RAO BULLETIN 15 December 2017
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RAO BULLETIN 15 December 2017 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == DoD Cluster Bomb Policy ---- (2019 Use Deadline Set Aside 05 == Pentagon Accounting [02] ---- (44,000 Troops Unaccounted For) 05 == Transgender Lawsuits [03] ---- (Trump Files Appeal to Delay Enlistments) 06 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 DEC 2017) 06 == POW/MIA [95] ---- (100 Oklahoma Sailors Identified So Far) 09 == POW/MIA [96] ---- (PFC Albert Strange) 10 == POW/MIA Recoveries ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 DEC 2017 | Twelve) . * VA * . 12 == VA Health Care Enrollment [14] ---- (Its For Life) 12 == VA AIDS Care [08] ---- (Have You Taken the Test?) 13 == VADIP [05] ---- (Dental Program Revived & Extended Through 2021) 13 == GI Bill [244] ---- (Forever GI Bill Implementation) 15 == VA DRC Program ---- (Latest Enhancements to Expand Participants) 15 == VA TRICARE Merger ---- (A Controversial Issue| Pros & Cons) 18 == Traumatic Brain Injury [65]---- (VA Offering LED & SGB Treatments) 18 == VA HUD-VASH [05] ---- (No Change In Funding Until Fiscal 2019) 19 == VA Compensation Rates | Disability ---- (2018 Monthly Payments) 20 == VDHCBS [01] ---- (Gives Disabled Vets Ability to Control Their Own Care) 21 == Fisher House Expansion [19] ---- (Charleston SC Opens) 22 == ALS [13] ---- (Radicava Added to VANF for Vet Treatment) 1 23 == VA ID Card [14] ---- (Applications Suspended | System Overloaded) 24 == VA Nurse Anesthetists ---- (Underutilized) 25 == VA Caregiver Program [47] ---- (Petition Delivered to Congress) 25 == VA Loans ---- (Warno | Unsolicited Offers) 27 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 DEC 2017) 32 == VA Compensation & Benefits ---- (Problem Solving Program Q&A -- 23 Correction) . * VETS * . 33 == Homeless Vets [82] ---- (First Increase in 7 Years) 34 == Missouri Veteran Homes [02] ---- (St. Louis Veterans Home Shake Up) 35 == Vet Predatory Loans ---- (Ginnie Mae Takes Aim at Refinance Churning Lenders) 36 == Obit: George B. Willis Sr ---- (5 DEC 2017) 37 == Obit: Charles Jenkins ---- (11 DEC 2017) 38 == WWII VETS 149 ---- (Charles L. Harrison | POW Twice) 39 == WWII VETS 150 ---- (Jim Leavelle | Two Bouts With Infamy) 41 == WWII VETS 151 ---- (Arthur Berkowitz | Battle of the Bulge) 42 == AFL Q&A 11 ---- (Erectile Dysfunction Compensation) 43 == Retiree Appreciation Days ---- (Scheduled As of 15 DEC 2017) 43 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 15 DEC 2017) 44 == Veteran's State Benefits & Discounts ---- (New York DEC 2017) 44 == Veterans Day Tribute ---- (Hollywood Vets of Years Past) . * VET LEGISLATION* . 45 == VA Vet Choice [64] ---- (S.2193 | Caring For Our Veterans Act of 2017) 45 == VA Organ Transplants [02] ---- (H.R.1133 | Reform Organ Surgery Policy) 46 == VA Life Insurance (S-DVI) [03] ---- (H.R.4146 | Upgrade S-DVI) 46 == VA Health Care Access [59] ---- (S.2184 | Better Care Integration) 47 == Vet Franchises [01] ---- (H.R. 4473 | Veteran Entrepreneurs Act of 2017) 48 == VA Investigations ---- (S.1266 | Enhancing Veteran Care Act) 49 == VA Chiropractic Care [05] ---- (H.R.103 | Vet Standard Benefit Effort) 49 == Orthotic & Prosthetic Research ---- (H.R.3696/S.1466 | Limb Loss Vet Care) 50 == NDAA 2018 [19] ---- H.R.2810 & S.1519 Signed Into Law 12 DEC 2017 . * MILITARY* . 51 == Navy Fleet Size [10] ---- (355 Ship Navy Now National Policy) 51 == Army Recruiting [04] ---- (Marijuana Use Waiver) 52 == Zumwalt Class Destroyers ---- (Getting a New Job) 53 == Navy Recruiting Slogan ---- (New | Forged By Sea) 54 == Air Force Maternity Uniform ---- (Now Available for Expecting Airmen) 55 == Military Spouse Scholarships ---- (Where to Apply | How to Find Cash) 56 == Ohio-Class Subs [01] ---- (Awesome Firepower) 58 == Mag-Net ---- (New Uniform Connector For Equipment) 58 == USS Lake Champlain (CG-57) [02] ---- (CNO Collision Report) 59 == USS Dallas (SSN-700) ---- (Inactivated December 5, 2017) 59 == Army Beards ---- (No Final Decision Yet for All Soldiers) 60 == USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) ---- (Underway for First time) 2 60 == Warships That Will Change The Future ---- (USS Coronado) 61 == Overseas Troops ---- (Lance Cpl. James Nemger) . - * MILITARY HISTORY* . 62 == Pearl Harbor Day 2017 ---- (76th Anniversary | Two Posthumously Honored) 63 == Pearl Harbor Ship Logs ---- (Entries Memorialize Start of WWII) 65 == Military History ---- (AR | Hero Margaret Corbin) 66 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 31 DEC) 66 == Abandoned Military Bases [13] ---- (Ghost Fleet, USA) 66 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Galt~William W | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE* . 68 == Opioid Alternative ---- (Mollusk Venom Research) 69 == Tricare East ---- (Humana Correction Letter Regarding Payments) 70 == TRICARE Changes 2018 [12] ---- (Minimal Impact on TFL Users) 70 == TRICARE Changes 2018 [13] ---- (NDAA Grandfathering Clause Circumvented) 71 == Coffee Drinkers [03] ---- (Three Or Four Cups A Day Health Impact 72 == History Of Medicine ---- (Pulling A Tooth) 73 == TRICARE Podcast 426 ---- (Skin Protection | Getting Care When Traveling) 74 == TRICARE Podcast 427 ---- (PC Mgr Changes - Stress Webinar - Cost Changes) . * FINANCIAL * . 75 == VA Loan Quiz ---- (Home Buying Basics) 75 == Tax Plan 2017 [01] ---- (Senate Version Released) 77== Tax Plan 2017 [02] ---- (Initial Bill Proposals Impact on Middle Class) 78 == Social Media Ads Scam ---- (Use Caution When Buying) 78 == Fingerlings Scam ---- (Desperate Parents Targeted w/Fakes) 79 == Prenuptial Agreement ---- (Not For Everyone) 80 == Gasoline Savings [04] ---- (Using Premium vice Regular) 81 == National Park Fees [01] ---- (Waived Admission Fee 2018 Schedule) 82 == Tax Burden for West Virginia Retired Vets ---- (As of DEC 2017) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 84 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 DEC 2017) 85 == AMC Dear Santa Letter ---- (Request for Help) 86 == Army Gun Sale ---- (Surplus .45 Caliber Pistols for Public)_ 87 == ARA San Juan ---- (Acoustic Analytical Review of Sub's Sinking) 88 == Wildfires ---- (Wildlife Should Be Left Alone) 88 == Revocable Living Trust ---- (What It Is) 89 == Revocable Living Trust [01] ---- (Q & A) 90 == Battle of Marawi ---- (RP City in Ruins After Liberation from ISIS) 91 == US-Mexico Border ---- (Arrests Lowest Level in 46 Years) 93 == Where There's a Will, There's a Way ---- (06) 93 == Garage Door Billboards ---- (Making Yours Stand Out (16) 94 == Have You Heard? ---- (Food for thought....) 3 Note: 1. The page number on which an article can be found is provided to the left of each article’s title 2. Numbers contained within brackets [ ] indicate the number of articles written on the subject. To obtain previous articles send a request to [email protected]. * ATTACHMENTS * . Attachment - New York Vet State Benefits & Discounts DEC 2017 Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 DEC Attachment - Veterans Day Tribute * DoD * DoD Cluster Bomb Policy ► 2019 Use Deadline Set Aside The Pentagon has put off indefinitely a planned ban on using certain cluster bombs, which release explosive submunitions, or bomblets. The U.S. military considers them a legitimate and important weapon, although critics say they kill indiscriminately and pose hazards to civilians. A 2010 international treaty outlaws the use of cluster bombs, but the U.S. is not a signatory. The George W. Bush administration declared in 2008 that after Jan. 1, 2019, the United States would continue its use of cluster bombs only if they met a performance standard of failing to detonate 1 percent or less of the time. That standard is important because armed and unexploded cluster munitions left on the battlefield pose a long-term hazard to civilians. Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman, said that despite efforts to develop more reliable, and thus safer, cluster munitions, the U.S. military has been unable to produce bombs with failure rates of 1 percent or less. He said it’s unclear how long it might take to achieve that standard, and thus the Pentagon concluded in a months-long policy review that it should set aside the 2019 deadline and allow commanders to authorize the use of the weapons when they deem it necessary. The new policy drew immediate criticism. Mary Wareham, arms division director for Human Rights Watch, said there is no compelling reason for the use of cluster munitions. “The U.S. says it can’t produce ‘safe’ cluster munitions, so it has decided to keep using ‘unsafe’ ones,” she said. “We condemn this decision to reverse the long-held U.S. commitment not to use cluster munitions that fail more than 1 percent of the time, resulting in deadly unexploded sub-munitions.” Her organization is chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international campaign seeking to eliminate cluster bombs. A new Pentagon policy approved 30 NOV erases the 2019 deadline and asserts that the weapons are legitimate, not necessarily a humanitarian hazard, and important for wartime attacks on “area targets” like enemy troop formations. The new policy authorizes commanders to approve use of existing cluster bombs “until sufficient quantities” of safer versions are developed and fielded. “Safer” means meeting the 1 percent failure standard or developing bombs equipped with a self-destruct mechanism or that can be rendered 4 inoperable in 15 minutes or less by the exhaustion of their power source. The policy does not define what qualifies as “sufficient quantities” of safer weapons, and it sets no new deadline. In practice, the U.S. rarely uses cluster bombs. The Pentagon says its last large-scale