It was immediately apparent that the letter had made the desired impact on Senator Warner. Meanwhile, we had communicated with all of our classmates, other classes, and graduates. We requested them to communicate with their congressmen and women, with their communities, and with the news media, to get our story into the public's and the Congress' conscience. The response from classmates and from other classes was phenomenal and had a substantial impact on the eventual outcome. The combined efforts of many graduates, especially Bob Riordan '59, and others, resulted in a better law.
Implementation is still in the future and the exact method is still undecided.
Continuing problems in the Tricare system are still need to be addressed. The fight isn't over, but we've come a long way. Those who communicated with their politicians who supported this change, please thank them for their support. One important message in all this is that the graduate community can have a substantial impact, even on United States law, when we act in concert. There are other issues on which we ought to join forces to bring about positive changes, and we shouldn't hesitate to do so when such action is indicated.