RAO BULLETIN 1 January 2017 PDF Edition THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 04 == DoD Military & Discharge Records -------------- (Vet Review Policy) 05 == DFAS 1099-R [08] ----------------------- (Tax Year 2016 Availability) 06 == Concurrent Receipt Status [02] --------- (CBO Proposes Elimination) 07 == Military Benefit Proposals [03] -- (What Will Congress/Trump Do?) 07 == National Resource Directory [01] --------------------------- (Enhanced) 08 == Spratly Islands Dispute --------------- (Weapons Installed on 2 Reefs) 10 == DFAS Fraudulent Emails ----------------- (Beware myPay Customers) 10 == Supreme Court RFRA Petition - (Isaiah 54:17 in Military Workspace) 11 == Commissary Prices [07] ----------------- (2017 Fundamental Changes) 12 == DoD Fraud, Waste & Abuse -------- (Reported 16 thru 31 DEC 2016) 13 == POW/MIA [79] ---------- (WWII 1st Lt. Ben Barnes’ Recovery Effort) 14 == POW/MIA Recoveries ---- (Reported 16 thru 31 DEC 2016 | Thirteen) . * VA * . 18 == VA Medical Benefits Package [03] --- (Opt Out Option On the Table) 18 == VA Performance [10] --------------------- (Gingrich Urges War on VA) 1 20 == VA Performance [11] ------------------------------ (Impressive Progress) 22 == VA Debt Billing Policy [01] --- (DOT Cross Serving Program in Use) 22 == VA DHP ------------------- (Cloud-Based Digital Health Platform Plan) 24 == PTSD & TBI [02] ------------ (Possible Differentiating Breakthrough) 25 == VA Crises Hotline [34] ---------------- (Program’s Capacity Doubled) 26 == VA Home Loan [45] -------------------------------- (2017 Loan Limits) 26 == VA Organ Transplants [01] ------------------ (Obstacles Still in Place) 27 == VA Glioblastoma Claims ------------- (Agent Orange Link Obstacles) 29 == VA Presumptive AO Diseases [24] ---- (Pending Decisions for 2017) 30 == Non-VA Facility Care [04] ------------------------------------- (Q & A) 31 == VA Compensable Disabilities -------- (CBO Proposal to Eliminate 7) 32 == VA Secretary [51] ---------------- (Efforts Upped to Keep McDonald) 33 == VA Secretary [52[-------- (Been The Greatest Job I Could Ever Have) 34 == VA Blind Rehabilitation Service [02] ----------------- (Orcam Device) 35 == VA Notice of Disagreement --------------------------- (How to Submit) 37 == GI Bill [217] ------------------------- (For-Profit Schools Skirting Rules) 39 == VA Health Care ----------- (Trump Considering Public-Private Option) 39 == VA Fraud, Waste & Abuse ----------- (Reported 16 thru 31 DEC 2016) 40 == VAMC St. Louis [05] -------------------- (Mental Health Care Access) 41 == VA HCS Bay Pines FL [01] ----- (Shower Room Body Investigation) 42 == VA HCS Pittsburgh [07] ----------------- (CDC Disinfection Dispute) 43 == VA HCS Black Hills SD [03] --- (Hot Springs Hospital Service Cuts) . * Vets * . 44 == Enlistment Bonus Payback [08] -- (No Waivers for IN, KY, MO, PA) 45 == Vet Health Care [04] -------------------- (Things to Know About 2017) 47 == Vet Toxic Exposure | Lejeune [65] ---------- (More EPA Rule Delays) 48 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [39] ------- (Registry Grows to 95,593 Vets) 49 == WWII Vets [125] ----------------------- (George~Joe | USS Vestal BM2) 50 == WWII Vets [126] ---------------------- (Olson~Gerald | USS Wisconsin) 52 == Women Vets ---- (Miriam Ben-Shalom | Tackles Carjacker @ Age 68) 53 == Obit: Lawrence Colburn | My Lai Massacre ------------ (13 DEC 2016) 53 == Obit: Seth McKee | D-Day General --------------------- (26 DEC 2016) 54 == Vet Jobs [207] ------------------------------------------ (Law Enforcement) 56 == Vet Jobs [208] -------------------------------------------- (VA Recruitment) 57 == Retiree Appreciation Days ------------------------- (As of DEC 31, 2016) 57 == Vet Hiring Fairs ------------------------------------- (01 thru 31 JAN 2016) 58 == Vet State Benefits & Discounts ------------------------ (Tennessee 2016) * Vet Legislation * . 59 == 114th Congress [06] ----------------------------- (Closes With a Flourish) 60 == 114th Congress [07] -------------- (Cheers to Whispers on Vet Benefits) 61 == NDAA 2017 [25] ----------------- (H.R.4909 & S.2932 Signed Into Law) . * MILITARY * . 62 == Navy Enlisted Rating Titles [07] ---------------- ( Job Titles Restored) 2 64 == Body Fat Standards ---------------------------------------- ( 2017 Policy) 65 == Blast Gauges ---------- (Pentagon Monitoring Program Discontinued) 66 == BAH [02] ---------------------------------------- (2.4% Increase in 2017) 67 == NATO Support ------------ (U.S. Tanks Return After 3-Year Absence) 68 == Navy Fleet Size [01] ------------------------------------ (355 Ship Goal) 70 == USS Gabrielle Giffords [01] ------------ (LCS-10 Testing Completed) 71 == Navy Wish List for 2017 -------------------------- (Navy Times' Top 5) 72 == Army Wish List for 2017 ------------------------- (Army Times' Top 5) 73 == Army Secretary --------------- (Billionaire Vincent Viola Nominated) 74 == Special Duty Pay -------------------------- ($75 to $450 Bump for Some) 75 == USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) Class Destroyers ----------- (Overview) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 76 == WWI Christmas Truce ------------------------------- (December 7, 1914) 78 == WW2 Aleutian Islands Campaign --- (Jun 3, 1942 thru Aug 15, 1943) 80 == Battle of Wake Island ---------------------------------------- (Overview) 80 == Military History Anniversaries -------------------------- (1 thru 15 JAN) 81 == Medal of Honor Citations -------------------- (Endl~Gerald L | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE * . 82 == TRICARE Safety Tips ---------------------------- (Winter Preparations) 83 == TRICARE Speech Therapy [01] ------ (Learn To Speak More Clearly) 83 == Sleep [03] -------------------------- (How to Get A Good Night's Sleep) 84 == TRICARE ABA --------- (Providers Must be Certified by Jan. 1, 2017) 84 == TRICARE Select ------ (TRICARE Standard's Replacement in 1 Year) 85 == Hospital Death Rates [02] ------------- (3 Times More Likely at Some) 86 == TRICARE Podcast 378 ---- (Binge Drinking | VLER HIE | Staying Fit) . * FINANCES * . 87 == Disability Separation Pay [01] -- (HR.5015/S.2712 Benefits 14K Vets) 88 == Credit Card Fraud 2016 ------------ (What Crooks Buy With your Card) 89 == Fake Shopping App Scam --------------------------------- (How it Works) 90 == Trump Tax Plan --- (Dramatic Rule Changes for Individual Taxpayers) 91 == USFSPA & Divorce [26] ---------------- (Pending Supreme Court Case) 92 == Tax Burden for Montana Retired Vets ---------------- (As of DEC 2016) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 94 == Notes of Interest ----------------------------------- (16 thru 31 DEC 2016) 96 == U.S. Philippine Bases [15] ----------------- ("Bye-bye America." Taunt) 96 == Military Community Scholarships ------------------- (New Search Tool) 97 == Philippines War on Drugs [01] --------- (Comic Books Latest Weapon) 99 == Have You Heard? --------- (A Touching Christmas Story | One Liners) Note: 1. The page number on which an article can be found is provided to the left of each article’s title 3 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 - Tennessee Vet State Benefits & Discounts DEC 2016 Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 1 thru 15 JAN Attachment - WWII Wake Island Prisoners * DoD * DoD Military & Discharge Records ► Vet Review Policy The Department of Defense on 30 DEC announced a renewed effort to ensure veterans are aware of the opportunity to have their discharges and military records reviewed. Through enhanced public outreach, engagement with Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), Military Service Organizations (MSOs), and other outside groups, as well as direct outreach to individual veterans, the department encourages all veterans who believe they have experienced an error or injustice to request relief from their service’s Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records (BCM/NR) or Discharge Review Board (DRB). Additionally, all veterans, VSOs, MSOs, and other interested organizations are invited to offer feedback on their experiences with the BCM/NR or DRB processes, including how the policies and processes can be improved. In the past few years, the department has issued guidance for consideration of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as the repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and its predecessor policies. Additionally, supplemental guidance for separations involving victims of sexual assault is currently being considered. The department is reviewing and consolidating all of the related policies to reinforce the department’s commitment to ensuring fair and equitable review of separations for all veterans. Whether the discharge or other correction is the result of PTSD, sexual orientation, sexual assault, or some other consideration, the department is committed to rectifying errors or injustices and treating all veterans with dignity and respect. With this announcement, the department is reaffirming its intention to review and potentially upgrade the discharge status of all individuals that are eligible and that apply. Veterans who desire a correction to their service record or who believe their discharge was unjust, erroneous, or warrants an upgrade, are encouraged to apply for review. For discharge upgrades, if the discharge was more than 15 years ago, the veteran should complete DD Form 293 (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/forms/eforms/dd0293.pdf) and send it to their service’s DRB (the address is on the form). For discharges over 15