RAO BULLETIN 15 March 2019 PDF Edition THIS RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES Pg Article Subject . * DOD * . 05 == Border Wall [11] ---- (No Military Construction Projects Will Be Canceled to Fund Wall) 06 == Pentagon Spending [02] ---- (Use-It or Lose-It | $61 Billion in A Single Month Last Year) 07 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [64] ---- (DoD/VA Two-Day Closed Symposium) 08 == DoD/VA EHR [04] ---- (Senior Lawmaker Pushes on Access Issue) 09 == DOD Illegal Migrant Housing ---- (Base Review to Accommodate Up to 5000 Children) 10 == DoD Budget 2020 [02] ---- ($718B | Shanahan’s “Masterpiece” Document) 11 == Navy Budget Request | 2020 ---- (Will Pass the 300 Ships Mark w/2020 Budget Submission) 12 == Army Budget Request | 2020 ---- ($182B Geared to a Modernization Renaissance) 14 == Air Force Budget Request | 2020 ---- ($165.6B for Readiness & Emerging Tech) 15 == Commissary Funding [31] ---- (21 Percent Cut In Fiscal 2020) 16 == Wargames ---- (The US Keeps Losing, Hard | $24 billion Annual Fix Needed) 18 == PFAS Toxic Exposure [03] ---- (Evidence Suggests DoD’s Awareness since 1980s) 19 == PFAS Toxic Exposure [04] ---- (Cleaning Up/Protecting U.S. Water Will Cost Billions) 20 == Kirtland AFB NM---- (Jet Fuel Seeping Into the Ground for Decades) 20 == Commissary/Exchange Merger [02] ---- (DOD Pushes Ahead to Merge) 21 == DOD Security ---- (Facial Recognition) 1 22 == Afghan Peace Talks [02] ---- (New Pentagon Plan) 25 == U.S. Space Command ---- (Legislative Hurdle Delays Stand-Up) 26 == U.S. Space Force [12] ---- (Five-year timeline | $2B Cost & 15,000 Personnel) 27 == DOD Fraud, Waste, & Abuse ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 Mar 2019) 30 == POW/MIA [121] ---- (Vietnam War Status as of February 26, 2019) 31 == POW/MIA Recoveries & Burials ---- (Reported 01 thru 15 MAR 2019 | Twenty Six) . * VA * . 35 == National Vietnam War Veterans Day [01] ---- (VA Thank You!) 35 == VA Appeals [36] ---- (System Is “Ancient” and “Inefficient” and In Need of Drastic Change) 36 == VA Caregiver Program [52] ---- (Expansion Program Delayed to at least mid- to late 2020) 37 == VA Hiring [13] ---- (Financial Incentives Being Offer) 38 == VA Opioid Use [03] ---- (Higher Overdoes Risk for VA + Medicare Users) 39 == VA Private Care Access [04] ---- (No Plan to Pay for It) 40 == VA Private Care Access [05] ---- (VA Risks Repeating Mistakes of Failed Choice Program) 41 == VA PHASeR Testing Program ---- (Cancer Survivor Genetic Testing Pilot) 42 == VA Women Vet Programs [35] ---- (More Female Vets Means More Challenges for VA) 43 == VA Women Vet Programs [36] ---- (Medical Centers Struggling to Curb Harassment) 45 == VA Budget FY 2020 [02] ---- (Trump $220.2B Proposal | 9.6% Increase) 46 == VAMC Leavenworth KS [02] ---- (Lung Cancer Diagnosis Delayed 10 Months) 47 == VAMC Cleveland [03] ---- (Selected as 1 of 18 Pilot Sites for HRO Initiative) 47 == GAO High Risk List [01] ---- (VA Flagged Again) 48 == VA Vision Care [08] ---- (Technology-based Eye Care Services Program) 49 == VAMC Louisville KY [03] ---- (New Hospital Funding in 2020 Budget Proposal) 50 == VA Employment [07] ---- (Secretary Wilkie Concerned About Filling Job Vacancies) 51 == VA Individual Unemployability [06] ---- (Understanding New Verification Process) 51 == VA HRO Transition ---- (18 Medical Centers Will Lead the Way) 52 == VA EHR [14] ---- (VA Health Data to Transfer Easier than DOD’s to New EHR System) 53 == VA Facility Closures [02] ---- (Large-Scale Could Be Coming Sooner Than Expected) 54 == VA Health Care Access [65] ---- (Durham VA Medical Center Issues) . * VETS * . 55 == Vet Groups [04] ---- (2019 Congressional Objectives & Priorities) 56 == VA Blue Water Claims [66] ---- (Veterans Groups Appeal to Trump) 58 == Vet Job Hunting [03] ---- (Six Tips) 59 == Military Records Correction [03] ---- (Should You Make One) 60 == California Veterans Home [20] ---- (Yountville Home Bible Study Issue) 61 == WWII Vets 184 ---- (Willard H. Blevens Sr. | Battle of the Bulge Participant) 62 == WWII Vets 185 ---- (Norma C. Tocci Kania | WAC) 63 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [63] ---- (What’s Coming Next in Battle for Benefits) 64 == Burn Pit Toxic Exposure [65] ---- (House Passes Burn Pit Accountability Act H.R. 663) 65 == RIP Medical Debt ---- (Veterans Receive Golden 'Tickets' Canceling Their Medical Debt) 66 == Veteran Service Organization Imposters ---- (HCVA Internet Bots/Trolls Investigation) 67 == Merchant Marine Fleet [01] ---- (Trump Trying To Help Sailors Become Mariners) 68 == Vet Suicide [24] ---- (White House Finalizes Plan to Stem Veteran Suicides) 69 == Texas Vet Tuition Program ---- (150 Credit Hour Exemption w/Hazlewood Act) 70 == Obit: Dorothy Holmes ---- (17 FEB 2019 | 1st Female Chief Master Sergeant) 2 72 == Obit: Ralph Hall ---- (7 MAR 2019 | 12 Term Congressman & WWII Navy Pilot) 73 == Vet Hiring Fairs ---- (Scheduled As of 15 MAR 2019) 73 == Military Retirees & Veterans Events Schedule ---- (As of 15 MAR 2019) 74 == Vet State Benefits ---- (Kansas 2019) . * VET LEGISLATION * . 75 == Afghan Victory Declaration Proposal ---- (S.J. Res12 | 2019 (AFGHAN) Service Act) 75 == POW/MIA Flag [01] ---- (H.R___/S.___ | National POW/MIA Flag Act) 76 == VA Medical Marijuana [60] ---- (H.R.1647 | Authorize VA to Provide Recommendations) 76 == Vet Missing Alert System ---- (S.____ | The Green Alert Act of 2019) 77 == SSIA [06] ---- (H.R.553/S.622 | Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act) 77 == Bankruptcy [02] ---- (S.___ | Haven Act Would Prevent Vet Loss of Disability Benefits 78 == Joint Resolutions ---- (What They Are) . * MILITARY* . 79 == Military Retirement System [32] ---- (Only 25% of Army BRS Eligible Joined) 80 == Military Pay Raise 2020 ---- (White House Proposes 3.1% Pay Raise) 81 == Military Opioid Use ---- (Preventing Painkiller Abuse) 81 == USMC Tuition [03] ---- (Minimum Time in Service Requirements Scrapped) 82 == Base Housing [05] ---- (Groton Naval Submarine Base Conditions) 82 == Base Housing [06] ----- (Non-Disclosure Agreements Revealed) 84 == PFAS Toxic Exposure [01] ---- (16 Cancer Cases in One Family) 85 == PFAS Toxic Exposure [02] ---- (New Mexico’ U.S. Air Force Lawsuit) 86 == Navy Amphibs [02] ---- (Two Cut from 2020-2024 Budget Plan) 87 == Afghan Failures [04] ---- (The Forever War | Spouse Done Waiting) 89 == Security Clearances [03] ---- (Inadequate Drug Test Reporting) 89 == Navy Carrier Fleet [01] ---- (Early Truman Decom a Non-Starter w/HASC) 90 == Navy Carrier Fleet [02] ---- (Fight against Navy Plan to Buy More Carriers) 91 == USCG Icebreakers [10] ---- (USCGC Polar Star 10 FEB Fire) 93 == Navy Terminology, Jargon & Slang --- (Bitchbox thru Blivet) 94 == Warships That Will Change the Future ---- (INS Mysore (D60) . * MILITARY HISTORY * . 95 == China Marines ---- (Highly Coveted Tour Of Duty 1927-1941) 96 == Operation Crossroads ---- (That Time the US Dropped an Atomic Bomb an a Fleet of 95 Ships) 98 == Profile in Courage ---- (Lloyd Leslie Burke) 100 == Edgar Allen Poe Military Career ---- (How He Got Himself Kicked Out of the Army) 101 == Navy Dueling ---- (Back When Military Officers Settled Beefs by Shooting Each Other) 102 == War Memorials ---- (D.C. WWI War Memorial) 102 == Post WWII Photos ---- (Tokyo Housing Shortage Solution) 103 == Every Picture Tells A Story ---- (Pivot Point) 103 == WWII Bomber Nose Art [25] ---- (Booby Trap) 104 == Military History Anniversaries ---- (16 thru 31 MAR) 104 == Medal of Honor Citations ---- (James L. Harris | WWII) . * HEALTH CARE * . 3 105 == Reproductive Medicine ---- (Post-Mortem Sperm Removal) 106 == Prescription Drug Costs [25] ---- (Will Washington Finally Do Something) 107 == TRICARE Breast Feeding Coverage [03] ---- (Revised After $16M in Over Expenditures) 108 == TRICARE Cost Survey ---- (Beneficiaries Say They Are Paying More and Receiving Less) 110 == Staff Infection ---- (Cause and Preventive Measures to Minimize) 112 == Patient Advocacy Groups ---- (Big Pharma Gave Money to Groups Opposing Medicare Changes) 114 == Irritable Bowel Syndrome [01] ---- (When to See a Doctor) 116 == Hypertension [06] ---- (What It Is and Does) 117 == TRICARE Podcast 491 ---- (Filing Claims - National Nutrition Month - Overseas Pharmacy Benefit) 118 == TRICARE Podcast 492 ---- (Qualifying Life Events - Loss of Eligibility - Updating DEERS) . * FINANCES * . 119 == Military Retirement Pay Taxation [03] ---- (California AB 427) 120 == Military Consumers ---- (Lose Significantly More Money to Scammers than Non-Military Consumer) 121 == Elder Vet Abuse [07] ---- (Financial Exploitation) 122 == Facebook Charity Scam ---- (Watch Out for Facebook Con with a Charity Twist) 123 == Romance Scam 3 ---- (Tips on Protecting Yourself) 124 == Employment Scams ---- (The Riskiest Cons of 2018) 124 == Tax Burden for Montana Retired Vets ---- (As of MAR 2019) . * GENERAL INTEREST * . 127 == Notes of Interest ---- (01 thru 15 MAR 2019) 128 == DACOWITS ---- (2018 Report on Women in Service Recommendations) 129 == Russia Nuclear Weapons [01] ---- (Poseidon Nuclear-Powered Torpedo) 130 == U.S. Troop Host Charge ---- (Trump’s Cost + 50 Plan) 131 == Taiwan-China Dispute [05] ---- (Fleet of New Fighters Requested From U.S.) 131 == Nuclear Submarine Lease ---- (Russia to India | $3B for 10 Years) 132 == US Immigration [01] ---- (McCarran-Walter Act) 133 == Diego Garcia Naval Base [01] ---- (Future Could Be In Jeopardy) 135 == Surviving Spouses ---- (Is Yours Prepared If You Should Die First?) 136 == Combat Obscura ---- (War Documentary the Marine Corps Doesn't Want You to See) 138 == Border Wall [11] ---- (Illegal Crossings