October 2021 Newsletter—MHCE

News from MHCE 

OCTOBER 2021 EDITION 

Colin Powell 

Died of COVID 

See page 13 

Monthly Newsletter 

WWW.MHCE.US 

become disqualified from some 

veteran benefits. 

Sailors may apply for an 

exemption from the vaccine on 

medical or religious grounds. 

The Navy says 94 percent 

of active-duty sailors and 89 

percent of the total force are fully 

vaccinated, while 99 percent of 

active-duty sailors and 94 percent 

of the total force have received 

at least one COVID-19 shot, 

according to figures released Oct. 

13. 

Navy Unveils Discharge Plans for 

Sailors Who Refuse COVID-19 Vaccine 

The Navy has announced 

the formation of a COVID 

Consolidated Disposition 

Authority to separate sailors 

who refuse to comply with the 

mandatory vaccination policy. 

Active-duty sailors must receive 

their final dose of the vaccine by 

Nov. 14 — and those in the Navy 

Reserve by Dec. 14 — in order 

to meet the deadlines for fully 

vaccinated status, which are Nov. 

28 and Dec. 28, respectively. 

The shot deadlines provide a 

two-week buffer for sailors to 

become fully immunized against 

COVID-19. 

“In order to maximize readiness, 

it is the policy goal of the U.S. 

Navy to achieve a fully vaccinated 

force against the persistent and 

lethal threat of COVID-19,” a 

naval administrative message 

released Tuesday states. 

For those who don’t comply, 

the Navy is standing up the 

COVID Consolidated Disposition 

Authority to “ensure a fair and 

consistent process” handling 

separation determinations, 

and has tapped Chief of Naval 

Personnel Vice Adm. John Nowell 

Jr. and Chief of Naval Reserve 

Vice Adm. John Mustin to head 

the effort. 

Vice Chief of Naval Operations 

Adm. William Lescher is in 

charge of nonjudicial punishment 

and courts-martial. 

“Commands shall not allow those 

refusing the vaccine to promote/ 

advance, reenlist, or execute 

orders, with the exception of 

separation orders, until the CCDA 

has completed disposition of their 

case,” the NAVADMIN said. 

“Transfer orders may be cancelled 

by Navy Personnel Command.” 

Reporting seniors also must 

submit a special evaluation or 

fitness report no later than 30 days 

after a sailor rejects the vaccine to 

document circumstances of the 

rejection and other misconduct 

information related to the Uniform 

Code of Military Justice Article 

92, that is, failure to comply with 

a regulation, the guidance said. 

Administrative actions against 

sailors who deny the COVID-19 

vaccine or won’t be fully 

vaccinated by the deadline may 

commence immediately if the 

sailor doesn’t already have a 

pending or approved exemption 

request. 

Sailors could receive as low 

as a general discharge under 

honorable conditions if they are 

separated only for their vaccine 

refusal. A Navy news release 

on the guidance notes that this 

potentially causes the sailor to 

More than 65 service members 

across all branches have died due 

to complications from COVID-19, 

according to Pentagon data, with 

at least 14 of those from the Navy. 

That number grows to nearly 165 

when factoring in Navy civilians, 

dependents and contractors. 

“Tragically, there have been 164 

deaths within the Navy family due 

to COVID-19, far exceeding the 

combined total of all other health 

or mishap related injuries and 

deaths over the same time period,” 

the NAVADMIN said. “144 of 

these were not immunized and 20 

had an undisclosed immunization 

status.” 

Service leaders have voiced strong 

support for the vaccine, noting 

that the vaccine is imperative to 

protect the force and paves the 

way for normalcy. 

“We would not send our folks into 

combat without flak and Kevlar,” 

Navy Surgeon General Rear 

Adm. Bruce Gillingham said at 

a panel at the the Sea Air Space 

symposium in August. “The 

enemy this time is a virus, and we 

have a biological body armor for 

them to take and use to protect 

them … this is biologic body 

armor. Put it on, be protected.”

2 | MHCE - News www.mhce.us OCTOBER 2021 EDITION

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Focus on Oversight a Key for Success at 

CoreCivic 

In the corrections industry, maintaining high standards of 

operation is imperative to meeting the needs of the individuals 

in our care. That's why CoreCivic adheres to a stringent set of 

guidelines set forth by our own standards, as well as those of our 

government partners and the American Correctional Association 

(ACA). 

Founded in 1870, the ACA is considered the national benchmark 

for the effective operation of correctional systems throughout 

the United States. To become accredited, a facility must achieve 

compliance with ACA mandatory standards and a minimum of 

90 percent non-mandatory standards. CoreCivic facilities adhere 

to ACA standards, and in 2020, CoreCivic earned an average 

ACA audit score of 99.6 percent across all facilities. 

Key ACA audit areas include facility personnel, resident reentry 

programs, resident safety, health care, and more. 

holds our facilities and staff to a high standard. To be able to 

represent our facility and receive reaccreditation in person is an 

honor." 

Adhering to ACA standards is only one part of CoreCivic's 

commitment to robust oversight. When government partners 

utilize CoreCivic's services, we are held not only to our own 

high standards and those of the ACA, but we are often held to 

the same or higher accountability of our public counterparts 

through stringent government contracts, unfettered access to 

our facilities for our partners, and hundreds of on-site quality 

assurance monitors. 

We provide access to our government partners, with most of 

our facilities having government agency employees known as 

contract monitors who are physically on-site to ensure we are 

operating in line with partner guidelines. 

Recently, the ACA held in Nashville, Tennessee, its 151st 

Congress of Corrections, an annual convention that brings 

together corrections professionals from across the country. In 

addition to various workshops and events at the convention, the 

ACA Commission on Accreditation also held panel hearings to 

award accreditation to correctional facilities that meet the ACA's 

rigorous requirements. Listed below are the seven CoreCivic 

facilities that earned reaccreditation this year, with mandatory/ 

non-mandatory scores: 

• Bent County Correctional Facility - 100/99.0 

• Citrus County Detention Facility - 100/100 

• Eloy Detention Center - 100/100 

• Lake Erie Correctional Institution - 100/99.3 

• Saguaro Correctional Center - 100/99.8 

• Stewart Detention Center - 100/100 

• Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility - 100/100 

"The accreditation process is very important," said Warden 

Fred Figueroa from Eloy Detention Center, one of the seven 

CoreCivic facilities that was awarded reaccreditation. "ACA 

To maintain our own high standards, annual on-site audits covering 

all operational areas are administered to ensure compliance with 

contractual and regulatory obligations and corporate-mandated 

requirements. Each CoreCivic Safety facility is audited by our 

internal quality assurance division, which is independent from 

our operations division. Facilities are expected to be audit-ready 

year-round, maintaining continuous compliance with numerous 

applicable standards. 

CoreCivic employs 75 staff members dedicated to quality 

assurance, including several subject matter experts with extensive 

experience from all major disciplines within our institutional 

operations. 

"A lot of hard work goes into preparing for these audits," 

Figueroa said. "Once they're complete, the staff can see their 

accomplishments and feel proud." 

Having multiple levels of oversight helps CoreCivic maintain 

a safe environment for those in our care. By holding ourselves 

accountable to our own high standards, along with our 

government partners' and ACA's standards, CoreCivic continues 

to be a trusted partner working to better the public good.


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“They are the burden of the heart and the mind that over 

generations in America that have really gone on spoken of,” 

Pence said. “But I’m proud to say now we’re recognizing as a 

nation the unseen injuries of our heroes.” 

About 30 horses and rides followed the full 20-mile route through 

Fort Wayne — a distance referring to the estimated 20 veterans a 

day who die from suicide. 

Pence Joins Horse 

Ride to Raise 

Awareness of Veteran 

Suicide 

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Former Vice President Mike Pence 

climbed on horseback during an Indiana ride by a veterans group 

trying to reduce suicides among military veterans. 

Pence joined members of the nonprofit organization BraveHearts 

during a Saturday ride in Fort Wayne aimed at raising awareness 

about the suicide issue. The national group uses the riding and 

care of horses in therapy for veterans suffering with depression 

or other emotional troubles. 

Pence rode for part of the route, talked and posed for photos with 

residents and riders and spoke during a ceremony at the ride’s 

conclusion. 

The former Indiana governor said he was inspired by the group’s 

recognition that some veterans have wounds “that can’t be seen 

with the human eye.”


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Colin Powell Has Died of 

COVID-19 Complications, 

Family Says 

WASHIINGTON — Colin Powell, who served Democratic and Republican 

presidents in war and peace but whose sterling reputation suffered when he 

went before the U.N. and made faulty claims to justify the U.S. war in Iraq, 

has died of COVID-19 complications. He was 84. 

In 1989 Powell became the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 

that role he oversaw the U.S. invasion of Panama and later the U.S. invasion 

of Kuwait to oust the Iraqi army in 1991. 

But his reputation suffered a painful setback when, in 2003, Powell went 

before the U.N. Security Council and made the case for U.S. war against Iraq. 

He cited faulty information claiming Saddam Hussein had secretly stashed 

away weapons of mass destruction. Iraq’s claims that it had not represented 

“a web of lies,” he told the world body. 

In an announcement on social media, the family said Powell had been fully 

vaccinated. 

“We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father and grandfather and 

a great American,” the family said. 

Former President George W. Bush said he and former first lady Laura Bush 

were “deeply saddened” by Powell's death. 

“He was a great public servant” and “widely respected at home and abroad,” 

Bush said. "And most important, Colin was a family man and a friend. Laura 

and I send Alma and their children our sincere condolences as they remember 

the life of a great man.”


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December 15, 

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February 15, 2022 

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The survey, "The Military Teen Experience: A 

Snapshot of America's Military 

Teenagers and Future Force," was conducted 

by Bloom: Empowering the Military Teen 

and the National Military Family Association 

to understand the impact of the pandemic, 

the military lifestyle and the high operational 

tempo on the teenage children of service 

members. 

Given that military children learn toward 

serving themselves, knowing how they are 

holding up mentally and physically should 

be of paramount importance to the Defense 

Department and advocacy groups, explained 

Besa Pinchotti, executive director and CEO at 

the NMFA. 

The survey found that 65% of respondents 

said they planned to join the military. 

"We always say military kids serve too, and 

they do, but this is also the population that's 

going to be serving and protecting our country 

in the future, so it's an important point," 

Pinchotti said Thursday in an interview with 

Military.com. 

The poll asked questions about the respondents' 

sense of mental well-being, including whether 

they had adequate nutrition and felt supported 

in their communities and safe in their homes 

and schools. 

In many of those areas, the survey found that 

teenage military dependents weren't faring 

well: 

• More than one-third of the respondents 

worried about whether their families had 

enough food or the money to buy more. 

• 45% said they'd endured at least one to 

four parental deployments, and 62% had 

Military Teens 

Are Struggling 

With Mental Well- 

Being, Food 

Insecurity, Survey 

Finds 

Pandemic aside, military teens are stressed 

out. 

That's a key takeaway from a new survey 

that should concern the Defense Department. 

A majority of those polled plan to join the 

military as adults. 

The survey of more than 2,000 teens aged 13 

to 19 years old who are in military families 

found that 42% reported low mental wellbeing 

during the pandemic and 45% reported 

being of moderate well-being. It was published 

Thursday by the National Military Family 

Association, or NMFA. 

Just 13% said they were better than fine. 

It's difficult to determine how the military 

teen population is holding up compared with 

the general high school population, since 

the latest data published by the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention is from prepandemic 

2019 and showed that 37% reported 

persistent sadness or hopelessness. 

But the military survey still indicates that 

military "kids are not okay," according to the 

authors of the report. 

"Military teens' well-being is low," wrote the 

researchers. "We wanted to get an accurate 

understanding of military teens' mental health. 

The results weren't good."


moved at least one to five times, leaving 

them less connected to family and their 

communities. 

• 11% reported domestic abuse or violence 

in their homes. 

"This really tracks with everything that we 

hear. We talk to military parents and families 

really regularly, but not so much directly with 

the teens," Pinchotti said. 

The organization Bloom: Empowering the 

Military Teen is an online site founded by 

military teens Elena Ashburn and Matthew 

Oh to give the military teen community a 

platform to share their experiences, writing, 

artwork, memes and more. 

"We wanted to know straight from the source," 

Pinchotti said. 

They reported enduring frequent moves and 

the loss of community every time they were 

uprooted, as well as long-term separations 

from their parents. 

In terms of schools, one-third said they had 

attended six to 11 schools in their lifetimes. 

Nearly a third said they weren't able to 

participate in an extracurricular activity 

because they were in a military family or 

expected to move, and 20% felt they had been 

treated differently or teased for their military 

connection. 

Nearly half said they had experienced at least 

one deployment, with about 14% saying they 

had gone through five to 10 deployments. 

Fifteen respondents reported 19 or more 

deployments among one or both of their 

parents. 

Not surprisingly, the survey confirmed that 

deployments can take a toll on mental health. 

"Military teens who reported experiencing 

more deployments or separations lasting three 

months or longer generally reported lower 

mental well-being," the researchers wrote. 

While most children, or 57%, said they did 

not experience or witness any domestic abuse 

or violence in their homes, 11% said they had. 

Roughly 5% reported having been abused by 

a parent, and 5% said they experienced dating 

violence. 

The results also reflected food insecurity, an 

issue that advocates say is a growing problem 

among military families and veterans. Of 

the respondents, 36% said they experienced 

food insecurity during the pandemic year, 

including nearly 40% of active-duty dependent 

respondents. 

That may be much higher than the national 

average. 

According to the report, the Department of 

Agriculture said 10.5% of American families 

were food insecure in 2020, while the 

Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution 

think tank found that 27.5% of families with 

children experienced food insecurity during 

the pandemic. 

Congress has taken notice, and this year the 

House and Senate versions of the National 

Defense Authorization Act contain provisions 

for struggling families to receive extra pay to 

cover food costs. 

The bill has yet to be finalized or signed into 

law, but it currently contains a "basic needs 

allowance" that would provide the benefit 

to troops if their household income does not 

exceed 130% of the federal poverty level. 

Pinchotti said abolishing food insecurity 

among military families would "go a long 

way toward helping our military teens' wellbeing." 

This community warrants more research not 

only for its own well-being but for the national 

defense, since they are more likely to become 

the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Guardians and 

Marines of tomorrow, the authors noted. 

A 2019 DoD poll showed that only 13% of 

Americans aged 16 to 24 said they would 

likely join the military in the next couple of 

years. But two-thirds of the study respondents, 

or 1,379 teens, said they planned to serve. 

Given their willingness to join, Pinchotti said 

the DoD and advocacy groups should do more 

to support them, including expanded access to 

mental health services and wellness initiatives, 

and more programs tailored to their needs. 

"We're asking the Department of Defense to 

make the well-being of our military kids a 

priority," Pinchotti said.


What Happens 

to Your TSP 

Contributions 

When You Leave 

the Military? 

There's a lot of stuff happening when 

you leave the military. (Is that not the 

biggest understatement ever?) One 

little tidbit that often gets missed is 

that there is no contribution to the 

Thrift Savings Plan during your last 

month of active duty. If you're trying 

to cram some more money into this 

low-cost, tax-advantaged retirement 

account before you leave the service, 

you'll need to plan to do it before that 

last month. 

I'm not exactly sure why this works 

out this way, but I have a hunch. 

Deductions are made from your 

military pay during each month, but 

the contributions aren't sent to your 

Thrift Savings Plan account until 

the beginning of the next month. For 

example, if you have money deducted 

from your military pay in May, that 

money will be contributed to your 

TSP account in June. But you have 

to be serving currently to contribute 

to TSP. Because of the delay between 

the deduction and its transfer to the 

TSP, if money were deducted from 

your last month's pay, the TSP would 

be receiving the money after you no 

longer were serving. I think this is the 

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reason that you can't contribute during your last 

month of service. But whether I'm right or not, 

the fact is that you can't contribute. The Defense 

Finance and Accounting Service will suspend 

your TSP contributions automatically after the 

end-of-month paycheck for the month prior to 

your separation. 

So what does this mean for you as you plan your 

transition? Well, it means that you're going to 

have a bigger paycheck during that last month. 

That's a nice thing and can help increase your 

transition fund right before you need it. 

But it also means that you will miss that 

opportunity to make a contribution for that 

month. And, if you are in the Blended Retirement 

System, you won't receive government matching 

contributions for that last month. Depending 

on your overall financial plan, you may want 

to adjust your contributions for the months 

prior to separation so that you reach the desired 

contribution amount for the time you're serving. 

If you are planning to pursue work after leaving 

the military, you may want to consider how your 

military TSP contributions may impact your 

ability to contribute to your new employer's 

retirement plan. The total annual limit for 

contributions is combined between the military 

TSP and a civilian TSP account, or a private 

employer's 401(k) plan. This may be important 

if your new employer offers an employee match. 

While most of us don't know for sure what 

sort of benefits will come with post-military 

employment, it's a good idea at least to think 

about how things might unfold so that you're 

making informed decisions along the way. In the 

most extreme example, if you contribute a ton 

to TSP before separating, you may find yourself 

unable to contribute to an employer plan and you 

could miss out on their matching funds, which 

may be a large part of their retirement package. 

If that entire last paragraph is making your head 

spin, consider meeting with a fee-only financial 

adviser who understands military pay and 

benefits. 

There's no single right way to handle the curtailing 

of TSP contributions before leaving the military, 

but understanding that it will happen is the first 

step in making sure that you're using your money 

in exactly the way that you want to use it. And 

congratulations on your new phase of life!


VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT MHCE.US


Retirees to Pay More for 

Tricare Enrollment While 

Pharmacy Copays Rise for 

All in 2022 

Military families and retirees who 

use retail pharmacies or the Tricare 

mail-order delivery system for their 

medications will see an increase in 

copayments in 2022, according to 

a notice to be published Tuesday in 

the Federal Register. 

Likewise, military retirees still 

considered to be working age -- 

those under age 65 who are not old 

enough for Medicare and Tricare 

for Life -- can expect to pay more 

in health care enrollment fees, 

although the exact amount of the 

bump has yet to be determined. 

Prescriptions for all Tricare 

beneficiaries at retail pharmacies 

will cost $14 for a 30-day supply for 

a generic drug, up from $11; $38 for 

a brand-name medication, up from 

$33; and $68 for a non-formulary 

drug not listed in Tricare's list of 

covered medications, up from $60. 

Eligible patients can save money 

by using military pharmacies, 

which charge no copayments, or 

they can trim costs of regularly 

prescribed medications by using 

Tricare's mail-order pharmacy, 

managed by Express Scripts. 

Copayments for the mail-order 

pharmacy also will see an increase. 

The cost of a generic prescription 

will rise from $10 to $12 for a 90- 

day supply, and from $29 to $34 

for a brand-name drug for a 90-day 

script. Non-formulary drugs will 

cost $68. 

Annual enrollment fees for Tricare 

Prime and Select also are expected 

to rise for career retired service 

members and their families, but the 

amount of the increase has yet to 

be determined because it is based 

on the calculated cost-of-living 

adjustment for retired military pay, 

which is usually published in mid- 

October. 

by that percent as well, give or take 

a few tenths. 

Currently, military personnel who 

retired before Jan. 1, 2018, known 

as Group A retirees, pay $303 per 

year for an individual and $606 per 

year for a family. 

Those designated as Group B 

retirees entered service on or 

after Jan. 1, 2018, and have left 

military service, mainly medical 

retirees and their family members. 

This group currently pays annual 

enrollment fees for Tricare Prime 

of $366 per individual and $732 

per family. 

Retirees in Group A who use 

Tricare Select began paying annual 

enrollment fees this year, $150 for 

an individual and $300 for a family, 

while Group B retirees' enrollment 

fees for Select are $471 for an 

individual or $942 for a family. 

Both groups are subject to the 

COLA adjustment and will see 

increases to their fees. 

Surviving family members of 

sponsors who died on active duty 

or service members who medically 

retired before Jan. 1, 2018, and 

their families who are enrolled in 

Tricare Prime are exempt from the 

increases as long as they remain in 

that health program. 

Tricare for Life beneficiaries don't 

pay anything for that program, 

which acts as a secondary payer 

to Medicare. But they are likely 

to see increased cost in their 

health care as well, since they are 

required to have Medicare Part B, 

which carries monthly premiums 

based on income. Medicare Part B 

premiums are expected to increase 

based on the COLA. 

In addition to pharmacy copay 

increases and enrollment fee hikes, 

some specialty populations within 

the Tricare system also will pay 

more, including reservists, young 

adults and transitioning service 

members. 

Open Season this year is scheduled 

to begin Nov. 8 and end Dec. 

13. During this period, eligible 

beneficiaries can enroll in Tricare 

Prime or Select if they have other 

insurance or change plans. If they 

are satisfied with their current 

Tricare health plan, they can do 

nothing and remain enrolled. 

If they don't make a change 

during Open Season, beneficiaries 

must wait until a "qualifying 

life event," such as losing health 

insurance provided by another 

insurer, retiring, getting married 

or divorced, having a baby or 

adopting, moving or aging out of 

Tricare. 

More than 4.7 million beneficiaries 

are enrolled in Tricare Prime, and 

nearly 1.7 million patients use 

Tricare Select. An additional 2.1 

million beneficiaries use Tricare 

for Life. 

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The Enemy Is Lurking in Our 

Bodies' -- Women Veterans 

Say Toxic Exposure Caused 

Breast Cancer 

As Kate Hendricks Thomas sat one night with her second-grade 

son Matthew, he placed his hands on the table as if he were an 

adult girding up for an important conversation. 

"Mom," Kate remembers him saying, "I'm not going to cry when 

I say this." 

And then, she says, he started to cry, but just a little bit. Her heart 

tightened in her chest as she waited. 

"He said, ‘I just want you to know, when you die, I'm going to 

cry so hard because I love you so much,'" she remembers. 

Hendricks Thomas shines fiercely: A former Marine Corps 

officer, she hit Fallujah, Iraq, in 2005, when the living was still 

dirty and the second battle of Fallujah had just reached its end. 

To stay healthy, she ran laps around the burn pit on base. After 

she got out of the military, she earned her doctorate -- and a 

reputation for helping others through the hard stuff.


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• Oncology 

• Palliative Care 

• Nursing Education 

• Lipid Management

October 2021 Newsletter—MHCE

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