NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/soc/veterans/1489

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Subject: Army News 01/21/93
Date: 22 Jan 1993 10:29:38 -0600
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* Fort Hood soldiers arrive in Kuwait
* Transitioning entails flood of forms
* Soldiers in transition need to check medical status
* Army logistics unit waits to assume mission, by Spc. Richard J.
* 188th MP Co. receives prestigious award

================================================================

Fort Hood soldiers arrive in Kuwait

    WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- An Army battalion task force began
arriving in Kuwait Jan. 15 from Fort Hood, Texas. The
deployment demonstrates U.S. commitment to the security and
stability of the Persian Gulf region, according to Defense
Department officials.
    The deployment resulted from recent violations of United
Nations Security Council resolutions by Iraq, and is consistent
with the U.S.-Kuwait Defense Cooperation Agreement, officials
said.
    The task force -- of the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry
Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division -- consists of two Abrams tank
companies, one Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle company and
one artillery battery, along with combat support and combat
service support units. A headquarters element from the Third
Army, Fort McPherson, Ga., and a battalion task force
headquarters element from the 1st Cavalry Division will provide
command and control, officials said.
    U.S. Central Command, located at MacDill Air Force Base,
Fla., is overseeing the operation.
    About 1,100 soldiers will be involved, officials said.
    (From a DoD release.)


Transitioning entails flood of forms

    WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- The world of blank forms can loom
larger than life when it comes to a transitioning soldier
nearing separation.
    To help sort out the forms merry-go-round, transition
management expert Robert Holybee of Fort Sill, Okla., recently
compiled a checklist on how to deal with the forms that tell
who/why/where/how you are at various stages.
    The checklist originally appeared in Sill's post newspaper,
"The Cannoneer."
    Says Holybee: "You will fill out many forms to provide you
with a record of your military service, to provide the Army
with a source of information for administrative purposes, and
to provide government agencies with a source of information to
administer federal and state laws pertaining to veterans."
    He leads off with DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or
Discharge from Active Duty). "It contains sensitive data,"
Holybee explains. "Copies No. 1 and 4 are your copies. Give
copies to agencies that need one, but always maintain the
original in a secure place, like a safety deposit box at the
bank. This form is so valuable that it could be used
fraudulently by others to claim benefits in the former
soldier's name. You'll receive the copies on the day you
separate."
    Holybee has these tips for proper care and filing of your
DD Form 214: "Do not laminate it. You should keep it in a
secure, safe container. And you may want to register it at your
local courthouse, where a free copy would be available anytime
it's needed.
    "Supposing you were to lose the form -- what's your
recourse? Merely write to this address: Commander, U.S. Army
Personnel Records Center, ATTN:  DARP-PAS-EUS, 9700 Page Blvd.,
St. Louis, Mo.  63132-5200. Include your full name, grade, Army
service number and Social Security number."
    If you're retiring, you'll need to complete DD Form 363A
(Certificate of Retirement).
    Related discharge certificates include DD Forms 256A, 257A,
794A, 259A and 260A.
    There even are separate certificates of appreciation for
retiring soldiers' wives (DA Form 3891) and husbands (DA Form
3891-1).
    Another essential item -- DA Form 1811 -- bears the title:
Physical Data and Aptitude Test Scores upon Release from Active
Duty.
    Two of the more familiar forms are themselves maintained
within a form -- DA Form 201 (Military Personnel Records
Jacket). These are DA Forms 2 and 2-1 (Personnel Qualification
Record).
    Holybee: "The 201 file is used to conduct a thorough review
to verify eligibility for separation by checking to see if DA
Form 268 (Report of Suspensions of Favorable Personnel Actions)
is on file, to find out if the eligible soldier was awarded the
Good Conduct Medal, and to verify grade, date of rank, and lost
time."
    At the time of separation, most soldiers' DA 201 Forms get
transferred to either one of two locations, as follows:
    -- Officer files: Commander, U.S. Total Army Personnel
Command, ATTN: DAPC-MSR, Alexandria, Va.  22332-5000.
    -- Enlisted files: Commander, U.S. Army Enlisted Records
and Evaluation Center, ATTN: PCRE-FT, Fort Benjamin Harrison,
Ind. 46249-5000.
    When a soldier applies for service-connected compensation
during outprocessing, the health records will go to the state
VA regional office, along with a completed VA Form 21-526.
    What about those accountable forms known as active-duty
identification cards?
    Holybee answers that DD Forms 2A and 1173 must be turned in
on the day of separation. "Soldiers who take permissive TDY or
transition leave in conjunction with separation or retirement
will receive a self-addressed envelope to return the ID cards
to the Transition Point," he says.
    For more information on coping with the family of forms
affected by the transition process, Holybee suggests contacting
your local transition management section or a counselor with
the Army Career and Alumni Program.


Soldiers in transition need to check medical status

    WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- If you're a transitioning soldier
nearing separation from active duty, you may wish to seek
advice from experts in transition management.
    Case in point: Robert Holybee of Fort Sill, Okla.'s
transition management section has published a checklist for
dealing with the separation process. The checklist appears in a
recent issue of Sill's post newspaper, "The Cannoneer." Some of
the items to be checked cover medical matters.
    For example, "In many cases, you're no longer required to
complete a preseparation physical examination or even a medical
exam waiver," Holybee says. "However, all separating soldiers
may request a physical. To schedule an appointment, call the
post hospital or contact your personnel service center." Army
personnel officials say more information appears in Table 8-3
of Army Regulation 40-501 (Standards of Medical Fitness).
    The care of medical records ranks high on the checklist.
"At the time you outprocess," explains Holybee, "the Transition
Point will keep your medical records. But we recommend you have
a copy of any significant medical history made for your files."
So, about 30 days before you're due to outprocess, you may wish
to coordinate any selective record-copying with the patient
administration division of your servicing medical treatment
facility.
    Part of your future medical care will come from the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs, specifically at any VA medical
facility on a space-available basis.
    If you feel you're eligible for a VA disability rating, you
must submit VA Form 21-526 upon separation. Your application,
along with your original medical records, will be sent to a VA
regional office. There, your claim will be adjudicated for
service connection to see if a pension is appropriate.
    Within 120 days of your separation, a VA official will
notify you by letter telling you which VA hospital will perform
a physical exam. Afterwards, you'll receive a letter explaining
whatever disability compensation rating applies. If you do so
qualify, your check will come from the VA.
    Once you follow the checklist on medical matters, you're
ready to proceed with processing the various forms that
document your military service.
    Holybee has some words to share about that aspect of
transitioning, all scheduled for a later report.


Army logistics unit waits to assume mission, by Spc. Richard J.
Clemenson

    MOGADISHU, Somalia (ARNEWS) -- Critics predicted that
Operation Restore Hope would turn into a logistical nightmare,
even before it had a chance to get rolling. But, logistically,
early reports from the field show that Restore Hope has been a
smooth ride for the troops in Somalia.
    The first wave of Marines to hit the outlying areas of
southern Somalia have had to go it alone. Without any
host-nation support, supply lines were set up to connect the
inland towns with the capital of Mogadishu.
    A month and much hard labor later, the time has come for
the trailblazers to hand over the task of keeping supplies
rolling to the Army's 49th Movement Control Center from Fort
Hood, Texas.
    One of the first things to do is get some of the "amenities
of life" to the troops in barren regions like Baidoa,
Baledogle, Oddur, Beledweyne and Kismayu, said Lt. Col. Fred
Persechini, commander of the 49th MCC.
    "We want to give the troops in the field everything that
the troops in Mogadishu get," he said. "Everything from hot
chow, regular showers, daily shipments of mail and laundry
services -- all these things make it easier for the troops to
get the job done."
    All Persechini has to do, to make his plans come true, is
get the assets in-country and on the move. "In my business of
movements control, you can come in with all the plans you
want," he said, "but if you don't have the assets, you're not
going to get much done."
    He estimated that it would take until mid-January before
most of his equipment would arrive in port.
    "We are set up next to (the Marines) at the port, and have
slowly begun to do more and more," Persechini said. "So by the
time we are ready to take over the operation, we will have
already gotten down a smooth system, and there will be no
noticeable difference.
    "The only problem we may have is figuring out how the other
U.N. nations are working, but it should be only a matter of
time before we do."
    After the 49th takes control, it will be the only movements
control act in the country. That compares with the five MCCs
set up during Operation Desert Storm, said Persechini, who
commanded the 49th in Saudi Arabia.
    "The Gulf was tough because of the sheer size of the
operation," Persechini said. "But this is tough because there
is no infrastructure, and we are getting no host-nation
support."
    For the time being, though, the 49th continues to wait in
the wings. "We are ready," Persechini said. "I have absolutely
no doubt that we can do the job any time they call on us."
    (Clemenson is in Somalia with the 11th Public Affairs Team
from Fort Polk, La.)


 188th MP Co. receives prestigious award

    WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- The 188th Military Police Company,
Eighth U.S. Army, in Taegu, Korea, made a clean sweep with
fiscal 1992's 23rd annual Brig. Gen. Jeremiah P. Holland Award.
    A senior military police board chose the 188th MP Co. on
the basis of its mission performance, major accomplishments and
significant achievements.
    The award was established in 1969 by Holland, a former
military police officer, to promote esprit de corps and
professionalism in military police units throughout the active
Army.
    This year's first runner-up is the 259th MP Co., U.S. Army
Materiel Command, in Alexandria, Va. The second runner-up is
the 24th MP Co., Forces Command, at Fort McPherson, Ga.

--

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