RAO BULLETIN 14 February 2021 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == U.S. Russia START Treaty [01] ---- (Extended to February 5, 2026) 05 == Covid-19 Headgear [15] ---- (SECDEF Orders Mask Wearing on All Military Installations) 05 == NPRC Military Records [07] ---- (Request Backlog Has Grown To an Estimated 445,000) 07 == Strategic Deterrence ---- (Air Force Deploys Four B-52 Bombers to Guam) 08 == Commissary Knowledge ---- (Some Things You Might Not Know) 09 == Selective Service System [30] ---- (Supreme Court Asked to Declare Military Draft Unconstitutional) 11 == POW/MIA [126] ---- (Release of 55 Cases of Remains in 2018 Leads to 70 American IDs) 12 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 01 thru 14 FEB 2021 | Eight) . * VA * . 14 == VA Secretary [96] ---- (Number Eleven Sworn In) 15 == VA Medical Providers ---- (GAO Review Finds Dismissed Physicians May be Treating Vets) 16 == VA Covid-19 Response [01] ---- (One Million Vaccine Doses Administered in 1st Six Weeks) 17 == GI Bill Schools [21] ---- (College For-Profit’ Rules Major Change in COVID Relief Bill) 18 == VA Lawsuit | Fire Ant Death ---- (Nursing Home Vet Succumbs to Over 100 Bites) 20 == VA Million Veteran Program [10] ---- (New Genomic Tool Advances Minority Vet Medical Research) 21 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 14 FEB 2021) 25 == Fisher House Expansion [25] ---- (Twelve New Sites Approved) . * VETS * . 1 26 == Covid-19 Vet Impact [02] ---- (Vets, Military, Families Get Answers to Questions) 28 == U.S. Capitol Riot [02] ---- (Ohio Town Reckons With Vets Charged In Capitol Riot) 30 == U.S. Capitol Riot [03] ---- (Vet Member of Proud Boys Indicted) 31 == U.S. Capitol Riot [04] ---- (Accused Vet Had Top-Secret Clearance and Worked for the FBI) 33 == Dementia [10] ---- (Increased Risk Tied to AO Exposed Vietnam Vets) 34 == Vet Unemployment [28] ---- (Worsened Slightly in January) 35 == Vet Fraud & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 14 FEB 2021) 36 == WWII Vets [247] ---- (James Chapman | 100 Year Old Recalls Hacksaw Ridge) 38 == WWII Vets [248] ---- (Edith Reynolds | Code Girl and Activist) 40 == Korean War Vets ---- (Jesse L. Brown | First African American to Earn Navy Wings) 41 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 15 FEB 2021) 41 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled as of 15 FEB 2021) 42 == State Veteran’s Benefits ---- (West Virginia 2021) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 43 == TRICARE Young Adult Plan [01] ---- (H.R. 475 | Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act of 2021) 44 == Vet Unemployment [29] ---- (H.R. 637/S.134: The Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2021) 44 == Medicare Dental Coverage [02] ---- (H.R.502/S.97: Medicare Program Dental Services) . * MILITARY* . 45 == Military Coronavirus Impact [04] ---- (Everywhere Mandatory On-Base Mask Wearing Initiated) 46 == Basic Allowance for Housing [07] ---- (What the Reduction in BAH is Costing Troops) 48 == Military Base Names [02] ---- (Renaming Commission) 50 == Navy Black Sea Ops ---- (Mission to Reassure Allies & Ensure Security and Stability) 51 == Military Retirement Pay Taxation [04] ---- (News on 5 State’s Efforts to Exempt from State Tax) 53 == Harlem Hellfighters ---- (Army Makes Nickname Official after More Than a Century) 55 == Military Insignia ---- (Knowing and Addressing Rank) 56 == Wake Island Airfield ---- (Inundation Study Underway) 57 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (‘Scram thru ‘Sea Daddy’) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 58 == WWII Operation Colossus ---- (British Tragino Aqueduct Raid) 59 == Operation Big Buzz ---- (Impact on Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance by Black Americans) 62 == Civil War Escapee ---- (U.S. Navy First Class Boy William Benjamin) 64 == WWII German Navy ---- (Heavy Cruiser Admiral Hipper) 65 == WWII Bombing of Balikpapan ---- (Japanese Refineries in Borneo) 67 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (15 thru 29 FEB) 67 == Every Picture Tells A Story ---- (Civil War Union Surgeons) 68 == Medal of Honor Awardees ---- (Isadore Jachman | WWII) 69 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [69] ---- (Mission Completed) . * HEALTH CARE * . 70 == TRICARE Pharmacy Program [01] ---- (How to Locate One to Fill Your Needs) 71 == TRICARE Coverage [10] ---- (When You Can Get the COVID-19 Vaccine) 72 == COPD [01] ---- (Study Shows Hyaluronan Effective in Treating Chronic Lung Disease) 74 == Heart Defibrillators & Pacemakers ---- (Apple’s iPhone 12 Impact) 75 == Chocolate ---- (Health Claims | Sweet Truth or Bitter Reality?) 2 76 == Coronavirus Vaccines [25] ---- (Which COVID-19 Vaccine Should You Take?) 77 == Coronavirus Vaccines [26] ---- (Numerous Pharmacy Chains Ready to Give) 78 == Coronavirus Vaccines [27] ---- (Impact of Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen on Effectiveness) 79 == Coronavirus Vaccines [28] ---- (Second Shot Side Effects) 80 == Covid-19 Victims [04] ---- (Day To Day Breakdown of the Infection) 82 == Covid-19 Headgear [16] ---- (Mask Humidity Level Impact on Disease Severity) . * FINANCES * . 83 == Car Purchasing [01] ---- (Financing | Do Not Exceed 10% Rule) 84 == PCS Moves [14] ---- (Filing Damage Claims) 86 == Student Loan Debt [07] ---- (Ways to Avoid Drowning in It if You Drop Out of College) 88 == Commissary Knowledge [01] ---- (Money Hacks to Save More) 90 == Military Overseas Taxation ---- (Germany Imposed Income Taxes on U.S. Military Families) 91 == COLA FY 2021 ---- (January CPI) 91 == IRS Tax Forms Update 03: 1040 | Five Change’s for Tax Year 2020 93 == Unemployment Insurance Scam [01] ---- (Spot the Signs of Unemployment Fraud) 94 == Valentine’s Day Scam ---- (Happy Valentine's Day! Watch Out for this One) 95 == Tax Burden for Maine Retired Vets ---- (As of FEB 2021) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 100 == Notes of Interest ---- (FEB 01 thru 14, 2021) 101 == Map Comparisons ---- (U.S. Population Density vs. Size) 101 == Korea Unification ---- (Recent Survey Results) 102 == Marijuana [04] ---- (The 15 Most Stoned States in America) 103 == China’s Territorial Claims [09] ---- (Coast Guard Authorized to Fire on Foreign Vessels) 104 == Philippines Travel Advisory ---- (Level 3 Reconsider travel, February 01, 2021) 105 == Obit | George Schultz ---- (A Man Who Made the World A Better Place) 108 == Commissary Use ---- (Some Thinks You Might Have Also Experienced) 109 == Junk Mail Elimination [01] ---- (More Tips on How to Reduce It) 111 == News of the Weird ---- (FEB 01 thru 14, 2021) 113 == Have You Heard or Seen? ---- (Satirical Cartoons | Military Humor 16 | |Navy Life 2) NOTE 1. The page number on which an article can be found is provided to the left of each article’s title 2. To read the articles open the website and slew to the page number of the article you are interested in. 3. Numbers contained within brackets [ ] indicate the number of articles written on the subject. To obtain previous articles send a request to [email protected] ‘or’ [email protected] 4. Recipients of the Bulletin are authorized and encouraged to forward the Bulletin are articles to other vets or veteran organizations . * ATTACHMENTS * . Attachment – West Virginia State Veteran’s Benefits Attachment – Military History Anniversaries 15 thru 29 FEB (Updated) * DoD * 3 U.S. Russia START Treaty Update 01: Extended to February 5, 2026 The United States and the Russian Federation have agreed to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty for five years, U.S. officials announced. The treaty was due to 5 FEB. "Extending the New START Treaty ensures we have verifiable limits on Russian ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers until February 5, 2026," Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken said 3 FEB. "The New START Treaty's verification regime enables us to monitor Russian compliance with the treaty and provides us with greater insight into Russia's nuclear posture, including through data exchanges and onsite inspections that allow U.S. inspectors to have eyes on Russian nuclear forces and facilities." B-52 Stratofortress bombers are dismantled in accordance with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group’s Aircraft and Missile Storage and Maintenance Facility on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., in 2017. Each of the 365 B-52s were flown to the AMARG facility in the early 90s and cut into five pieces in accordance with the treaty Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said the extension of the treaty requires no changes in the Defense Department as the United States is in compliance with all its treaty obligations. "President Biden's decision to seek a five-year extension of New START advances the nation's defense," Kirby said during a January briefing. "Russia's compliance with the treaty has served our national security interests well, and Americans are much safer with New START intact and extended." The treaty went into effect in 2011 and put in place intrusive inspection and notification tools for both nations. "Extending the treaty's limitations on stockpiles of strategic nuclear weapons until 2026 allows time and space for our two nations to explore new, verifiable arms control arrangements that could further reduce risks to Americans," Kirby said. "And the department stands ready to support our colleagues in the State Department as they effect this extension and explore those new arrangements." NATO welcomes the extension. In a statement from the North Atlantic Council, officials said the NATO allies believe "the New START Treaty contributes to international stability, and allies again express their strong support for its continued implementation