STATEMENT OF
MARK H. OLANOFF, Command CMSgt, USAF (Ret)
Executive Director, Washington, D.C., Office Of
THE RETIRED ENLISTED ASSOCIATION

Before a
HEARING
Of the
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
Defense Subcommittee

On

May 17, 2005

Biography of Mark H. Olanoff, Command Chief Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret)
Executive Director, Washington, DC Office, The Retired Enlisted Association
Command CMSgt Mark H. Olanoff enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on September 27, 1967 after graduating from Darby Township High School in Glenolden, Pa.  After completion of basic military training and technical training he was assigned to Osan AB, Korea in 1968 working in the military personnel division.  Chief Olanoff served in numerous military personnel assignments at Othello AFS, Washington; RAF Bentwaters, England and Griffiss AFB, NY.  He was discharged from the U.S. Air Force on July 30, 1976 and joined the New Jersey Air National Guard in Atlantic City, New Jersey serving in positions of Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC), Customer Assistance; NCOIC, Consolidated Base Personnel Office and Chief, Personnel Systems Management.  Chief Olanoff transferred to the Air Force Reserve at Dover AFB, Delaware on June 19, 1989 serving as Chief, Personnel Systems Management until Feb 9, 1991.  Chief Olanoff assumed the position of Chief, Personnel Systems Management for the 436th Airlift Wing (as a federal civil servant) from Feb 10, 1992 until May 22, 1993.  

On April 1, 1992, Chief Olanoff assumed the position as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Commander of the 512th Airlift Wing, Dover AFB, DE.  In this position, Chief Olanoff served as the Commander’s representative on all enlisted issues.  During his tenure in this position, Chief Olanoff was TDY to the Persian Gulf.  He served in this position until his retirement from the Air Force Reserve on June 10, 1996.   

On April 1, 1996, Chief Olanoff assumed the position of Veterans Service Officer for the State of Delaware assisting veterans with Veterans Affairs (VA) claims and representing the Commission of Veterans’ Affairs at many meetings and functions.  He was appointed to the VA Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 4 Management Advisory Committee, which includes the areas of Pennsylvania, Delaware, parts of South New Jersey and parts of West Virginia. 

Chief Olanoff assumed his current position as Executive Director, Washington Office on October 25, 2004 after previously serving as TREA’s National Legislative Director from December 1996 until March 2002. He then served as The American Legion’s Assistant Legislative Director and Deputy Legislative Director from April 2002 until October 2004.  He served as Co-Director of the National Military Veterans Alliance, representing 31 military and veterans’ organizations.  He also served as Co-Chair of the Retirement and Veterans Affairs Committees for The Military Coalition (TMC).  He also served as a member of the Guard and Reserve Committee of TMC, and as a member of the Legislative Affairs Committee for the Alexandria, Virginia Chamber of Commerce.  Further, he served as Vice Chair of the Government Relations and Public Affairs Council for the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE) and previously served as Chair of the Federal Subcommittee of the council and served on a task for to create GWSAE-PAC.  Also served as a member of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Health eVet Steering Committee, which worked on a computerized medical record for veterans’.  He currently serves on TMC’s Awards Committee, Retirement Committee and the American Society for Association Executives Greater Washington Public Policy Committee.  

He holds an Associate in Applied Science from the Community College of the Air Force in Human Resource Management (April 1980) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stockton State College, Pomona, New Jersey (May 1986). He has completed 9 semester hours at the Graduate level in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University. 

Chief Olanoff is a graduate of the 8th Air Force Leadership School at Barksdale AFB, LA and a distinguished graduate of the Air National Guard NCO Academy at the Professional Military Educational Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Chief Olanoff’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with one service star, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with one service star, the Korea Defense Medal and the Kuwait Liberation Medal.  Chief Olanoff has been awarded the Master Personnel Badge. 

Chief Olanoff is married to the former Dorothy Venanzi and lives in Reisterstown, Maryland.

DISCLOSURE OF FEDERAL GRANTS OR CONTRACTS

The Retired Enlisted Association does not currently receive, has not received during the current fiscal year or either of the two previous years any federal money for grants or contracts. All the Association’s activities and services are accomplished completely free of any federal funding. 

Mr. Chairman:   It is an honor for The Retired Enlisted Association to testify on our concerns for military and veterans’ before your Committee.

The Retired Enlisted Association is a Veterans’ Service Organization founded 42 years ago to represent the needs and points of view of enlisted men and women who have dedicated their careers to serving in all the branches of the United States Armed Services active duty, National Guard and Reserves, as well as the members who are doing so today.    

FUNDING FOR ACTIVE DUTY, NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE FORCES

The Retired Enlisted Association generally supports the Administration’s request to support today’s troops and looks forward to working with the Committee to that end.  TREA is working on issues with the Senate Armed Services Committee to improve the quality of life for all components, retirees and their survivors.

DoD HEALTH CARE

I would like to start with a statement made by Senator John Warner (Virginia), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee during the debate on the FY 2001 National Defense Authorization Act concerning the Healthcare provisions:

“I turn now to what is one of the most important single item in this conference report--military healthcare, particularly for our retired personnel and their families. History shows they are the best recruiters of all.

The conference report before the Senate fulfills an important commitment of ``healthcare for life'' made by the recruiters--the U.S. Government--beginning in World War II and continuing through the Korean war and the Viet Nam war. The goal of making that commitment was to encourage service members to remain in uniform and become careerists. Simply put, a commitment of health care for life in exchange for their dedicated career service.

Again, this convergence report fulfills the promise of healthcare for life. I am proud of the bipartisan unanimity with which the Senate Armed Services Committee supported this initiative--an initiative never taken before by a congressional committee.

Let me describe for my colleagues and for our active and retired service members around the world the legislation in this conference report to authorize health care benefits for Medicare-eligible military retirees and their families, and how we arrived at this outcome.

For as long as I can remember, military recruits and those facing re-enlistment have been told that one of the basic benefits of serving a full military career is health care for life. We all know now that this commonly offered incentive was not based in statute, but was, nonetheless, freely and frequently made; it is a commitment that we must honor.

Let me briefly review the history of military health care. Military medical care requirements for activity duty service members and their families were recognized as early as the 1700's. Congressional action in the last 1800's directed military medical officers to attend to military families whenever possible, at no cost to the family. During World War II, with so many service members on activity duty, the military medical system could not handle the health care requirements of family members. The Emergency Maternal and Infant Care Program was authorized by Congress to meet this road. This program was administered through state health agencies.

The earliest reference in statute defining the health care benefit for military retirees was in 1956 when, for the first time, the Dependent's Medical Care Act specified that military retirees were eligible for health care in military facilities on a space-available basis. In 1966, this Act was amended to create the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services, CHAMPUS, to supplement the care provided in military facilities. This legislation, in 1966, specifically excluded from coverage military retirees who were eligible for Medicare--a program which had been enacted by the Congress one year earlier, in 1965.

The exclusion of over age 65, Medicare-eligible military retirees from guaranteed care from the military health care system was masked for many years because the capacity of military hospitals an the military medical system exceeded that  required to care for active duty service members; therefore, many Medicare-eligible retirees were able to receive treatment, on a space-available basis, at military facilities. In the 1990s, we began to reduce the size of our military services and the base realignment and closure, BRAC, rounds began to close bases--and military hospitals--all across the Nation. The combined effect of fewer military medical personnel to provide care and the closure of over 30 percent of the military hospitals eliminated the excess capacity that had been so beneficial to military retirees. Also during this decade the retiree population grew dramatically, adding pressure to the military health care system. The true magnitude of the problem was finally exposed.

All of us have heard from military retirees who served a full career and, in so doing, made many sacrifices. Many times the sacrifices these heroic veterans made resulted in serious medical conditions that manifested themselves at the time in their lives when they were pushed out of the military health care system. As a nation, we promised these dedicated retirees health care for life, but we were ignoring that promise.

On February 23, 2000, I introduced a bill, S. 2087, that provided for access to mail order pharmaceuticals for ALL Medicare-eligible military retirees, for the first time. The legislation also would improve access to benefits under TRICARE and extend and improve certain demonstration programs under the Defense Health Program.

On May 1, 2000, I introduced S. 2486, which added a retail pharmacy component to the previous legislation, providing for a full pharmacy benefit for all retirees, including those eligible for Medicare.

On June 6, Senator TIM HUTCHINSON and I introduced S. 2669, a bill that would extend TRICARE eligibility to all military retirees and their families, regardless of age. Later that same day, I amended the defense authorization bill to add the text of S. 2669. This legislation provided uninterrupted access to the Military Health Care System, known as TRICARE, to all retirees.

Permanently funding the military retiree health care benefit will be seen by retirees, active duty service members and potential recruits as the nation keeping it's commitment of health care for life to military retirees. Those serving today and those who are joining the military will see that the promise of a lifetime of health care, in return for serving a full career, will be honored in perpetuity.

Two weeks ago, in testimony before both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, General Hugh Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and each of the service chiefs strongly supported making this benefit permanent and using the accrual account method of financing. The Joint Chiefs have repeatedly testified that failing to honor the commitment to our retirees has been detrimental to their recruiting and retention efforts.”

TREA is very concerned with recent articles in national newspapers that the Department of Defense is worried that costs for military retiree benefits are taking funds away from the troops.  These statements are not accurate.

TREA urges the subcommittee to fully fund DoD’s health care account to include a seamless transition with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Further, TREA recommends report language that specifically prohibits the Department of Defense from raising TRICARE co-payments in FY 2006.  Finally, TREA recommends an oversight hearing with the Department of Defense and stakeholders to discuss differences between entitlement and discretionary spending.   

BASE REALIGNMENT AND CLOSURE

TREA realizes that this subcommittee has very little to do with the BRAC process, however, section 726 of the Fiscal Year 2004, National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 108-136) states “WORKING GROUP ON MILITARY HEALTH CARE FOR PERSONS RELIANT ON HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AT MILITARY INSTALLATIONS TO BE CLOSED OR REALIGNED”.  Although this working group has been established by DoD and the group has had one meeting, this issue will become very important after the BRAC list is finalized.

TREA urges the subcommittee to be aware of this issue when appropriations are made to fund BRAC. 

CONCLUSION

TREA is very grateful for this opportunity to testify before the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and would like to thank Chairman Stevens and ranking member Inouye for their many years of support to the defense of our country.   

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