RAO BULLETIN 15 January 2020 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == Military Unmanned Ships [01] ---- (US Navy’s Surface Force Directed to Develop Concepts) 05 == DoD Lawsuit | Bad Paper Discharges [02] ---- (Pentagon Withholding Info from Veterans' Advocates) 06 == Military Discharge ---- (U.S. Appeals Court Rules USAF HIV Policy Obsolete) 07 == Defense Health Agency [10] ---- (Military Medical Facilities Transition) 08 == Military Malpractice Claims ---- (How to File One) 08 == Tricare/CHAMPUS Fraud [21] ---- ($12 Million Prescription Scheme) 09 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2020 | Seven) . * VA * . 11 == VA Blue Water Claims [81] ---- (VA Began Deciding Claims 1 JAN 2020) 12 == VA Blue Water Claims [82] ---- (Interactive Map Helps Vets Locate their Ship Positions) 13 == Depression [07] ---- (VA Spravato Nasal Spray Treatment Results) 14 == VA Mental Health Care [40] ---- (7 Stress Resources Vets Can Use Right Now) 15 == VA Home Loan [69] ---- (Your Next One Will be Easier) 16 == VA Telehealth Program [18] ---- (Country’s First Remote Chemotherapy Clinic) 17 == Disabled Vet Equipage ---- (Billiard Rolling Bridge) 18 == VA Records [04] ---- (Online Patient Portal Launched | Digital Access) 19 == VA Presumptive AO Diseases [29] ---- (Addition’s Study Results Not Expected till Late 2020) 19 == VA Life Insurance [04] ---- (Which Program is Best for You?) 21 == VAMC Dallas TX [01] ---- (Security Officers Fatally Shoot Knife-Wielding Man) 1 21 == VA Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 JAN 2020) . * VETS * . 22 == Vet Health Care [09] ---- (Top Concern for U.S. Vets) 23 == Vet Suicide [44] ---- (“Together We Can” Information Sheets Released) 24 == Braille &Talking Book Program ---- (Free for Vets with Visual Impairments) 24 == WWII Vets [215] ---- (Donald Lobaugh | Effort Allowed Platoon to Survive 25 == WWII Vets [216] ---- (Leonard Funk | Decorated Paratrooper) 26 == Final Salute: The Last Mile ---- (CVMA & VA Partnership to Honor Unclaimed Vets) 27 == SNAP [09] ---- (Proposed Food Stamp Changes Did Not Take Vets into Account) 29 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 14 JAN 2020) 29 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled as of 15 JAN 2020) 30 == State Veteran's Benefits ---- (South Carolina 2020) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 31 == VAMC Clarksburg WV [05] ---- (S.3147 | Improving Safety & Security for Vets Act of 2019) 31 == VA Medical Facilities [03] ---- (S.3089 | BUILD for Veterans Act) 32 == SSA COLA [06] ---- (H.R.860 | Social Security 2100 Act) . * MILITARY* . 33 == Military Scams ---- (Survey Reveals which Members are Scammed Most) 34 == Military Scams [01] ---- (Service members & Vets lost $405M to Scammers Since 2012) 35 == USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) [02] ---- (Pentagon Memo Reveals 2nd Decommission Attempt) 36 == USMC Gender Integration ---- (Coming to CA & SC Recruit Depots) 38 == USS Carl Vinson [01] ---- (CVN-70 Will Return to San Diego this Summer) 38 == Military Household Goods [02] ---- (Damages, Losses and Late Arrivals Plague Shipments) 39 == Military Proposed Weaponry [05] ---- (Ekranoplane) 40 == Navy Uniform Changes [07] ---- (New SWO Leather Jacket) 40 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang ---- (‘Fish’ thru ‘FOD’) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 41 == Benedict Arnold Court Martial ---- (Embitterment over Reprimand Led to Further Misdeeds) 42 == Battle of Ft. Sumter ---- (The Opening Hostility of the American Civil War 44 == Navy Hospital Ships [01] ---- (USS Red Rover was the First) 46 == Operation Valkyrie ---- (1944 Attempt to Assassinate Hitler) 48 == USMC Naval Affiliation ---- (Why Marines Are Part of the Navy) 48 == Battle of Raate Road ---- (Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland) 50 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 31 JAN) 50 == MOH Awards [17] ---- (Can be Earned by Noncombatants) 51 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [46] ---- (Versatile Lady) 52 == Battle of the Bulge [02] ---- (The Losing Side is Often the Most Dangerous Just Before its Collapse) 53 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (Dennis Conlon | Civil War) . * HEALTH CARE * . 55 == Medicare Premiums | 2019 [01] ---- (Millions of Retirees Spent $5,000 on Just Premiums) 55 == Drug Cost Increases [17] ---- (Below 10% for 200 on 1 JAN 2020) 2 56 == Prescription Drug Costs [41] ---- (Medicare’s Influence) 57 == Prescription Drug Costs [42] ---- (VA Users Less Likely to Go Without Needed Medications) 58 == Counterfeit Medicine [01] ---- (How to Safely Buy Medicine Online) 59 == Cancer ---- (2017 Biggest U.S. One-Year Death Rate Drop Ever) 60 == Cervical Cancer [04] ---- (Screening Can Help Prevent It) 61 == Salmonella ---- (How Europe and the U.S. Protect Eggs against It) 62 == TRICARE Pharmacy Policy [28] ---- (Erectile Dysfunction Treatment) 63 == TRICARE Podcast 535 ---- (Deductibles & Catastrophic Caps - Cold Weather Safety - Flu Prevention) 64 == TRICARE Podcast 536 ---- (New User - Disaster Preparedness & Alerts - Preventive Health Care Services) . * FINANCES * . 65 == Social Security Changes ---- (Adjustments Scheduled for 2020) 66 == SSA COLA [05] ---- (This Really Happened — a 77% Social Security COLA!) 67 == Homeowners Insurance [15] ---- (Things You Probably Didn’t Know Were Covered) 68 == COLA vs. Pay Raise ---- (Why the 2020 Federal Rate Differences) 69 == Post-Holiday Phishing Scam ---- (Phony Reward Point Redemptions) 70 == Jury Duty Scam [01] ---- (Preys on Law Enforcement Fears) 71 == State Tax Burden for Washington Retired Vets ---- (As of JAN 2020) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 73 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 January 2020) 75 == U.S. Embassy Manila, Philippines ---- (Natural Disaster Alert - Volcano) 75 == Gallup Decade in Review ---- (2010 to 2019 Public Opinion Changes) 78 == DPRK Nuclear Diplomacy ---- (Trump-Kim Ups & Downs) 79 == Iran Tensions [09] ---- (Defensive Measures Prevented Casualties in Iranian Attack) 80 == Iraq War [03] ---- (Iraqis Vote To Eject US Troops) 82 == Nurses’ Honesty & Ethics ---- (Continue to Rate Highest Over Other Professions) 83 == Retirement Trends [01] ---- (Reasons Fewer People at 65 are Retiring) 84 == Interesting Inventions ---- (Rubik's cube for the blind) 84 == Have You Heard? ---- (Military Humor 11 | Suicide Incentives | Great Truths) 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 – South Carolina Vet State Benefits Attachment – Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 JAN (Updated) * DoD * 3 Military Unmanned Ships Update 01: US Navy’s Surface Force Directed to Develop Concepts The head of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Forces Command has ordered the service’s surface force to develop a concept of operations for both the large and medium unmanned surface vessels in development, according to a 19 DEC message seen by Defense News. The message, which was coordinated with U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Pacific Fleet, directs the surface fleet’s Surface Development Squadron to develop concepts for “the organization, manning, training, equipping, sustaining, and the introduction and operational integration of the Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle and Large Unmanned Surface Vessel with individual afloat units as well as with Carrier Strike Groups, Expeditionary Strike Groups, and Surface Action Groups.” A rendering of DARPA's Sea Hunter, which has been transferred to the U.S. Navy's Surface Development Squadron. The squadronhas been tasked with formulating a comprehensive concept of operations for unmanned ships. The message comes after a long battle with Congress over funding for unmanned surface combatants, during which lawmakers expressed skepticism that the Navy was knowledgeable enough about the technology for which it was seeking funding. Ultimately Congress appropriated funds for the Navy to buy two large unmanned surface vessels, but lawmakers forbade the service from equipping the vessels with vertical launch tubes, as the Navy intended. The concepts of operations is meant to define what would be considered “initial operating capability” for the medium and large USVs and goes on to define what those platforms are intended to do. “Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle will be a high-endurance vessel with capacity for carrying various modular payloads,” the message read. “Large Unmanned Surface Vessel will be high-endurance vessel equipped with Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells. “The Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle will initially focus on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) payloads and electronic warfare (EW) systems, while the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel will focus on surface warfare (SUW) and strike missions.” The message directs the Surface Development Squadron, which was created last year to incorporate new technologies such as the DDG-1000 and Sea Hunter into the force, to examine several areas of consideration. The group is to examine command and control for the platforms, as well as potential challenges with interoperability and communications; examine issues with basing, maintaining and supporting the new platforms; look at what the vessels will need in terms of sensors, computers and various supporting systems; and look at what kind of training and