RAO BULLETIN 15 December 2015

[boardman]

RAO
BULLETIN
15 December 2015

THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES

Pg Article Subject
* DOD * .

04 == OPM Data Breach -------------- (Pentagon Self-Check Site Launched)
05 == Pearl Harbor --------------------------- (74th Anniversary of the Attack)
06 == DFAS Fraud [01] ----------------------------------- (Phony Audit Letter)
07 == DARPA [01] -------------- (Too Many Projects Enter Valley of Death)
07 == DoD Travel Restrictions ------------------------------------------ (France)
08 == Vet Unemployment ------------ (Lowest Rate since April 2008 | 3.9%)
09 == Women Military Career Fields --------------------- (SECEF Opens All)
09 == Selective Service System [12] ------- (Draft Registration for Women)
09 == Commissary Funding [24] --- (Guam Contract Change Raises Prices)
11 == POW/MIA [67] ------ (USS Oklahoma Exhumed Remains ID Begins)
12 == POW/MIA Recoveries ----------------- (Reported 151201thru 151231)

* VA * .

14 == VA Vet Choice Program [27] -------------------- (Appointment Delays)
16 == VA CMOP ---------- (Charleston, S.C | 2.3M Prescriptions per Month)
17 == VA Pershing Hall Ownership ----------------------- Paris Luxury Hotel)
19 == VA Hepatitis C Care [07] ---------------- (Alarming Dip in Treatments)
19 == VISN [18] -------------------------- (Newly Assigned director Opts Out)
20 == VA Vet Choice Program [26] -------------------------- (Access Changes)
21 == VA Fort Still National Cemetery ------- (Awarded Gold Shrine Status)
22 == VA Employee Accountability – (Mismanagement/Training Problems)
23 == VA Employee Accountability [01] - (Disciplinary Record Revelation)
24 == VA Employee Relocation -- (Improper/Illegal Payment | Recoupment)
25 == VA Appeals [14] ---------------- (Never ending Process Hurts All Vets)
26 == VA #VeteranOfTheDay --------- (How to Nominate Your Special Vet)
27 == VA Claims Processing [13] ---------------------- (Live Manual | M21-1)
28 == VAMC Tomah [13] ------------------ (100-Day Plan Released 27 NOV)
28 == VAMC Minneapolis [05] - (Legionnaires’ Disease Bacteria Detected)
29 == VAMC Loma Linda CA ------------- (Patient Recall for TB Exposure)
30 == VAMC Denver CO [02] --------------------- (Nurse-Hostage Situation)
30 == VA HCS Pittsburgh [04] ---------------------------------------- (TB Alert)
31 == VA HCS Pittsburgh [05] ------------------- (Mold Forces ICU Closure)
31 == VA HCS Alexandria VA --- (Nurse’s Aide Charged w/Manslaughter)

* Vets * .

32 == Vet Toxic Exposure~Lejeune [56] ------ (Claim Approvals Drop 66%)
34 == Vet Incarceration ----------------------------------------- (Numbers Down)
34 == Korean War Mural ---------------------------------------- (Amherst, Ohio)
35 == Disabled Vet Leave Law – (Fed Employees Hired After 5 NOV 2016)
36 == Bladensberg WWI Memorial [01] -- (MD Court Rules Constitutional)
36 == Memorial Desecration -------------- (Veterans Park Florence Alabama)
37 == Vet Employment/Education/Healthcare [01] - (Worsened Since 1992)
39 == Soldiers Memorial St. Louis MO ---------- (2-Year $30M Renovation)
40 == Vet Commercial Driver’s License ----------- (CDL Skills Test Waiver)
40 == Vet Jobs [181] ------------------------ (Hire 500,000 Heroes Foundation)
41 == Obit: Sakato~George T ------------------------------------- (2 DEC 2015)
41 == Obit: Rubin~Tibor ------------------------------------------- (5 DEC 2015)
42 == NDAA for 2016 [18] ----------- (Korean War POW’s Overdue Honor)
44 == Retiree Appreciation Days ------------------------- (As of 11 DEC 2015)
44 == Vet Hiring Fairs ------------------------------ (16 DEC thru 15 Feb 2016)
45 == WWII Vets 96 --------------------------------------------- (Hida~Takejiro)
46 == Vet State Benefits & Discounts ------------------------ (Minnesota 2015)

* Vet Legislation * .

47 == Legislation of Interest [22] -- (VA Pain Management & Patient Abuse)
47 == VA Prescription Policy [05] ---- (H.R.4063/S.1641 | Opioid Over-Use)
48 == SBP Changes After Retirement [02] - (NDAA Reverses DFAS Policy)
49 == GI Bill [196] --------------------- (GI Bill Fairness Act S.602/H.R.1141)
49 == VA Suicide Prevention [28] - (Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act)
50 == SVAC [14] ---------- (Committee Advances Key Bills | S.525 & S.290)
50 == Vet Bills Submitted to 114th Congress ----------- (151201 thru 151215)

* MILITARY * .

51 == USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) [05] ------ (Tumblehome Hull Concerns)
52 == GTMO Prison [02] ----------------------------- (Use of Women Guards)
53 == Army Service-Related Documents --------------------- (Tips to Obtain)
54 == Women in Combat [03] - (Why Carter Overruled Marine Arguments)
56 == B-52’s Still Dominate ----------------------------------- (After 60 Years)
56 == NATO Medal --------------- (Operation Resolute Support Participants)
57 == China Island Building [01] --------- (Airstrips Might Soon Quadruple)
59 == Military Enlistment Standards 2015 [08] --------------- (Drug/Alcohol)
60 == Medal of Honor Citations ----------- (Harvey, Carmel Bernon Jr | VN)

* MILITARY HISTORY * .

61 == Aviation Art -------------------------------- (Famous Four Minutes, The)
62 == Remember the 80’s Navy [02] --------- (Things that No Longer Exist)
63 == Pearl Harbor Day Relics [01] ------- (Repatriated Wooden Talismans)
64 == Military Trivia 116 ------- (Vet Stats off the Vietnam Memorial Wall)
65 == MOH Nominee ---------------- (Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds | WWII)
67 == Military History ------------------------------- (Battle of Palmito Ranch)
67 == WWII Ads -------------------------------------- (National Dairy Products)
68 == D-Day --------------------------------- (A Fallen Comrade Remembered)
68 == WWII Prewar Events -------------------- (Communist Execution 1919)
69 == WWII PostWar Events ----- (1946 Dr. Klaus Karl Schilling Hanging)
69 == Spanish American War Image 79 --- (Montauk, Long Island, in 1898)
70 == WWI in Photos 105 ------- (Capture of Archduke Ferdinand Assassin)
70 == Faces of WAR (WWII) ------- (Washington DC Parade (7) May 1942)
71 == Ghosts of Time ------------- (Then & Now’ Photos of WWII Sites (06)
72 == Military History Anniversaries ------------------------- (16 thru 31 Dec)

* HEALTH CARE * .

71 == TRICARE Autism Care [14] --------- (Therapy Reimbursement Rates)
72 == Phantom Pain --------------------------- (Relief through Mirror Therapy)
73 == Tricare Pharmacy Copay [15] ---------- (New Maintenance Drug Rule)
74 == Flu Shots [07] --- (No-Cost Shots at Walgreens for VA Enrolled Vets)
74 == TRICARE Hip Surgery ----- (Benefit Expands to Cover FAL Surgery)
75 == TRICARE Help --------------------------------------------- (Q&A 151215)

* FINANCES * .

76 == Store Credit Cards ------------------------------------------- (Pros & Cons)
77 == SBP DIC Offset [42] ----- (Advocates Hopeful for Congressional Fix)
78 == Debt Statute of Limitations [01] ------------- (Do Unpaid Bills Expire?)
79 == Cola 2016 [13] --------------- (Emergency Payment Legislation | 3.9%)
80 == Saving Money ----------------------------------------------------- (Batteries)
82 == Online Interview Scam ------------------------------------ (How it Works)
83 == iPhone 7 Testing Scam ------------------------------------ (How it Works)
83 == Chip Card Scam -------------------------------------------- (How it Works)
84 == Illinois Vet Property Tax ------------ (New Law Increases Exemptions)
85 == Tax Burden for Alabama Retired Vets ---------------- (As of Dec 2015)
86 == Tax Burden for Louisiana Residents ------------------ (As of Dec 2015)
87 == Thrift Savings Plan 2015 ------------------ (Returns as of 11 DEC 2015)

* GENERAL INTEREST .

88 == Notes of Interest ------------------------------------- (1 thru 15 Dec 2015)
89 == Easy Ways to Stay Warm ------------------------------------------ (7 Tips)
90 == NORAD Santa Tracking [04] ------------------------ (60th Anniversary)
90 == Insurance Hall of Shame --------------------------------- (2015 Inductees)
93 == Overseas Mail Custom Form ----------------------- (Online Availability)
93 == Travel Packing Tips [01] ------------ (Fundamental Packing Strategies)
95 == Great Lakes --------------- (Things You Never Knew About the Lakes)
97 == Vision Test ---------------------------------------------- (Hidden Image 06)
97 == Brain Teaser -------------------------------------------- (Word Similarities)
98 == Photos That Say it All -------------------------------- (Losing A Friend)
98 == Most Creative Statues ------------------------ (Adelaide, Australia | Pigs)
99 == Interesting Inventions -------------------------------------- (iPhone Lens)
99 == Moments of US History --------------- (A Night at O'Reilly's Bar 1942)
99 == Parking ------------- (Revenge Tactic #9 against Inconsiderate Parkers)
100 == Have You Heard? -------------------------- (Baby’s First Medical Exam)
100 == Have You Heard? ------------------------------------- (Keep off the grass)
100 == Help!!! -------------------------- (Things that might make you say it (02)
101 == Brain Teaser Answer ---------------------------------- (Word Similarities)

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 raoemo@sbcglobal.net.

* ATTACHMENTS * .

Attachment – RAO Bulletin 15 Dec 2015
Attachment - Veteran Legislation as of 15 Dec 2015
Attachment - B~52’s Still Dominate U.S. Fleet
Attachment - Mil History: Battle of Palmito Ranch
Attachment – Minnesota Vet State Benefits & Discounts DEC 2015
Attachment - Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 31 Dec
Attachment - Retiree Activity\Appreciation Days (RAD) Schedule as of 11 DEC 2015

-o-o-O-o-o-

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*********************************

RAO Bulletin Editor/Publisher:
Lt. James (EMO) Tichacek, USN (Ret) Tel: (858) 432-1246 Email: raoemo@sbcglobal.net
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RAO Baguio Director:
SMSgt Leonard (Len) D. Harvey, USAF (Ret) PSC 517 Box 4036, FPO AP 96517-1000, Tel: 63-74-442-3468; Email: lenharvey@live.com.ph

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