Department of Defense July 24, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This Notice is to advise interested parties of a Military Health System (MHS) demonstration project, under the authority of Title 10, U.S. Code, Section 1092, entitled Web-Based TRICARE Assistance Program. The demonstration project will use existing managed care support contracts (MCSC) to provide a Web-based employee assistance program (EAP) including counseling and advice services to Active Duty Service members, their families members and their dependents enrolled in TRICARE Reserve Select, and those eligible for the Transition Assistance Management Program (TAMP) who reside in the continental United States. We are testing the effectiveness of providing this care.

This proposed rule revises the definition of rare diseases to adopt the definition of a rare disease as promulgated by the National Institutes of Health, Office of Rare Diseases. The rule modification will result in the definition used by the TRICARE program for a rare disease to be consistent with the definition used by the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. TRICARE has generally been applying the broader National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration definitions when making coverage decisions for treatments; therefore, there will be no practical changes for beneficiaries.

Senior Commander, US Army Hawaii, has reviewed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Military Training Activities at MMR and has made the decision to proceed with a variation of Alternative 2 to recommence live-fire training at MMR. Alternative 2 in the Final EIS analyzes up to 50 combined-arms live-fire exercises (CALFEX) and 200 convoy live-fire exercises (LFX). The variation of Alternative 2 allows up to 32 CALFEXs and 150 convoy LFXs, and allows squad- and platoon-level LFXs that lead up to the company-level CALFEX. This decision also reconfirms that the Army will not use MMR for live- fire training at night until all relevant fire suppression measures are met and approved in accordance with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2007 and 2008 Biological Opinions. The Army has decided not to use the following weapon systems at MMR in order to further protect the environmental and cultural resources of the valley: Tracer ammunition; Javelin and inert, tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missiles; anti-tank (AT-4) and 2.75-inch rockets; the shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon (SMAW); and illumination munitions. This decision also eliminates the use of Ka'ena Point and C-Ridge for training, due to the risk of wildfire and the potential impacts to threatened and endangered species. This Alternative 2 variation represents a proper balance for meeting the training requirements of the units of the 25th Infantry Division (ID), U.S. Army Reserve, Hawaii Army National Guard, and other users of the range at MMR, while ensuring the Army meets its responsibilities to preserve the land and resources at MMR, and continues to be a good neighbor to the community along the Wai'anae coast.