Tri-Care for Life Endangered - Response from Jake

If you remember, most of us joined the service with a promise of free medical care after we retired to until death. That promised wa re-nigged upon where retired soldiers pay for Tricare Insurance in order to receive treatment atthe local VA clinic, Military hospital or through the commercial medical community.

I for one, and most of my compadres did not flinch from having to pay for what was promised free. Now the Government wants to raise the Tricare fee.

Under Federal law, if you are a TRICARE beneficiary entitled to Medicare because of age, disability or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), you must enroll and pay the monthly Medicare Part B premium in order to remain TRICARE-eligible. If you are an active duty family member entitled to Medicare, you aren’t required to purchase Part B until your active duty sponsor retires. Apparently the Government now wants to take it away and have retired or disdabled service members soley use Medicare.

This is a letter making the e-mail SF Net from Jake Jakovenko, ret SF SGM, to a DoD Spokewomena for Tricare. I know SGM Jakovenko and he is the LAST person on the face of the earth who could be called a whiner. He tells it like it is form his perspective,....many of us with the same view.

To: Department of Defense ( DoD ) Spokeswoman, Ms. Cynthia O. Smith:

Dear Cynthia,

I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name. Since I'm most likely twice your age it does seem appropriate (to address your formally).

I would just like to say, and this is only me talking, that at this point in my life I don't really care what you and the rest of the gang at DoD do to my TRICARE for LIFE. It don't really matter, your going to do it anyway.

But I would like to say something to you, DoD, and America: I would gladly give back to you my award of The Purple Heart and my Disability that You and DoD seem to think are bankrupting America. If you give me back the 60 percent of my eyesight in my right eye (I used to have 20-20 vision) then I would give you back that amount of VA compensation.

I would also return to you $ 3,000.00 worth of hearing aids if you can give me back my hearing. (While we'll at it)...also if I could have my original spine I would gladly give you back the steel rod I have in its place. I also have 3 or 4 vertebraes that are fused,......and I wouldn;t want to forget both knees that had to be replaced.

I just wonder if it could of been two tours in Vietnam and being on Parachute Duty for 27 years or maybe the 18 years on Combat Diver status had something to do with it. Cynthia have you ever locked out of a moving Submarine and later locked back in? How about perforating your eardrums? Ever did that?

What I'm saying Cynthia, that if DoD can give me my health and shape I was in January 1958 when I joined the Army, I would gladly give DoD my TRICARE for LIFE. Do I feel undeserving for using TRICARE for LIFE ? Probably Not ! I did my Duty. Do you think you and Pentagon are doing some kind of service for United States of America by cutting TRICARE for LIFE for Disabled Veterans? Evidently a BIG Yes.

Jake Jakovenko