RAO BULLETIN 15 October 2012 PDF Edition Note: Anyone receiving this who does not want it should click on the automatic “Change address / Leave mailing list” tab at the bottom of this message. THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES == Vet Lawsuit ~ KBR ----------------------------- (Qarmat Ali Exposure) == DoD Lawsuit ~ Edgewood [06] ------------------- (Case Can Proceed) == DoD Sexual Abuse [03] -------- (Corrective Efforts Lack Substance) == SSA Widow(er)'s Benefits [01] -------------------- (Think Long Term) == VRAP [05] ---------------------------------------------------- (Scam Alert) == Homes4WoundedHeroes Program [01] ----- (California Availability) == Vet Service Dogs [08] ---------------- (Affordability and Availability) == TRICARE Young Adult Program [08] ----------- (10% Participation) == TRICARE Access to Care --------------------------------------- (Survey) == TRICARE Philippines Demonstration Project [04] ---- (1 JAN 2013) == TRICARE Breast Cancer Coverage [02] ---------------------- (Exams) == Long Term Care FLTCIP [08] ------------- (TRICARE Involvement) == Obit ~ Sam Gibbons] ------------------------------------ (10 OCT 2012) == Flu Shots [04] ----------------------------------------------- (New Strains) == NDAA 2013 [10] -------------------------------- (Senate Amendments) == NDAA 2013 [11] ------------------------ (Coalition Letter on Priorities) == U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum ------------------------- (Overview) == U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum [01] ---------- (20th Anniversary) == Tattoo Removal [03] ---------------------------------------- (Job Impact) == VA Diabetes Mellitus Care [09] ------------------------ (Pilot Program) == Veterans Pension [03] ----------------------------------- (Asset Transfer) == VA Care Assessment ----------------- (American Legion Thumbs Up) == Wreaths Across America [06] ------------------------------------ (2012) == Vet Cremains [18] ----------------------------- (Williamsburg, Virginia) == Vet Cremains [19] ---------------------------------------- (St. Louis MO) == Stop-loss Pay [13] ------------------------- (Opportunity Ends 21 OCT) == USERRA [14] ----------------- (Guardsman Michael Hanke Lawsuit) == VA Cemeteries [08] ---------------------------- ($47 Million Awarded) == VA Cemeteries [09] ----------------------------------------- (NCA Sitrep) == Vet Charity Watch [28] -------------- (Alias Bobby Thompson ID’ed) == Mobilized Reserve 9 OCT 2012----------------------- (1461 Decrease) 1 == VA Lawsuit ~ Michael Nash ------------------- (Medical Malpractice) == Presidential 2012 Election ----------------------------- (Military Issues) == BRAC [29] ----------------------------------------------- (Hill AFB Utah) == Golden Gate National Recreation Area ----- (Battery Townsley Gun) == Aid & Attendance [09] -------------- (Check Out www.veteranaid.org) == VA Claim Processing [07] ------------------------ (Spec Ops Veterans) == VA Conference Scandal [01] ---------------------- (IG Report Results) == Commissary News [07] -------------------- - (Major Changes Coming) == Commissary News [08] -------------- (Disabled Vet Commissary Use) == VA Pain Care [01] ------------------------------ (Uncounted Casualties) == VA Pain Care [02] ----------- (Pharmaceutical Companies Influence) == Pentagon Contractor Data Breach ----- (MOH/DSC Recipient SSN’s) == Medagate OTC Card ----------- (AAFES Now Accepting Worldwide) == VA Cancer Treatment [02] ----------------- (Breast Cancer Screening) == VA COLA 2013 [01] ----------------- (Hold on Senate Bill Removed) == PTSD [117] ----------------------------------- (Driving Rehab Therapy) == PTSD [118] ------------------------------------- (VA’s Retooling Effort) == PTSD [119] ----------------------------------------- (Medical Marijuana) == IDES [01] ** ------------------------------------ (Progress Report Dim) == TRICARE Pharmacy Mail Order [02] ** ---- (Ger Delivery to Stop) == VA Claims Backlog [75] ** ------ (Interest on Retroactive Benefits) == VA Claims Backlog [76] --- (Congressman Fitzpatrick Perspective) == Vet Jobs [86] -------------------------------------------- (S.3624 Passed) == Vet Jobs [87] -------------------------------------------- (VA Job Search) == Vet Jobs [88] ----------------------- (Secrets To Beat The Job Market) == Vet Jobs [89] -------------------------------------------------- (Nebraska) == Vet License Plates IA -------------------------------------- (Availability) == Veteran Hearing/Mark-up Schedule ------------- (As of 14 Oct 2012) == WWII Vets [29] ---------------------------------------- (James McNiece) == Korean War Vets ------------------------------------------- (David Mills) == WWII Posters ---------------------------------------------------------- (15) == POW/MIA [29] ------------------------------------------ (1-15 Oct 2012) == Saving Money ------------------------------------- (Retailer Price Tricks) == VSO - Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund ----- (Vet Support Organization) == Notes of Interest ----------------------------------------- (1-14 Oct 2012) == Medicare Fraud [102] ---------------------------------- (1-14 Oct 2012) == Medicaid Fraud [72] ----------------------------------- (1-14 Oct 2012) == State Veteran's Benefits --------------------------------- (Georgia 2012) == Military History ------------------------ (Operation Commando Hunt) == Military History Anniversaries ---------------- (Oct 16–31 Summary) == Military Trivia 60 --------------------------------- (Vietnam GI Jargon) == Tax Burden for Ohio Retirees ------------------------ (As of Oct 2012) == Aviation Art ---------------------------------------- (Victory Over Gold) == Veteran Legislation Status 14 Oct 2012 ----------- (Where we stand) == Have You Heard? ------------------------------- (Vet Hats and Morons) Attachment - Veteran Legislation as of 13 OCT 2012 Attachment - State Veteran's Benefits Georgia 2012 Attachment - Vet License Plates Iowa Attachment - Mil History | VN Operation Commando Hunt 2 Attachment - Mil Personnel Record/Award Obtainment Attachment - Election 2012 Military Issues Attachment - TMC 2013 NDAA Ltr ** Denotes Military Times Copyrighted Material Warning: If you Forward this Bulletin to Someone Else: Delete the end-paragraph of the Bulletin before you forward it to others. The end-paragraph following this Note is required by law and offers the recipient an opportunity to “unsubscribe,” if they choose to. However, the “unsubscribe” portion contains your email address and whoever receives your re-distribution has the opportunity, whether purposely or inadvertently, to end your vice their future receipt of the RAO Bulletin newsletter. ********************************* ********************************* ********************************* Vet Lawsuit ~ KBR: A war contractor knew a critical southern Iraq oilfield plant was riddled with a well-known toxin but ignored the risk to soldiers while hurrying the project along, firing a whistleblower and covering up the presence of the chemical when faced with exposure, the soldiers' attorney said in opening arguments 10 OCT in a federal civil suit. An attorney for the contractor, Kellogg, Brown and Root, fired back in his opening salvo of a trial expected to last weeks that the soldiers' injuries weren't a result of their exposure to the toxin, called sodium dichromate. Geoffrey L. Harrison argued that the company had no knowledge of the chemical's presence at the plant and when they found it, they promptly and repeatedly warned the military of the danger. A jury of six men and six women will decide whether the company is culpable for 12 Oregon National Guardsmen's exposure to the toxin, a known carcinogen, and whether that exposure led to their ongoing respiratory illnesses. The soldiers will also try to show that the fear of future illnesses is causing them to suffer emotional distress. The irony, said the soldiers' attorney, Mike Doyle, "is that every single one of these men had a chemical hazard suit they would have put on instantly if they had known." KBR tried to warn the U.S. Army about the dangers of sodium dichromate, Harrison said, but didn't go to the soldiers themselves because that wasn't the proper channel of communication. "That was appropriate," Harrison said. "That was not concealment." The suit dates to prewar Iraq, when the U.S. Army feared then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein would react to an invasion by setting his own oil fields ablaze, as he had done in Kuwait after the Gulf War. Seeking to head off Hussein, in late 2002 the army contracted KBR and tasked them with assessing and repairing Iraqi oilfield installations. One of the most central - and critical to a continued supply of oil from the Gulf - was called Qarmat Ali. Qarmat Ali operated as a water treatment plant, injecting heavier, treated water into the ground to force oil to rise through wells to the surface. One of the chemicals Iraqi workers had been using was sodium dichromate, a substance long restricted in the U.S. over environmental and health concerns. What the Guardsmen found in late March or early April 2003 was a run-down plant, Harrison said, looted and stripped of copper wire. The ground, the soldiers allege, was contaminated with sodium dichromate. When they asked about the risks, the soldiers contend they were rebuffed or placated, and safety equipment wasn't ordered until they had been on site for months. The soldiers returned to the U.S. suffering from myriad respiratory problems, migraines and lung issues. They sued KBR in June 2009. The Oregon soldiers were joined by Guardsmen