Author: Joel Schofer, MD, MBA, CPE
Finance Friday Articles
- 7 Major Changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Are You Overlooking Your Most Valuable Retirement Asset?
- Corporate Bonds vs. U.S. Treasuries
- Quit Worrying About IRMAA
- Starting a Medical Consulting Business as a Top Gun Fighter Pilot and Physician
- Student Loan Forgiveness Blocked by Supreme Court
- The Buckets Strategy for Retirement
- Traditional TSP vs. Roth TSP: Which One Should You Use in 2023?
Health of the Force (HoF) Survey
Leaders,
Request your assistance in taking this year’s Health of Force (HoF) Survey, and spreading the word for your subordinate commands to do the same. In 2022, our HoF participation rate increased by double of the previous year – this year I hope we can do even better. To help spread the word, I’ve attached the HoF NAVADMIN and supporting Fact Sheet. Next year, we will be able to accelerate the HoF to the Spring to better separate it from the new Annual CCA window.
The following link can be used to access and participate in the survey. The Fact Sheet includes a QR code for those who wish to take the survey on their phone.
https://usnavy.gov1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3mk65UxsLQgMMjI
Results from HoF and the Defense Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS) enable us better understand our Service culture and climate at the organizational level, as well as within specific units, communities, and subsets of personnel. Insights from these surveys provide invaluable insights into how our people are actually doing – a critical component of assessing Navy Quality of Service and ensuring mission readiness. The 2022 HoF survey data is contained in last year’s Health of Force Report, previously forwarded and available at the following link.
In reviewing the data, it is clear that as an organization, we can get better. Taking this survey is a valuable first step – we must have participation at a level to make the data statistically relevant.
Thank you in advance for your leadership and advocacy. Standing by for any questions or concerns.
VR
VADM Rick Cheeseman
Chief of Naval Personnel (CNP)
2024 Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) Annual Meeting – Call for Breakout Session Presentations, Posters, and Award Submissions
The 2024 Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) annual meeting is scheduled to be held 12-15 February 2024 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
The Surgeon General is requesting submissions for prospective breakout presentations.
The following are preferred topics for breakout sessions at AMSUS:
o Initiatives / projects that support new and evolving operational medicine capabilities
o Topics that directly speak to our man/train/equip mission
o Topics that support our warfighting concepts of Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO), Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment (LOCE), and Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO)
o Topics that support Joint and/or allies/partners in the operational realm
o Topics that focus on multi-modal patient movement within the maritime domain
o Initiatives that focus on and enhance access to care attainment in garrison
Panel presentations are preferred over single individual presentations. Each panel discussion may have up to four (4) speakers.
Prospective breakout session presentation should provide:
o Title of the Breakout Session
o Presenter(s) names, CVs and email addresses, please identify the panel chair
o A single paragraph summary of the presentation
o 3-5 learning outcomes from the presentation
Prospective breakout session submissions should be emailed no later than 01 SEPT 2023 to CDR Robyn Treadwell.
Further guidance will be provided for presentations selected by the Surgeon General.
Posters – the platform for AMSUS poster abstracts opens 10 JUL 2023 and is an open process. A link to the poster submission portal will follow.
Awards – the platform for AMSUS award nominations will open 01 JUL 2023 and close 15 SEP 2023. A link to the awards submission portal to follow. Full description of AMSUS awards can be found on the website at www.amsus.org.
Acting SG 4th of July Message
Shipmates,
On July 4th, 1776, thirteen American colonies signed the Declaration of Independence. Ten months before that momentous document was signed, the Continental Navy was born, and their ships became an extension of American influence and power around the world. On the decks of those wooden ships stood Sailors trained to take the lives of those that threatened America’s interests and territorial sovereignty and those charged with saving the lives of their comrades in arms. Therefore, Navy Medicine was forged by the sea. From the beginning, Navy Sailors have been saving lives and treating the physical and emotional wounds of war for 247 years.
Today, Navy Medicine is a global force for good. Our Medical, Dental, Nurse, Medical Service, and Hospital Corps along with our valued civilians provide the highest quality of care to Sailors, Marines, and their families here at home, overseas, and while deployed to the pointy tip of the spear. Our scientists are pioneering breakthroughs in physiology, microbiology, biomedical engineering, psychology, epidemiology, and using artificial intelligence to help diagnose and treat diseases. Our ability to provide competent medical personnel, deployable platforms, and exceptional care is foundational to America’s ability to defend our interests, maintain territorial sovereignty, and honor commitments to our maritime partners around the world.
On behalf of a grateful nation, I want to extend a heartfelt debt of gratitude to all our active-duty, reserve, civilian, and contract personnel serving on expeditionary medical platforms, conducting cutting-edge medical research for our warfighters, and working in military medical treatment facilities around the world for the lifesaving work they do. All of us in Navy Medicine are doing work that has a real and tangible impact on the lives of our service members, their families, and humanity.
I wish you all a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. Thank you for what you do each day for Navy Medicine, the Navy, and this Nation.
V/R,
RDML Darin K. Via
Medical Corps, United States Navy
Acting Navy Surgeon General
Acting Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Specialty Leader Spotlights
As part of a multi-pronged approach to recruitment and retention, the BUMED PAO is producing specialty leader spotlight videos. Please watch, share, and use to motivate our force!
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/888650/navy-medicine-specialty-radiation-oncology
They’ll be appearing every few hours on NM’s Youtube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@USNavyMedicine/videos
https://www.flickr.com/photos/navymedicine/albums/72157715033742138 is where they will be on Flickr.
https://archive.org/details/usnavybumedhistoryoffice?query=Navy+Medicine+Specialty+Leaders&sort=-publicdate will pull them up on the Medical Heritage Library.
Reminder to Graduating Residents – You are Now Eligible for GMO Incentive Pay
Congratulations to those who graduated residency. Medical Corps officers who complete initial residency on active duty are eligible for the General Medical Officer (GMO) Incentive Pay (IP) the day after completing residency. For those who complete residency while not on active duty (NADDS), they are eligible on they day they report to their permanent command.
This means you need to go to your Special Pays coordinator, if you haven’t already, and apply for the GMO IP. It increases you from a residency IP of $8,000 per year to the GMO IP of $20,000 per year.
Finance Friday Articles
- Despite all the nay-saying, 60/40 is here to stay
- For Safety’s Sake
- House Defense Bill Advances 5.2-Percent Basic Pay Raise
- How to Spend More in Retirement
- Senators back 5.2% pay raise for troops, but not other salary boosts
- Spending Tip: Don’t
- The Moderate-Income Physician
- Thrift Savings Plan: Taking the Good with the Bad
- What the rapid rise in rates could mean for investors
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 