RAO BULLETIN 1 October 2018 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == Space Force [03] ---- (Air Force Secretary Comments on Pentagon Blueprint) 05 == Army Recruiting [09] ---- (Medical and Behavioral Issues | A Second Look) 06 == Defense Appropriations Bill 2019 [01] ---- (Passed | Trump Signed 28 SEP) 07 == MCAS Futenma Okinawa [12] ---- (Dugong Ruling Appealed 08 == Transgender Lawsuits [10] ---- (Trump Asks Supreme Court to Intervene) 09 == Military Amputees ---- (Options for Continued Military Service) 09 == DoD/VA VLER [14] ---- (GAO Anticipates IPO Dysfunction Dealing with EHR 10 == DoD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 30 SEP 2018) 14 == POW/MIA [114] ---- (North Korean MIA Recovery Talks Continue) 14 == POW/MIA [115] ---- (The Science behind North Korea War Remains) 16 == POW/MIA [116] ---- (Four POWs Share Their Story) 19 == POW/MIA Recoveries ---- (Reported 16 thru 30 SEP 2018 | 29) . * VA * . 22 == VA Appeals [32] ---- (2018 Goal of 81,000 Decisions Exceeded) 23 == VA Aid & Attendance [21] ---- (Changes to Eligibility Requirements) 24 == VA Suicide Prevention [51] ---- (Veteran Suicide Data from 2005 to 2016) 25 == Traumatic Brain Injury [70] ---- (CHAMP | Headache Treatment) 1 26 == VA Hospital Quality of Care [05] ---- (Five Improved & One Got Worse) 26 == VA Vet Choice [83] ---- (Surgery Authorization 6-Week Goal) 27 == GI Bill [262] ---- (VA Having Problems Implementing Forever GI Bill) 28 == VA Blue Water Claims [52] ---- (Former VA Secretaries Opinions on Extending Benefits) 29 == VA Lawsuit | Victor Skaar ---- (Benefit Denial | Palomares H Bomb Radiation Exposure) 30 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ---- (Reported 16 thru 30 Sep 2018) 32 == VAMC Las Vegas [03] ---- (Exemplifies What VA Will Become) 33 == VAMC Minneapolis [11] ---- (Five Doctors Out Over MiMedx Improprieties) 34 == VAMC Manchester NH [08] ---- (Substandard Care Complaints Invalidated) 35 == VAMC Houston TX [04] ---- (Marriage & Family Therapists Now Available) . * VETS * . 36 == Vietnam Veterans Memorial [23] ---- (Wall Education Center Plans Scrapped) 37 == Vet Funeral Benefits [01] ---- (Vet’s Garage Sale Results in Covering His Cost) 38 == Obit: Annie Fox ---- (20 JAN 1987 | First Woman to Earn Purple Heart) 39 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 30 SEP 2018) 39 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 3015 SEP 2018) 40 == State Veteran's Benefit ---- (California 2018) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 40 == Veterans Justice Outreach Program ---- (H.R.2147/S.946 | Signed Into Law) 41 == Medication Obtainment ---- (S.2554/HR.6143 | Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act) 42 == VA Blue Water Claims [51] ---- (H.R.299 Stalled in the Senate – Take Action) . * MILITARY* . 42 == Navy PCS Moves ---- (New Policy for When Family Members Can Move) 43 == Air Force Retention Bonus ---- (Program Expansion) 44 == USMC Plate Carrier ---- (Contract Awarded for New Lighter and Better Fitting Vest) 44 == Navy Deploy-Or-Out Policy [01] ---- (Another Involuntary Separation Warning) 45 == Military Grooming Standards [02] ---- (NAVADMIN Update 21 SEP 2018) 46 == Adjustable Bomb Yields ---- (USAF Wants Conventional Bombs to Have “Dial A Yield”) 47 == USAF Helicopters ---- (MH-139 to Replace Huey UN-1N) 48 == Army Manning Levels [02] ---- (Supposed to be Growing, but This Year, it Didn’t at All) 50 == Navy Amphibs ---- (Congress Want to Build More) 51 == USS Pueblo [05] ---- (Crewmembers | Bring Our Warship Home) 53 == USS Enterprise (CVN-65) [04] ---- (Disposal Issues) 53 == USS Sturgis (MH-1A) ---- (Nuclear Reactor Deactivated) 54 == Navy Cruisers [01] ---- (Larger Surface Ships Will Replace Aging Cruisers) 55 == USAF Warrant Officer Program [01] ---- (Thanks but No Thanks) 56 == Navy Terminology [03] ---- (Origins) 57 == Warships That Will Change the Future ---- (USS Anchorage (LPD-23) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 58 == Saving Boxer 22 ---- (Biggest Air Rescue Mission of the Vietnam War) 58 == WWI Meuse-Argonne Offensive ---- (100th Anniversary) 59 == Post WWII Photos ---- (Once a Japanese Home in Yokohama) 2 60 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (01 thru 15 OCT) 60 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [15] ---- (D-Day Doll) 60 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Lewis Hall | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE * . 61 == Suicide Prevention ---- (Together We Can Prevent It) 63 == Aspirin ---- (ASPREE Trial | One A Day Does Not Prolong Life) 64 == Medicare Fraud ---- (New Card w/New Number Being Issued) 65 == Smoking [04] ---- (Electronic Smoking Devices Labeled ‘Healthy’ can be Misleading) 66 == Drug Price Gouging [06] ---- (Customers Overpay on a Quarter of All Prescriptions) 67 == Flu Shots [11] ---- (Free for VA Enrolled Vets | Available Now) 68 == TRICARE Webiner ---- (Ask TRICARE 11 OCT @ 1400 EST about FEDVIP) 69 == TRICARE Dental Program [18] ---- (Plan Cost Comparisons) 70 == TRICARE Access to Care [01] ---- (New Rule Added on Plan Changes) 70 == TRICARE Provider Oversight ---- (GAO Report on Civilian Providers) 71 == TRICARE Enrollment Fees ---- (TRR & TRS 2019 Changes) 72 == TRICARE Podcast 467 ---- (College Students | FEDVIP Webinar | Natural Disaster Preparation) 73 == TRICARE Podcast 468 ---- (Childhood Obesity | Valsartan Recall | TRICARE Web Tools) 75 == TRICARE Podcast 469 ---- (Flu Prevention - HIPAA - Suicide Prevention Awareness Month) . * FINANCES * . 76 == Military Death Gratuity [06] ---- (Government Shutdown Will Not Stop Payment) 77 == SCRA [09] ---- (Northwest Trustee Services | 28 Unlawful Foreclosures) 78 == SCRA [10] ---- (United Communities, LLC | Collected 13 Unlawful Termination Fees) 79 == Credit Freezes [01] ---- (Freeze/ Unfreeze Your Credit File For Free) 79 == Money Moves [02] ---- (7 Dumb Ones That Seem Smart) 80 == Home Buying [01] ---- (17 Places You Can Buy On A Modest Income) 81 == Drug Price Gouging [05] ---- (Immoral Drug Company Hikes) 83 == Hurricane Relief Scam ---- (Donating | Support an Experienced Charity) 83 == Dwayne Johnson Facebook Scam ---- (Fan’s Targeted) 84 == Bank Alert Scams ---- (Phony Text Messages) 85 == Tax Burden for Kentucky Retired Vets ---- (As of SEP 2018) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 86 == Notes of Interest ---- (16 thru 30 SEP 2018) 88 == Iran Oil ---- (U.S. Sanctions | Oil Tankers Disappearing) 89 == Deep Sea Drilling Project ---- (What Has Been Found Over 50 Years of Drilling) 90 == Trump Foreign Policy [01] ---- (Iran Nuclear Accord) 92 == Wavefront Shearing Interferometry ---- (Seeing Around Corners | DARPA Project) 93 == Micro-Nuclear Reactor ---- (Tiny, Steel-Encased Core Regulated by Physics, Not Pumps) 94 == Border Wall [05] ---- (Trump Renews Calls to Congress for Funding) 95 == SS Warrimoo ---- (Great Sea Story) 97 == North Korea Sanctions ---- (US & Russia Face Off at U.N. Security Council) 98 == DPRK Nuclear Weapons [23] ---- (Inspections Agreed to in Bid to Salvage Nuclear Talks) 99 == SpaceX ---- (Ultimate Goal of Enabling People to Live on Other Planets) 99 == Hurricane FAQ’s ---- (Can’t We Use Nukes?) 99 == Insurance Coverage [02] ---- (Things You May Not Know) 3 101 == Interesting Photos ---- (Iraq, 2018) 102 == One Word Essays ---- (Honor) 103 == Have You Heard? ---- (Gasoline Prices | Questions #3 | Ever Wonder | Policeman's Helper) 104 == Memories ---- (At the Beach 1922) 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 – California Vet State Benefits SEP 2018 Attachment – Military History Anniversaries 01 thru 15 OCT Attachment – Saving Boxer 22 * DoD * Space Force Update 03 ► Air Force Secretary Comments on Pentagon Blueprint Standing up the Pentagon’s new Space Force will cost nearly $13 billion over five years, according to U.S. Air Force estimates, Defense One has learned. That estimate is included in a 14 SEP memo from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. In the 16-page memo, Wilson lays out her own plan for standing up the new branch of the U.S. military championed by President Trump. She also pushes back on various aspects of Shanahan’s Space Force plan. In particular, Wilson argues against the proposal to create a Space Development Agency to oversee satellite acquisition and to establish a new top-level position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. “[T]here is no need to establish an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space, nor is there any benefit to either establishing an additive agency or moving programs to a temporary holding organization,” she wrote. Wilson — who in the past objected to removing military space activities from the Air Force — argues that her plan “establishes a clear mission, directly related to the strategic problem we’re trying to solve.” The memo also says the Air Force estimates that creating Space Force will cost more than $3 billion in its first year and an additional $10 billion over the four following years. The Air Force estimates the Space Force would total about 13,000 people. Defense One reviewed a copy of the memo, which Wilson alluded to in a speech given 17 SEP at the Air Force Association’s annual Air Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. In her State of the Air Force address, Wilson said the Air Force — which oversees the lion’s share of military space activities — must play a role in the creation of a Space Force. Defense sources have said