RAO BULLETIN 15 January 2018 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 05 == DARPA Sensor Program ---- (Goal | Increased Maritime Awareness) 05 == Pentagon Financial Audit ---- (Will Cost $367 Million In FY18) 06 == Navy Forward Deployed Ships ---- (Rotation For Maintenance Policy) 07 == Transgender Lawsuits [06] ---- (Administration Drops Legal Fight) 08 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2018) 08 == POW/MIA [98] ---- (DPAA-Hosted Family Updates) 09 == POW/MIA Recoveries ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2018 | Seven) . * VA * . 10 == VA Benefits Eligibility [06 ---- (A Few You May Have Overlooked) 11 == VA Health Care Access [60] ---- (Same-Day Services) 11 == VA Dental Benefits ---- (Who's Eligible) 12 == VA Blue Water Claims [43] ---- (Taking The Fight to The Courts) 13 == Opioid Use ---- (VA Prescribing Rate Disclosures) 1 14 == VA Mental Health Care [36] --- (Joint Action Plan) 15 == VA Acupuncture ---- (Chronic Pain Therapy) 17 == VA Physician License Revocations ---- (Congress Demands Action) 18 == VA Firing Authority [01] ---- (Firings Spiked After New Law Signed) 19 == VA Community Provider Payments ---- (Timeliness Improvement Actions) 20 == VA National Vet Wheelchair Games ----(2018 Applications Being Accepted) 20 == VA Emergency Room Care [03] ---- (Follow-Up Treatment) 21 == VA Hospital Admission Policy ---- (Limiting High Risk Patients 24 == VA Hospital Admission Policy [01] ---- (Roseburg VAHCS Response) 25 == VA Medical Marijuana [39] ---- (California Legalization Impact on Vets) 26 == VA Medical Marijuana [40] ---- (Attorney General Memo Vet Impact) 27 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2018) 28 == Emergency Medical Bill Claims [02] ---- (VA 9 JAN Revised Rule Impact) 30 == VA Compensation & Benefits ---- (Problem Solving Program Q&A -- 26 & 27) 31 == VAMC Baltimore MD ---- (Mobility Boost for Seniors) 32 == VAMC Durham NC [02] ---- (Self-Referral Scheduling) 33 == VAMC Bay Pines FL [02] ---- (Homeless Vet Care) 33 == VA HCS Puget Sound [01] ---- (Delayed Surgery Lawsuit) . * VETS * . 34 == DNA Testing == (Wanted | South Korea In-Country Vets) 36 == Vet Deportations [15] ----- (VA Establishes Tijuana Clinic) 37 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [46] ---- (Impact on Former VP Joe Biden) 38 == Student Vets ---- (Six Keys to Success) 39 == Stolen Valor [108] ---- (Reported 180101 thru 180115) 41 == Obit: Jerry Yellin ---- (21 DEC 2017) 42 == Obit: John Young ---- (5 JAN 2018) 44 == Obit: Anna Mae Hays ---- (7 JAN 2018) 46 == WWII VETS 153 ---- (Amado Ante | Bataan Death March Survivor) 47 == WWII VETS 154 ---- (Stan Dube | Saipan Survivor and Sketcher) 48 == AFL Q&A 14 ---- (Procuring Dental Care if not 100% VA Rated) 48 == Retiree Appreciation Days ---- (Scheduled As of 15 JAN 2018) 49 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 15 JAN 2018) 50 == Veteran's State Benefits & Discounts ---- (Oklahoma | JAN 2018) . * VET LEGISLATION* . 51 == VA Telehealth [13] ---- (S.395/H.R.2123 | Vets Act) . * MILITARY* . 52 == Fort Polk Horses ---- (Concerns Over Escalating Roundups) 53 == Entrenching Tool ---- (Weapon of Last Resort) 54 == Air Force Family Planning Services ---- (Air Force Regulation AFI 44-102) 56 == Military Sexual Assault [04] ---- (#MeToo Movement) 57 == Body Armor [01] ---- (New Modular Scalable Vest) 57 == Body Armor [02] ---- (Diamene | Ultra-Light Diamond Hard Flexible Material) 57 == Navy Cruisers ---- (Replacements Might Not Be Cruisers) 58 == Ode to the Infantry Assaultman ---- (MOS Elimination) 2 58 == USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) ---- (After 30 Years Riding High) 60 == Fiery Cross Reef ---- (Transformed Into 2.8 sq km Fortified Airbase by China) 61 == Navy Jack ---- (Flown to Honor Sailors Killed in Collisions) 62 == Burial At Sea [06] ---- (Under The Sea Burials) 64 == Nebraska National Guard ---- (LIB753 Education Entitlement) 64 == Vermont National Guard ---- (Free Tuition Legislation Proposed) 65 == Warships That Will Change The Future ---- (HMS Defender) 65 == Overseas Troops ---- (Sgt. Tyler Holcomb) . * MILITARY HISTORY* . 66 == Nazi Germany Luftwaffe [01] ---- (Lethal Kamikazes) 69 == WWI | Over There, Before 1917 69 == WWI Commemorative Coin [01] ---- (Available 17 JAN 2018) 70 == Civil War Memorials ---- (Memphis Defies State Ban on Removal) 70 == Military History ---- (WWII | Rise and Fall of German Gen. Stemme) 72 == Battle of Khe Sanh ---- (Was America Duped?) 74 == Battle of New Orleans ---- (America’s Second War for Independence) 75 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 31 JAN) 75== Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Joe Gandara | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE* . 76 == Medicare Reimbursement Rates 2018 ---- (Beneficiary Cost Increases) 77 == PTSD [236] ---- (Impact on End-of-Life Care) 79 == PTSD [237] ---- (MDMA Breakthrough Therapy Research Funding) 80 == Sexual Function [01] ---- (Ibuprofen Impact) 80 == Hospice Care [06] ---- (Patient Neglect Reports) 81 == Prescription Drug Epidemic ---- (Polypharmacy Problem) 84 == Drug Price Gouging [02] ---- (Daranide Was Free. Now it’s $109,500 a year) 85 == Drug Price Gouging [03] ---- (Who Decides What you Pay | Finger Pointing) 87 == Hypertension ---- (DASH | Best Diet to Reduce It) 89 == Thyroid Disease ---- (More Common In Women Than Men) 90 == Sleep [05] ---- (Older Adults) 92 == TRICARE Select [02] ---- (Copay Reduction on New Plan) 92 == Tricare Pharmacy Copay [17] ---- (Fee Change 1 FEB 2018) 93 == TRICARE Changes 2018 [17] ---- (Call Center/Website Delays) 94 == TRICARE Prime [38] ---- (Urgent Care Visits 95 == TRICARE Podcast 431 ---- (PI Provider Network - Group A & B - Pharmacy Copayments) 96 == TRICARE Podcast 432 ---- (Identity Theft & Fraud - TRICARE Pubs - Thyroid Disease) . * FINANCIAL * . 97 == Savings [01] ---- (401k Required Minimum Distributions) 98 == Prescription Drug Costs ---- (Tips For Slashing) 100 == State Retirement Income Tax [02] ---- (Arkansas Military Pay Exempted 101 == Tax Plan 2017 [04] ---- (Q & A) 102 == Check Cashing [01] ---- (Uncashed Old Checks) 103 == Saving Money ---- (Bug Control | Thrifty Ways to Keep them Away) 105 == VA Home Loans [52] ---- (Foreclosure-Prevention Programs) 3 105 == VA Home Loans [53] ---- (Other Vet Assistance Programs) 106 == Home Renting ---- (Tips for Military Short Term Renters) 107 == Refinancing Scam ---- (New Home Buyers Beware) 107 == Gift Card Resale Scam ---- (Tips On How To Avoid) 108 == Bitcoin Sales Scam ---- (Phony Investments) 109 == Phony Conference Scam ---- (Double Check Before You Book) 110 == Bitcoins [01] ---- (Coin of the Realm) 111 == Tax Burden for Alabama Retired Vets ---- As of JAN 2018 . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 112 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 JAN 2017) 113 == U.S. Embassy Cuba [03] ---- (Sonic Attacks | Three Possible Answers) 114 == Undersea Cables ---- (Achilles’ Heel in Lead-Up to New Cold War) 116 == Satellite News ---- (Zuma Apparent Failure) 117 == Nuclear Button ---- (Explained) 118 == Nuclear Button [01] ---- (Legislation Proposed) 119 == National Civil Emergency Force ---- (U.S. Catastrophic Attack Response Need) 121 == Self Driving Car ---- (Suicide Bomber Replacement) 122 == Law & Order ---- (Officer Comments) 123 == Drug Carrying Drones ---- (No Interdiction Policy | Cartel Use Increasing 124 == Border Wall ---- (Latest Plans | Length Decrease w/Cost Increase) 125 == Brain Teaser ---- (Should You Be Institutionalized?) 125 == Think You Need New Glasses ---- (Does the Rod in the Middle Exist?) 125 == Where There's a Will, There's a Way ---- (08) 126 == Brain Teaser Answer ---- (Should You Be Institutionalized?) 126 == Have You Heard? --- (Home Schooled) 127 == Have You Heard? ---- (Adult Learning Center for Women) 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 - Oklahoma Vet State Benefits & Discounts JAN 2018 Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 JAN Attachment - Over There, Before 1917 * DoD * 4 DARPA Sensor Program ► Goal | Increased Maritime Awareness Defense officials want to go beyond radar or sonar to scan across large expanses of ocean by using thousands of small, low-cost floats to serve as a distributed sensor network — a camera-type network floating across the seas, always monitoring. This month, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which deals with the future of combat for the Department of Defense, will field proposals about how to accomplish that during the new Ocean of Things program. The program could also have applications beyond the battlespace, as DARPA aims to make certain sensors commercially available. These sensors will provide accurate location tracking and collect data such as ocean temperature and sea state, according to the agency website. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched a program to develop affordable, environmentally friendly sensors to monitor ocean temperature, movement and other key data. Ocean sensors have existed in many forms for years, being used by scientists to calculate temperature patterns, current movement and ocean composition. Just recently, one of these sensors, a U.S. Navy REMUS 600 research unmanned underwater drone, was reportedly captured off the coast of Yemen by Houthi rebels. These vessels, which range from nine to 18 feet long, can be remotely operated or operated autonomously