FederalDaily - December 5, 2005
Traumatic Injury Coverage for Servicemembers
The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced the implementation of traumatic
injury insurance that will be a part of the Servicemembers’ Group Life
Insurance (SGLI). As of Dec. 1, 2005, the coverage (called TSGLI) will apply
to all servicemembers that accept SGLI coverage and it will provide traumatic
injury protection of up to $100,000. The monthly premium will increase by one
dollar. The new coverage will not impact any disability compensation provided
by DoD or the Department of Veterans Affairs. TSGLI provides coverage for losses
due to a specific one-time event, whereas disability compensation gives ongoing
compensation for lost income potential from a service-related injury. Any servicemember
that received a qualifying loss between Oct. 7, 2001, and Dec. 1, 2005, can
receive the TSGLI benefit if the injury was a direct result of Operation Enduring
Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom operations.
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MSPB Calls for Improved Federal Hiring
Most federal hiring officials call a few of their applicant’s references
before making a job offer, but they may not be getting useful information from
these phone calls, according to a new Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)
report, “Reference Checking in Federal Hiring: Making the Call,” which
was released on Dec. 1. “By using reference checks effectively, selecting
officials are able to hire applicants with a strong history of performance,
rather than those who may have creatively exaggerated less impressive achievements,” said
MSPB Chairman Neil A.G. McPhie. Long-term benefits of conducting reference
checks include avoiding the costs of a bad hire, maintaining coworker morale
by making quality hires, and gaining the public’s trust that federal
managers take hiring seriously, the MSPB report said.
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Burning Bodies Not Criminal
Coalition officials recently released an executive summary of the investigation
into U.S. soldiers burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters, which found
that the actions taken were not war crimes. The Combined Joint Task Force-76
Commanding General, Army Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, announced the results and
actions taken as a result of the investigation into the events occurring Oct.
1 near Gumbad, Afghanistan. The Geneva Convention allows for the cremation
of enemy remains for hygiene and religious reasons. Over 24 hours after the
combat sequence, nearby villagers still had not retrieved the remains. Because
of the rocky terrain the bodies could not be buried—with the hot temperatures
and the unit expected to be at the location for two additional days, the bodies
were burned for hygienic purposes, according to the report. It added that soldiers
were unaware of Islamic customs forbidding cremation. The reprimanded soldiers
received nonjudicial, administrative punishment and cultural awareness training
will be provided, the report stated.
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