Report to the COA and COF Boards Legislative, Executive Branch, News Media Outreach. and Other Activities 01-31 December 2020 A

Home , Jerome Adams

Report to the COA and COF Boards Legislative, Executive Branch, News Media Outreach. and Other Activities 01-31 December 2020

ACTIVITIES BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 12/1/2020 Jacque attended the Veteran’s Administration VSO Communicators meeting.

12/2/2020 The PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation held their monthly Executive Committee meeting. 12/3/2020 Jacque attended the monthly meeting of The Military Coalition. TRICARE Select Group A will begin paying enrollment fees in January. DHA Executives Meeting in November announced that SecDef Esper issued a letter on November 9th to resume the transition of MTFs to DHA; however, the downsizing of the MTFs is on hold. 12/4/2020 A meeting of the COA Executive Committee was held.

12/6-12/10 Jacque attended the annual meeting of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) which was hosted this year by the U.S. Public Health Service. Keynote speakers were Admiral Brett Giroir and VADM Jerome Adams. 12/7/2020 Jacque and COF President RADM (ret.) Steve Solomon met with Cause Inspired Media staff to launch the COF website and logo redesign. 12/14/2020 COA hosted a “COA Gathering” featuring VADM (ret.) Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States, who presented a motivational talk to the membership. Also presenting was RADM Brandon Taylor, COA Board Chair, sharing a talk on “Promotion Readiness for the Upcoming Cycle.” The Zoom Large Meeting had 342 individual registrations and approximately 250 who attended the 1.5 hour video presentation. 12/15/2020 Jacque attended a Personnel Committee Meeting of The Military Coalition to discuss 2021 committee goals. 12/15/2020 COA staff attended a Town Hall meeting hosted by our association management system (AMS) provider “Your Management.” Topics of discussion were their recent and frequent service disruptions due to a problem they experienced with a significant increase in unfriendly automated traffic (“bots”). They engaged engineers from the Microsoft Premier Support and Engineering practice and implemented a diagnostic tool designed to collect deep forensic data. The security team has reviewed each customer’s environment and found no evidence of compromise. The YM database is not meeting the needs of COA or COF, and staff are considering a proposal to switch our AMS in the next fiscal year. 12/15/2020 A meeting of the Board Executive Leadership Committee was held. Board member CDR Brad Cunningham attended the meeting as well. 12/16/2020 International SOS hosted a virtual holiday luncheon and presentation on their upcoming TRICARE Overseas Program (TOP) contract. Lunch was provided by individual home delivery. 12/17/2020 CAPT Karen Munoz, through the COA Local Branch Committee hosted an “Open Mic Night” where 12 members performed their music using the Zoom platform. XXX members registered and XXX attended. Jacque and Donna attended this fun event. 12/18/2020 Jacque had a meeting with USAA re: advertising in upcoming issues of Frontline.

12/21/2020 Jacque had a meeting with Merck & Co. re: advertising in upcoming issues of Frontline. ACTIVITIES BY DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS 12/01/2020 The Military Coalition’s Retirement Committee held a scheduled meeting with President-Elect Biden’s Transition Team. Judy participated. 12/01/2020 Judy participated in a meeting of the Nursing Community Coalition. 12/03/2020 Judy attended the January general meeting of The Military Coalition.

12/16/2020 On COA’s behalf, Judy signed two letters circulated by the Nursing Community Coalition. They welcome new members of Congress.

12/16/2020 Along with Jacque, Judy was treated to a two-hour virtual holiday lunch meeting with representatives of the TRICARE Overseas Program (TOP.)

12/17/2020 Judy staffed COA’s Legislative Affairs Committee, which met at noon.

12/17/2020 Judy attended a one-hour webinar aimed at helping Washington lobbyists improve their skills in the context of the pandemic. 12/21/2020 At the urging of APHA, COA signed a letter urging withdrawal of an executive order thought to have a chilling effect on diversity programs.

12/23/2020 Judy represented COA in a coalition that tried (unsuccessfully) to win passage of two maternal health bills, HR 4995 and HR 4996.

12/24/2020 Judy reviewed the 83-page matrix comparing TMC legislative positions with provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act.

12/30/2020 As COA’s rep in a coalition supporting critical health programs in Indian Country, Judy reviewed bipartisan funding proposals.

NOTE: The COA/COF headquarters office is closed due to the pandemic; all staff are working remotely and going to the office on an as needed basis only. HQ staff meet weekly by Zoom videoconference. The office was closed from 12/24/2020 to 12/31/2020 for the holiday period.