123,000 military and civilian employees under provisions mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission is continuing apace. With 28 BRAC recommendations complete, “We are on a tight deadline,” Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and management, told members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs during an Aug. 12 hearing. Much of the unresolved issues have to do with infrastructure and the ability of local communities to assimilate the growth – particularly in terms of increased vehicle traffic. Fort Meade, Md., which will gain 5,700 new employees, and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., which will assume a much larger role once Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., closes, are two of the most apparent examples. While some communities grapple with growth concerns, the communities near Fort Monmouth, N.J., Onizuka Air Force Station, Calif., and the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Ga., are preparing for their closure. Onizuka will remain open in a much smaller capacity, as a satellite operations facility. The Navy Supply Corps School is moving to Newport Naval Station, R.I.; the Georgia property is being transferred to the University of Georgia. And Fort Monmouth’s operations are moving to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
