Department Of Defense Policies Research Articles

Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces that Changed a Nation by Steven P. Brown

Reviewed by: Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces that Changed a Nation by Steven P. Brown R. Volney Riser Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces that Changed a Nation. By Steven P. Brown. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 2020. 280 pp. $49.95. ISBN 978-0-8173-2070-6. Decorated Auburn University political scientist Steven Brown’s Alabama Justice offers in book form a more complete portrait of the cases featured in his recent travelling exhibit of the same name that was offered in conjunction with the state’s recent bicentennial commemorations. To be clear, though, this is no mere companion volume. Rather, it is a broad-ranging and useful primer on Alabama’s peculiar place in American jurisprudence. Brown selected seven landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions that originated from actions by Alabama state and municipal officials and an eighth, which examined U.S. Department of Defense policies as they operated upon service members stationed in the state, that originated in the state’s federal courts. These cases address criminal procedure (Powell v. Alabama); First Amendment cases involving free association [End Page 192] (NAACP v. Alabama), press freedom (New York Times v. Sullivan), and state-sanctioned religious practice (Wallace v. Jaffree); legislative and municipal apportionment (Gomillion v. Lightfoot and Reynolds v. Sims); discrimination in public accommodations (Katzenbach v. McLung); and sex discrimination (Frontiero v. Richardson). Brown devotes a concluding ninth chapter to the three U.S. Supreme Court Justices from Alabama: John McKinley, of whom Brown authored an excellent biography [John McKinley and the Antebellum Supreme Court (Tuscaloosa, AL, 2012)], John Archibald Campbell, and Hugo Black (who notably took part in six of the eight decisions Brown examined). Though Alabama produced two Supreme Court justices in the nineteenth century, the state did not generate landmark Supreme Court decisions until the twentieth century. The notorious Giles cases of 1903–1904 were the first, and the state’s remarkable run of (usually) Supreme Court defeats only began in the 1930s, a decade when, perhaps not coincidentally, the state adopted as the official motto “We Dare Defend Our Rights.” As Brown notes in his introduction, inquiries into Alabama’s role in U.S. Constitutional jurisprudence are perhaps not properly framed as “Why Alabama?” but “Why Alabamians?,” and over the course of the twentieth century at least a plurality of the voting populace sanctioned and cheered successive attempts by the state’s officers and legal advocates to stand athwart prevailing national jurisprudential trends (3). This does not claim to be a comprehensive catalog, either, of all the times Alabama or Alabamians directly or indirectly came before the nation’s highest bar. Wallace v. Jaffree, the “moment of silence” case is included, while Marsh v. Alabama, one of the 1940s Jehovah’s Witnesses cases, is not. Lightfoot v Gomillion is here, but Mobile v. Bolden, which limited the former’s application, is not. And, neither the infamous Giles cases, which effectively sanctioned the state’s 1901 disfranchisement scheme, nor Hunter v. Underwood, which struck down the first infamous iteration of Alabama’s “moral turpitude” standard for criminal disfranchisement, are here. This reviewer mentions these not to fault Professor Brown, who operated within literal and figurative space constraints, but to underscore the point [End Page 193] that Alabama’s frequent appearances in weighty twentieth-century jurisprudential disputes extend well beyond the pages of this text. Professor Brown has laid down a valuable marker for Alabama’s place in U.S. Constitutional jurisprudence, one that simultaneous commemorates the prior two hundred years and that can serve as a foundation for scholarly work, reflection, and law-making to come. [End Page 194] R. Volney Riser University of West Alabama Copyright © 2022 Alabama Historical Association

A Time-Series Analysis of the Association Between Occupational Health Policies and Opioid Prescription Patterns in United States Active Duty Military Service Members From 2006 to 2018.

The Department of Defense (DoD) implemented numerous occupational health policies to guide opioid prescribing to active duty military service members (ADSM). This retrospective time series analysis evaluated the impact of DoD policies on opioid prescribing trends in ADSM from 2006 to 2018. Bayesian structural time-series models with a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for posterior inference and a semi-local linear trend were constructed to estimate the impact of polices. Results indicate annual opioid proportions significantly decreased after the introduction of occupational health policies introduced in 2011 to 2012. Collectively, occupational policies were associated with a significant reduction (6.6%) in annual opioid rates to ADSM following 2012. This observed effect was associated with approximately 121,000 less opioid prescriptions dispensed in 2018 alone. Occupational health policy interventions were associated with reductions in opioid prescribing within the DoD.

Maximizing VA Benefits for Survivors of Military Sexual Trauma: A Practical Guide for Survivors and Their Advocates

INTRODUCTION Military Sexual Trauma (MST) an imprecise term that basically relates to or repeated, unsolicited, threatening acts of sexual harassment that occurs during military (1) Despite a variety of definitions for assault and (e.g., some including verbal harassment), (2) and differences in populations sampled (e.g., active duty members versus treatment-seeking veterans), (3) estimates consistently indicate that that just over 20% of females and 1 % of males are sexually assaulted in a physical manner during their service. (4) The numbers rise substantially to 20% of males and 70% of females in studies where verbal trauma included in the definition. (5) Importantly, the term MST was created to capture the different forms of sexual maltreatment reported by military personnel. (6) Thus, MST is not a syndrome, diagnosis, or construct associated with clear treatment indications. (7) Instead, it represents a type of stressor that can result in such maladies. (8) Recent and renewed interest in the MST epidemic has resulted in legislative proposals to revamp the entire military justice system to hold perpetrators accountable and encourage survivors to report their abuse, (9) as well as ongoing efforts within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to accommodate MST survivors' needs for medical treatment and empathic, bias-free benefits adjudication. (10) However, commentators emphasize the likelihood that pervasive systemic oversights within the VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) will result in continued incidences of MST among active duty service members and the erroneous denial of VA benefits to MST survivors who, in many cases, desperately need and rightfully deserve them. While legal clinics and scholars have suggested broad reforms of VA and DoD policies on MST in the long term, (11) this Article offers a short-term practical orientation for working within the current constructs for documenting, substantiating, and adjudicating MST claims. We focus mainly on the issue of disability compensation because of its instrumental value to MST survivors, above and beyond the current free health care at VA facilities that has been made available to any person who claims to have suffered from MST, even if a former service member would otherwise be ineligible for the full array of VA benefits. (12) Although the VA offers survivors the ability to obtain care for MST-related psychiatric and physical conditions, it struggles to overcome significant hurdles facing MST survivors. For example, many veterans face: (1) tremendous discomfort requesting benefits for sexual assaults, especially from revisiting the details of their abuse; (13) (2) residual effects of the VA's historic difficulty maintaining sensitivity to gender which manifests in male survivors having to interact with VA programs that focus almost exclusively on women's needs, (14) and female survivors often fearing that they may have to interact with male veterans at VA facilities who appear little different than their abusers, even if the facility has professionals with specialized services oriented to women; (15) (3) the VA's affiliation with the military, which can fuel concerns that the VA represents the same interests as a military organization that quite possibly ignored the survivor's complaints or even retaliated against the survivor for making a complaint regarding the victimization; (16) (4) an adjudicatory system that requires MST survivors to prove by a 50% chance or greater that their occurred, despite presumptions of service-connection for combat-related mental or physical conditions; (17) (5) the fact that the VA continues to deny a significant number of MST claims, which undermines the VA's efforts at outreach to this population of survivors, specifically; (18) and, most significantly, (6) the fact that health care alone cannot address the significant consequences of MST on one's employment opportunities and employability, which often results in women victims' suspicion and distrust of male coworkers and a variety of other consequences, especially those related to self-sufficiency and independence. …

Primary Care of Men Who Have Sex With Men in the U.S. Military in the Post-Don't Ask, Don't Tell Era: A Review of Recent Progress, Health Needs, and Challenges.

With repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) in 2011 and the Supreme Court decision regarding Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 2013, military providers are now able to openly address unique health needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) service members and their same-sex spouse beneficiaries. These federal laws created health care barriers, either real or perceived, between providers and patients and often limited medical research involving LGB patients in the Military Health System (MHS). Men who have sex with men (MSM), the largest proportion of LGB service members, represent a segment of the population with the highest risks for disparities in primary care with regard to sexual health and mental health disorders. We provide a review of available research about this military population, in addition to a review of specific health care needs of the MSM patient in order to aid the primary care provider with screening, testing, and counseling. A structured literature search was conducted to identify recent literature pertaining to health needs of U.S. military MSM service members. In addition, a review of applicable clinical guidelines, Department of Defense policies, and expert opinion was used to identify areas of particular relevance. There is little published to characterize the MSM population and their health needs as beneficiaries of the MHS. Only recently have directed assessments of the active-duty MSM patient population been pursued in the post-DADT, DOMA era. Unique needs of the MSM patient identified center around both sexual and mental health, disparities that are paralleled within the nonmilitary MSM population. Population-specific epidemiology driving risk for sexually transmitted illnesses, substance abuse, and mental health disorders are identified and used to inform preventive medicine recommendations for the MSM patient. In addition, resources on MSM health for the health provider are included. The MHS at large now openly serves the MSM population and is making progress toward addressing their unique health needs. Despite ongoing challenges to address remaining disparities, MSM patients, beneficiaries, and primary providers are now more able to have frank, open discussions about specific health needs of this minority segment of the U.S. military without fear of reprisal.

Transforming Transformers into Militainment: Interrogating the DoD‐Hollywood Complex

AbstractThis article examines how the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and Hollywood collaborated to manufacture the blockbuster films Transformers (T) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (TRF) to sell in global markets and to sell a positive image of DoD personnel, policy, technology, and practice to the world. T and TRF are global militainment films made by the “DoD‐Hollywood complex” to make money in markets and put the U.S. military before the world in a positive light. To show how, the article's first section defines the “DoD‐Hollywood complex,” presents a brief 20th‐century history of its formation, and describes the current DoD institutions, policies, and practices that fuse DoD publicity agencies to Hollywood filmmakers. The second section highlights how DoD assisted T and TRF's production and contemplates why Hollywood solicited DoD support. The third section shows how T and TRF put DoD in a positive light. The conclusion addresses some of the consequences of T and TRF with regard to democratic theory. By showing T and TRF to be global militainment commodities, this article interrogates the nexus of “reel” and “real” U.S. military power and sheds light on how DoD interacts with Hollywood studios to influence how it gets screened by entertainment media and seen by global spectators.

Optimizing fitness for duty and post-combat clinical services for military personnel and combat veterans with ADHD—a systematic review of the current literature

BackgroundAttention deficit hyper activity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder, most often diagnosed in childhood, and characterized by hyperactivity and inattention that negatively impacts one's ability to function and fulfill social and personal obligations. Individuals with past history of ADHD may enlist in the military under certain conditions, however the full impact of military training and deployment of later in life ADHD symptoms is unclear. It is of particular interest how military experience may affect ADHD in remission and if such individuals might be at elevated risk for relapse of ADHD symptoms.MethodWe performed a systematic review f the available literature including the Department of Defense (DOD) guidelines for both eligibility to enlist and fitness for deployment based on reported history and current symptomatology of ADHD.ResultsThe after care for veterans with ADHD relapse is inconsistent and presents with number of challenges. We evaluate the DOD policies regarding the implications of ADHD for fitness for military service and post-combat mental health.ConclusionThe full extend of the interaction between pre-existing ADHD and post-combat PTSD are not fully understood. The development of comprehensive and clear algorithms for diagnosing and treating ADHD in the military before and after deployment will have a strong positive impact on the quality of care delivered to soldiers and veterans.

Book Review: Social Media Go to War: Rage, Rebellion and Revolution in the Age of Twitter, edited by Ralph D. Berenger

Social Media Go to War: Rage, Rebellion and Revolution in the Age of Twitter. Ralph D. Berenger, ed. Spokane, WA: Marquette Books, 2013. 531 pp. $49.95 pbk.This third book in a trilogy from Marquette Books examines the uses and impact of social media in conflicts throughout the world, particularly in Northern Africa and the Middle East. The volume consists of twenty-eight essays from thirty-nine authors, and as with the first two books in the series (Global Media Go to War and Cybermedia Go to War), this volume draws on scholars with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Some of the con- tributors are graduate students; some are journalists. Many are scholars who live and work in the Middle East. Berenger, who also edited the other volumes in the series, is a professor of mass communication at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and author of numerous studies on media behavior in times of crisis.Five essays in Part 1 consider the theoretical constructs and ideologies that help explain the impact social media had on world uprisings from 2008 until 2013. An essay by the late John C. Merrill leads off the section with a look at ideological forces driving political upheavals. Steven Dick and Katharine R. Allen contribute essays that consider how existing mass communication theories might be applied to social media. Sohail Dahdal explores how Al Jazeera, a popular television series, and social media contributed to the rise of Arab Nationalism. Lt. Col. Jennifer A. Berenger concludes the section with a look at U.S. Department of Defense policies concerning soldiers' use of social media.Part 2 presents case studies of social media use prior to the Arab Spring. This sec- tion includes Byron T. Scott and Ellada Gamreklidze's report on how social media was used during Georgia's war with Russia in 2008; Basma Botros and Melanie Mills' look at the contribution of Facebook to an Egyptian youth movement in 2008; Martin A. Parlett's report of how Barack Obama used social media during the 2008 election; Katherine R. Allen's report on a Cuban blogger; and Catherine Cassara's essay on Tunisian citizen journalists. The section also includes essays by Melissa Wall and Treepon Kirdnak who look at the use of YouTube videos in Thailand; Tim Macafee and J. J. De Simone, who studied social media use during the recall election of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker; and Margaret D'Silva, Siobhan Smith, and Girish Nikam, who discuss how social media helped free an Indian civil rights activist.Part 3 focuses on Iran's presidential election protests in 2009. The five essays in this section include a historical overview by Irfan Raja, a report from Cora Werwitzke and Jurgen Wilke on social media use during the mass demonstrations of June 2009, Emily A. …

Offen et al. Respond

LETTERS SMOKING AND TOBACCO USE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Offen et al. provide an insightful review of the complexity of enacting tobacco control policy at the federal level, as seen in their case study of the efforts by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to adopt a smoking ban in VA medical facilities in the early 1990s. 1 As the authors indicated, tobacco use among the US military has traditionally been higher than among the civilian population. 1 In recent years, however, the VA has made great strides in reducing the rate of smoking among veterans served. For veterans enrolled in the VA health care system in 2011, the proportion of smokers was 19.7%, 2 comparable to the 19.0% reported for the United States as a whole in 2011. 3 Although federal law still requires that VA health care facilities provide areas where pa- tients can smoke, 1 progress has been made in reducing exposure to secondhand smoke for both veterans and VA employees. In citing a 2005 VA survey on smoking and tobacco use cessation within the VA, the authors incorrectly stated that one quarter of 783 smoking sites reported by VA facilities were indoors. 1 In fact, Letters to the editor referring to a recent Journal article are encouraged up to 3 months after the article's appearance. By submitting a letter to the editor, the author gives permission for its publication in the Journal. Letters should not duplicate material being published or submitted elsewhere. The editors reserve the right to edit and abridge letters and to publish responses. Text is limited to 400 words and 10 references. Submit online at www. editorialmanager.com/ajph for immediate Web posting, or at ajph.edmgr.com for later print publication. Online responses are automatically considered for print publication. Queries should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief, Mary E. Northridge, PhD, MPH, at men6@nyu.edu. all 783 smoking sites were outdoor smoking areas or shelters. 4 The 2005 survey actually reported that 36 out of 158 VA facilities (23%) still had an indoor smoking area somewhere at the facility, mainly in nursing homes and in- patient psychiatric units. 4 Although still far from ideal, by 2009 this number had dropped to 19 facilities; 88% had complete indoor smoke-free policies in place. 5 In referring to military and veteran facilities, it is important to note that the Department of Defense (DoD) and the VA are distinct federal executive branch agencies. Their vari- ous policies and initiatives are independent of each other, reflecting the differences in their populations and missions. Thus, in de- scribing the VA tobacco control efforts as a pattern of “advance and retreat,” the authors incorrectly attribute DoD policies and initia- tives to the VA. 1,6 The article they cited discusses DoD initiatives only, not the VA or VA policies. 6 This misperception that the two departments operate as a single unit is not uncommon, but it is one that must be avoided in future studies. j Kim Hamlett-Berry, PhD Dana E. Christofferson, PhD Richard A. Martinello, MD About the Authors The authors are with the Veterans Health Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC. Correspondence should be sent to Kim Hamlett-Berry, PhD, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue (10P3B), Washington, DC 20640 (e-mail: kim.hamlett@va. gov). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints” link. This letter was accepted April 3, 2013. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301375 Note. The authors certify that there is no financial conflict of interest with any financial organization with interest in the subject matter discussed in the letter. The views expressed here represent those of the authors and not necessarily those of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Contributors K. Hamlett-Berry and D. E. Christofferson drafted the letter. R. A. Martinello supervised the overall writing and edited the final version. July 2013, Vol 103, No. 7 | American Journal of Public Health Acknowledgments The authors thank Richard Kaslow, MD, for his insightful comments.

Major Study Will Assess 'What Works' in PTSD Care

Major Study Will Assess 'What Works' in PTSD Care

When the Department of Defense Writes the Rules: A History of Changes to Policy Instructions Governing the Stars and Stripes Newspaper

This study examines the original language and revisions to two Department of Defense policies governing the Stars and Stripes, a unique American newspaper serving overseas military members and families. At times, some of those changes have increased Pentagon oversight and stripped freedoms from the journalists or the newspaper, which is intended to provide reliable news and original reporting to the troops. Despite the newspaper’s journalistic successes, the review finds that regular independent oversight is needed to protect the editorial freedoms of the newspaper.

Ecological Risk Assessment within the U.S. Department of Defense

While documentation exists on how the Department of Defense (DOD) develops ecological risk assessments (ERAs), there has been no effort to provide an in-depth evaluation of ongoing ERA activities and to discuss potential advancements that could be made to globally improve DOD ERAs. The focus of this research is on the use of ERA techniques and strategies based on the evaluation of past and current DOD research, guidance, and policies, and site-specific (i.e., installation-level) ERA activities. Approaches used by the DOD to evaluate ecological risks are discussed along with recommendations for improvement. This is supplemented by case studies that provide insight into the diversity of ERA activities and influences of stakeholder input at the installation level. Also described are: the importance of providing sufficient guidance to risk managers in regards to whether remediation is needed, what the potential ecological impacts are likely to occur from restoration activities, and recommendations regarding potential remedies most likely to be protective of the site contaminants and most beneficial to the site-specific ecosystem.

Partnering with nondefense stakeholders to improve environmental policy and explosives safety standards for munitions—A case study

AbstractThe authors describe how effective partnering among Department of Defense (DOD) representatives, state and tribal agencies, and stakeholders from environmental advocacy groups and the public at large can improve DOD policies and standards, and simultaneously further environmental protection goals. The process of shaping the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB) standards and the DOD's Final Munitions Rule Implementation Policy serves as a case study for the benefits of mutual openness, knowledge, and trust among regulators, the regulated community, and other interested parties. For DOD, this approach also reflects a continuing trend away from the old culture of closed doors and sovereign immunity carve‐outs to a new era of open dialogue and improved environmental stewardship.

Military on Campus: Budget Threats Force Policy Reversal

T wo California universities have backed off plans to phase out their ROTC programs. San Jose State University and California State University, Sacramento, both of which objected to Department of Defense policies on gays in the military, turned around after Defense officials informed them that they stood to lose millions of dollars in federal research funds under a new budget measure passed last fall.

Department of Defense Profit Policy and Capital Investment in the Military Aircraft Industry

This paper analyzes the effect of two Department of Defense policies on the investment behavior of the military aircraft industry. The first policy concerns progress payments, which govern the rate at which Department of Defense reimburses costs expended by contractors. The second policy concerns a markup on capital equipment, which was explicitly designed to promote investment. The effects of these policies are examined using time-series data on four large aerospace contractors. Copyright 1992 by MIT Press.

Teaching the Client About Anticoagulants

At the time this article was written, MAJOR DONALD A. THOMPSON, RN, MSN, Army Nurse Corps, was stationed at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, Texas, where he coordinated outpatient anticoagulation and cardiac rehabilitation in the cardiology clinic. The opinions expressed in this article are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily represent Department of the Army and Department of Defense policies.

Pricing Policies in Government Contracts

The federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the nation.' In this capacity, the government buys all types of items from pencils to spacecraft. However, the bulk of the money spent by the government is for custom-made goods or specialized services which are furnished to meet specific requirements of the various agencies. In this type purchasing, the pricing of goods and services cannot be arrived at by normal techniques in a market where sellers manufacture goods for anticipated demand. There the seller establishes the price based on competitive conditions and the buyer buys at his option. However, there is little bargaining over price. In the pricing of custom-made goods, on the other hand, the buyer becomes much more intimately involved in the determination of price. It is this position in which the federal government has found itself to a greater and greater extent in the past few years.2 As this has occurred, the government has discussed and promulgated a substantial amount of policy governing the participation of government procurement personnel in the pricing of the goods and services it buys. The purpose of this article is to analyze the techniques that are being used, the changes that have been made in this area in the past few years, and some of the possible results of the current pricing policies. In the past three years the Department of Defense, by far the largest purchaser in the government, has undertaken a major program of reviewing its pricing techniques and of revising them to accomplish new purposes. As a result of this effort, the Department of Defense has issued several important changes of policy and numerous statements clarifying its intent in changing the policy. This information contains the clearest statement of what the problems of the government are in this area and what current actions are being taken to solve these problems. This article will therefore deal primarily with these Department of Defense policies, since they represent the most significant effort to resolve the problems in pricing. It should be understood, however, that the other government agencies with major procurement