RAO BULLETIN 1 February 2019 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 05 == DoD Blended Retirement System [04] ---- (500K+ Now Enrolled) 05 == Pentagon Spending [01] ---- ($4.7 Billion Saved In the Past 2 Years) 07 == Selective Service System [26] ---- (National Commission’s Interim 2019 Report) 07 == Transgender Troops [20] ---- (Supreme Court Lifts Preliminary Injunctions on Ban] 08 == DoD Climate Change Impact ---- (Installations & Infrastructure) 09 == Exchange/DeCA Merger [02] ---- (Critics Question Where Any Cost Savings Would Go) 11 == Taiwan Straits ---- (China Urged to Follow International Rules At Sea) 12 == Toxic Exposure | Lejeune [70] ---- (SECNAV Denies $963 billion in Claims) 12 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 JAN 2019) 14 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 JAN 2019 | Nine) . * VA * . 16 == VA Blue Water Claims [62] ---- (Stumbling Block is Pay-go which Needs to Go | Opinion) 17 == VA Blue Water Claims [63] ---- (Federal Court Rules VA Cannot Deny Benefits) 18 == GI Bill [278] ---- (Audit Discloses $585M in Improper Payments) 19 == VA Lawsuit | Bradley Hammersley ---- (Podiatrist Negligent Care on 115 Vets) 21 == Emergency Medical Bill Claims [05] ---- (Unlawful VA Regulation Lawsuit) 1 23 == VA Appeals [33] ---- (A Long-Overdue Fix) 24 == VA Vision Care [07] ---- (Available to All Health Care Enrolled Vets) 24 == VA Agent Orange Benefits [05] ---- (VA Continues Opposition to Extending Benefits) 25 == VA Health Care Access [63] ---- (Notable Progress on Wait Times since 2014) 26 == VA Private Sector Care [02] ---- (VA Secretary says VA Privatization a Myth) 27 == VA Health Care Access Standards ---- (Proposed Under Mission Act Implementation) 28 == VA Mission Act [06] ---- (Secretary Wilkie: Revolutionizing VA Health Care) 29 == VA Medical Marijuana [58] ---- (Multiple Bills Submitted for Research & Access) 30 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 JAN 2019) . * VETS * . 31 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [61] ---- (Supreme Court Rejects Vets Appeal) 33 == Vet Surveys ---- (IAVA Results on Public Policy & Military Transition Issues) 33 == Vet Toxic Exposure | Water [16] ---- (Congressional Task Force Created) 34 == California Veterans Home [19] ---- (Audit Reveals Properties Mismanaged) 35 == Memorial Desecrations [01] ---- (Freeport Florida) 36 == MOH Awards [10] ---- (Bills Seek Medal of Honor for 102-Year-Old WWII Hero) 37 == Stolen Valor [114] ---- (Fake News | Tribal Elder Was Not A Vietnam Veteran) 38 == Vet Unemployment [18] ---- (2008 thru 2018) 39 == CBO Budget Recommendation [02] ---- (More 2019 TRICARE & VA Proposals) 41 == Government Shutdown Vet Impact [01] ---- (No Checks for 150K Vet Employees) 42 == Vet Fraud & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 JAN 2019) 44 == WWII Vets 182 ---- (Louis E. Curdes | American Flying Ace) 46 == Vet Unclaimed Remains ---- (3 in Memphis TN + 21 More in FL | Jan/Feb 2019) 47 == Obit: Joe M. Jackson ---- (13 JAN 2018 | Battle of Kham Duc MOH Awardee) 48 == Obit: Richard Sherman ---- (09 JAN 2019 | WWII Flying Tiger) 49 == Obit: Charles Kettles --- (21 JAN 2019 | Nam MOH Army Helo Pilot) 50 == Vietnam Vets [32] 01 ---- (R. Lee Ermey | POG Staff Sgt. & Actor Burial) 51 == WWI Vets [03] ---- (Morris Weiner) 52 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 31 JAN 2019) 53 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 31 JAN 2018) 53 == State Veteran's Benefits ---- (Idaho 2019) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 54 == SBP DIC Offset [53] ---- (H.R.533 | Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act) 54 == VA Medical Marijuana [57] ---- (S.179 | VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act) 55 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [62] ---- (H.R. 663/S.191 | Burn Pit Accountability Act) 55 == GI Bill [276] ---- (S.2248 | Veterans Benefits and Transition Act) 57 == GI Bill [277] ---- (S.3777 | Forever GI Bill Housing Payment Fulfillment Act) 57 == Military Spouse Deportation [07] ---- H.R. 557 | Protect Patriot Spouses Act) 58 == DoD/VA Concurrent Receipt ---- (H.R.303 | Retired Pay Restoration Act Reintroduced) . * MILITARY* . 58 == Army Retention Program [01] ---- (‘Up or Out’ Is On Its Way Out) 59 == Navy Blue-Gold Model ---- (Projected Crewing on New FFG(X) 60 == PCS Moves [03] ---- ($11,592 to Fly Two Pet Dogs to Guam) 62 == USS South Dakota ---- (SSN-790 to Be Commissioned 2 FEB 2019) 2 63 == Government Shutdown USCG Impact [06] ---- (Recent Accomplishments without Pay) 64 == Government Shutdown USCG Impact [07] ---- (Coast Guard City’s Response) 65 == Government Shutdown USCG Impact [08] ---- (Wives Concerned About Reoccurrence) 66 == U.S.-Somalia Ops ---- (Our Military to Stop Giving Details on Strikes) 67 == Feres Doctrine [10] ---- (Potential New Rules Being Looked at by Congress) 67 == Nuclear Power Program ---- (Project Dilithium | Deployable Nuclear Reactors) 69 == Military Earplug Lawsuit ---- (Defective Dual-Ended Combat Arms Earplug Impact On Vets) 69 == M17/M18 Sidearm ---- (Army Fielding New Pistols w/Enhancers) 70 == U.S. Naval Academy [05] ---- (Audit Shows It Is Falling Apart) 71 == Military 3D Printing ---- (May Revolutionize Maintenance for Air Force F-22 Raptor) 72 == Payday Loans [05] ---- (CFBP Authority to Verify Lender’s MLA Compliance) 73 == Airforce KC-46 ---- (Delivery accepted 10 JAN 2019) 73 == Robotic Targets ---- (Use Can Modernize any Range & Keep Marines, Soldiers Shooting Sharp) 74 == Nuclear Weapons [01] ---- (Work Completed on Navy’s Upgraded Nuclear Warhead) 75 == Nuclear Weapons [02] ---- (U.S. Cost Projected to be $494B Over the Next Decade) 76 == Weapons Testing ---- (Navy Builds Hypersonic Test Ground in California) 77 == USS Gerald A. Ford [11] ---- (Once Beleaguered by Critics, The Ford Gets A Lift) 78 == Warships That Will Change the Future ---- (TCG Heybeliada F-511) 79 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (Banca Boat thru BB Stacker) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 80 == Battle of Kham Duc ---- (MOH Joe Jackson’s Involvement) 82 == Leningrad Siege ---- (Tamara Chernykh’s Survival) 84 == SADM Units ---- (Hand Carried Nukes Users) 85 == USS Pueblo [06] ---- (Held Hostage for 11 Months | Freed 2 days Before Xmas) 86 == War Memorials ---- (Liberty WWI Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri) 86 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [23] ---- (Whodunit? The 2nd) 87 == Post WWII Photos ---- (First U.S. Cemetery at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer France) 87 == Every Picture Tells A Story ---- (Continuation War) 87 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (01 thru 14 FEB) 88 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Roy W. Harmon | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE * . 89 == TRICARE Urgent/Emergency Care [03] ---- (Do You Know the Difference?) 90 == Hemochromatosis ---- (Research Reveals Genetic Condition More Serious Than Previously Thought) 91 == Medicare For All ---- (What It Is & What It Would Cost) 92 == Surprise Medical Bills [01] ---- (Trump Boosts Fight Against Unexpected Medical Bills) 93 == Prostate Cancer [17] ---- (New Biopsy Procedure More Accurate and Thorough) 94 == Prescription Filling Options [03] ---- (Online From Canada) 96 == Tricare/Medicare Fraud ---- (False Medical Bills) 96 == POCUS ---- (New Portable Ultrasound Device Produces Precise, High-Quality Results) 97 == Food Safety Myths ---- (Exposed) 98 == Medicaid Fraud [96] ---- (Disclosures 16-31 JAN 2019) 99 == Medicare Fraud [135] ---- (Disclosures 16-31 JAN 2019) 100 == Prescription Drug Costs [22] ---- (Inulin Prices Doubled Over 5 Years) 101 == Prescription Drug Costs [23] ---- (International Pricing Index Proposal) 102 == Prescription Drug Costs [24] ---- (Pharmaceutical Execs Decline to Testify Before Congress) 3 103 == TRICARE Podcast 485 ---- (Pharmacy Program - Shutdown & Allotments – Emergency/Urgent Care) 104 == TRICARE Podcast 486 ---- (2019 TRICARE Benefit Resources - Winter Safety Tips – ECHO) . * FINANCES * . 105 == IRS 2018 Filing Season [05] ---- (Penalty Waiver for Underwithholding) 106 == IRS 2018 Filing Season [06] ---- (Credits & Deductions You Should Not Overlook) 107 == Social Security Taxation [11] ---- (What to Expect for Tax Year 2018) 108 == Bankruptcy [01] ---- (Chapter 13 vs. Chapter 7 Impact on Handicapped Vets) 108 == COLA FY 2019 [01] ---- (December's Numbers Show Downward Trend) 109 == Health Saving Account [02] ---- (401K for Medical Expenses) 110 == Military Travel Discounts & Offers 2 ---- (DoD/Priceline New Leisure Travel Site) 110 == Social Security Q & A ---- (190116 thru 190131) 111 == USPS COA Scam ---- (Moving Soon? Look Out for This Trick) 112 == Deployment Letter Scam ---- (Payment Solicitation to Contact Loved Ones Overseas) 113 == Shark Tank Scam ---- (Look Out for Phony Claims about TV Endorsements) 114 == Tax Burden for Missouri Retired Vets ---- (As of JAN 2019) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 116 == Notes of Interest ---- (16 thru 31 JAN 2019) 117 == DPRK Nuclear Weapons [26] ---- (Assessment | Unlikely To Dismantle Its Arsenal) 118 == Emergency Preparations ---- (Top 10 Steps to Take in Advance) 120 == Government Shutdown [23] ---- (The Stop STUPIDITY Act) 120 == Subic Bay Philippines [01] ---- (Philippines' Largest Shipyard Has Chinese Firms Interest) 121 == Border Wall [07] ---- (GoFundMe Campaign Change) 122 == Border Wall [08] ---- (Wall That Nobody Wants to Talk About) 123 == Trump Foreign Policy [01] ---- (America’s Endless Wars Must Stop) 123 == Trump Foreign Policy [02] ---- (AP Poll Shows Low Marks) 125 == Trump NATO Policy [01] ---- (Credited For Obtaining $100B More in Defense Spending) 125 == Iran Space Program ---- (Satellite Fails to Reach Orbit after Launch