RAO BULLETIN 15 January 2019 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [60] ---- (Advocates Hope to Reignite Debate in 2019) 05 == DoD Medical Billets ---- (Plans To Eliminate 17,000 Uniformed Ones) 07 == DARPA [07] ---- (KAIROS | System to Use AI to Better Understand Global Events) 07 == Toxic Exposure | Moody AFB GA ---- (Nearby Community’s Groundwater) 08 == Government Shutdown USCG Impact [02] ---- (Lawmakers Look to 15 JAN Payday) 09 == Government Shutdown USCG Impact [03] ---- (Ethics Rule Work Around) 10 == Government Shutdown USCG Impact [05] ---- (Website Tip Sheet Removed) 11 == Navy Carrier Program [01] ---- (Pentagon Approves Two-Carrier Buy) 12 == Transgender Troops [21] ---- (Circuit Court Backs DoD’s Policy) 13 == U.S.-Mexico Border ---- (DHS Requests Additional Support) 13 == DoD Blended Retirement System [03] ---- (Use Overestimated by 66%) 15 == Pentagon Facts [01] ---- (10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About It) 16 == Commissary/Exchange Merger [01] ---- (Merger Task Force Has Finished Its Work) 17 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2019) 19 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2019 | Nine) . * VA * . 21 == HVAC [26] ---- (New Chairman’ Goal - Building Up VA, Not Outside Care Programs) 22 == VA Secretary [86] ---- (Sec. Wilkie to Govt. Union: Stop Exploiting Veteran Suicide) 1 23 == VA Private Sector Care ---- ($55B in Contracts Awarded for First 3 Regions) 24 == VA Private Sector Care [01] ---- (Veterans’ Medical System Transformation Preps) 26 == VA Blue Water Claims [59] ---- (Lawmakers Hope for Swift Action This Year) 27 == VA Medical Marijuana [56] ---- (Can It move forward in 2019?) 28 == VA Suicide Prevention [53] ---- (What Really Happened With Their Budget) 29 == VA Gambling Findings ---- (Addiction | Path to Recovery) 39 == VA Health Care [01] ---- (How Medicare Can Work with VA Health Care) 31 == VA Blood Drive ---- (January is National Blood Donor Month) 32 == VA Loan Limits ---- (2019) 33 == VA Health Care Access [62] ---- (Choice Rules May be Completely Rewritten in 2019) 33 ==VA Prostate Cancer Program [16] ---- (Survivor Care) . * VETS * . 35 == Homeless Vets [91] ---- (Salt Lake City Valor House Vacancies) 36 == Vet Congressional Staffers ---- (Shortage | Needed for Their Perspective in Policy Work) 37 == Government Shutdown [23] ---- (Vets Said To Be Disproportionately Affected) 38 == GI Bill [275] ---- (Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship) 38 == Vet Myths ---- (Five | Ways the Public Views Vets Isn’t Always Accurate) 40 == Space Available Flight Eligibility [01] ---- (100% Disabled Vets Now Category 6) 41 == Vet Employment [10] ---- (Unemployment Rate Rises to 3.6% for DEC 2018) 41 == Vet Groups [03] ---- (Effectiveness and Impact on the Younger Vet Community) 43 == Afghan Welcome Home Bonus ---- (OTH Dischargees Win Lawsuit) 44 == Vet Fraud & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2019) 45 == Cold War Vets ---- (Pete Schiavo | The Groin Crusher) 46 == WWII Vets 181 ---- (Duane Sherman | Birthday Greetings) 47 == In Memoriam 2018 ---- (Remembering Military Figures We Lost) 47 == Obit: Richard Overton ---- (27 DEC 2018 | Oldest WWII Vet) 48 == Obit: John Lyle ---- (05 JAN 2019 | WWII Tuskegee Airman) 49 == Obit: Leo Dulacki ---- (04 JAN 2019 | Served in 3 Wars) 50 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 16 JAN 2019) 50 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 16 JAN 2018) 51 == State Veteran's Benefits ---- (Iowa 2019) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 51 == Government Shutdown USCG Impact [04] ---- (S.21 | Pay Our Coast Guard Act) 52 == VA Blue Water Claims [60] ---- (H.R.203 | Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019) 52 == Medicare Dental Coverage ---- (S.22 | Medicare Dental Benefit Act of 2019) . * MILITARY* . 53 == A-10 Thunderbolt II ---- (Infantryman’s Best Friend… The Enemy’s Worst Nightmare) 54 == USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) [18] ---- (Collison Causes Worse Than Thought) 57 == Military Lodging [04] ---- (Expect Rates to Rise Substantially) 58 == Navy Training [01] ---- (Iwo Jima Carrier-Landing Practice Potential Move)/8 59 == West Point [06] ---- (Email Change From .mil to .edu) 50 == Air Force Bombs ---- (New Designs Needed To Fight Russia And China) 60 == Navy | What to Watch for in 2019 ---- (1 thru 9 of 19 Things) 64 == Navy | What to Watch for in 2019 ---- (10 thru 19 of 19 Things) 2 66 == GI Bill Transferability [05] ---- (Changes You’ll Need to Know About in 2019) 67 == UCMJ [04] ---- (Reforms Effective 1 JAN) 68 == Railgun [03] ---- (China’s Naval Version Ahead of Schedule) 69 == Navy Evals ---- (New Criteria) 71 == Mk 13 Mod 7 Sniper Rifle ---- (Fielding To Begin in 2019) 71 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (Baby Shit thru BAM) 72 == Warships That Will Change the Future ---- (BNS Riachuelo (S40) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 73 == Davis Gun ---- (Navy’s Attempt to Build a Flying Cannon) 75 == Project Blue Book ---- (The Air Force’s Covert UFO Investigation is Brought to TV) 76 == Black-Eyed Peas ---- (Why Southerners Eat Them on New Year’s) 77 == War Memorials ---- (Patriots Peace Memorial, Louisville Kentucky) 77 == USS Indianapolis (CA-35) [03] ---- (The Final Chapter Video) 77 == Operation Magic Carpet ---- (Bringing Home the 8 Million Boys after WWII) 79 == Carrier Exchange Pilot ---- (USAF Pilot Assigned to USN Carrier Ops) 81 == Emancipation Proclamation ---- (A Strategic "War Measure" to Beat the Confederacy) 83 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [22] ---- (Call House Madam) 83 == Post WWII Photos ---- (Heinkel He-162 "Volksjaeger" Captured Experimental Aircraft) 83 == Every Picture Tells A Story ---- (Almost) 84 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 31 JAN) 84 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Robert Merlin Hanson | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE * . 86 == Hypothermia [01] ---- (Impact on Older Adults) 86 == Toxic Exposure Health Monitoring ---- (Gulf War, Post-9/11 Vets & Offspring) 88 == TRICARE User Fees [104] ---- (Once Again, In the Crosshairs) 88== Medicare Fraud Update 135 ---- (Disclosures 1-14 JAN 2019) 91 == Pneumonia [03] ---- (HIV Sufferers at Greater Risk) 91 == HIV/AIDS [05] ---- (Air Force Will Now Approves PrEP Use with a Waiver) 92 == 3D Bone Printing ---- (DoD $2M Grant To Help Military Personnel) 93 == Glaucoma [05] ---- (Why Vets Need Regular Eye Exams) 94 == Health Saving Account [01] ---- (Reasons to Consider Opening One) 95 == Inflammations ---- (What They Are & What They Do) 97 == Stroke [09] ---- (Fitness Affects Risk) 98 == Prescription Drug Costs [21] ---- (Democrats Look To Unlikely Ally on Drug Pricing) 99 == TRICARE Podcast 483 ---- (Qualifying Life Events - Publications - New TRICARE Enrollees) 100 == TRICARE Podcast 484 ---- (Flu Vaccine - Preventive Services - Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record) . * FINANCES * . 101 == Hospital Charges [01] ---- (Will Soon Be Available online) 101 == Mortgage [11] ---- (Government Shutdown Impact on Getting & Managing) 103 == SNAP [08] ---- (Food Stamps Funded thru FEB despite Government Shutdown) 104 == Property Tax [01] ---- (Postponement Program) 105 == IRS 2018 Filing Season [04] ---- (Four Things You Need to Know) 106 == Airline Tickets ---- (Senior Discount Comparisons) 107 == Mortgage [10] ---- (Prospective House Hunters Window of Opportunity) 3 108 == USAA CFPB Settlement ---- (Pay 66,240 Account Holders $181.59 Each) 109 == IRAs [03] ---- (Why Convert to a Roth IRA?) 110 == Restaurant Menus ---- (Ways They Trick You into Spending More) 111 == Tax Deductions [04] ---- (Changes for Tax Year 2018) 112 == Medicare Outpatient Charges ---- (Procedure Price Lookup Website) 113 == Social Security Q & A ---- (190101 thru 190115) 114 == Social Security Scam ---- (Callers Pose as Social Security to Steal Your SSN) 115 == Tax Burden for Minnesota Retired Vets ---- (As of JAN 2019) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 117 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 JAN 2019) 118 == Government Shutdown Impact on Senate ---- (Democrats Blockade All Legislation) 119 == God Bless America ---- (The Song That Galvanized the American Spirit) 120 == Personal Security [01] ---- (Your Old Tweets Give Away More Than You Think) 122 == Dishwasher Tips [01] ---- (Non-Dish Uses) 123 == China’s Pacific Expansion [01] ---- (Chinese Domination Key Is Inflicting Mass Casualties) 124 == China’s Offensive Capability [06] ---- (Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles Deployment) 125 == Iranian Navy [04] ---- (Plans to Deploy Warships into the Atlantic Ocean) 125 == Trump Afghanistan Strategy [02] ---- (Don’t Tell the Enemy what We’re Doing) 126 == AP VoteCast Results ---- (Poll Shows High Job Approval for Trump from Veterans) 128 == DPRK Nuclear Weapons [25] ---- (Kim Says Ready to Meet Trump Anytime) 129 == Interesting Ideas ---- (Virus Alert) 129 == One Word Essays ---- (Excitement) 129 == Mexican Border Tunnels ---- (Unfinished Tunnel Running Under California Discovered) 130 == Have You Heard? ---- (Mexican Book Store | Mother's Dictionary | Immigration Laws) 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 – Iowa Vet State Benefits Attachment – Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 JAN (Updated) Attachment – In Memoriam