RAO BULLETIN 15 July 2015
Total Page:16
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RAO BULLETIN 15 July 2015 PDF Edition THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject * DOD * . 04 == Commissary Privatization [01] ------------ (NDAA Keeps Issue Alive) 05 == Confederate Flag Controversy ------------ (Should the Military Ban It) 06 == Cold War Experiments Lawsuit [02] ---------- (Appeals Court Ruling) 07 == AFRH Gulfport [06] ------ (Investigation Ongoing | Director Resigns) 07 == POW/MIA Update 59 --------------- (DPAA Private Group Partnering) 08 == POW/MIA Recoveries ----------------- (Reported 150701 thru 150714) * VA * . 10 == VA Health Record ----------------------- (New Program Demonstration) 11 == Vet Toxic Exposure ~ Mustard Gas [02] ---- (VA Vet Search Faltered) 12 == PTSD [196] --------------------- (Nontraditional Mind-Body Treatment) 12 == VA Pain Management [05] -------------------- (New Approach Initiated) 14 == VA Million Veteran Program [05] ------------------- (Four New Studies) 15 == VA Whistleblowers [28] -------- (Group Wants interim OIG Replaced) 17 == VA Whistleblowers [29] ---- (New IG Should Be Non-VA Employee) 18 == VA Claims Backlog [147] -------------------- (128,000 125-day Claims) 19 == VA Vet Choice Program [20] -------------- (Guam Vets Unable to Use) 19 == VA Accountability [09] ----------------- (Push is Making A Difference) 20 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ------------- (Reported 15 thru 30 Jun 2015) 24 == VA Black Hills HCS [01] --------- (Hot Springs Hospital Could Close) 25 == VA Pittsburg HCS [02] ------- (Legionnaires | Treatment Not Delayed) 26 == VAMC Atlanta [03] --- (OPC | Vet Told ‘No New Patients Accepted’) 27 == VAMC Tomah WI [09] ---------------- (VA OIG Accused of Cover Up) 28 == VARO Philadelphia [09] ------- (11 Employees Could Face Discipline) 1 * VETS * . 28 == Vet Cremains [28] -------------------------------- (10 Interred in Dayton) 30 == Vet Cremains [29] ---------- (Sgt. Charles Schroeter | MOH Recipient) 31 == Awards Replacement [05] ------------------ (New Reg Offers Guidance) 32 == Pennsylvania Vet Tuition ------------ (New State Law Effective 1 JUL) 33 == Vet Tattoos --------------------------------------- (Chicago Police Lawsuit) 34 == Same Sex Vet Burial --------------- (Idaho Vet Cemetery | Judge Rules) 35 == Obit | Donahue~Robert ------------------------------------- (May 31, 2015) 36 == Obit | Williams~Eldridge ----------------------------------- (July 02, 2015) 37 == Obit | Cuddy~Susan Ahn ----------------------------------- (June 24, 2015) 39 == Vet Awardees ----------------------------------- (Pedevillano~John | PUC) 40 == PTSD Update 194 ---------- (1st Brain Tissue Biorepository Launched) 40 == Vet Charity Watch [53] - (George Bush Paid $100k for Vet Fundraiser) 41 == Retiree Appreciation Days ---------------------------- (As of 13 Jul 2015) 42 == Vet Hiring Fairs -------------------------------- (15 Jul thru 14 Aug 2015) 43 == Ernie Pyle --------------------------- (Still Telling the Stories of Soldiers) 44 == Veterans Vision Project [08] ----------------- (Machine Gunner, USMC) 45 == WWII Vets [90] ---------------------------------------- (Kurtis~William A) 46 == Vet State Benefits & Discounts ------------------------ (New York 2015) 46 == Veteran Benefit/Info Sites ----------------- (Alphabetical Listing | 2015) * VET LEGISLATION * . 49 == VA ID Card [07] ------------- (H.R.91 | Sent to President for Signature) 50 == VA Whistleblower [30] ------ (Whistleblowing Testimony Travel Act) 51 == VA Benefits Eligibility [03] --- (Less Than Honorable Discharge Bill) 52 == NDAA for 2016 [11] -------------- (Military Retirement Reform Issues) 53 == NDAA for 2016 [12] --------------- (Purple Heart Posthumous Awards) 54 == Oregon Vet Legislation --- (LGBT Coordinator | Discharge Upgrades) 54 == Vet Bills Submitted to 114th Congress ---------- (150701 thru 150713) * MILITARY * . 56 == Military Benefit Upgrades [05] --------------------- (Same Sex Couples) 57 == Operation Martillo --------------------- (U.S. Coast Guard Involvement) 58 == Feres Doctrine [07] ------- (Malpractices Suits | Genesis Test Fairness) 60 == Military Working Dogs [03] ----------- (“Max” | Appropriate for Kids) 61 == Miramar Air Show ----- (Marine Corps Planning 3-day show 2-4 Oct) 63 == Military Enlistment Standards 2015 [02] -----------------– (Citizenship) 63 == Medal of Honor Citations ---------- (Graves~Terrence Collinson | VN) * MILITARY HISTORY * . 66 == Aviation Art ------------------------------------ (Struck by a Thunderbolt) 67 == Iwo Jima Reflections ---- (Hershel Williams | Sorry You’re too Short) 68 == Military Trivia 110 --------- (U.S. Magna Carta Offer to Enter WWII) 2 69 == Military History --------------------------- (WWII Massacre at Palawan) 70 == D-Day -------------------------------- (Troops Move onto Omaha Beach) 70 == WWII Prewar Events ---------------------------- (The London Sky 1940) 71 == WWII PostWar Events ---- (China "Night Tiger" Battalion Mar 1946) 71 == Spanish American War Images 77 ------------- (Puck Cover Apr 1901) 71 == Military History Anniversaries --------------------------- (16 thru 31 Jul) 72 == WWI in Photos 129 ------------------- (Taking of Courcelles Jun 1918) 72 == Faces of WAR (WWII) --------------- (French Countryside May 1945) * HEALTH CARE * . 73 == NDAA for 2016 [10] -- (Bills Would Curb ER Visits, Boost Co-Pays) 73 == Medicare Card [03] ------------------------- (How to Get a Replacement) 74 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [32] ------ (IAVA Vets Worry About Health) 75 == Know Your Food [03] -------------- (Health Impact of Spices & Herbs) 76 == PTSD [195] -------- (VA/DoD Want Both Good and Damaged Brains) * FINANCES * . 77 == Tennessee Property Tax ---------------------- (Vet Exemption Decrease) 78 == Credit Card Blocked Purchases ----- (What You Can’t Buy With One) 80 == Probate -------------------------------------------------------- (What it Does) 81 == Saving Money ------------ (Tickets | Tips to Avoid Moving Violations) 82 == Credit Repair Scam ----------------------------------------- (How it Works) 83 == Affordable Housing Scam --------------------------------- (How it Works) 84 == Tax Burden for Virginia Retired Vets ------------------ (As of Jun 2015) 85 == Tax Burden for Illinois Residents ----------------------- (As of Jun 2015) 87 == Thrift Savings Plan 2015 ----------- (Share Prices + YTD Gain or Loss) * GENERAL INTEREST * . 88 == Notes of Interest --------------------------------------- (1 thru 14 Jul 2015) 89 == RAO Bulletin Index ----------- (How to Recall a Prior Bulletin Article) 90 == Data Erasure ------------- (Electronic Devices | Deleting Personal Data) 92 == OPM Data Breach [02] -------------- (Timeline | What We Now Know) 94 == OPM Data Breach [03] -------------------------- (OPM Director Resigns) 95 == OPM Data Breach [04] ----- (Lifetime Credit Monitoring on the Table) 96 == Ivory ------------------------- (FWS Destroys One Ton IAW U.S. Policy) 97 == Pickpockets ----------------- (Common Misconceptions | Tips to Avoid) 98 == Baking Soda [02] ---------------------------- (Alternate Uses | 39 thru 85) 102 == WWII Ads ------------------------------------------------------ (Chrysler (3)) 103 == Photos That Say it All ------------------------- (Louis Zamperini, age 97) 103 == Normandy Then & Now --- (Saint Georges de Basly. France Jun 1944) 103 == Have You Heard? ---------------------------------- (Bet You Didn't Know) 105 == Moments of US History ------------------------- (NYC Traffic Jam 1920) 106 == Interesting Inventions ------------------------- (Bicycle for Smart Parents) 106 == Parking -------------- (Revenge Tactic #3 against Inconsiderate Parkers) 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 - Veteran Legislation as of 13 Jul 2015 Attachment - New York Vet State Benefits & Discounts June 2015 Attachment - Military History | Massacre at Palawan Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 Jul Attachment - Retiree Activity\Appreciation Days (RAD) Schedule as of Jul 13, 2015 * DoD * Commissary Privatization Update 01 ► NDAA Keeps Issue alive The debate over privatizing commissaries isn't quite over yet. The uncertainty stems from a bit of confusion over two seemingly contradictory provisions in the Senate's draft version of the 2016 defense authorization bill (NDAA). Neither provision appears in the House's draft of the policy bill, which means lawmakers from both chambers will have to address the issue when they meet to iron out a single compromise version of the bill later this year. And some sources are concerned that conferees could resuscitate the issue of commissary privatization at the negotiating table. The original provision passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee required the Defense Department to develop a plan for private companies to operate commissaries, and test the plan for two years in at least five of the largest U.S. commissary markets. That original privatization plan was rendered "null and void" after an amendment to block it was approved on the Senate floor by voice vote. Yet in a classic example of how arcane legislative procedures can be, both the original plan and the amendment to kill it were passed by the full Senate as part of its draft bill. Two Capitol Hill staffers told Military Times that the original privatization provision stayed in the bill because of technicalities related to