Department Releases Guidance on Implementing Testosterone Deficiency Screenings for Male Service Members
BLUF – The War Department has issued new clinical guidance requiring male service members age 30 and older to be screened for testosterone deficiency through symptom and risk-factor assessments during periodic health evaluations, with testing and individualized treatment—including testosterone replacement therapy when appropriate—available when clinically indicated; guidance for female service members will be issued separately. For Navy Medicine, the guidance establishes a standardized clinical pathway that primary-care providers will need to implement and monitor, making appropriate diagnosis, patient-provider decision-making and careful management of hormone therapy increasingly important components of force health and readiness.
Secretary of War Flag Officer Announcements for Sept. 17, 2026 – RADM Kevin Brown Named Navy SG
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced today that the President has made the following nominations:
Navy Rear Adm. Kevin J. Brown for appointment as surgeon general of the Navy, Falls Church, Virginia. Brown is currently serving as commander, Naval Medical Forces Pacific, San Diego, California.
Finance Friday Articles and Disability Insurance
- A Short History of Trend-Following and Momentum
- Don’t Roth All of Your 401(k) Money
- Fall 2026 Retirement Guide: Avoid These Tax Traps
- Financial Planning Roundup: 153 Million Drivers License Scans Made Illegally Available for Sale
- Millionaires Everywhere
- Nobody Knows Anything, Rate Expectations Edition
- People Hate Paying Taxes More Than They Like Making Money
- Roth Conversions
- TRICARE Toolkit: Extending TRICARE Into the College Years
- What Was the Best Portfolio Over the Last 50 Years?
In addition, we have a new Partners tab on the blog. Our first Partner is DI4MDs.com, my preferred provider for disability insurance (DI). Here is some info on securing DI early in your career from them, which is exactly what I did!
Protecting Your Greatest Asset: Disability Insurance
Your ability to practice your specialty represents $8–10 million in career earnings and the military’s insurance benefits do not protect your full income. Your window to lock in critical protection for your total compensation is widest right now.
Why You Need to Act Before You Separate
- The military doesn’t cover your specialty income – VA disability compensation is based on the rating you receive, not what you earn as a specialized physician. Even a 100% rating falls far short of the 60% income-replacement level considered adequate protection, particularly once specialty and moonlighting pay are counted.
- Your separation physical can eliminate your options – at least one major physician disability insurance company denies coverage outright above a 10% VA rating on any single condition. The same tests that document conditions for the VA become “pre-existing conditions,” on your non-government disability insurance application. This evidence of a disability triggers exclusions or can result in you being declined coverage completely.
- Age is already working against you – a physician’s odds of becoming disabled are three times higher at 55 than at 30, so both cost and approval odds only get worse the longer you wait.
- The active-duty discount disappears at separation – a permanent 25% premium discount applies only if you establish coverage while on active duty. Waiting until age 45 as a veteran, instead of 35 on active duty, means paying 20%+ more in lifetime premiums for 10 fewer years of income protection.
- Applying early solves these challenges – an individual policy secured now, with a Future Insurability Option or Benefit Increase Rider, locks in your current health and lets you increase your monthly benefit later as your income increases from moonlighting or starting a civilian job.
Why You Should Contact DI4MDs
DI4MDs helps military physicians and dentists protect their hard-earned income today and post-separation. They’re proud to serve those who serve.
- Specialized, not generalist – DI4MDs works exclusively with physicians and dentists, with a specific niche focus on military physicians and dentists.
- Independent and carrier-agnostic – as independent agents, DI4MDs represents all major insurance carriers, including the only two that will insure active-duty physicians and dentists.
- They know exactly where the traps are – from the 10% VA rating rule to the separation-physical paper trail, DI4MDs built their practice around helping you avoid the traps that prevent you from protecting your most valuable asset and provide the policy service you deserve for your entire career.
There’s no cost or obligation to talk through your situation — and no advantage to waiting. Contact DI4MDs today.
Andy G. Borgia CLU
D.K. Unger
Jenna Borgia Karamanos
858-523-7518
Navy not doing enough to study long-term brain damage in aviators, lawmakers say
BLUF – A House investigation found that the Navy has not adequately studied or mitigated potential long-term neurological damage among naval aviators despite reports of memory loss, depression, anxiety and suicides in the F/A-18 community, with existing programs better suited to identifying acute injuries than tracking cumulative effects of repeated high-G forces and carrier launches. For Navy Medicine, the findings highlight the need for longitudinal brain-health research, improved exposure tracking and screening, and a culture in which aviators can seek neurological and mental health care without fearing loss of flight status or damage to their careers.
Navy Medicine Stories – Ep. 2: Diverted on 9/11 – A Scientist’s Calling to Navy Biosecurity
BLUF – In this episode of Navy Medicine Stories, we sit down with U.S. Navy Capt. Franca Jones, director of Medical Information, Research, and Development at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED). Following an academic career in microbiology and immunology, Capt. Jones was commissioned into the Navy after the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Tune in as she reflects on more than two decades of service at the forefront of military medical research, national biosecurity, and healthcare leadership within the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps.
Department Recognizes Suicide Prevention Programs for Supporting Warfighters
BLUF – The War Department recognized 11 military and two Coast Guard programs for innovative, sustained suicide-prevention efforts that emphasize engaged leadership, peer support, early intervention, easier access to resources, and stronger connection and belonging. For Navy Medicine, the recognition of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Portsmouth—whose initiatives included a mental-health mobile app, wellness fairs and support reaching more than 6,000 military children—provides a concrete example of how medical commands can integrate clinical care, digital tools and community outreach to strengthen suicide prevention.
Department of War policy underscores continuity of mental healthcare for transitioning service members
BLUF – The Department of War reissued its policy on continuity of mental health care for transferring and separating service members, adding a mental health assessment within 180 days of separation, automatic inTransition enrollment for qualifying members, and stronger coordination among losing, gaining, VA and civilian providers. For Navy Medicine, the policy places greater responsibility on primary care and mental health teams to ensure uninterrupted treatment during PCS moves and separation, particularly for sailors at elevated suicide risk during the critical year before and after leaving military service.
Combat troops now need to score at least 70% on fitness tests
BLUF – Under new Pentagon rules, service members in designated combat-arms occupations must score at least 70% on their service fitness tests in addition to completing separate annual combat fitness tests, with each branch determining how the 70% standard is applied. For Navy Medicine, the policy is especially relevant because Naval Special Warfare sailors must score at least 70 on every PRT event for which they are medically cleared, increasing the importance of accurate medical clearance, injury prevention, rehabilitation and physical-readiness support for operational personnel.
https://taskandpurpose.com/field-guide/combat-troops-70-average-fitness
Outrage greets NIH pact that could funnel biodefense research funds to Pentagon
BLUF – NIH and the Pentagon have signed a 10-year agreement enabling project-by-project collaboration and potential transfer of NIAID biodefense research funding to Defense Department programs, prompting concerns from lawmakers and scientists about congressional oversight, research transparency and the possible diversion of civilian infectious-disease resources. For Navy Medicine, the partnership could strengthen military research on vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and protective equipment against biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear and emerging infectious-disease threats, potentially accelerating medical countermeasures relevant to force health protection and future conflicts.