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Retired professor of physics at UC Berkeley. Now working 3x harder than I ever did before I retired.My proudest achievements in physics are:Discovered the cosmic cosine in the 3K microwave project. The same apparatus was then used by my assistant George Smoot to discover the intrinsic anisotropy; he won the Nobel Prize for that. I won the NSF Waterman Award, the Texas Instruments Founders Prize, and a Mac Arthur Prize Fellowship for this work.Invented accelerator mass spectrometry, now the predominate method to do radiocarbon dating, and sensitive detection of radioisotopes in medicine and other applications.Developed the Berkeley Supernova Search project. It was eventually taken over by my former graduate student Saul Perlmutter, who discovered Dark Energy using it; for that he won the Nobel Prize. I shared in the Breakthrough Prize for this discovery.Was one of the early developers of adaptive optics for astronomy. My team made the first image correction for a star.Created the course "Physics for Future Presidents" at Berkeley. (I had been asked to teach the Physics for Dummies class.) It was voted "Best Class on the Berkeley Campus" the last two times I taught it, beating out classes in all other subjects. I wrote a textbook for the class that is now used at roughly 30 universities. ("Physics and Technology for Future Presidents", named to distinguish it from my popular book.)Earned my Ph.D. in what was then known as "High Energy Physics", now known as "Elementary Particle Physics." Did a few experiments after I graduated; started a program at Berkeley to study double-beta decay; did a sensitive search for unit-charged quarks.Created the "Nemesis Theory", that there is an unobserved companion star to the Sun that triggered a comet shower that killed the dinosaurs. I'm still hoping for the discovery and confirmation of this theory.Founded, in collaboration with my daughter Elizabeth, a non-profit research organization called Berkeley Earth. We did an independent study of global warming and climate change.Study of air pollution in China, just published in 2015, also part of Berkeley Earth.Just filed a patent application for a new method of nuclear waste storage.Spent 34 years as a high-level technical advisor to the US government on US national security. Member of the "Jason" team. Most of my work is still top secret, but I did work for the last 20 years primarily on counter-terrorism.Miscellaneous work: wrote a theory for the origin and mechanism for geomagnetic reversals (which I still think is the best theory out there). Studied the history of lunar comet and asteroid impacts by doing argon dating on spherules found in lunar soil. Discovered, with graduate student Robert Rohde, a 62-million-year cycle in mass extinctions, still unexplained (even though theories have been published). Published one paper disproving a prior claim of gravity wave detection. Published the first paper showing that new comets are brought to the inner solar system predominantly by galactic tides. Wrote extensively on the theory of climate (Milankovitch) cycles; wrote a technical book on that subject.I wrote 10 books (more or less, depending on how you count books that have co-authors). One was a best-seller: Physics for Future Presidents, based on my course. This year (2016) my most recent book will be published, Now -- The Physics of Time, by WW Norton.I got a bunch of teaching awards, both for Physics for Future Presidents and for the introductory courses for physics majors. I particularly like the fact that UC Berkeley students nominated and voted me an award as an "Unsung Hero" for helping students "beyond the call of duty". I've also received awards from Atlantic Magazine ("Brave Thinker Award), and from Poder Business Magazine (their "Courage Award"). Some people thought my switch on global warming was "courageous", but I don't agree; nonetheless, I accepted the awards. I've been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the California Academy of Sciences, and the American Physical Society. Foreign Policy cited me as one of 21 people they considered "Global Thinkers" (Barack Obama and Steve Jobs were two others on this short list). I've participated in the World Economic Forum in Davos, leading one session.For several years I had a monthly column in MIT's Technology Review. I've written articles in the NYTimes Magazine, Wall St. Journal, and even Reader's Digest. I have written a wonderful (I think) article about the Shield of Achilles (described in Homer's Illiad), that I am too busy to get published. I've written three OpEds in the Wall St. Journal, and two in the New York Times, one of which gained me fame as "The Converted Skeptic" on global warming.I grew up in the South Bronx, attended PS 65 on 141st St, Jr HS 22 (on 161st St), the Bronx HS of Science, then Columbia College; came to U. California Berkeley as a graduate student; Ph.D. advisor was Luis Alvarez (who had not yet won his Nobel Prize).I was arrested in the 1964 Free Speech Movement and spent overnight in the Oakland Jail, where I learned about police brutality first hand. I married Rosemary in 1966; she later decided to become an architect and has had a successful business since then; we recently celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. Two children, Elizabeth and Melinda. Elizabeth married Rahal Waladi (in Morocco: that was a trip), and I now have two grandchildren, Layla and Asim.I've been involved in several startup companies, and I still have high hopes, but none of them has made me rich, yet. (I've taken four trips to China recently for one of these endeavors.) I've been a consultant to many venture capital, private equity, and other companies, and I help support my non-profit Berkeley Earth through highly-paid speaking engagements.For six years, 1976 to 1982, my wife Rosemary and I created a small gourmet restaurant in Berkeley we called "Inn Season". My sister ran it. Its food was 90% as good as that of Chez Panisse, and our prices were half of theirs. It was not a wise investment, but when we sold it, we came out about even.I'm sure I am overlooking some things, so I'll come back and edit this as I remember. But I think you can learn more about me by reading my other Quora pieces than you can from reading this one.May 24, 2019. Someone just upvote this, so I thought I would check to see if it was up to date. It isn’t.I “retired” 10 years ago, and have been working 3x as hard ever since. My daughter and I created BerkeleyEarth.org, and it was very successful, although non-profit. I wrote additional books, including Energy for Future Presidents (translated into a dozen languages), and more recently, “Now—The Physics of Time.” But my biggest achievement recently has been to be the cofounder, along with Elizabeth, of a company that proposes to dispose of nuclear waste. You can view the link here: http://DeepIsolation.com.

Over 10 years ago I bought three vintage suitcases (over 100 years old) at various second hand stores and flea markets. When cleaning one of them I found a Panama Canal Medal in an inside pocket.I learned a lot about the canal and the men & women who built it. In addition to the heavy manual labor involved, the heat, humidity, Malaria and insects were oppressive. In their time off, there was nothing for workers to do except drink… and many became alcoholics. Eventually a pool hall and theater were added. Local labor was used as well as the US Army since the local men were accustomed to the conditions and the soldiers assigned to the Canal Zone had no choice but to stay. Going AWOL was pretty much out of the question as there was no way to return to the States. For civilians who signed on voluntarily to work there, most left after a few weeks or months.Of over 50,000 men and women who worked on the Panama Canal, only 7,404 received this medal, and 3,885 of those received a bar indicating the four years of service. The one I found, Roosevelt bronze medal #5205, was awarded by President Roosevelt for 2 years (1909-1911) continuous service building the Panama Canal; the bronze service bar #3228 was added for two additional years of service (1911-1913). Name inscribed on the medal: W. H. StoneI noticed several Roosevelt Panama Canal medals for sale on eBay and online coin shops at prices ranging from $500 to $750. I believed that the owner was unaware the medal was in the suitcase pocket when he sold it. I also realized that if he was old enough to be working in Panama in 1909, it was impossible that he would still be alive over 100 years later. The extra money would have been nice but I decided I would not sell it until I had done everything in my power to reunite the medal with the family of the man who earned it. Little did I know the search would take me nearly 10 years. Every time I seemed to hit a wall, I stopped the search for days or weeks and sometimes months, until I came up with a new idea or another approach.I tried fruitless searches using various terms on Google and Facebook. I didn’t want to advertise that I had the medal for fear that someone would falsely claim it only to sell it. I really had no idea how to find descendants of someone who lived over 100 years ago when I knew nothing about him (or her??) except initials and a rather common last name. No full name, no birth date, no hometown, etc.When my sister took a cruise through the Panama Canal, I sent the medal inscription information with her and requested that she query the canal expert who was lecturing on board how I might locate the rightful owner’s family. He didn’t know, but referred me to the George A. Smathers Libraries’ Panama Canal Museum Collection at the University of Florida in Gainesville.Online, at the George A. Smathers Libraries website, I found an entry for William H. Stone on page 188 of the Panama Canal Personnel Records matching his medal number. So at least now I had a first name in place of initials. Still, the search would have been so much simpler if he had a less common first or last name. There are many, many people online named William Stone including the governor of the colony of Maryland from 1649 to 1655, and a William Henry Stone who was a patriot during the American Revolution. Neither of them were related to the medal’s owner.I eventually found his canal Service Record Card online through the genealogical records of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. I gleaned bits and pieces of information and unrelated factoids about him along the way, but made little progress in locating his descendants.A message from Rebecca Fitzsimmons at the George A. Smathers Libraries in response to my voicemail there suggested that I contact the Archives in College Park, MD, which keeps construction period records on personnel employed by the Isthmian Canal Commission, Panama Railroad Company, or the Panama Canal from 5-4-1904 through 12-31-1920. However, she noted, they did not keep records on workers once they left work in the Canal Zone so would probably be unable to help me find anything about his living descendants.Weeks passed. I finally received a response to my email from an Archives Specialist at the National Archives Building in College Park MD stating that their Panama Canal records had been relocated to the National Archives in St. Louis, MO and suggesting I contact them since they also had military records and many Panama Canal employees subsequently joined the military.I contacted the St. Louis Archives. They reported that they had no relevant information but referred me to the National Personnel Record Center archives website. There I read: “On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The records affected 80% of the records on Army Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1980.” According to a notation on his Panama Canal service record, William H. Stone was discharged in 1919 so that was most likely a dead end. (Hmm… I had to wonder: How could a fire in 1973 destroy records of personnel discharged in 1980?)I followed up with a phone call, hoping William H. Stone’s records were among the 20% that were not destroyed in the fire. The administrative Aide I spoke to took lots of information from me that she said she “would relay to staff who would get back to me in a couple of weeks”. Six weeks later, I received a letter stating that they do not provide services to locate living individuals. (So, does that mean that they provide services to locate dead ones?)Once I’d learned that “W” stood for “William”, a Google search of “William H. Stone”with “Panama Canal” turned up an entry on a William H. Stone, Jr. which, in spite of his name being the same, his being the right age to be William’s son, and having joined the Army to serve in the Canal Zone, turned out to be a red herring. No relation at all. Dead end.I had already determined that William was not in the Army between 1909 and at least 1913 while in Panama. He had to have worked on the Canal as a civilian since only civilians were awarded the medals and military personnel working on the canal were specifically excluded from receiving them, as they were “just doing their jobs”.Beginning 8-24-1909, at the age of 28, he worked on the canal for at least four years from that date to earn the medal plus one bar. The last entry on the service record lists him as a Deputy Inspector on 2-1-15. Per the service record, he was a machinist in the engineering department who was initially paid 65 cents per hour, but it appears that was gradually increased to either $1.75/hour or $175 per month (which is the equivalent of about $1.10/hour if he worked a 40-hour week). From the record card, it’s unclear whether he had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army prior to work on the canal or joined the Army after 2-1-1915. However, it’s very unlikely that he was already a Lt. Colonel by age 28. More likely, he attained that rank after his work on the Canal. It notes that he was discharged from the US Army on 6-21-1919, but subsequent information on his military tombstone shows that he fought in World War II so either he was not discharged in 1919 or he joined up again after that.At this point, I was stuck. I posted a question on Quora: “How can I locate and contact descendants of Lt. Col. William H. Stone (born 11-3-1880), a machinist who left his home in San Francisco to work on the Panama Canal from 1909 to at least 1913?” I received only one response but it was a great one. Alan Moll responded with links to the tombstones of William and his wife Annie and their mortuary records.From these links I found photos of their headstones in the Golden Gate Natl. Cemetery in San Bruno, CA and their precise dates of birth and death, plus the mortuary records provided the name and address of their son, and more.William Henry Stone, born 11-3-1880; died 9-9-1962 at age 81California Lt. Col. US Army, US Army, World Wars I and IIHis wife Annie Stone, born 6-23-1882; died 9-26-79 at age 97 (She died in Coral Gables, FL but she is buried beside William in San Bruno. Her inscription is on the back of his tombstone and they didn’t bother to include her maiden or married surname,)Alan informed me that “a search of Google Books showed that William was a member of the Board of Local Inspectors for the Panama Canal in June 1916.” William’s Panama Canal Service Record card (above) lists him as "Deputy Inspector" there on 2-1-1915.It was Alan Moll who discovered and shared with me the links to the headstones, the mortuary records, and other valuable information. I’m convinced that my search could never have succeeded without his help.From the mortuary records I learned that William Henry Stone’s father, Thomas F. Stone, and his mother, Ellen Fallon Stone, were both born in Ireland. Thomas came to the US in 1859. I was never able to learn if he came directly to San Francisco at that time, perhaps for the Gold Rush, or whether he settled somewhere else in the US first. In San Francisco, he was employed by a company that made gold dredging machines. By 1870, the US Census located him in San Francisco, but his whereabouts between 1859 and 1870 are unknown, at least to me.I eventually learned from his granddaughter that William Henry Stone was the third son in the family and it was traditional for the third son in an Irish Catholic family to become a priest. He did not want to do that, so he ran away from home at age 15 and lied about his age in order to join the California National Guard. That would have been 1895 or 1896. By 1909 when he went to the canal zone, he had been discharged from the National Guard. He must have joined the Army at some point after he received his 4-year bar in 1913 since the army inscribed on his headstone that he fought in both World War I and World War II.All these facts were teased out one at a time from information I found online. Each document or narrative that gave me an additional fact allowed me to do another search by combining it with previously ascertained names, places, or other information.William Henry Stone’s only child, William Francis Stone was born 6-4-1916 in Ancon in the Canal Zone. William Francis Stone was living in Los Angeles in 1935 and was single and living in Berkeley in 1940. He married Joyce Ellen Horgan (born in San Francisco 7-11-1918; she died there on 9-28-2003) who was a single medical assistant in 1940, living in San Francisco. And they had six children. Only their firstborn, Pamela A. Stone survived. Sadly, the other five babies were either stillborn or died the same day they were born. (Twin girls 8-22-1952; a boy 6-8-1953, a girl in July 1954, and another girl 8-25-1957.) William Francis Stone died 5-6-1992 in San Francisco.Their daughter, Pamela Ann Stone, was born in San Francisco. She married and at 22 she had a son, Francis “Frank” also born in San Francisco. She and her husband divorced when Frank was young and she eventually relocated to Fresno, CA. Frank earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Davis. While a student there in the mid-late 1990's, Frank was part of a group working on "Future Car". From their report cover I found the names of the classmates he collaborated with and tried searches using his name with each of theirs in an effort to locate him.I found a 2005 post where his friend Del mentioned that Frank was known as Frank the Tank and that he had moved from northern to southern California. He was working for a firm which makes shock absorbers and Del stated that Frank was a supporter and fan of racing and all things with wheels.Another friend mentioned the name of Frank’s fiancée and that they were planning to marry in Puerta Vallarta in late 2008. When I did a search with Frank’s name and his fiancée’s, I found their engagement announcement in his fiancée’s hometown newspaper.From a forum thread started by Frank’s friend Fred, I learned that the wedding was lovely but there was a tragic accident at the reception when Frank jumped into the pool and woke up days later in a San Diego Hospital, a quadriplegic.I located a record of Frank selling his home, which provided his mother Pam’s address in Fresno. A fairly simple search then yielded a phone number and I learned she was back in San Francisco. We met shortly after that and I was finally able to return the medal to the family of W. H. Stone. Pam shared wonderful memories of her grandfather and planned to pass the medal on to her son.Her happiness at receiving her grandfather’s medal and my thrill at finally solving the mystery meant far more to me than the money I might have gained by selling the medal.

Yes, as an active duty military member during the period of this answer, I was covered by single-payer healthcare almost identical to the UK’s NHS system. The only real differences are that in the UK everyone is enrolled, but can opt out by paying private doctors, while in the active duty military system, only the active duty, retirees, and military dependents are enrolled. Also, active duty can't opt out: we're prohibited from procuring outside care due to military readiness concerns.In 2013, I had a tumor in my foot removed. When the fat pad didn’t grow back, I requested a fat graft to replace it, which is something done very frequently in plastic surgery centers (but usually so rich women can wear high heels more easily). Tricare denied me, so I appealed. The appeal took 1.5 years to maneuver the bureaucracy before I transferred across the country with it unapproved.Once I arrived on the other side of the country, I had to start all over. It took me 2 months to get an appointment at Langley with a podiatrist; he concurred with the request for a fat graft. The military medical system recaptured the request and made me see another podiatrist in Portsmouth, which took another month to get an appointment. He didn’t understand why I was sent there because Portsmouth isn’t experienced with fat grafts, and concurs that fat graft is the most conservative option. He requests a fat graft out in town, but Portsmouth Naval Hospital exercises their right of first refusal and makes me schedule an appointment with their Plastic Surgery clinic, which takes another month to get an appointment.When I see Portsmouth Naval Hospital Plastic Plastic Surgery, he also can't understand why I was sent there because Portsmouth Naval Hospital has zero experience with weight bearing fat grafts, but concurs that fat grafting is the most conservative option. He puts in a referral for a specific doctor who is experienced in weight bearing fat grafts. Tricare tries to refer me to Portsmouth Naval Hospital Podiatry again, but I fight back for a month and was able to make an evaluation appointment with the doctor (ironically, his only availability was on Veteran's Day, which is two months away from this time frame).Two months later I see the surgeon, who declares I’m a prime candidate for fat grafting, although the 2 years I’ve now had to wait has increased the risk of failure significantly.1 month later, Tricare marks the surgery request as received. Tricare refers me to Portsmouth Naval Hospital Podiatry for the surgery, and even to the specific doctor who told me he can’t do the surgery. Three days later, the surgery is denied as “not a covered procedure.”An O-5 in Portsmouth Plastic Surgery states via email that she "was told to instruct [me] to contact [my] congressman to help get this resolved. Please let us know if there is anything else you might need assistance with. Have a Happy Holiday Season." I call the supervisor of Patient Advocacy; he tells me that Tricare only approves procedures that have a large number of finished studies for that specific procedure addressing my specific condition, and that the DoD has given HealthNet sole authority to determine what is and is not covered. He wouldn't address my questions regarding what responsibility (if any?) Tricare bears in getting me healthy. He told me that filing for the Defense Health Agency waiver referred to in the letter was "worthless," as "in three years of being here, I've only seen it succeed once, and it was almost too late for the person who needed the lifesaving cancer treatment." He also told me that my only real recourse was to call my Congressional Representative(s).2 weeks later I’m able to get my PCM to write a referral to Walter Reed. Referral sits in limbo for 2 weeks. I also officially request a waiver for the fat graft procedure.At this point, it’s probably easier just to copy my journal notes into the answer so you can see what life is like for a someone in the military medical system:25Jan13 - Removed neuroma.22Mar13 - "mild erythema with continued fibrosis" - hydrocortisone injection.03May13 - "mild edema with acute tenderness to palpitation of the fibular sesamoid. We discussed possible capsulitis. Treatment today included a TPI with 5mg of Kenalog instilled into the symptomatic joint space." Dr. <redacted> discussed removal of the sesamoid bone; I requested a second opinion. Did not receive any response from Tricare on approving the request (even w/ significant followup from me) until 05Sep13.Sep13 - Went to see Dr. <redacted>, DPM, Oxnard, CA for second opinion. He recommended fat grafting into the area. I asked him to put in the referral request. Due to the poor communication skills of himself (limited English) and his staff (other reasons), I did not understand until 15Dec13 that he already knew that Tricare will not cover this treatment, and even if they did, there isn't a single plastic surgeon in Los Angeles or Ventura Counties that accepts Tricare.25Sep13 - MRI Right foot, Oxnard, CA: "ball of foot subcutaneous edema, consider changes related to altered weightbearing. A previously noted fluid signal structure about the first metatarsal is no longer evident."06Nov13 - I saw Mr. <redacted>, patient advocate at Port Hueneme Clinic. He was markedly unhelpful, essentially telling me to call Dr. <redacted> in Oxnard back.03Jan14 - Dr. <redacted>, PCM at Port Hueneme, CA specifically requests Tricare to "please authorize for surgical procedure to correct the loss of natural cushioning essential to prevent foot pain with walking or running."No action from Tricare, in spite of regular follow up, January through June of 2014.15Jun14 through 11Jul14 - Permanant Change of Station from California to VirginiaAug14 - I see Dr. <redacted> at in Hampton Roads who sends me to Langley Podiatry for consult.11Aug14 - I see Dr. <redacted> at Langley Podiatry. He takes an XRay and MRI. Xray information: Impression: 1. Bilateral pes planus. 2. Degenerative changes at the 1st metatarsophalangeal joint bilaterally. 3. Mild right hallux pelvis." MRI Information: "Findings: There is soft tissue distortion and blooming artifact at the base of the 1st MTP joint adjacent to the medial plantar sesamoid. This is most likely post surgical. The sesamoids themselves appear grossly unremarkable. Impressions: Postsurgical change at the plantar surface of the 1st MTP joint. Artifact is present here which limits visibility. No definite acute fracture or dislocation was seen. Edema in the 3rd interdigital space may be postsurgical. No soft tissue mass was identified." He tells me that there are two options - amputate sesamoid bone(s?) and hope for the best, or take the more conservative option and do a fat graft. He puts in a request for a fat graft out in town, but Portsmouth Naval Hospital exercises their right of first refusal and makes me schedule an appointment with their Podiatry clinic.03Sep14 - I see Portsmouth Naval Hospital Podiatry Dr. <redacted>, who can't understand why I was sent there at all, and concurs with Dr. <redacted from Langley> that fat graft is the most conservative option. He requests a fat graft out in town, but Portsmouth Naval Hospital exercises their right of first refusal and makes me schedule an appointment with their Plastic Surgery clinic. He does an Xray, which results in the following statements: "1. Mild hallux valgus deformity, 2. Small enthesophyte at the Achilles tendon insertion, 3. Flatfoot."25Sep14 - I see Portsmouth Naval Hospital Plastic Plastic Surgery Dr. <redacted>, who concurs with Dr. <redacted> and Dr. <redacted> from Langley and Portsmouth that a fat graft is the most conservative option, but can't understand why I was sent there at all since Portsmouth Naval Hospital has zero experience with weight bearing fat graft. He asks me what research I have done on my own. I tell him about Dr. <redacted> at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who specializes in this treatment for foot injuries. He recognized the stature of both the Medical Center and Dr. <redacted> in this field once I mentioned the names and immediately requested a fat graft through UPMC. After fighting with Tricare over Portsmouth Naval Hospital exercising their right of first refusal again, I was able to make an appointment with Dr. <redacted> during his first available appointment - Veteran's Day 2014.11Nov14 - I fly to Pittsburgh and see Dr. <redacted> (a plastic surgeon) and his wife (a podiatrist). They tell me I am a perfect candidate for this procedure and put in a request for the fat grafting surgery.16Dec14 - After not hearing from Tricare I spend hours on the phone trying to get an update. They tell me they ignored the request (their words) because one number was missing in my identifier data from Pittsburgh. I provide the number and Tricare marks the surgery request as received. Portsmouth Naval Hospital exercises their right of first refusal again and an referral is automatically input for Portsmouth Podiatry. I call Tricare and after an hour on the phone got them to assess it internally.19Dec14 - Surgery denied by Tricare / Health Net. Reason given is "not a covered procedure." CDR <redacted> of Portsmouth Plastic Surgery stated that she "was told to instruct [me] to contact [my] congressman to help get this resolved. Please let us know if there is anything else you might need assistance with. Have a Happy Holiday Season." I call Mr. <redacted>, the supervisor of Patient Advocacy; he tells me that Tricare only approves procedures that have a large number of finished studies for that specific procedure addressing my specific condition, and that the DoD has given HealthNet sole authority to determine what is and is not covered. He wouldn't address my questions regarding what responsibility, if any, Tricare bears in getting me healthy. He was very forthcoming in advising me on filing for the Defense Health Agency waiver referred to in the letter: he said it was "worthless," since "in three years of being here, I've only seen it succeed once, and it was almost too late for the person who needed the lifesaving cancer treatment." Mr. <redacted>also told me that in his opinion, my only recourse is to call my Congressional Representative(s).22Dec14 - CDR <redacted>, Portsmouth Hospital Plastic Surgery: " I apologize for this inconvenience that you are going through. I called around and I was told that there should have been "appeal" instructions on the letter that you received. If not, I was told to instruct you to contact your congressman to help get this resolved. Please let us know if there is anything else you might need assistance with. Have a Happy Holiday Season."29Dec14 - My primary care manager, LT <redacted> writes referral to Walter Reed. Referral sits in limbo for 2 weeks. I also officially request a waiver through LT <redacted> for the fat graft procedure.15Jan15 - Portsmouth attempts to take the referral away from Walter Reed per right of first refusal. I spend an hour on the phone to get it reconsidered.22Jan15 - Podiatry clinic at Portsmouth approves transfer of referral to Walter Reed.26Jan15 - Walter Reed appointment line tells me that all National Capitol Region clinics are full until April and to call back on 30Jan15.30Jan15 - Walter Reed appointment offers appointment 37 days away . I ask about the 28 day Tricare standard of care for specialty appointments; the appointment desk tells me that if I want to inquire about the procedure for when the clinic cannot meet standards of care, I should leave a message with referral management and someone will call me back. I leave a message asking for a nurse to call me back so we can discuss a way forward to get my foot treated.04Feb15 - Nurse <redacted> at Walter Reed cancels my appointment without contacting me. The reason given in the notes was “Service member refuses available appointments.”06Feb15 - I call Walter Reed to check on the referral and am told the referral is canceled.09Feb15 - I speak to <redacted> in Patient Advocacy at Walter Reed who doesn't help until I tell her that I want to file an official complaint against Nurse <redacted>. She tells me that active duty never get appointments that meet the 28-day requirement and that I need to stop insisting on being seen within 28 days or I'll never be seen.11Feb15 - <redacted> calls me back and says my referral is reinstated, but I will have to wait until 13Feb15 to make an appointment.13Feb15 - First available appointment is 20Apr15. I make the appointment, and specifically ask whether they had the ability to perform fat grafts and/or Restylane injections, and the appointment line said someone would get back to me.02Mar15 - Mr. <redacted> at Portsmouth takes first official action on my waiver request of 29Dec14. He forwards it to the grievance coordinator, Ms. <redacted> and promises a phone call from her on 03Mar15.09Mar15 - No contact from Portsmouth. I call Mr. <redacted>, who promises Ms. <redacted> will call on 10Mar15.11Mar15 - Ms. <redacted> via email: "I wanted to follow-up with you regarding your request for the fat pad graft procedure and/or treatment. I have emailed both Dr <redacted> and Dr <redacted> requesting that they both chime in with my leadership so we can try and formulate a decision. I am waiting still and as soon as I have something to pass on, I will contact you."16Mar15 - Ms. <redacted> via email: "Your request is being discussed among leadership. Im waiting for confirmation on who will draft the request for waiver for DHA. As soon as I have a definitive decision to forward, rest assured I will."18Mar15 - Ms. <redacted> via email: "It is my understanding that the DHA waiver is being drafted by the Plastics clinic folks. Im standing by waiting further details."20Apr15 - Dr. <redacted> at Walter Reed walks in to my appointment and immediately states "I'm not sure why you're here. We don't do the kind of thing you're requesting here at Walter Reed." He couldn't answer me as to why Walter Reed accepted a referral for something they don't do and/or didn't call me to inform me that the appointment would be a waste of time. I mention to him that I requested information as to their ability to do the procedure and no one got back to me. He prescribed insole and recommended that I see a pain management specialist as well as a rheumatologist for my hip and knee pain <as of 2017 this still hasn’t been approved either>. I made an appointment with the PCM for Monday, 27Apr15 to get these referrals and discuss the way forward.I forwarded my concern to the Officer in Charge at <redacted> Clinic, LCDR <redacted>, about how I was referred to a clinic who can't do the procedure requested. His response was "My only suggestion is that you contact the Patient Relations Department for Walter Reed at (301) 295-0156 and voice your concerns."22Apr15 - Ms. <redacted> via email: "I am touching basis this morning with my Chain of Command as well as Health Benefits regarding the current referral concerns you are experiencing. Please allow me a little time this morning to reach out to a few of the folks here at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth regarding what is best needed at this juncture to better assist you."24Apr15 - Commanding Officer Portsmouth returns Waiver for more information. <redacted> at Patient Advocacy tells me he will keep me informed.29Apr15 - I discuss my situation with Maj. <redacted> at Walter Reed Podiatry, who states she will not authorize Walter Reed to assist me beyond providing orthotics.May15 - Dr. <redacted> at Walter Reed Podiatry convinces his chain of command to allow Ossatron and Stem Cell Therapy. I make the appointment for surgery.10Jun15 - Ossatron and Stem Cell Therapy surgery is conducted at Walter Reed. As of 15Jul16, this has not improved the situation.17Jul15 - I request an update on my Waiver Request from Mr. <redacted> at Portsmouth Patient Advocacy via email. No response. I request Physical Therapy through my doctor to address the continuing degeneration of my Hips and Knees due to the lack of treatment for my foot.31Jul15 - I request an update on my Waiver Request from Mr. <redacted> at Portsmouth Patient Advocacy via email. No response.17Jul15 - I request an update on my Waiver Request from Mr. <redacted> at Portsmouth Patient Advocacy via email. No response.03Aug15 - I request an update on my Waiver Request from Ms. <redacted> at Portsmouth Patient Advocacy via email. No response.17Aug15 - I request an update on my Waiver Request from Mr. <redacted> at Portsmouth Patient Advocacy via email. No response.19Aug15 - I request an update on my Waiver Request from Mr. <redacted> at Portsmouth Patient Advocacy via email. He emails me back and states, "this has gone up the chain to Navy Medicine East. Mr. <redacted> and Mrs. <redacted> are aware of you contacting me regarding this matter and Mr <redacted> is following up with NAVMEDEAST on the status. I will contact him again today and advise to contact you regarding this matter." No one contacts me.I never hear from Ms. <redacted> or Portsmouth Hospital Patient Advocacy again, even after repeated phone calls and leaving messages asking them to assist.25Aug15 - 14Sep15: Pool Physical Therapy at Fort Eustis. They have me "run" and jump in the water 2-3 times a week. It takes me up to 30 minutes to recover from the pain enough to drive after the therapy. I call it off after 6 weeks because I can't take the pain any more.11Sep15 - I request an update on my Waiver Request from Mr. <redacted> at Portsmouth Patient Advocacy via email. No response.24Sep15 - I call the Patient Advocacy desk and don't take "no" for an answer. I never am able to talk to anyone, but the front desk refers to CAPT <redacted> at Navy Medicine East. He tells me that the waiver has been sent back a few times for format errors and still has not left Portsmouth since I requested it in Dec14 and/or when it was drafted in Mar15.30Sep15 - I call Dr. <redacted> at Walter Reed and ask if there is anything to do since the stem cell treatment failed. He recommends another round of treatment.27Oct15 - CAPT <redacted> forwards waiver to BUMED. No response through the rest of 2015.15Jan16 - I contact Dr. <redacted> for another round of shockwave/stem cell therapy while I wait for fat grafting. He forwards the request to a Ms. <redacted> to set up the surgery.29Jan16 - No response from Ms. <redacted>. I call her and leave a message requesting for her to call me back to set up surgery.10Feb16 - I email CAPT <redacted> to request an update and find out he has retired. I spend most of the day trying to find out who has action. A LT <redacted> is able to find hard copy information and request an update the same day. No response.15Feb16 - No response from Ms. <redacted> on my stem cell surgery. I call her and leave another message requesting for her to call me back to set up surgery.15Mar16 - No response from Ms. <redacted> on my stem cell surgery. I call her and leave another message requesting for her to call me back to set up surgery.16Mar16 - Receive a response from BUMED contractor <redacted> who states that the waiver (initiated in 2014) was submitted to Defense Health in early March 2016. I inform her that I will be changing assignments in July and that I need surgery before then. I also identify a target date of the last week in June for surgery due to my PCS. She promised to update me by close of business on 17Mar16. The update never occurs.12Apr16 - I have not heard from <redacted> since 16Mar16. I request a response and update, and remind her of the target date of the last week in June for surgery due to my PCS. She says she is "still working on my case" and will update me on 15Apr16 by COB. The update never occurs.14Apr16 - LT <redacted> at Portsmouth transfers, turning over my case to LCDR <redacted>.13May16 - No updates from <redacted> or LCDR <redacted>. I email both. <redacted> leaves a message on my voicemail telling me she wants to talk to me, even though my voice message says I’m on leave.26May16 - I hear the email and respond to <redacted> via email asking if I can provide any information, and remind her of the target date of the last week in June for surgery due to my PCS. She says she doesn't need anything and is still working on my waiver, but provides no actual information.06Jun16 - I request an update from <redacted> via email, and remind her of the target date of the last week in June for surgery due to my PCS. No response.20Jun16 - I request an update from <redacted> via email, copying my boss, and remind her of the target date of the last week in June for surgery due to my PCS. Her response is "As discussed I have submitted all of your paperwork to the DHA for consideration of your waiver request. I will send you a status update this Friday (and every week on Friday as previously stated) via email."It is important to note that at this point, not only have I not received "every Friday" updates, but I have received no response at all to many emails, and no information beyond "still waiting" since March 2016.24Jun16 - At 4pm I ask <redacted> if I will get an update and ask when I should schedule travel and surgery. Her answer: "I inquired this week on the status of your case. As of today I have not received an approval/disapproval decision from the DHA. I have a meeting scheduled on Monday of next week to specifically discuss your waiver request. I hope to have an additional update for you on Monday following my meeting."Tuesday, 28Jun16 - <redacted> asks me for my Primary Care Manager's name with no explanation. I provide this information along with all of the Podiatrists and other doctors who have referred me for fat grafting. I also ask when I should schedule surgery, and remind her that I start MBA classes 08Jul16. I also tell her that due to the compressed MBA schedule, I have a single open week starting 08Aug16 that I'm available for surgery.****At this point I have now transferred again, away from a friendly unit who knows my community and my job and into a bureaucratic student unit****11Jul16 - No updates since June. Requested an update from <redacted> via email. No response.14Jul16 - Request update again from Ms. <redacted>.15Jul16 - Email from Ms. <redacted>: "Your PCM will need to request a referral for an evaluation and treatment (to Dr. <redacted> who does the surgery) and submit that to Health Net for approval/disapproval. Once we receive an approval/disapproval from Health Net we can move forward to:(1.) get the surgery scheduled and paid via Health Net or (2) resubmitting the SHCP waiver request to DHA (with the updated information from Health Net) to get the surgery scheduled and paid via the DHAAs discussed during our phone call, I will contact your PCM (Yorktown Clinic) and assist with the request for a referral. I will contact you on Monday if there are any additional updates. Please contact me if you have any questions."It is important to note that I received disapproval from Health Net on 19 December *2014*, and it is only due to the lack of action by Tricare that it has taken this long.18Jul16 - I go to Clinic <redacted> and can't find anyone who knows anything about my issue. They insist I make an appointment, which is backed up until early August. I ask Ms. <redacted> who she spoke to and she emails back that she can't remember but that she would get back to me by COB. LPN <redacted> at the clinic takes my information and promises to discuss with LCDR <redacted> (my PCM) and get back to me by COB. Neither update happens.19Jul16 - Ms. <redacted> emails that she remembers who she spoke to on 15Jul16: Ms. <redacted>, the health benefits coordinator, who evidently did not speak to my PCM team. Ms. <redacted> says that she will coordinate with my PCM team.20Jul16 - A different nurse from the PCM team at Yorktown calls and says that LCDR <redacted> is unwilling to put in the referral (see 15Jul16 above) without an appointment. She sets up an appointment for 22Jul16.22Jul16 - I arrive and LCDR <redacted> doesn't know very much about my case. I ask him what he needs to write a referral, and he tells me I will need to go to Portsmouth Podiatry for an assessment. I relay this information to Ms. <redacted>, who responds "Please allow me to do my job and work through the TRICARE Health Plan program requirements. I will follow up with you and provide you with an update by close of business today regarding referral."She later emails to me: "I spoke with Dr. <redacted> this morning after your visit and he is generating a referral for Dr. <redacted> for an evaluation and treatment. You cannot schedule an appointment until the referral has been approved and an authorization number has been issued. Once the referral authorization number has been issued the appointment with Dr. <redacted> can be scheduled. I will contact you today when I have a status update on the referral request. Please do not make any Podiatry appointments at this time."26Jul16 - I ask whether my unit will need to fund the travel and when I will know what my surgery date is, and Ms. <redacted> response is:"I did not state that any appointments or medical services would be funded due to the fact that an authorization had not been issued. I will be contacting Health Net Federal Services, TRICARE Regional Contractor for the North Region) to confirm if an authorization has been issued. If a referral authorization is issued then funding can be coordinated.**Once again please do not schedule any appointments or initiate any requests for funding at this time. I will provide you with an update no later than 1700 today."Ms. <redacted> then spends a lot of time trying to coordinate a phone conversation with her supervisor without responding to my requests for an actual date of surgery. At the end of the day, she tells me that she will try to coordinate a surgery consult in Pittsburgh for 06Aug16, and will be contacting me with an update by COB Wednesday, 27Jul16. No response until I email her on Friday.29Jul16 - I ask Ms. <redacted> what the status is since I didn't get an update on Wednesday as she had promised, and I need to know what's going on so that I can schedule travel. She emails me back the Tuesday email, implies that I'm being impatient, and says that she will update me by COB Monday, 01Aug16.—————————————————Cue 5 or more additional pages of similar non-effective medical treatment and you’ll understand why I cringe inside anytime I hear anyone say they want to “give the whole country access to the level of care the active duty have.”Edit in response to some questions:1) AHCA doesn’t apply to military Tricare, as it was not only exempted but Tricare is considered full coverage.2) One of the biggest misunderstandings about health insurance, not just in the US but worldwide, is that insurance = care. Charlie Gard’s parents are finding out that there isn’t an unlimited checkbook when it comes to medical care - even government care has limits.3) For military healthcare, only those treatments specifically listed in the care handbook are covered. These treatments have billing codes and rates assigned. Tricare isn’t really a medical treatment plan, it’s a reimbursement plan for those items in the book. If you have a problem that requires a treatment not in the book, there is no burden on Tricare to find a way to treat you, they simply shrug and say “it’s not in the book.” It’s on you to prove that the treatment you want has been studied and the studies must have been published in multiple medical journals. If that’s the case, and you can find them, you might be ok, but otherwise you’re SOL.4) Tricare only allows military doctors to address one problem at a time. Thus, when I go to the doctor to address my back, hips, and knees that have degenerated due to the way I walk after the foot tumor, they tell me I need to make separate appointments for each knee, each hip, and my back - there is no concept of holistic medicine in the military medical system, or at least not since I joined in the mid-90’s.5) I personally know at least 10 people who have been or are currently being medically discharged due to preventable permanent injuries sustained due to the many month wait times in the military. Many have ACL, MCL, Hip, Shoulder, and other injuries which could have been easily fixed but healed improperly while they waited. All of these people will be at least partially supported by the taxpayer for the rest of their life, but there is zero ability to hold anyone in the military accountable to improve the system.