SG’s Talking Points from Specialty Leader Business Meeting
Here are the SG’s talking points from last week’s Specialty Leader Business Meeting in one slide:
November Message from the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
MHS Team:
On October 25, 2019, Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist signed a memo officially directing the transfer of authority, direction, and control of Military Treatment Facilities across the United States to the Defense Health Agency. While this formal directive marks an important milestone in the MTF transition process, it is only the most recent. The Military Health System’s work to date has resulted in significant progress to implement key provisions of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. We transitioned the first phase of hospitals and clinics to the DHA last October and published more than 100 standardized policies since January 2018, with 29 more projected for publication by the end of the year. This progress reflects great momentum toward standardizing performance measures across the military medical enterprise and eliminating unnecessary variability, while moving to a more integrated system of readiness and health care delivery.
Earlier this month, I joined DHA Director LTG Ron Place and the Service medical leadership to share updates on MHS reform efforts with the Military/Veterans Service Organizations (MSO/VSO) Executive Council – a key stakeholder group that has long provided the MHS with invaluable insights into our beneficiaries’ experience within the health system. In recent months, MHS senior leadership has tackled head-on many of the issues MSO/VSOs have raised on behalf of beneficiaries. We reaffirmed to the MSO/VSO group that we’ve put in place a conditions-based, direct-support framework to ease the transition of MTFs to the DHA, which will help us to ensure we continue to provide our beneficiaries with access to quality care during this period of change.
I commend the teams across the MHS – at all levels – for your continued commitment to successfully implement the multiple reforms we have launched. Across Health Affairs, the Military Departments, DHA, the Uniformed Services University and the Office of the Joint Staff Surgeon, we recognize that success is a collective endeavor; our partnership to expeditiously solve problems, address gaps, and communicate successes and challenges remains key. A special thanks to senior leadership for forging this collaboration, and a warm welcome to Rear Adm. Bruce L. Gillingham, the Navy’s new Surgeon General and Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. We look forward to your contributions in your new role – welcome to the team!
Outside of reform, military medicine continues to advance the Department’s three lines of effort in support of the National Defense Strategy. Earlier this month I had the opportunity to witness this first-hand when I visited the USNS Comfort in Haiti as part of its five-month deployment to provide medical assistance in support of regional partners across the USSOUTHCOM AOR. It was an honor to join USSOUTHCOM Commander Adm. Craig Faller, Task Force 49 Mission Commander Capt. Brian Diebold, USNS Comfort MTF Commander Capt. Patrick Amersbach, and the entire USNS Comfort team as they carried out this critical medical mission. This mission is a great example of the strategic role military health care plays in advancing the NDS’s focus on building relationships with our partners and allies.
Looking ahead, I anticipate seeing many of you at next month’s AMSUS (the Society of Federal Health Professionals) annual convening at National Harbor, Maryland, where I’ll join other senior leaders to discuss our progress to date implementing significant organizational change across the MHS and to outline what’s ahead for the system.
For those who are able to take some R&R for Thanksgiving, I hope you are able to spend time with friends and family and return refreshed. As I reflect on this uniquely American holiday, I’m grateful for the men and women who protect and defend our freedom and for the families who support them, and I thank all of you for what you do to sustain the health system that supports them.
Tom
Director of Mental Health – NMCP – O5/O6
NMC Portsmouth is looking for their next Director for Mental Health. This position is open to anyone inbound to the command or eligible with Detailer clearance. Announcement/Position Description is right here.
Packages are due to Ms. Cynthia Jones (contact in the global and in the announcement above) NLT 2 DEC 2019.
NMCP Hosts ‘The Future of Military Medicine’ Discussion Panel
Here’s a link to this article about a panel I was on:
NMCP Hosts ‘The Future of Military Medicine’ Discussion Panel
Do the TSP Target Date Funds Miss the Mark?
Blooom is an on-line financial advisory service that will manage your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and other retirement accounts for only $10/month. On another blog I wrote an article about them and some readers got into a Twitter dialogue with them. During this dialogue it was suggested that an investor doesn’t need to pay $10/month for an advisor because you can always just use target date funds if you don’t want to manage your investments yourself. Blooom’s response pointed to a blog post of theirs about target date funds and all the problems associated with them. Let’s take a look at their post and see if the points they raise are valid when compared to the TSP’s target date funds, the Lifecycle Funds.
What’s a Target Date Fund?
According to Investopedia, a target date fund is:
A fund offered by an investment company that seeks to grow assets over a specified period of time for a targeted goal. Target-date funds are usually named by the year in which the investor plans to begin utilizing the assets. The funds are structured to address a capital need at some date in the future, such as retirement. The asset allocation of a target-date fund is therefore a function of the specified timeframe available to meet the targeted investment objective. A target-date fund’s risk tolerance become more conservative as it approaches its objective target date.
The Lifecycle or L Funds are the TSP’s version of target date funds. You can read my deep dive on them if you like for more information.
Are the Lifecycle Funds Too Conservative?
Yes, in my opinion, the L Funds are too conservative when compared to other target date funds and the fact that many of us will have an inflation-adjusted pension. To compensate you can always just pick a L fund that targets a later year. When I used the L funds in my TSP, that is what I did.
For example, if you want to retire in or around 2030 you would normally pick the L 2030. Instead you could pick the L 2040 or L 2050 to get more aggressive. That said, the most aggressive you can get with the L Funds right now is the L 2050, which is 82% stocks and 18% bonds. If you want less than 18% bonds, you can’t do that with any of the current L funds.
Do the Lifecycle Funds have High Expense Ratios?
This is a definitive no. While other target date funds can have high expenses, the L funds are composed of funds with the lowest expenses you will find anywhere. You probably cannot find a target date fund with lower expenses than the TSP L Funds.
Do the Lifecycle Funds Lack Personalization?
Yes, they do. There’s no way around this one. You can personalize them a little bit by adjusting the target date you invest in, as described above, but they are by definition standard for all investors.
I would argue that these standard asset allocations are good enough for just about everyone to come up with a reasonable investment plan. If you want a personalized plan, though, you may have to get some help or use a financial advisor.
The Bottom Line – Do the L Funds Miss the Mark?
I think it depends. They are definitely low cost, so they hit the target there. I do think that they are too conservative, but as long as you are OK with a minimum bond allocation of 18% you can just adjust that by using a fund with a target date that is further off. They are definitely not personalized, but I don’t think they need to be. The asset allocations they use would do for 99% of the people investing, including myself.
Finance Friday Articles
My favorite article this week:
Pizza Delivery is for Millionaires
Here are the rest of this week’s articles:
Be Proactive, Not Reactive When It Comes To Creating Passive Income
Don’t Compare Your Finances/Investing to Others
How Much Money Does a Doctor Need to Retire?
Maintaining a Small RV for Retirement Travel
Should You Turn Your Starter-Home into a Rental?
The Value Proposition of a Real Estate Access Fund
Updated Trinity Study Results for 2019 – More Withdrawal Rates!
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – How to Find Out Your Reporting Senior’s Fitrep Trait Average
One of the most important markers of a good fitrep is that your trait average is above your reporting senior’s trait average. Since most officers initially write their own fitrep and create their own trait average on the first draft, it is important to find out your reporting senior’s trait average so that you can try to be above it. Here are a few ways to find out what it is.
First, in order to have a trait average, your reporting senior has to have served as the reporting senior for officers of your same rank from any corps. If they have not done this, they’ll have no pre-existing average. For example, if you are a LCDR, your reporting senior does not have to have ranked LCDR physicians. If he/she has ever ranked a LCDR of any kind (nurse, line officer, etc.), then they will have an average.
If they have an average, here are the ways I know of to find it:
- If you’ve already received a fitrep from them in your current grade, then you can look at your Performance Summary Report or PSR, which you download from BUPERS On-Line. The number in the lower right in the “AVERAGES” column (circled below) is their average for that rank.
- If you haven’t received a fitrep from them, maybe you have a friend in the same rank who has received a recent fitrep from them. You can look at their PSR if they’ll let you.
- You can ask your chain of command or command fitrep coordinator. They often know because they are trying to make sure that all of the fitreps being done don’t change the reporting senior’s average in ways he/she doesn’t want.
- You can ask the reporting senior. They just may tell you.
The bottom line is that if you are drafting your fitrep, you want to try and find out the average and grade yourself above it. In the end, the ranking process may move you below it, but by submitting the draft with an above average grade you may increase the chances you stay above it.
FY20 War College Cheat Sheet
Everyone should try to get Joint Professional Military Education (JPME), especially in our new operationally focused environment. To assist you, here is the FY20 War College Cheat Sheet:
FY20 War College Cheat Sheet (Final)
I also added it to the Useful Documents page.
If you want more info about JPME, you can go to this page at Navy Personnel Command.
Global Health Specialist Program Information Package
We have put out a lot of Global Health Engagement (GHE) opportunities lately. You can see all of them past and present at this link. Many officers are wondering how they can get the GHE additional qualification designator (AQD).
Here is a information package that explains the entire program, including how to get the AQD:
Assistant Deputy Chief, M2 – Research & Development at BUMED – O5/O6
BUMED is looking for an O-5/O-6 to fill the Assistant Deputy Chief for Research and Development (M2) position in June of 2020.
CAPT Matthew Lim is the incumbent and his contact is in the global address book for questions. Here’s some additional info, if interested:
Assistant Deputy Chief Research and Development M2
Interested candidates should submit their CV and Bio to CDR Melissa Austin (also in the global) NLT 27 November with Detailer/Specialty Leader concurrence that you are eligible to PCS.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 