Providing up-to-date information, news and original content on American Military issues.
Jan. 3, 2021
The following statement is attributable to Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.
“Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment. The USS Nimitz will now remain on station in the U.S. Central Command area of operations. No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America.”
WASHINGTON – TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. has agreed to pay the United States $179,700,000 to resolve claims that it received overpayments from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in connection with its administration of certain VA health care programs, the Department of Justice announced today.
TriWest, an Arizona corporation headquartered in Phoenix, is in the business of administering government health care programs, including those operated by the VA. TriWest is responsible for administering certain portions of the VA Patient-Centered Community Care Program (PC3) and the VA’s former Veterans Choice Program (Choice). Both programs have enabled veterans to obtain medical care from providers in their communities. As an administrator of these programs, TriWest is paid by the VA to coordinate medical appointments and make payments to health care providers.
The settlement resolves allegations that TriWest retained overpayments from the VA in connection with its administration of the PC3 and Choice Programs. The alleged overpayments included payments by the VA to TriWest twice for the same services as well as payments for services for which TriWest received full or partial reimbursement from certain health care providers.
“The VA’s PC3 and Choice Programs have provided significant benefits to our nation’s veterans,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to support the VA and its Office of Inspector General in ensuring that the VA’s programs are administered properly and that taxpayer funds are used as intended.”
“The VA provides invaluable assistance to those who have sacrificed on our behalf,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Bailey for the District of Arizona. “It is vital that those who administer programs for the VA be held accountable to do so with the utmost care and integrity.”
“The VA Office of Inspector General works tirelessly to promote the economy, efficiency, and integrity of the VA’s programs and operations,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “This settlement is integral to ensuring that the VA’s funds are spent for the benefit of our nation’s veterans. I appreciate the teamwork and dedication that led to this significant recovery.”
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, and the VA and its Office of Inspector General. The claims resolved by the settlement agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
An Air Force medical provider participates in an N95 mask fit test at a hospital in Lodi, Calif., Dec. 29, 2020, as Defense Department teams prepare to integrate into California hospitals to provide medical support alongside hospital personnel in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A soldier uses a forklift to receive and stage equipment in Jordan, Dec. 22, 2020, while deployed to support operations Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve.
Service members participate in a live-fire training event at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Dec. 30, 2020, as part of Operation Wardog Kila, a joint Army-Marine Corps exercise.
Dec. 31, 2020 | BY C. Todd Lopez , DOD News
The Navy and the Connecticut National Guard on Monday will honor Connecticut native son Dan Crowley for fighting against the Japanese in the Philippines 75 years ago.
Gregory J. Slavonic, who is performing the duties of the Navy undersecretary, will present Crowley with an honorary Combat Infantryman Badge in recognition of the fighting he did while in the Philippines, and a Prisoner of War medal. Crowley will also be promoted because he attained the rank of sergeant in October 1945, but he was never notified. The Jan. 4 ceremony will be held at the Land Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, at 11:30 a.m.
Crowley enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in October 1940 at the age of 18. Less than six months later, in March 1941, he arrived at the Nichols Field air base near Manila in the Philippines.
In December 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Almost immediately afterward, they bombed airfields in the Philippines — including Nichols Field where then-Army Pvt. Crowley was stationed. That raid destroyed all the hangers there and other infrastructure. Crowley and others worked to defend that airfield against the Japanese attack, but their efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful.
Weeks after the bombing of Nichols Field, Crowley and others sailed about 25 miles across Manila Bay to the Bataan Peninsula in the dark of night.
Fighting on the Bataan Peninsula eventually forced the Americans there to surrender — but Crowley and others didn't want to give up. Instead, they snuck off to Corregidor Island, which was about five miles south. But about a month after Bataan was surrendered, Corregidor also fell to the Japanese, and Crowley and others were held as prisoners of war.
The Japanese took the POWs from Corregidor back to Manila and held them at Camp Cabanatuan. To escape the horrid conditions at the camp, Crowley volunteered for a work detail to help build an airfield for the Japanese on Palawan Island. He and others worked to build an airstrip using only hand tools.
After Crowley and others returned from their work on the airstrip, Crowley was shipped off to Japan to be a slave laborer in a copper mine in March 1944.
After being liberated on Sept. 4, 1945, Crowley returned home to his family in Connecticut. He was honorably discharged from the Army in April 1956.
While in the Philippines, Crowley participated in combat against the Japanese as part of the Army’s Provisional Air Corps Infantry Regiment on Bataan and later with the 4th Marines Regimental Reserve.
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jajuan Mangual moves a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Makin Island in the Indian Ocean, Dec. 26, 2020.
Army Spc. Madalyn Stella emerges from a medical tent with a COVID-19 vaccine for a waiting patient in Exeter, N.H., Dec. 29, 2020. Stella is one of 11 New Hampshire National Guardsmen assigned to the vaccination station, one of 13 across the state that has opened for New Hampshire first responders and high-risk ambulatory care providers.
Army Lt. Col. Catherine Dunn fires during a pistol qualification course at the Udairi Range Complex in Kuwait, Dec. 28, 2020.
From right: Guam Army National Guard Spc. Syd Refugia, Spc. Christopher Bolus and Staff Sgt. William Cunningham III perform for guests in the COVID-19 quarantine facility at the Dusit Beach Resort in Tumon, Guam, Dec. 30, 2020.
Service members participate in a live-fire event at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Dec. 30, 2020, during Operation Wardog Kila, a joint Army-Marine Corps exercise.
Dec. 31, 2020
Following its role in providing support to American troops in Somalia and the arrival of follow-on operational capability, Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller has directed that the USS Nimitz will transit directly home to complete a nearly 10-month deployment.
“The Secretary appreciates the hard work, commitment, and flexibility of more than 5,000 Sailors and Marines of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group who repeatedly demonstrated operational excellence in providing air support to combat operations against terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and ensuring maritime security in critical waterways,” said Jonathan Rath Hoffman, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
“The Nimitz team provided persistent air cover during the troop drawdowns in Afghanistan and conducted operations and exercises that strengthened enduring partnerships and alliances in the U.S. Central Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility.
“They conducted themselves admirably throughout the deployment despite the many challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The sacrifices and services of the Sailors, Marines, and their families is greatly appreciated by the entire Department of Defense and were in the finest traditions of the U.S. naval service. We are glad that we can conclude 2020 by announcing these warriors are headed home.”
Marines volunteer at a food drive at the Grainger Stadium parking lot in Kinston, N.C., Dec. 29, 2020. The event provided Kinston residents a free box of food and COVID- 19 testing.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Carmen Pontello introduces Hammer, a military working dog, to a Ghost Robotics Vision 60 semi-autonomous robot at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., Dec. 17, 2020. The Vision 60 resembles a dog but is not designed to replace military working dogs.
Service members assigned to U.S. Forces Korea wait to receive the first COVID-19 vaccines at Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, South Korea, Dec. 29, 2020. The hospital is one of three Defense Department medical treatment facilities in South Korea inoculating medical staff and other key personnel during the initial worldwide distribution of the vaccine.
New recruits undergo screening after arriving at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Dec. 28, 2020. Recruits will be tested for COVID-19 and go through a 14-day staging period before beginning recruit training.
An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Dec. 30, 2020.
Air Force firefighters extinguish flames from a simulated car accident during an exercise at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Dec. 8, 2020.
Air Force Senior Airman Brendan Alverson inspects night vision goggles at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., Dec. 18, 2020.
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