From: bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: Army News 01/21/93
Date: 22 Jan 1993 10:29:38 -0600
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

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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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   \\  {*}  //                   bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil  
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /   
   \ Bergman /
     \     / 


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