RAO BULLETIN 15 May 2020
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RAO BULLETIN 15 May 2020 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == DOD Watch ---- (Being Maintained Despite Pandemic) 05 == Coronavirus Disinformation ---- (China’s Exploitation of the Pandemic) 06 == PCS Moves [10] ---- (30,000 Military Families to Move during Stop-Movement Order) 06 == DOD Immigrant Soldier Citizenship ---- (Lawsuit | Promise Broken by U.S). 07 == Military Medicine [02] ---- (Congress Must Stop the Attempt to Dismantle) 09 == Marine Corps Readiness [04] ---- (Forming a First-of-its-Kind Regiment in Hawaii) 10 == MilSpouse Money Mission ---- (New DoD Website for Military Spouses) 11 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 May 2020 | Ten) . * VA * . 13 == Memorial Day [01] ---- (VA National Cemeteries to Commemorate 22 MAY) 14 == VA Operations ---- (3-Part Plan to Resume Full Services) 15 == VA Coronavirus Preparations [05] ---- (Rising Capacity, Supplies, & Staffing 8 weeks In) 15 == VA COVID-19 National Summary [01] ---- (Reporting Summary Tool Enhanced) 16 == VA COVID-19 National Summary [02] ---- (More Than 5,000 Veterans Are in Recovery) 17 == VA Referrals ---- (Agency Probe Requested on COVID-19 Handling) 18 == Homeless Vets [100] ---- (CARES Act Funding Expands VA Support Services) 19 == Homeless Vets [101] ---- (COVID-19 Aid Bill Create Tent Cities in VA Parking Lots) 20 == VA Mobile Apps [02] ---- (COVID-19 Coach Available for Download) 21 == VA Veteran Homes [01] ---- (Senate Probe Sought After COVID-19 Deaths) 22 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [76] ---- (Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry Update) 1 23 == VA COVID-19 Deaths [01] ---- (African American & Hispanic Warning) 24 == Agent Orange Exposure Locations [03] ---- (White Paper Identifies Guam 13 Year Exposure Period) 25 == VA Cemeteries [22] ---- (Gravestones Bearing Nazi Swastikas Removal Request Rejected) 25 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 MAY 2020) . * VETS * . 26 == Airborne Hazard & Burn Pit Registry ---- (Steps for Completing) 28 == Vet Jobs [263] ---- (Remote Work Opportunities for Vets & Spouses) 30 == Vet Jobs [264] ---- (Part-Time Work from Home) 31 == Vet Jobs [265] ---- (PAVE | Employment Services for Vets, Caregivers & Military Spouses) 32 == Homeless Vets [99] ---- (Sleeper Effect Delay) 33 == Alaska Native Vietnam Vets ---- (Free Land Eligibility | Act Now) 33 == Vet Unemployment [21] ---- (Up to Nearly 12% amid Coronavirus Crisis) 34 == WWII Vets 226 ---- (Frederick Kroesen | 3 War Veteran Passes) 34 == WWII Vets 227 ---- (Alexander Ewanchuk | Lifetime of Naval Service) 36 == Afghan Vets 10 ---- (Robert J. Reeves | Over 12 Deployments) 37 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 15 MAY 2020) 37 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled as of 15 MAY 2020) 38 == State Veteran's Benefits ---- (Arizona 2020) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 39 == Tricare Pharmacy Copay [20] ---- (H.R.6573 | Help Our Heroes Access Medicine Act of 2020) 40 == Agent Orange Eligibility [01] ---- (S.1381 | VA Treat Thailand & Vietnam Exposure the Same) 40 == Servicemembers Lease Protections ---- (S.3637/H.R.6767 | Stop Movement Orders Exemption) 41 == VA Health Care Eligibility [02] ---- (H.0000 | Heroes Act) . * MILITARY* . 42 == CNO ---- (Message To The Fleet | 6 May 2020) 43 == South China Sea Ops ---- (Navy Ships Enter to Counter Beijing ‘Bullying’) 44 == Military Hazardous Duty Pay ---- (Approval Sought for Coronavirus Response Troops) 45 == USS Kidd (DDG-100) ---- (COVID-19 Lessons from USS Roosevelt Outbreak Helped) 46 == Military Recruiting [14] ---- (Interim Coronavirus Survivor Eligibility Policy) 47 == Military Recruiting [15] ---- (Wash-Out Screening) 48 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (‘Idler’ thru ‘Iron Lung) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 49 == USS Nevada (BB-36) [01] ---- (Sunken Hulk Found) 51 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 31 MAY) 51 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Frank Gaffney | WWI) 52 == WWII Nazi Germany Battleship Fleet ---- (Why Hitler Never Built One) . * HEALTH CARE * . 52 == MHS Nurse Advise Line [01] ---- (Proves Invaluable During COVID-19 Pandemic) 54 == Vaccines [02] ---- (Scientists Must Understand COVID-19 Building Blocks to Find a Vaccine) 55 == Health Mistakes ---- (7 Deadly Ones after Age 50) 2 57 == TRICARE Prescription Limits ---- (Imposed on Some COVID-19 Treatment Drugs) 58 == TRICARE Telehealth Coverage ---- (Effective Now Through the Pandemic) 59 == TRICARE Mammograms ---- (3D Breast Cancer Screenings Available 29 MAY) 59 == Health Care Jobs ---- (1.4 Million Lost in April) 60 == Prescription Drug Costs [53] ---- (Pharmaceutical Sector Has Annually Raised Drug Prices) 61 == Prescription Drug Costs [54] ---- (Congressional Drug Pricing Efforts on Post-Crisis Agenda) 62 == HIV/AIDS [06] ---- (Medicare Patient Drug Price Impact) 63 == Appliances [04] ---- (Respiratory & Cardiovascular Disease Risk w/ Gas Powered) 63 == Coronavirus [32] ---- (CAMIC Use could Reduce PPE Shortages) 65 == Coronavirus [33] ---- (Face Shields May Provide Better Option) 66 == Coronavirus [34] ---- (Symptoms & Steps to Help Ensure Full Recovery) 67 == Coronavirus [35] ---- (Army Answers Pet Owner FAQs) 68 == Coronavirus [36] ---- (Financial Impact on Health Insurance Companies) 69 == Coronavirus [37] ---- (Air Force Patient Transport Solution) . * FINANCES * . 70 == Retirement Savings ---- (How Much They Have Dropped Since COVID-19) 71 == Social Security Q&A ---- (200501 thru 200515) 72 == SSA COLA [07] ---- (Buying Power Not Keeping Up Increases) 73 == Coupons ---- (7 Ways to Waste Your Money and Time) 74 == Inheritance Tax [01] ---- (Liability on Inherited Items You Sell) 75 == Coronavirus Financial Planning [08] ---- (The Government is Helping You in 12 Ways) 76 == Catfishing Scam ---- (Uses Servicemembers Identity Online to Swindle Money out of People) 78 == Blessing Loom Scam ---- (This "Easy Investment" is Really a Pyramid Scheme) 78 == Tax Burden for California Retired Vets ---- (As of May 2020) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 81 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 May 2020) 83 == China’s Submarine Program [01] ---- (Vessels Protected by Underground Tunnels) 84 == NATO [01] ---- (Germany Ruling Coalition Want U.S. Nukes Removed) 85 == Iran Military [02] ---- (Another Missile Accident) 86 == Vaping [01] ---- Higher Tax Proposals 87 == Generic Drug Pricing [07] ---- (Apotex Admits to Fixing Price of Widely Used Cholesterol Medication) 88 == Pandemic Fraud ---- (COVID-19 Virus Unleashes Wave of Fraud) 90 == Stockpiling ---- (Food & Water Tips) 91 == Energy Bills [01] ---- (More Mistakes That Send Energy Bills Soaring) 93 == State Income Tax [01] ---- (Revenue Source Reliance) 94 == Have You Heard? ---- (Husbands & Wives (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]. 3. Recipients of the Bulletin are authorized and encouraged to forward the Bulletin to other vets or veteran organizations. * ATTACHMENTS * . Attachment – Arizona Vet State Benefits Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 MAY (Updated) 3 Attachment – Why Hitler Never Built a Battleship Fleet * DoD * DOD Watch Being Maintained Despite Pandemic While the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped U.S. government priorities, Americans must remember that the world remains a dangerous place, Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said during a Brookings Institution webinar. Americans need to concentrate on the virus, but other threats and nations may take advantage of COVID-19 to further their interests, the secretary told Brookings senior fellow Michael O'Hanlon in today's virtual conversation. "We're still seeing all the same bad behavior out there that we saw before," Esper said. The secretary noted that Russia is probing air defenses in Alaska and over the North Sea and that the Chinese in the South China Sea are "more pushy" of late. Both Russia and China are confronting COVID-19, but it is impossible to know the truth about the extent of the pandemic in those countries, Esper said. "They are not reporting it as much, but we know that they're concerned about it," he added. His message to DOD personnel is to remain vigilant. "These are uncertain times. You don't know how states or militaries will act," he said. "So we [have] got to remain vigilant out there on the front lines." Esper noted that a key tenet of the National Defense Strategy is dynamic force employment. "It's a way by which you maintain a degree of strategic predictability to ensure the readiness of your force, but garner a higher degree of operational unpredictability," he explained. The military — even as it's countering the coronavirus — is still taking steps to implement the strategy, the secretary said. Russia and China are the two main threats to the United States and its allies, followed by Iran, North Korea and violent extremism, Esper said. To counter China, the United States has changed the bomber presence in Guam, has done more freedom-of- navigation floats and flights and simply has made things more unpredictable for the Chinese, he said. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has "done a good job in terms of maintaining that show of force, that deterrence, that capability and readiness that we need in the … region," Esper said. Some of the Chinese provocations may be unprofessional conduct by pilots of sea captains, he said, but some bad