The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff talked about what it feels like to be the highest ranking enlisted person in the armed services as well as other topics pressing today's military during a visit here recently.
During a multi-country USO holiday tour, Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, has visited troops, U.S. combatant commanders and military leaders in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and now Germany on his first major trip as SEAC.
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Despite questions about whether the Walgreens pharmacy chain will continue as a TRICARE provider, beneficiaries will have several options for filling prescriptions, Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen M. Lainez said today.
The retail pharmacy contract between Express Scripts Inc., or ESI, and the Walgreens pharmacy chain is set to expire on Dec. 31, Lainez added.
If the contract is not renewed, Walgreens will no longer be a pharmacy network provider, she said, but beneficiaries will be able to find a nearby network pharmacy using the "find a pharmacy" feature at the ESI website,
http://www.express-scripts.com/tricare.
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Registration for the Air Force Marathon will open Jan. 1, 2012, at midnight with a special one day-only price.
For Jan. 1 only, the full marathon is $75; half marathon is $60; 10K is $35; and the 5K is $20.
"We've offered special pricing on January 1st for the last few years, and it has helped get our registration off the starting blocks quickly," said Molly Louden, the Air Force Marathon director. "I think our incredibly fast sellout last year will only help speed it along. People know they can't wait too late if they want a spot."
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No one complained about the rain during 24th Air Force's war fit physical training here Dec. 19.
Complaining was not an option when two amputees from American300 Warrior Tours led the way.
Chad Crittenden, a CBS' Survivor contestant, and Mike Schultz, an ESPN's X Games adaptive gold medalist, didn't have to say anything to inspire people to be their best, but each man took time to talk to every Airman who had a question after their workout.
Robi Powers, the American300 Foundation founder and managing director, was there and talked about the organization's program and its dedication to raising resiliency in American military members, their families and the communities in which they live.
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Air Force officials announced the next chapter in a partnership with the Royal Saudi Air Force as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently signed a $29.4 billion Foreign Military Sales Letter of Offer and Acceptance solidifying their plans to purchase 84 F-15SA fighter aircraft and upgrade their current fleet of 70 F-15S aircraft to the SA configuration.
"We are excited about this program and the increased capability it will bring to Saudi Arabia, a strategically important partner in the Middle East region," said Heidi Grant, the deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. "Building partner capacity is becoming even more important and the Royal Saudi Air Force is undertaking a vast effort to not only modernize their fighter fleet but to invest heavily in quality training."
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A failed two-point conversion gave the Toledo Rockets a 42-41 win over Air Force in the Military Bowl Dec. 28.
The game was an expected offensive shootout featuring two teams that scored a combined 920 points this season. The two teams gave just that to a national television audience, with 35 points scored just in the first half, and going into the halftime tied up at 28-all.
This shoutout featured 746 yards of offense and boiled down to a 42-35 deficit for Air Force with just under five minutes left and 78 yards to go to tie the game.
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Christmas spirit was stolen away from a deployed Airman serving in
Afghanistan when his home in south Florida was burglarized and all of his kids' Christmas presents taken from beneath the tree days before Christmas.
As a
combat-search-and-rescue helicopter crew chief, Staff Sgt. Kristopher Castillobrock, deployed from the
920th Rescue Wing here, received the news from home after a day of launching life-saving missions out of Kandahar Airfield to rescue injured service members.
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The Department of Defense has implemented a temporary moratorium on the sales of products containing DMAA within military facilities.
The moratorium will remain in effect pending further review of relevant scientific evidence and reported events, officials said.
Recent reports show that two Soldier deaths and additional adverse health effects in other service members may be related to the use of dietary supplements containing DMAA, which is also known as dimethylamylamine.
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Air Force officials announced Dec. 28, the 2011D Chaplains, Line of the Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps, Nurse Corps, Medical Services Corps and Biomedical Sciences Corps Quarterly Captain Selection Process selected 133 first lieutenants for promotion.
The entire list of promotees for each rank can be found
here.
The boards considered 134 lieutenants for promotion. The results of the boards are as follows:
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Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta added a pointed anti-bullying directive to a holiday message sent Dec. 23 to service members around the world.
"I cannot be more proud of who you are and what you represent as you serve and sacrifice for our great nation," the message read, in part. "With that honor, is the responsibility to show by example our core values that demand we treat everyone with dignity and respect at all times.
"In that vein, let me be clear," the secretary continued. "I will not tolerate any instance where one service member inflicts any form of physical or psychological abuse that degrades, insults, dehumanizes or injures another service member."
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