[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 74 (Tuesday, June 14, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
PERMANENTLY NONWORLDWIDE ASSIGNABLE MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY--READINESS, 
                           COST, AND FAIRNESS

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT K. DORNAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 14, 1994

  Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include in the Record a copy 
of a letter from the Non Commissioned Officers Association [NCOA] and 
an article from Navy Times on the issue of permanently nonworldwide 
assignable members of the U.S. military.

         Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United 
           States of America,
                                     Alexandria, VA, June 7, 1994.
     Hon. Robert K. Dornan,
     House of Representatives, Rayburn House Office Building, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Dornan: The Non Commissioned Officers Association 
     of the USA (NCOA) strongly supports the proposal contained in 
     the House version of the FY 1995 Defense Authorization Bill 
     (H.R. 4301) that ensures that all members of the military be 
     physically and medically worldwide deployable.
       During a time when manpower levels of the military services 
     have been and continue to be reduced to minimum levels, NCOA 
     believes that the taxpayers of this country should reasonably 
     expect that all servicemembers serving in the military 
     services be able to serve wherever and whenever needed. If 
     necessary readiness capabilities are to be realized from a 
     ``boots-on-the-ground'' standpoint, everyone in uniform must 
     be eligible for deployment under field conditions. NCOA 
     further believes that failure to adhere to such a policy 
     presents false strength indicators and will undoubtedly 
     result in unfair assignment practices and rapidity for those 
     who meet and maintain established deployability criteria.
       NCOA is opposed to any legislative effort to reduce or 
     lessen the deployability requirements of H.R. 4301.
           Sincerely,
                                             Michael F. Ouellette,
                                  Director of Legislative Affairs.
                                  ____


                  [From the Navy Times, June 6, 1994]

              Readiness Fuels Debate Over Troops With AIDS

                             (By Rick Maze)

       Washington.--There is new ammunition for those seeking to 
     discharge service members whose medical conditions make them 
     unable to deploy overseas: readiness.
       A new report on reserve readiness released by the General 
     Accounting Office, Congress's investigative arm, concludes 
     that medical or physical problems either prevented or 
     hindered the deployments of thousands of reservists during 
     the Persian Gulf crisis.
       The report comes just days before the House is to debate a 
     provision in the 1995 defense authorization bill that would 
     force the discharge of anyone who has been unable to deploy 
     for medical reasons for more than a year.
       The provision was not the Pentagon's idea, but was added by 
     the House Armed Services Committee when it wrote its version 
     of the defense budget. It is aimed mostly at service members 
     with the AIDS virus.
       There are a few exceptions in the committee proposal:
       No one within two years of being eligible for retirement 
     would be discharged.
       If the medical condition resulted from combat or an heroic 
     peacetime act, the service member could be retained.
       Anyone with a critically needed skill could remain in the 
     service under a waiver.
       Sponsored by Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the armed 
     services subcommittee on military forces and personnel, the 
     legislation allows for a review of every discharge to allow 
     for more exceptions.
       The General Accounting Office report appears to contradict 
     service contentions early this year that keeping 
     nondeployable troops on board is not a problem.
       Government investigators found that the Army had 22,000 
     people in the reserve components in 1992 with permanent 
     medical problems that prevented them from marching, running, 
     crawling or being near gunfire, says the report to the House 
     Armed Services subcommittee on readiness.
       About 8,000 Army Guard and Reserve personnel were found 
     unfit to deploy during operations Desert Shield and Desert 
     Storm, the report says. Among the problems were cancer, heart 
     disease, double kidney failure and muscular dystrophy. One 
     soldier had a gunshot wound to the head.
       Problems were much smaller for the other reserve 
     components, the report says. The Navy, for example, had 333 
     people who were not activated for medical reasons, mostly 
     temporary conditions such as broken bones, being overweight 
     or pregnancy.
       The Department of Defense and the services have opposed the 
     House legislation, arguing they see no problems with their 
     policy, which allows more discretion than the legislation 
     would in determining when a service member should be 
     discharged.
       Committee member Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., plans to offer 
     an amendment to the defense bill in June that would water 
     down the restrictions by giving the services the power to 
     offer sweeping waivers without a case-by-case review. 
     Harman's alternative has the support of Rep. Ronald V. 
     Dellums, D-Calif., the committee's chairman, but is opposed 
     by Skelton and by Rep. Robert K. Dornan, R-Calif., the 
     committee member who first raised the issue in connection 
     with service members who have the AIDS virus.
       Testifying in March before Skelton's subcommittee, defense 
     officials said that less than one-fifth of 1 percent of 
     active-duty service members have permanent medical conditions 
     that make them nondeployable. This is such a small number, it 
     has no impact on readiness, they said.
       Of the 3,560 service members who are permanently unable to 
     deploy for medical reasons, about half have AIDS or are 
     infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes 
     AIDS, officials said.
       Skelton has tried to extend the debate beyond AIDS, arguing 
     that while the military is getting smaller the services 
     cannot afford to give up valuable billets to people who 
     cannot now deploy and will never be fit to deploy in a 
     contingency.
       ``The compassionate thing might be to keep someone with a 
     serious heart condition or other medical problem on active 
     duty because he's a nice guy who has worked hard, but the 
     fact is that this person cannot go anywhere and do 
     anything,'' said a Skelton aide. ``This person is a 
     liability.''

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