RAO BULLETIN 1 December 2019 HTML Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == PTSD Punitive Discharges Lawsuit [07] ---- (Could Codify New Standards into the UCMJ) 07 == Military Academies [02] ---- (Academy Athletes Can Now Delay Service, Go Pro) 08 == DoD Audits [04] ---- (Pentagon, As Expected, Fails FY19 Audit) 09 == Afghan Casualties ----- (CWO 2 Kirk T. Fuchigami & CWO 2 David C. Knadle) 10 == TRICARE Open Season [03] ---- (Computer Glitch Impeding Online Enrollments | Options) 11 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 30 NOV 2019) 13 == Base Housing [15] ---- (Work Orders at Lackland AFB Falsified) 14 == TRICARE Contract Transition ---- (DHA’s Next Generation’s Contact Preps | 2022 & 2023 15 == NDAA 2020 [26] ---- (Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Sanctions) 16 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 16 thru 30 NOV 2019 | Twenty-One) . * VA * . 19 == VA Whistleblowers [61] ---- (Significant Backlog in Complaint Resolution) 20 == VA Blue Water Claims [78] ---- (FAQs on New AO Benefit Effective 1 JAN 2020) 23 == VA PTSD Holiday Tips ---- (Coping with PTSD during Holiday Season) 24 == VA Appeals Processing ---- (Report Shows Thousands of Reports Were Not Processed) 25 == VA EHR [20] ---- (Congress is Cautiously Optimistic VA Will Deploy on Time) 26 == VA EHR [21] ---- (Vet Access Issue Identified in House Hearing) 27 == VA Unions [07] ---- (Support to Employee Unions Cut Following Executive Order) 28 == VA Toxic Exposure Study ---- (Major Study on Connection to Vet Illnesses Planned) 29 == VA Toxic Exposure App ---- (For Vets Who Think they were Exposed During their Service) 30 == VA Diabetes Care [12] ---- (Diabetic Limb Loss Reduction Effort) 1 31 == VA Privacy Act Compliance ---- (Obama-Era Policy Reversed That Resulted In Violations) 31 == VA Identity Theft [01] ---- (3rd Party Claim Disclosure Info Redaction) 32 == VA Medical Marijuana [65] ---- (First Ever Vote to Remove it from the Controlled Substances List) 34 == Veterans Health Library [01] ---- (1,500 health sheets and 150 videos) 34 == VA Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 30 NOV 2019) . * VETS * . 35 == GI Bill Colleges [04] ---- (Closing the 90/10 Rule Loophole Gets Support) 37 == GI Bill [296] ---- (Forever’s Program 1 DEC Relaunch) 37 == GI Bill [297] ---- (21,000 Satellite Campus Student Stipends to Lower) 38 == GI Bill [298] ---- (Severely Disabled Vet Loan Forgiveness Effort Resumes) 39 == Vet Financial Well-Being ---- (Compared To Non-Veterans) 40 == Vet Population Geographic Projection ---- (National Census No Longer Tracks) 41 == Vet Homeless Recovery Programs [04] ---- (Beyond the Yellow Ribbon) 42== Vet Suicide [40] ---- (FCC to Move Forward on Proposed 988 Hotline) 43 == Medal, Decoration, & Award Replacement ---- (How To do It) 44 == Vet Jobs [256] ---- (7 Occupations That Are a Good Fit) 46 == Gold Star Fellowship ---- (Program for Relatives of Service Members Who Died in Service) 47 == Vet Fraud & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 30 NOV 2019) 47 == WWII Vets 208 ---- (Louis Zamperini | Former POW Turned Missionary) 48 == WWII Vets 209 ---- (Harold Stone | Second Battle of Guam Vet) 50 == WWII Vets 210 ---- (Ira Hayes | Immortal Flag Raiser at Iwo Jima) 51 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 30 NOV 2019) 51 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 30 NOV 2019) 52 == Veteran Benefit Finder ---- (State Programs & Benefits for Veterans Catalogue) 52 == State Veteran's Benefits ---- (Nebraska 2019) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 52 == GI Bill Colleges [03] ---- (S.2857 | Push to Limit for-Profit College’s Access to GI Bill) 53 == K-9 Corps [01] ---- (H.R.5081| K-9 Hero Act) 54 == National MOH Monument ---- (H.R.5173 | National Medal of Honor Act) 55 == VA National Park Benefit ---- (H.R.4930 | Wounded Veterans Recreation Act) 55 == Mammograms [02] ---- (S.2944/H.R.5238 | 3D Coverage for Vets) 56 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [71] ---- (S.2950 | Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act) 57 == VA Domestic Violence Programs [01] ---- (S.2915 | VA Domestic & Sexual Violence Services) 57 == VA Pension Poaching [01] ---- (S.2407 | Financial Refuge for Every Elderly (FREE) Veteran Act) 58 == Vet Suicide [41] ---- (H.Res.734 | Purple Star Families Week) . * MILITARY* . 59 == Marine Corps Readiness ---- (Stepping Off On a 10-Year March to Transform Itself) 60 == Navy Beards [01] ---- (CNP Willing to Consider Allowing Ashore in the Future) 61 == F-35 Fighter Jet [02] ---- (Continues to Fall Short of Full Combat Readiness) 62== Military Toxic Sites ---- (List Has Grown from Former 401) 64 == Body Armor [03] ---- (Army Field Testing Lightweight Subsystem of TALOS) 65 == Cerberus GL Drone ---- (Multi-Shot, 40mm Grenade Launcher) 66 == Air Force Pilot Shortage [04] ---- (Re-Examining Standard Height Requirements) 67 == USMC Coed Boot Camp [01] ---- (General Open to Ending Gender-Segregated Boot Camp) 2 68 == Army Security Concerns ---- (TikTok Social Media App) 69== Military Housing Lawsuits [02] ---- (History of Neglect by Private Firms & DoD Acknowledged) 71 == Military Proposed Weaponry [02] ---- (Chrysler TV-8 Tank) 71 == USS Iwo Jima ---- (Fire during LHD-7’s Overhaul Injures 11 Sailors) 72 == CBD Products ---- (Products Containing CBD Oil are Off Limits for Airmen) 73 == Military Related Fraud ---- (Cancer Fundraiser Scam by Alleged Veteran) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 74 == Libby Prison ---- (Civil War | 100+ Union Prisoner’s Tunnel Escape) 75 == Britain’s Fifth Columnists ---- (WWII Plot to Kill Eisenhower & Montgomery) 76 == Cambodian "Bamboo Pentagon" Headquarters ---- (Nixon’s Fruitless Search to Locate One) 77 == Women Warriors of the Philippines ---- (Heroines Helped Liberate their Country) 79 == St. Nazaire Raid ---- (WWII Operation Chariot) 80 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (01 thru 15 DEC) 81 == Pearl Harbor’s Second Raid ---- (Japanese Operation K-1) 82 == WWII Battle of Hürtgen Forest ---- (Bloody Pathway into the Heart of Germany) 83 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [43] ---- (THE Virgin Widow) 83 == War Memorials ---- (Egypt’s Unknown Soldier) 84 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Rufus G. Herring | WWII) 85 == U-1206 Sinks ---- (Sunk When its Captain Took a Dump) . * HEALTH CARE * . 86 == TRICARE Eligibility [04] ---- (Active Duty, Vets & Caregivers) 87 == Prescription Drug Costs [38] ---- (Congressional Action Not Likely Before Next Year) 88 == Prescription Drug Costs [39] ---- (Colorado’s Canadian Drug Importation Plan) 89 == Smoking [07] ---- (Trends in U.S.) 90 == Phobias [01] ---- (More Unusual Ones You Never Knew Existed) 91 == Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria [02] ---- (Microbial Pests Have Learned To Fight Back) 92 == Cancer Q&A ---- (191116 thru 191130) 93 == Breast Cancer ---- (Early Stage | Does it Make Sense to have Chemotherapy?) 95 == TRICARE Podcast 528 ---- (Open Season - TRICARE Costs - Warrior Care Month) 96 == TRICARE Podcast 529 ---- (TRICARE Reserve Select - New Covered Services - Flu Prevention Tips) . * FINANCES * . 98 == Military Survivor Benefits [03] ---- (It’s Time for the Senate to Move Quickly) 100 == IRS Tax Brackets ---- (2020) 100 == State Tax Rankings [01] ---- (Where Your State Positions in 2020) 102 == Commissary Prices [11] ---- (New Patron User Fees/Surcharges) 103 == Local Taxation ---- (Sometimes Idiosyncratic and/or Duplicative) 104 == College Financial Plan [01] ---- (Ten Where Tuition is Free) 106 == Childbirth ---- (Costs to Have a Baby around the World) 108 == Open Enrolment Scam ---- ('Tis the Season’) 109 == Sneaker Scam ---- (Sales on Instagram Could be a Con 110 == Holiday Wine Exchange Scam ---- (A Pyramid Scheme) 111 == Tax Burden for Texas Retired Vets ---- (As of NOV 2019) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 3 112 == Notes of Interest ---- (16 thru 30 November 2019) 113 == National Resource Directory [06] ---- (Includes 14,000 Resources for Veterans, Families) 113 == USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) [23] ---- (Collision Lawsuit Filed Against NYK Line) 114 == Navy Ship Naming ---- (Should the Navy Keep naming Ships after Presidents?) 115 == DPRK-U.S. Relations ---- (No Interest in Giving Trump Further Meetings to Brag About) 116 == Trump Veteran Promise ---- (‘You will never, ever be forgotten’) 117 == Yard Sale Option ---- (How to Get Rid of Hard-to-Sell Things) 119 == Homeowners Insurance [08] ---- (Ways the Provider Can Cancel Your Coverage) 120 == Interesting Ideas ---- (Non-Stop Elevator) 120 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (‘Drunkex’ thru ‘EMCON’) 121== Have You Heard? ---- (Military Humor 8 | Urine Test | Eating In the Fifties) 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 – Nebraska Vet State Benefits Attachment – Military History Anniversaries 01 thru 15 DEC (Updated) Attachment – Bloodletting in the Hürtgen Forest” * DoD * PTSD Punitive Discharges Lawsuit Update 07: Could Codify New Standards into the UCMJ Iraq war veterans Icarus Randolph (left) and Tyson Manker (right) What happened to 26-year-old Icarus Randolph sounds like the rehash of a tired script: the Fourth of July in an African- American neighborhood, a call for assistance, white cops respond, tensions escalate in the front yard, gunfire erupts as the entire