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IN THE MILITARY

Isle essay winner
slated to address
Go For Broke fete

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii Baptist Academy junior Kara Takekawa is scheduled to speak at the first anniversary celebration of the Go For Broke Monument in Los Angeles June 3.

Takekawa, 17, is the granddaughter of 100th Battalion Isamu Tomita and the grandniece of Kazuo Takekawa, who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Her essay, "Heroism," was the winner in last year's contest sponsored by the Sons and Daughters of the 100th Battalion in Hawaii.

Other participants at the ceremony, which will be held at the monument located in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, include actor Pat Morita.

The Go For Broke monument is located on California Avenue north of the Japanese American National Museum at East First and Alameda streets in downtown Los Angeles.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie says his package of bills aimed at improving medical care for the 47,000 active duty personnel in Hawaii and their 65,000 dependents are included in the Defense Authorization bill for fiscal year 2001, which is up for review before a key House committee. The measure also would affect Hawaii's population of 15,000 retired military personnel.

The proposals, which would cost $200 million annually, would:

Expand pharmacy benefits for military retirees by providing all retirees and their family members access to national mail order pharmacies and eliminate the law that requires retirees to use a base pharmacy.
Reduce military retirees' out-of-pocket catastrophic care costs from $7,500 to $3,000 a year and eliminate co-payments in the government's medical insurance program for active duty personnel, Tricare Prime.
Mandate a study on the requirement for military retirees to secure non-availability statements under Tricare.
Authorize reimbursement for certain travel-related expenses associated with speciality care.
Eliminate co-payments in the government's medical insurance program for active duty personnel.

Abercrombie said the House also is considering extending until 2003 two pilot programs. One would allow Medicare-eligible military retirees over 65 to chose either a military hospital or a Medicare provider. Another would allow retirees to sign up for the same health care benefits as federal employees.