Government Executive - Authors - Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem

Pentagon to restart anthrax vaccination program

Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem — Mon, 01 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Defense Department officials announced Monday they are restarting a modified anthrax vaccine immunization program now that the vaccine provider has passed Food and Drug Administration scrutiny.

Only service members, essential civilians and contractor personnel going to or serving in high-threat areas will receive the vaccine, said Dr. Bill Winkenwerder, assistant defense secretary for health affairs. This is because half the contractor's vaccine production will be stockpiled for civilian use.

"We recognize there is a domestic need for access to the vaccine," Winkenwerder said during a news conference at the Pentagon. "In collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Homeland Security, we are reserving a portion of the anthrax vaccine for stockpiling ... to use in the event of a domestic emergency."

In 1998, Defense began a plan to vaccinate all military members against the deadly, potential biological weapon. The program was pared down several times in the intervening years as the sole provider of the vaccine shut down its factory for renovations and then had problems gaining FDA approval of its production process.

Vaccine shortages eventually caused Defense to vaccinate only limited numbers of service members serving in "designated special mission units."

The contractor, Bioport of Lansing, Mich., gained FDA approval of its renovated facility in January and is now ready to begin providing additional stocks of the vaccine to Defense.

Winkenwerder said the new policy is "more targeted" than the previous plan to vaccinate the total force. He said the numbers of service members and essential civilians vaccinated will jump, but he would not say how high. Nor would he say what areas of the world are considered "higher threat."

"We will identify those areas to the service members before they are deployed to those areas, but we don't intend to talk publicly about that as we describe the policy to the rest of the country, to the media," Winkenwerder said during an earlier interview with American Forces Press Service. "And the reason is, we don't intend to give our adversaries an indication of exactly who and when and where we've immunized people. We would like that to be a further deterrent to anybody who might think about using anthrax as a weapon."

The doctor said Defense medical officials hope to start vaccinating targeted service members 45 days before they deploy. The anthrax vaccine requires six shots over an 18-month period for maximum immunity, but a relatively high level of immunity is reached after the first three shots, he explained.

Winkenwerder and Vice Adm. Gordon Holder, director of logistics on the Joint Staff, said the vaccination program may return to total-force coverage if vaccine availability improves and if the biological threat changes.

Individuals who started the six-shot series under the previous guidelines will resume the series where they left off.

Others who started the shots previously but are not currently covered under the new program will receive the rest of their shots "later into 2002, possibly as late as 2003, and that's because the supply of the vaccine is limited," Winkenwerder said.

He insisted there is no danger in stopping and restarting the series of shots. "Protection lasts months to years at some level," he said.

Under the previous program, 525,000 service members have received a total of 2.1 million doses of the vaccine. Contrary to widespread media reports of service members refusing to be vaccinated, even at the cost of their careers, Winkenwerder said the true number is relatively small compared to the number of doses administered. Defense has no formal method of counting refusals, but service chiefs report 441 service members have refused to be vaccinated. He said there have been no deaths linked to the vaccine.

In the earlier interview, Winkenwerder dismissed widespread claims that the vaccine isn't safe or effective. He cited a study released March 6 by the Institute of Medicine that found the vaccine to be "effective protection against anthrax, including inhalation anthrax."

"The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences-a very august, prominent body-has said in a very large, in a very important, comprehensive report that the vaccine is safe and effective," Winkenwerder said earlier. Several other studies by reputable independent agencies have released similar conclusions.

Even though it is scaled back, the vaccination program will remain mandatory for troops in areas covered by the policy. Winkenwerder said this is no different from any number of other vaccines and "medical interventions" that are mandatory for military people based on where they are serving.

Defense is working with HHS to develop a new anthrax vaccine that would require fewer shots and be made using a different, easier method, said William F. Raub, deputy director of public health preparedness at HHS. The two departments are also examining the current vaccine to see if its protocol can be changed.

"We fight and win as teams," he said. "If a team of people are in an environment deployed in a military situation, I think the commander as well as all the individuals want to know are we all protected."

The anthrax attacks on the U.S. East Coast last fall may have silenced some critics. "I think the attacks last fall brought home the point that this is a real threat and that it's possible to manufacture this kind of bioweapon, and it's not altogether difficult to disseminate it," Winkenwerder said. "This is something that's not just in people's imagination. It is real."

American Forces Press Service reporter Jim Garamone contributed to this report.

]]>

Military pay raise averages 6.9 percent

Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem — Mon, 07 Jan 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Pentagon suspends special military deployment per diem

Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem — Fri, 12 Oct 2001 00:00:00 -0400

DoD announces plan to replace food stamps

Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem — Tue, 01 Aug 2000 00:00:00 -0400

Service members who qualify for food stamps-and some who don't-may soon get debit cards to use in commissaries, DoD officials announced July 28.

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen told reporters at the Pentagon last week that the DoD-issued cards would be credited with a fixed monthly value based on the user's rank and family size. The new plan would be optional for members and cost the department $31.5 million per year. Members can't participate in both programs.

Cohen called the cards necessary because Agriculture Department food stamp rules create an inequity between service members who live on base and those who live off. Under current food stamp eligibility guidelines, the value of base family housing isn't counted as income, but housing allowances for those who live off base are. All other things being equal, then, families living on base appear to be needier than those living off base.

The debit cards would end the inequity by not counting housing allowances as income, DoD officials said. This probably means more service members would receive cards than currently receive food stamps-but it's fair, they said.

Cohen also said the proposed debit card program would be more convenient because it would be administered by installations and members wouldn't have to travel to state food stamp offices. The cards would give members up to 30 percent more buying power because of commissaries' lower prices, he suggested.

Officials are adding provisions for cash allowances for remotely located service members who do not have ready access to a commissary.

Defense officials have said a cash allowance to members who qualify for food stamps wouldn't work because that could create situations where lower-ranking individuals are paid more than their superiors.

"We tried also to take into account that our pay scales depend upon rank, responsibility (and) years of service, and we want to keep that basic core of our compensation schedules. This allows the military to have control (of the pay scales) and address the needs of families who need assistance," Cohen said of the card proposal.

The plan needs congressional approval. Cohen said the idea already has support from members of the House and Senate armed services committees.

Navy Capt. Elliott Bloxom, DoD's director of compensation, said the plan will likely be covered in the fiscal 2002 budget request and take effect Oct. 1, 2001.

The military doesn't keep statistics on members receiving food stamps, but DoD officials have estimated that about 6,300 households participate. That's less than one-half percent of the force, they said, and the members in question generally have larger-than-average families.

]]>

DoD seeks to civilianize support positions

Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem — Wed, 07 Jun 2000 00:00:00 -0400

Civilian employees have served in every major American war since the Revolution, freeing service members to concentrate on winning battles. That tradition continues today, as roughly 700,000 civilians serve the Defense Department throughout the United States and at least 17 foreign lands as well.

DoD is now trying to "civilianize" positions whenever possible as a way to save costs while minimizing impact on force effectiveness. According to a 1998 Rand Corp. report, there are two main reasons for this. First, military members are moved in and out of jobs frequently, so there are high turnover and training costs. Second, military members do not spend 100 percent of their time performing their assigned functions; they also have training requirements and other duties.

"Civilians provide stability in the organization," said Diane Disney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for civilian personnel policy. "Military people rotate between assignments every three years or so. DoD civilians are necessary to provide vital support that allows our warfighters to perform their mission."

DoD requirements call for personnel managers to employ civilians "in positions which do not require military incumbents for reasons of law, security, discipline, rotation, or combat readiness; which do not require a military background for successful performance of duties involved; and which do not entail unusual hours not normally associated or compatible with civilian employment."

"Anything that isn't military-essential, any position where the person isn't going into combat," said Pam Bartlett, a program analyst with the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. "You require the military to go to war, and you hire civilians to provide support for the military."

Civilian DoD employees generally fall into one of two pay systems, depending on whether they're in white-collar or blue-collar trades. Those in white-collar jobs, for instance, clerical, administrative, engineering or supply fields, are paid under the General Schedule. Others, for example, maintenance or food-preparation workers, are compensated under the Coordinated Federal Wage System.

The government also contracts with civilian firms for goods and services instead of directly hiring employees to do the work. This is because there are times when contractors are more cost-effective or they do certain things better, Bartlett said.

"Sometimes you contract for services because they're available from the private sector, and it wouldn't be cost effective to do it in house," she said, using telephone service as an example. "It's all a question of who provides the best value in terms of the dollars and the services provided."

Just because civilians aren't uniformed members of the armed forces doesn't mean they're out of harm's way. "It's as if DoD civilians live two lives," Disney said. "We live the life of a civil servant and the life of a defense employee."

Disney said civilians designated as "emergency essential," meaning their skills and abilities are crucial to mission success, are subject to deployment. About 4,500 DoD civilians deployed to Southwest Asia during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, for instance. Civilians are often issued military uniforms during deployments and may be authorized to carry weapons for personal protection.

"Designating civilians as emergency essential emphasizes the total force nature of DoD involvement," she said. "It's recognition that civilians are important members of the DoD team."

]]>

DoD to offer Web access to pay accounts

Sgt. 1st Class Kathleen T. Rhem — Wed, 08 Dec 1999 00:00:00 -0500

Military and Defense Department civilian employees and retirees will soon be able to make many routine changes to their official pay accounts whenever they want by phone or via the World Wide Web.

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service is in the process of implementing the Employee/Member Self Service program. DFAS officials project the program will be available for some customers in February 2000.

The officials said defense payroll customers using the round-the-clock Web and phone systems will be able to change their federal income tax withholding; start, stop or change allotments; change their correspondence address; and update information for their financial institution electronic fund transfers.

DFAS officials said the self-service program should improve the processing of pay changes by saving time and reducing the current paper trail. Now, customers may have to wait weeks for action because they must visit a finance customer service representative and submit written forms that have to be processed by a string of clerks, they explained.

"Employee/Member Self Service provides an alternative to completing and submitting forms and will provide reliable and accurate information," DFAS project officer Gloria Cranford-Bates said. "Most importantly, E/MSS will be a fast, easy and secure way for customers to update payroll- related transactions at their convenience."

The system will allow customers to make changes nearly instantly on their own. Officials explained that no written confirmation will be received, but members can check changes by re-accessing the system in a week. Changes will also be annotated on the customer's next Leave and Earning Statement.

A personal identification number will control customer access. DFAS plans to mail letters to eligible customers with a temporary PIN they can customize the first time they use the system, officials said. The letter will also give customers the Web site address and the toll-free number to access the system.

The DFAS plan calls for E/MSS to become available in two phases. DFAS representative Cathy Ferguson said letters are being mailed to DoD retirees and surviving annuitants, Marines and civilian employees, the first group of people who will have system access. Soldiers, sailors and airmen will gain access a few months later.

The military services' current telephone systems for their members will eventually be rolled into the DFAS self- service system.

E/MSS Internet transactions will be encrypted using 128-bit encryption and Secure Socket Layer technology, DFAS officials said. This will prevent information from being read by others while being transmitted from the customer's personal computer to the E/MSS Web site. Also for security reasons, officials recommend against using cellular phones to access the IVRS system.

Additional information can be obtained on the DFAS Web site, www.dfas.mil.

]]>