RAO BULLETIN 15 January 2016 PDF Edition THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject * DOD * . 04 == RP~China Dispute [14] --------- (US/RP EDCA Ruled Constitutional) 05 == DoD ID Cards --------------------------- (Obtainment in the Philippines) 06 == Traumatic Brain Injury [48] ---------------- (DoD New TBI Campaign) 08 == Commissary Funding [25] ------------ (Budget Neutral Plan Deadline) 08 == Commissary/Exchange Future ------------ (New Store Pricing Models) 09 == Commissary Improvement - (Goal | Stronger, Securer, More Modern) 10 == Commissary Prices ----------------------- (Pacific Area Price Increases) 11 == AAFES Online Pricing ------------------------ (Big Glitch on Furniture) 12 == DoD Fraud, Waste, and Abuse --------- (Reported 1 thru 15 Jan 2016) 13 == DoD-VA Pharmacy [02] ---- (PTSD/Prescription Monitoring Differs) 14 == POW/MIA Recoveries ------------------ (Reported 1 thru 15 Dec 2016) * VA * . 15 == Commission on Care ----- (VA Direct Provider Status under Review) 16 == VA Claims Processing [14] --- (Lawmakers Balk at $1.3B Price Tag) 17 == VA Aid & Attendance [18] ----------------- (Eligibility Rule Changes) 18 == VA Facility Safety [01] -------- (Texas Open Carry Gun Law Impact) 18 == Non-VA Facility Care [02] ------------------ (Over Estimated Budgets) 19 == VA Claims Backlog [151] ------------ (Rep Miller’s VBMS Concerns) 20 == VA Privacy Violations ---------- (On the Rise at Minnesota Facilities) 21 == VA HIPAA Violations -------- (Confidential Patient Info Disclosures) 22 == VA VistA [07] ------------------------------- (EHR Enhancement Effort) 23 == Home Based Primary Care ---- (Multiple Discipline Team Approach) 24 == VA Pharmacy [06] ----------------- (Copay Change Proposal for 2017) 1 25 == VA Health Care Access [28] --- (Embattled Phoenix VA Exec Status) 26 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ------------ (Reported 1 thru 15 JAN 2016) 26 == VAMC West Haven CT [02] ------- (PTSD Patient Death Questioned) 27 == VAMC Oklahoma City --- (Diagnoses/Poor Patient Care Allegations) 29 == VAMC Oklahoma City [01] ------ (Conflict of Interest in Care Probe) 31 == VA HCS San Diego -------- (Botched Marine Vet Jeremy Sears' Care) 33 == VA HCS Phoenix [19] -------- (Alleged Scandal Ringleaders Rehired) 33 == VARO St. Petersburg [02] --------------- (Claim Processing Problems) 35 == VARO Oakland [01] ---------- (Alleged Unprocessed Claims | 13,184) * Vets * . 36 == Arlington National Cemetery [54] -------- (WASP Internment Denied) 38 == World War I Memorial [07] ------------------- (Final Designs Selected) 39 == Stolen Valor [100] ---------------------- (Reported 160101 thru 160114) 39 == Vet Jobs [182] ------------------------------- (Solar Ready Vets Program) 40 == Vet Unemployment [05] --------------------------- (2015 Ended at 4.8%) 41 == Vet Suicide [08] ----------------------- (Daily Average of 22 Continues) 43 == Homeless Vets [71] ----------------------- (Veterans on Patrol | Tucson) 44 == USS Pueblo [03] ------------------------- (Crew Compensation Pending) 45 == WWII Vets 98 ------------------------------------------------ (Boe~O’Neil) 46 == Obit: Katherine McFarland ----------------------------------- (1 Jan 2016) 47 == Retiree Appreciation Days --------------------------- (As of 14 Jan 2016) 48 == Vet Hiring Fairs ------------------------------ (16 JAN thru 14 Mar 2016) 49 == Vet State Benefits & Discounts ----------------------- (Mississippi 2016) * Vet Legislation * . 50 == Tricare: Amend it But Don't End it! ---------------------- (Take Action!) 50 == Asbestos Litigation Reform [01] ------------ (Lawsuit Double Dipping) 51 == Vet Bills Submitted to 114th Congress ---------- (151216 thru 151231) * MILITARY * . 53 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [34] ------------------ (Pits Still in Use | Iraq) 55 == Military Acquisition Reform -- (HASC Hearing | DMSP-F20 Fiasco) 56 == Army Combat Action Badge [04] ------ (No Eligibility Rule Change) 56 == Space Available Mail --------------------------------------- (Limitations) 56 == USN/USMC Job Titles - (Review to Remove Any “man” Reference) 58 == Medal of Honor [15] ---- (1100 Awards Poised for Upgrade Review) 59 == Confederate Graves Vandalized - (Oakwood Cemetery Raleigh, NC) 59 == Women in Combat [04] ------ (225,000 Job Openings under Review) 60 == Combat Awards ----------- (Pentagon Changing Recognition Criteria) 62 == DWM [07] ------------------------- (Replaced by New Remote Device) 63 == Military Enlistment Standards 2015 [10] --------- (Sexual Preference) 63 == Military Enlistment Standards 2015 [11] - (Height/Weight Standards) 64== Medal of Honor Citations ----------------------- (Hibbs~Robert J | VN) * MILITARY HISTORY * . 2 65 == Aviation Art --------------------------------------------- (Roarin' 20s, The) 66 == CSS Georgia --- (16,600 of 30k Recovered Relics Returned to River) 67 == USS Oklahoma [02] -------------------------------- (5 Sailors Identified) 68 == Military Trivia 117 ----------------- ('Don't Shoot, We're Republicans!) 71 == Military History -------------------------- (Korea | The Forgotten War 2) 73 == Military History Anniversaries -------------------------- (16 thru 31 Jan) 74 == WWII Ads ------------- (Kolynos Dental Cream & Gold Medal Flour) 74 == D-Day ---------------------------------------------- (Invasion Preparations) 75 == WWII Prewar Events - (1934 Thanksgiving Celebration of the Reich) 75 == WWII PostWar Events ---------- (1945 Buchenwald Camp Survivors) 76 == Spanish American War Image 81 -- (USS Raleigh in Action in 1898) 76 == WWI in Photos 105 ------- (Ottoman Turk Machine Gun Corps 1917) 77 == Faces of WAR (WWII) ---------- (General Douglas MacArthur 1947) 77 == Ghosts of Time ------------ (Then & Now’ Photos of WWII Sites (08) * HEALTH CARE * . 78 == TRICARE Prescription Refills ----- (MO, AL, NM, TX until 27 JAN) 78 == Right of First Refusal [01] ------ (Saves TRICARE & Patients Money) 79 == PTSD Prescriptions ---------------------- (Army Monitoring Questioned) 79 == Cold Weather Exercise ---------------------------------------- (Guidelines) 80 == TRICARE Nurse Advise Line [03] ---------------- (Patient Availability) 81 == TRICARE Overseas Program [19] -------------- (Secure Claims Portal) 81 == Sleep [02] ----------------------------- (Army Health of the Force Report) 83 == TRICARE Help --------------------------------------------- (Q&A 160115) * FINANCES * . 84 == Life Insurance [01] -------------------------------- (Need to Know Terms) 85 == Social Security Outlook [01] ---------------- (Debt Limit Battle Impact) 86 == IRS Form 1095 -------------- (ACA Submission Requirement for 2015) 86 == Saving Money --------------------- (Making Stuff Last Longer | 20 Tips) 87 == Government Grant Scam ---------------------------------- (How it Works) 88 == Smartphone for Ransom Scam --------------------------- (How it Works) 89 == Tax Burden for Arizona Retired Vets ------------------ (As of Jan 2016) 91 == Tax Burden for Maine Residents ------------------------ (As of Jan 2016) 92== Thrift Savings Plan 2016 -------------------- (Returns as of 13 Jan 2016) * GENERAL INTEREST . 94 == Notes of Interest ------------------------------------ (1 thru 15 Jan 2016) 94 == USCG Cable Issue ------- (Explosion Potential | 48 Sites in 12 States) 96 == North Korea Nuclear Bomb – (4th Test | 7 Key Questions Answered) 98 == NEO Guide | Korea ------------------------ (Noncombatant Evacuation) 99 == ROK’s Nuclear Test Response ----- (Propaganda Blasts Resumption) 100 == Immigrant Children Housing ------- (Maxwell-Gunter AFB Opposed) 101 == Photos That Say it All ----------------------------- (A Long Day’s Work) 101 == Most Creative Statues ------------------ (Onesti, Romania | Tree Image) 102 == Interesting Inventions ----------------------------------- (Compact Boots) 3 102 == Moments of US History ----------------- (Muhammad Ali’s fists 1963) 102 == Parking ----------- (Revenge Tactic #11 against Inconsiderate Parkers) 103 == Brain Teaser ----------------------=-------------------- (Puzzling Prattle 1) 104 == Have You Heard? -------------------------------- (Engineer Goes to Hell) 104 == Have You Heard? ----------------------------------- (Indian Want Coffee) 104 == Help!!! -------------------------- (Things that might make you say it (04) 105 == Brain Teaser Answer --------------------------------- (Puzzling Prattle 1) 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 15 Jan 2015 Attachment - Mississippi Vet State Benefits & Discounts JAN 2016 Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 Jan Attachment - Retiree Activity\Appreciation Days (RAD) Schedule as of 14 Jan 2016 TO READ and/or DOWNLOAD THE ABOVE ATTACHMENTS REFER TO: -- http://www.nhc-ul.com/rao.html (PDF Edition w/ATTACHMENTS) -- http://www.veteransresources.org (PDF & HTML Editions w/ATTACHMENTS) -- http://frabr245.org (PDF & HTML Editions in Word format) -- http://veteraninformationlinksasa.com/retiree-assistance-office.html (HTML Edition) * DoD * RP~China Dispute Update 14 ► US/RP EDCA Ruled Constitutional The Philippine Supreme Court on 12 JAN declared as constitutional a defense pact that allows American forces, warships and planes to temporarily base in local military camps, in a boost to U.S. efforts to reassert its presence in Asia as China rises to regional dominance. Ten of