Author Archives: Mike Grice

Patience

Posted by Mike Grice on

I just had lunch with a friend and colleague who is currently on terminal leave.  He has climbed out of the cockpit for the last time and now he is knee deep in the job hunt.

We had a great conversation about the highs and lows of transition, and it brought out one aspect of the journey from being a uniformed killer to a suit-wearing civilian: it takes time.  Lots and lots of time.  And, to reach a happy destination at the end of that journey, it requires patience.

Lots and lots of patience.

Patience to work through the Veterans Administration’s bureaucracy for things like the GI Bill, medical examinations, and the excruciatingly long disability claims process.

Patience to find out what you want to do with the rest of your life.  Once you take your uniform cap off for the last time something happens to your brain, and suddenly the things that you thought would be easy (like getting a sweet job, going back to college, moving back home) are dauntingly hard.

So this is a quick post on the importance of patience.  Even though the trials and tribulations of your transition are unique to you, there are tens of thousands of people just like you going through the same thing.  Those who are the most successful are those who are patient.

A smart person once said that with patience comes wisdom, and that person was right.  A certain way to be unhappy is to jump on the first job that comes your way, because it most likely is not what you really want to do.  Following the quick and easy path to a college or school with a dubious reputation will result in your GI Bill benefits being flushed down the proverbial toilet because once they are gone you can never get them back and use them at a more reputable university that takes a little work to get into.

Patience is a virtue, even though it is very painful at times.  So stick it out, hold to your goals and dreams, and keep moving towards them.  Don’t give up and take the easier path — you’ll regret it later.

Trust me.

Early retirement from the Marine Corps — are you eligible?

Posted by Mike Grice on

As the fiscal belt gets tightened and the end strength of the armed forces shrinks, the services are using force-shaping tools get in line with the post-war realities of a smaller military.  The Marine Corps recently announced an opportunity for career non-commissioned officers is certain Military Occupational Specialties to retire with less than 20 years of service.

The Corps’s announcement of the Enlisted Temporary Early Retirement Authority, or TERA, is one of the many different measures will be used to help those in uniform transition back to the civilian world with a reduced pension and other benefits, which is not a bad deal at all considering that not too long ago the services were using Reductions in Force — RIFs — to essentially lay off (read: fire) “excess” personnel.

The offer is limited to some specific job areas, so if you are not in one of the listed MOS’s then you are out of luck.  This time, that is.  There will certainly be more programs announced as the need to shrink the force becomes more pronounced.

Here is an extract that lists those eligible from the Marine Administrative Message (MARADMIN) that announces the program:

ALL ACTIVE COMPONENT MARINE STAFF SERGEANTS (E6) IN THE FOLLOWING MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTIES ARE ELIGIBLE: 0369, 0481, 0619, 0629, 1361, 2146, 2311, 2862, 5524, 6074, 6112, 6122, 6152, 6172, 6174, 6212, 6252, 6322, AND 6469.  ALL ACTIVE COMPONENT MARINE GUNNERY SERGEANTS (E7) IN THE FOLLOWING MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTIES ARE ELIGIBLE: 0161, 6112, 6152, 6172, AND 6322.  ADDITIONALLY, ALL MARINE STAFF SERGEANTS (E6) WHO HAVE FAILED SELECTION FOR PROMOTION TO E7 AT LEAST ONE TIME ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.  MARINES WHO REQUESTED NON-CONSIDERATION FOR PROMOTION ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR TERA.

Progams like this one were very common about 20 years ago as the entire Department of Defense reduced the endstrength of all four services as a “benefit” from the end of the cold war.  The so-called “Peace Dividend” required steep cuts across the board, and all of the services employed TERA as well as other programs to soften the blow for those who had to get out.

For what it is worth, these programs won’t last forever, and if you are thinking about getting out then this may be a way to do so and still keep some retirement benefits.  It certainly provides some food for thought.

If you would like to read the MARADMIN in its entirety, click here.

40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World

Posted by Mike Grice on

This has nothing at all to do with military transition, but I have always been interested in cartography and these are some of the coolest interpretations of data in map form that I have seen…take a look!

twistedsifter's avatarTwistedSifter

 

If you’re a visual learner like myself, then you know maps, charts and infographics can really help bring data and information to life. Maps can make a point resonate with readers and this collection aims to do just that.

Hopefully some of these maps will surprise you and you’ll learn something new. A few are important to know, some interpret and display data in a beautiful or creative way, and a few may even make you chuckle or shake your head.

If you enjoy this collection of maps, the Sifter highly recommends the r/MapPorn sub reddit. You should also check out ChartsBin.com. There were also fantastic posts on Business Insider and Bored Panda earlier this year that are worth checking out. Enjoy!

 

1. Where Google Street View is Available

map-of-the-world-where-google-street-view-is-available

Map by Google

 

 

2. Countries That Do Not Use the Metric System

map-of-countires-that-use-metric-system-vs-imperial

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Another “plan” to reduce retired veteran benefits

Posted by Mike Grice on

I wrote about not long ago about the government’s strong desire to reduce the health insurance benefit for military retirees.  The subject has reared its ugly head again with a renewed attack on retirees who are enrolled in TRICARE, the health care system for military members, their families, and retirees.

As reported in the Marine Corps Times yesterday (you can read the whole article here), Chuck Hagel, the Secretary of Defense, proposed that “working age” retirees should not be able to utilize TRICARE as their primary health care system but instead should be required to use their employer’s plan instead.  TRICARE would only be used as a secondary or backup plan.

Although the proposal is a long way from being written into legislation, it is a strong indicator that veterans are choice targets in the DOD’s battle of the budget.  Should it become law, though, it will be a significant blow to the 1.6 million veteran retirees who are currently enrolled in TRICARE but have not yet reached age 65.

Interestingly, the issue is one that impacts the Department of Defense and not the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is why the SecDef is pushing for the change.  Most benefits for veterans are covered by the VA, but in the case of retirees it is the DOD that pays the bills.  A retiree’s pension comes from the same place that it did when he or she was still in uniform: the Defense Finance and Accounting Service.  TRICARE, the military and retiree health plan, is also covered by the DOD’s budget.

And Chuck Hagel doesn’t like that very much.

The DOD continues to bang the drum of readiness, and as happens at the end of every war the organization focuses inwards to guard as much of the fiscal pie as possible from those who demand that the post-war military machine shrink in response to the wars no longer being fought.

I find that to be as normal as dawn follows darkness, but I also find the scapegoating of retirees to be a bit insulting.  It is OK for the military to squander $34 million on a useless headquarters in Afghanistan that the military commanders on the ground didn’t even want, but it is not OK for the Department of Defense to honor its commitment to those who dedicate decades of their lives to the defense of the nation.  Instead of conducting a thorough and critical review of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent (and often squandered) on defense equipment and service contracts Hagel finds it easier to go after those who actually went into harm’s way than the connected and powerful  who never left the comfort of their own living rooms.

It is an example of the oddly twisted thinking that pervades governmental agencies, and in my opinion it is just as hypocritical as the administration pushing to subsidize healthcare costs for members of congress and their staffs while ignoring small business’s pleas for relief from the costly requirements.

Anyhow, if having my promised access to health care is cut as an expedient to allow the DOD to keep squandering the taxpayer’s dollar, then so be it.

All I ask is for every military recruiter from every branch of service to explain to every prospective recruit and officer candidate that the benefits that they are being promised in exchange for the opportunity to risk their lives are not really promises.

They’re just part of the honorless practice of bait and switch.  I had always thought that we, as a nation, were better than that.

Sadly, I guess not.

The things you don’t expect: life out of uniform is not as easy as you might think!

Posted by Mike Grice on

This morning I literally ran into a friend of mine as I was out pounding the pavement on my daily jog.  He was returning from his morning run and I was just heading out on mine, so we stopped for a few minutes and catch up on things.

We chatted about this and that, and before long we were comparing life in uniform to life after you hang your uniform up.  In addition to the obvious differences, like being able to sleep late, grow your hair, and go for a run without wearing an obnoxiously annoying reflective belt, there are some that become apparent only when you need to get something done.

One of the tremendous strengths of the military is that many of the mundane, yet annoying, aspects of life are taken care of for you.  Things like food (which sits waiting for you to start eating at chowhalls on every base) and clothes (with uniforms being issued and a clothing allowance to help defray the cost to replace them) and administration (with clerks waiting to solve any problems you may have with your pay and allowances).  These things are taken care of so that warfighters can devote their time and efforts on the mission of preparing for and fighting our nation’s battles and winning our country’s wars.

Not so much in the civilian world.  Those things get done by one person.

You.

Although it may seem obvious that you will need to take care of all of these things (and more) yourself, it is not so simple.  What I was not really prepared for was the amount of time that I had to dedicate to taking care of all of those mundane little ankle biting tasks that civilians have been dealing with their whole lives.  Where before things like pay problems and meals seemed to take care of themselves I now found myself spending hours at the bank and the grocery store because otherwise my family and I would be broke and hungry.  Suddenly there was nobody around to deal with those things but me.

Civilians are used to it.  They cook their own meals because there are no chowhalls in suburbia.  They go shopping and buy their own clothes, which can be quite daunting when you consider that military folks have been wearing the same shoes and combat boots and dress uniforms for decades. When they have a problem with their paychecks or vacation days they get to go deal with it themselves because there is no First Sergeant or Sergeant Major or Chief Petty Officer hanging around the office to deal with such matters.

One of the things that comes with hanging up your uniform is freedom.  Freedom from people in different uniforms (or no uniforms at all) shooting at you as well as from people in your own uniform yelling at you and waking you up in the middle of the night.  With that freedom, however, comes responsibility for yourself in a way that has not been a critical part of your life since you first swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

Now you have to do all of those little annoying ankle-biting things that everybody else in the civilian world does.  And let me tell you, it takes some getting used to because everything takes a lot longer than you think it should and there is nobody there to tell you the right or wrong way to do things.  Just like you once learned how to become a successful Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine you must now learn how to become a successful civilian.

This time, though, you don’ t have a Drill Instructor “mentoring” you along.  You also don’t have a platoon of bald and nervous friends learning the ropes with you.  This time you get to figure it all out on your own.  But, all things considered, it isn’t bad.  It’s just a little surprising.

And really annoying.

Good luck!

So your VA disability claim is settled. Now what?

Posted by Mike Grice on

As I wrote a few weeks ago my VA disability claim was finally settled.  Suddenly, after nearly two years of pushing the rope up the hill, I found myself with one less windmill at which to tilt.

Although I can now put down my lance and put my trusty steed back in the barn, I still find the whole process to be pretty confusing.  In particular, figuring out just what being identified as a disabled veteran means in real terms — meaning just what impact does my rating have on a retiree’s bank account?

It turns out that if you have incurred an injury while serving in uniform, and that injury is determined to be disabling, then you are entitled to compensation from the Veterans Administration.  That compensation is paid directly to the veteran by the VA, which is nice.  It is also tax free, which is nicer.

But, as usual, things are not as simple as they seem.  Particularly for retirees who receive a pension for their 20+ years of service to the nation.  Like me.

In that case, any remuneration that you receive from the VA is offset by an equal deduction from your pension, with the only really difference in your retirement check being the portion from the VA that is tax free.  For example (and this example is in round numbers to keep things easy), if your pension is $1500 per month, you receive a check for $1500 minus any taxes (let’s say 20%, which is $300), or $1200.

Now, let’s say that you receive a disability rating that results in a payment from the VA of $100.  That $100 is not added to your check for a total of $1600.  Instead, $100 of the $1500 that was paid by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is now paid by the VA, so the total pension amount stays the same.  What changes is how the taxes are computed.

Now you have $1400 that is taxable, which results in a slightly lower tax bill.  Here is the math:

$1400 x 20% = $280 in taxes.

$1400 (from DFAS) + $100 (from the VA) = $1500 (which is your pension amount).

$1500 (pension + VA Disability) – $280 (taxes) = $1220.

Sooooo…..as a retiree you get an extra twenty bucks in your monthly check.  If you are not a retiree, however, you get the full $100.

That seems really odd.  But wait, there’s more!

The reduction of your pension by the disability payment changes at the 50% disability threshold.  If you are rated as having a disability rating of 50% or more, then the bizarre math problem that we just performed goes away.  In that case, you receive your entire pension as well as the complete VA disability amount.

Sounds bizarre, eh?  I’m not making this stuff up!  Really!

It is known as Concurrent Receipt of VA Compensation and Retired Pay.  For a more in depth explanation of the math problems above, you can read all about how it all works by following this link.

For those of you who were wondering how pensions are affected by VA disability benefits, well, now you know.  For those of you to whom this does not apply, thanks for reading anyway!

Retired Veterans as a “Special Interest” group

Posted by Mike Grice on

As a uniform wearing member of the United States Armed Forces I viewed politics and the special interests that shape them as interesting, but largely irrelevant to my chosen profession.  By law and regulation I could not actively participate in politics; I could not wear my uniform to political events (not that I would have), and if I expressed any disdainful remarks about our elected officials I would have certainly followed in the flaming death spiral of General McChrystal after his disparaging remarks about the administration went public in that scion of popular culture: Rolling Stone magazine.

Once I hung my uniform up for the last time, however, those things that I found to be interesting and irrelevant became fascinating and important.  Suddenly, I was a member of a “Special Interest” group.  I became a retired veteran.

Suddenly, instead of taking what came my way with a smile or a shudder (depending on what it was) I could make some decisions and express my opinion about things and issues.  I could write this very blog and be critical of agencies and entities that I believe are not working in the best interest of veterans, and no commanding officer or general could haul me into his office and existentially threaten my career.

I am not a muckraker by nature, but I have no problem occasionally rocking the boat by writing about things and expressing my opinion about them.

That brings me to today’s post.  Earlier this week I received a newsletter that the Marine Corps mails out to all of us retirees. It contains lots of useful information, such as contact information for various offices and a checklist for my wife to follow when I die to make sure that all of the paperwork associated with my demise is properly completed.  It is a very factual and straightforward periodical.

The focus of this particular issue is TRICARE.  TRICARE, for those who are unfamiliar with the term,, is the medical care system for active duty and retired military members and their families.  The long and short of it is that active duty personnel and their families can receive medical care for free, but once you retire you are entitled to continue receiving care but you have to pay for it.

The cost of TRICARE is low in comparison to other plans, to be sure.  It is not a panacea, however.  It is a secondary or backup plan, so if you or your spouse has insurance through your job that plan comes first and TRICARE kicks in after that. You must submit co-pays for office visits and for prescriptions.  You must pick a doctor from an eligible list of providers.  It is a health care plan like most others, really, but not the golden egg as portrayed by the media.

TRICARE is insurance for vets and their families.  The VA provides healthcare for vets based on their service connected conditions, but does not provide services for their families.  So, if a veteran has a spouse and kids he or she needs to enroll in TRICARE to be covered.

In that manner it fit nicely with the Affordable Care Act that was passed in 2010.

In that manner, it was also viewed as a cash cow to subsidize others who did not have health care, with proposed fee hikes of 345% for some TRICARE members.

That, in my humble opinion, is exploiting a population of Americans who served their country, and as a result chose a career that was not as lucrative other pursuits.  A four star general, certainly equivalent to the CEO of a large corporation, makes a little over $200K per year.  How many CEOs of companys that employ thousands and tens of thousands of people make that little?  Scale it down the chain, with most officer making half that much but with the responsibility of leading hundreds and thousands of men and women in combat.  Is a 45 year old Wall Street hedge fund manager going to work for $90K a year and a pension of half that when he retires?  How about $50 or $60 or $70K per year that the majority of military members are making when they retire from service with half of that amount as a pension?

Nope.

Hence the low cost of TRICARE to the veterans and their families.  Military retirees pay an enormous opportunity cost in terms of lifetime earnings and employment possibilities to serve and defend their nation.  TRICARE is part of the remuneration package for those who have dedicated their adult lives to the service of their nation.

That brings me back to the newsletter I received in the mail the other day.  It discusses the proposed hikes in fees that TRICARE will face in the years ahead, and although I won’t personally see a 345% increase in my monthly bill, I will see it more than double.

Nice.  To all of those who complain that I pay to little and that my family and I are somehow getting over on everyone else because we pay low TRICARE premiums, I say that until you pick up a rifle and serve 20+ years in places where people are actively trying to kill you while your family waits at home in fear for your safety your opinion is both meaningless and insulting.  Decades of service in peace in war was the cost of membership in my “Special Interest” group, and if you aren’t a fellow member kindly shut your yap.

Anyhow, that is my opinion.

For what it’s worth.

Crossing the finish line – my VA disability claim is finally complete!

Posted by Mike Grice on

Well, it finally happened.  Nearly two years after beginning my VA disability claim process I learned today that my rating has been assigned and the case is closed.

Whew!

Looking back on the process, it has indeed been a long and occasionally painful ride.  Now that it is done, however, I think that the VA did a fair and objective evaluation of my various service related conditions.  It took much longer than I had expected, but now that it is finished I am pretty happy with the results.

So now what?

Although I am content with the results of my evaluation, I know that many veterans are not.  If my case was not settled to my satisfaction, I would pursue an appeal to have whatever condition that I felt was inadequately reviewed examined again. It is not at all uncommon for veterans to submit an appeal; in fact 60% of claims are “supplemental”, which is how appeals are classified.  Here are some interesting facts from the VA website about supplemental claims:

  • 60% of pending claims are supplemental, 40% are original.
  • 77% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are receiving some level of monetary benefit from VA.
  • 11% of Veterans filing supplemental claims already have a 100% disability rating (receive $2800 or more per month) or qualify for Individual Unemployability (compensated at the 100% disabled rate).
  • 40% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are already rated at 50% disability or higher.
  • 43% of supplemental claims are from Vietnam-era Veterans; 19% are from Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

I am not personally going to appeal my decision, but for those who would like to do so here are a few pointers on how to start the process:

1.  Don’t even think about going it alone.  I have written extensively in earlier posts about the great work that Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) perform to assist vets as they navigate the VA claims and appeals process.  I personally have consulted with the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and they have been fantastic (and they don’t charge a dime to help, either!).  There are hundreds of VSOs to choose from, and to help you find one that best suits your needs you can consult the VSO-Directory_2012-2013, which is published by the VA on an annual basis.

2.  Recordkeeping is CRITICAL!  When you begin the appeal process you are in effect going back and starting the process all over again.  You will be filling out forms (with the help of your VSO!) that identify the condition that you are appealing and why, presenting evidence as to why you disagree with the determination (such as documentation that supports an injury, additional medical records from outside the military or VA system, etc.), and scheduling additional evaluation appointments with VA providers.  Just as you did with your original medical record, you will need to provide copies of all documents to the VA, and you are nuts if you don’t keep an organized file of originals for yourself.

3.  Be prepared to be very patient.  Just because your case has already been reviewed and completed by the VA it does not mean that your supplemental claim will move any faster than the original one.  Your appeal will have to go through the same wickets as your original claim did, and it will take just as long.  There is no “special” appeals pipeline.

4.  Do some research in order to fully understand why your ratings were determined in the manner that they were.  The VA does not compensate based on pain or inconvenience, but instead on the factors that contribute to a medically diagnose-able condition.  For example, your knee may hurt like crazy, and you may have injured it while jumping out of airplanes, but if a tangible medical condition (such as torn cartilage or joint damage) can be identified and documented you will be out of luck.  Follow this link to see the the details of how the VA determines how to rate medical conditions: Title 38: Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans’ Relief  PART 4—SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES .  It is a very informative and interesting read.

Good luck!

Nearing the end of the VA claims tunnel…

Posted by Mike Grice on

Well, the big day is nearly here.

Which big day, you ask?

Why, the day when my VA Disability claim finally gets decided.  That day!

You see, I have been going back and forth with the VA for over a year and a half now, and after a lot of trials and tribulations it looks like my case file may have reached the last step on the journey to adjudication.  It is now “Ready for Decision”, which means that all of the required examinations have been completed, all of the paperwork filled out, and all of the supporting documentary evidence has been gathered.

As I wrote a few posts ago, I had initiated another inquiry into the status of my claim because it had stalled after my last round of physical exams.  Today I received an email from the VA explaining just what was up with my case just as they promised.  The system works!  I asked for information and they provided it within the timeline that was promised.  Sweet!

From the email:

Your claim has been determined as Ready For Decision, and as such there is no further update pending. You will receive a notification letter and rating decision copy via US Mail once our decision is complete.

You have not received a rating decision because there is a back log of claims in the same status, and your claim is pending a review and determination by your rating specialists case manager.

Barring any determination by the rating specialists responsible for your claim that additional information may be needed, your next update will be your actual notification letter and rating decision. At this time we do not know the time frame for completion until your case manager begins the process of rating your claim; this will be accomplished in an order based on date of receipt, in fairness to all claimants.

• Please be advised that we do not provide estimates for completion, as there are a multitude of factors that impact the speed at which each claim is rated, making it impossible to estimate said date. 

We can appreciate your desire to have your claim rated; please know that we are working to accommodate your desire in conjunction with that of each and every other claimant seeking completion of their claim.

We appreciate your continued patience during the process, and will inform you of our decision as soon as it has been accomplished.

So, in a nutshell, my case is resting on desk of the team which will determine my disability rating.

All I have to do is wait.

I wonder how long this stage will take?

The tragic loss of a great friend to all veterans: A Goodbye to James Gandolfini

Posted by Mike Grice on

Yesterday, in Rome, a great friend and supporter of the military and of veterans passed away.  James Gandolfini, the iconic actor who redefined the mafioso in cinema and popular culture, died of an apparent heart attack while visiting Italy.

Gandolfini, whose acting performances brought him into the top tier of the industry, was so much more than “just” a brilliantly talented actor.  He was also a compassionate and driven man who cared deeply for the members of the armed services who were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the veterans who rejoined society after hanging up their body armor and combat boots.

His contributions to the military are too numerous to recount here, but there are two of his passionate endeavors that have resonated with me personally.

As an actor, he has been at the top of his game for over a decade.  The roles that he has played and the movies that he has made took a level of dedication and passion and professionalism that would have left a lesser man unable to look past his own career.  Fortunately for me and for all who have served, however, he leveraged the professional capital that he had earned and selflessly gave back to those who were wearing the cloth of the nation.

He used his talents to produce two incredibly powerful documentaries, both of which I found to be moving and staggeringly relevant in a time of seemingly ceaseless war.

In 2007 he produced the documentary “Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq” in which he told the story of soldiers and Marines who were severely wounded and disabled during their tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  It was not a feel good driveby piece of pseudo-journalism, but instead a heartfelt and heartwrending journey with veterans who had come within an Angel’s breath of dying, yet survived the traumatic violence that robbed them of limbs and, for many of them, hope.  Gandolfini took everyone brave enough to watch inside the lives of those who paid the price of freedom with their arms and legs, and will continue to pay it for the rest of their days.  He pulled back the curtain and showed the tragic realities of war in such impactfully human terms that it brought the cost of war home in an undeniably compelling and emotional way.

Later, in 2010, he produced another powerful documentary about the unseen wounds that affect those who fight in war.  “Wartorn: 1861-2010” drew back the curtain on a different and equally debilitating price that veterans face: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Gandolfini provided a glimpse into the psychological damage that is wrought by war on those who fight it from the Civil War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  As with “Alive Day”, the documentary makes the audience not just view the subject, but to feel it in a way that is unforgettable.

Yesterday, June 19th, 2013 was a day like any other except that on that day a great friend to anyone who has ever sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States was taken from the surly bonds of earth.  Although he is no longer with us in body, his spirit joins the likes of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby and other giants of entertainment who embraced the military even though they didn’t have to.

He will certainly join the likes of Hope and Crosby on the other side of the Pearly Gates, for as anyone who has ever heard the words to The Marines Hymn knows the gates of heaven are guarded by the United States Marines.

And they always open the way for one of their own.

Semper Fidelis James Gandolfini.  You will be missed.