Bulletin 190815 (PDF Edition)
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RAO BULLETIN 15 August 2019 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == DoD Deploy or Out Policy [03] ---- (Non-Deployable Airmen Drop from 7% to 5%) 05 == Trump Afghanistan Strategy [03] ---- (All Troops Out by 2020 Election) 07 == DoD Lawsuit ~ Nissan Repossession Policy ---- Cash Settlement For Troops Impacted) 07 == DoD Pharmacy Program [01] ---- (Concern Over U.S. Reliance on China) 08 == SECDEF [19] ---- (New Secretary & Deputy Secretary Confirmations) 10 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 AUG 2019) 14 == POW/MIA [77] ---- (WWII Remains Return to U.S. in Repatriation Ceremony) 15 == POW/MIA [78] ---- (25 More Missing Service Members Identified from 55 Cases of Remains) 15 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 AUG 2019 | Sixteen) . * VA * . 18 == VA Mission Act [12] ---- (5,000 Urgent Care Providers On Board – 2000 More to Go) 19 == VA NVDA Program [01] ---- (Volunteer Vets Making Sure No Veteran Dies Alone) 20 == Fisher House Expansion [22] ---- (Omaha Nebraska Facility Underway) 20 == VA Emergency Care [01] ---- ($53 Million in Claims Wrongfully Denied) 21 == VA Nursing Home [15] ---- (GAO Report Notes Upcoming CNH Availability Concerns) 1 22 == PTSD [253] ---- (Million Veteran Program Sheds Light on PTSD Genes) 23 == VA Same Day Appointment ---- (Program Needs Performance Measures) 24 == VASRD [02] ---- (Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders & Nutritional Deficiencies Updated) 24 == VA Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 AUG 2019) . * VETS * . 25 == Vet Earnings ---- (Study Reveals Higher than Non-Vets Receive) 26 == Vet CRC Program [01] ---- (California Villa Facility Shortcomings Revealed) 26 == Vet Unemployment [20] ---- (0.1% Increase in July to 3.4%) 27 == Honor Guards [01] ---- (Vet Groups Declining Membership Impact on Availability) 28 == SBP DIC Offset [61] ---- (Advocates Push to Keep Repeal in NDAA) 29 == IRS Kiddie Tax [03] ---- (Gold Star Families Unfairly Taxed on Benefits) 30 == Retiree Court Martial ---- (New Legal Opinion Says it is Unconstitutional) 32 == Veterans FAQ ---- (Why Was I Only Given 6 Months of Back Pay?) 32 == Veterans FAQ ---- (Will I be Compensated for ALL of the Time I Waited for the VA Decision?) 33 == Veterans FAQ ---- (Why Must I Prove AO Exposure at Fort Polk?) 34 == WWII Vets 201 ---- (Luciano Graziano | Last Living Witness to Germany's Surrender) 35 == WWII Vets 202 ---- (James Thomas Lingg | Retired CWO2’s Service) 36 == Obit: Dorothy Eleanor Olsen ---- (23 JUL 2019 | WWII WASP Pilot) 38 == Obit: N. Grigsby ---- (16 Apr 1890 | Dying Protest) 38 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 16 AUG 2019) 39 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 16 AUG 2019) 39 == Vet State Benefits ---- (Montana 2019) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 40 == American Legion [06] ---- (S.504/H.R.1641 LEGION Act Signed Into Law) 40 == VA Suicide Prevention [57] ---- (H.R.100 | Vet Overmedication and Suicide Prevention Act) 41 == GI Bill [291] ---- (H.R.4162 | GI Bill Planning Act of 2019) 42 == VA Reserve/Guard Benefits ---- (H.R.4183 | Identifying Barriers and Best Practices Study Act) . * MILITARY* . 43 == Navy Drug Policy ---- (Sailors Told to Tamp Out any CBD, Hemp Use) 44 == USMC Casualties ---- (Scott A. Koppenhafer | KIA Marine Raider Gunnery Sgt) 46 == USS Gerald A. Ford [15] ---- (Navy ‘Arrogance’ On USS Ford ‘Oughta Be Criminal’) 47 == Air Force Retention [02] ---- (Indefinite Enlistments under Consideration) 48 == Army Recruiting [13] ---- (Recruiter Recruits Wife) 48 == Military Insomnia ---- (How DoD is Hoping to Curb It) 50 == B-1 Bomber [04] ---- (Only 10% Fully Mission Capable) 50 == Army Jungle Combat Boots ---- (Two Types Available for Purchase) 51 == Military Eating ---- (Food Causes Stress For Women Veterans) 53 == Military MREs [03] ---- (New Tech Zaps Rations into a Third Their Normal Size) 54 == Military Mail ---- (U.S. International Mail Treaty Withdrawal APO-FPO Impact) 55 == Navy Minesweeper Fleet ---- (Ships are Too Old and Broken to Do the Job) 59 == USS John S. McCain [10] ---- (New Report Blames Big Navy for Fatal Collision) 60 == USS John S. McCain [11] ---- (Newer Technology Isn’t Always Better) 61 == Air Force Pay ---- (Software Giltch Now Fixed | Money to be Included in Next Pay Period) 2 61 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (‘CO’ thru ‘Compartment’) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 62 == WWII Rationing [01] ---- (Food & Clothing) 64 == Treaty of Versailles ---- (Flawed From the Start and Never Adequately Enforced) 65 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 31 AUG) 66 == Every Picture Tells A Story ---- (Douglas A-20 Havoc) 66 == Black Watch Snipers ---- (A Canadian Battalion’s WWII Story) 67 == Citroën Sabotage ---- (Screwing With Nazis in a Genuinely Clever and Subtle Way) 67 == Circle of Heroes Memorial ---- (Gulf of Mexico off Dunedin Beach, FL) 68 == C-Rats ---- (Fueled Troops During and After World War II) 69 == Post WWII Photos ---- (Aachen, Germany School Registration) 69 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [36] ---- (Reserved) 69 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (James R. Hendrix | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE * . 71 == TRICARE Back to School Services ---- (It’s Time to Look Ahead) 72 == Organ Donors [01] ---- (Kidney | A Donor’s Experience) 73 == Trump Pharmacy Proposal ---- (Would Let US Import Cheaper Prescription Drugs) 74 == Prescription Drug Cost [35] ---- (How Democratic Candidates Want to Limit Drug Prices) 74 == Tick-Borne Diseases [01] ---- (Senate Committee Drug Pricing Reforms Unveiled) 76 == PTSD Detection [01] ---- (Study Discloses Genetic Links) 76 == Insomnia [03] ---- (Treating the Cause | Behavioral Treatment works Best) 77 == Period Problems ---- (How Do You Know if Yours is Causing Problems that it Shouldn’t?) 79 == Varicose Veins [02] ---- (What to Do About Bulging Veins) 80 == Blood Pressure [08] ---- (Age Related Brain Damage Link) 81 == TRICARE Terminal Policy ---- (Military Kids Can Now Receive Both Treatment and Hospice) 82 == Liver Disease [03] ---- (The Forgotten Organ) 82 == Cancer Q&A ---- (190801 thru 190815) 83 == TRICARE Podcast 513 ---- (Mosquito Borne Illnesses - Avoiding Bug Bites - Tick Bites /Lyme Disease) 85 == TRICARE Podcast 514 ---- (Back-to-School Advice | DEERS Registration for Children) . * FINANCES * . 86 == TRICARE Rates ---- (2020 Changes Announced) 87 == Debt Collection [14] ---- (FDCPA Rules Need Updating to Protect Military Community) 88 == Tariff Impact ---- (Things You Might Buy Before Tariffs Make Them More Expensive) 89 == Investment Decisions ---- (Do Not Make Based Solely on Celebrity Endorsements) 90 == Gasoline Taxes ---- (Rates as of July 2019) 91 == Money Moves [03] ---- (7 Everyone Must Make After Retiring) 93 == Water Conservation [01] ---- (Bad Habits that are Running Up your Water Bill) 94 == Return Policies ---- (15 Stores to Consider) 97 == Social Security Q & A ---- (190801 thru 190815) 98 == Military Retirement Pay [09] ---- (Indiana State Income Tax) 98 == Airline Alert Scam ---- (Traveling This Summer? New Phishing Emails Look like Alerts) 99 == Job Scams 3 ---- (Military Spouses, Vets Targeted on Mystery Shopper Scam) 101 == Retiree Finances [02] ---- (Ways in Which They Waste their Savings) 3 192 == Tax Burden for Oklahoma Retired Vets ---- (As of AUG 2019) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 103 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 August 2019) 104 == Afghan Manning Levels [05] ---- (42,000 Troops Lost in Crackdown on 'Ghost Soldiers') 106 == Aircraft Carriers [02] ---- (Why China Can't Target U.S. Carriers) 108 == DPRK Cyberattacks [01] ---- (North Korea Took in $2 Billion to Fund Weapons Program) 109 == Russia ---- (Best Way to Deal with It -- Wait for It to Implode) 110 == Mosquitos [06] ---- (Zapping from the Inside Out | Genetic Modification) 111 == Car Theft [01] ---- (Ones Most Likely to be Stolen) 112 == Bug Byte Tips ---- (Avoiding) 113 == Motivational Quotes ---- (On the Humorous Side - 01) 114 == Interesting Ideas ---- (Sheet Storage) 114 == Memories ---- (Portable Pocket Radios) 115 == One Word Essays ---- (Fruitful) 115 == Have You Heard? ---- (My Thoughts | Pet Store Monkey | Trump Tax Records) 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 – Montana Vet State Benefits Attachment – Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 AUG (Updated) * DoD * DoD Deploy or Out Policy Update 03 ► Non-Deployable Airmen Drop from 7% to 5% The number of non-deployable airmen has dropped from nearly 7 percent to less than 5 percent following last year’s Pentagon-wide mandate to “deploy or get out.” The Air Force shrank the portion of its ranks that couldn’t deploy through a series of initiatives after former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered the military to start letting go of personnel who were unable to deploy for at least a year. He pushed each service to reduce the total number of personnel who were unable to deploy. As of December 2018, 6.8 percent of airmen—34,200 people in total—could not deploy. The biggest culprits: failing to stay current on vaccinations, addressing medical and dental issues, and falling behind on physical training. Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright told