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Check out these pictures from MOH recipients John Finn and Francis Curry's visit to the Slater at
FINN and CURRY
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To locate the nearest ID card facility visit the Defense Manpower Data Center web site at http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl
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Anyone interested in the annual trip to visit the USS Constitution, contact Charlie Mach at;
cmach@nycap.rr.com, check out the pics Senior sent in on the About Us/ Pics page.
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ALCON,
Please share this with anyone who's had active duty service prior to January 2002 and planning for retirement. In a nutshell it boils down to this: You qualify for a higher social security payment because of your military service, for active duty any time from 1940 through 2001 (the program was done away with in January 2002). Up to $1200 per year of earnings credit credited at time of application - which can make a substantial difference in social security monthly payments upon your retirement. You must bring your DD-214 to the Social Security Office - and you must ask for this benefit to receive it! Soc Sec website:
http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/military.htm
<http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/military.htm
This is something to put in your files for when you apply for Social Security down the road. It is NOT just for retirees, BUT anyone who has served on active duty prior to January 2002. FYI - this benefit is not automatic, you must ask for it!
Effective Jan. 1, 2009, TRICARE will reduce the rates for TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS). Monthly premiums for TRS individual coverage will drop 44 percent from $81 to $47.51, and TRS family coverage will drop 29 percent from $253 to $180. TRS is a premium-based health plan for National Guard and Reserve personnel available for purchase by members of the Selected Reserve who are not eligible for or enrolled in Federal Employee Health Benefit plans. Read the full article on Military.com.
Here are a few links that may be helpful;
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Every thought about Space "A" travel? Here are a few links that may help, thanks John.
Space "A"
DOD Lodging
Armed Forces Rec Centers
Coast Guard lodging
Here's an interesting note about space "A" that I didn't know about, Straton AFB in Scotia has flights. This is a copied text that John handed me;
The NYANG Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base, Scotia, NY has a new Space "A" flight information phone line at 518-344-2310, option 3
The space A travel office has a representative available Monday through Friday from 0700 to 1130 and 1230 to 1530
POC: Msgt McCauley 518-244-2343
Go to this web site for all the info;
website: http://www.109aw.ang.af.mil/
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THE END OF TRICARE FOR LIFE
To: All Military Retirees and Their Spouses/Surviving Spouses
This is a "Heads Up" on a battle we are facing now and down the road with the new Administration. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has already drafted proposed legislation that would basically reduce our TRICARE for Life benefits to a system whereby we pay deductibles and co-pays up to $6,301 the first year for you and your spouse, with future years being indexed to increase with inflation.
What can we do? The article below, obtained from an Air Force Association and written by BG Bob Clements, best describes what we can do. Please read it and check the links for CBO language and do what Bob says-Send this email to every Military Retiree you know and write and email your Congressman often.
For those of you that might have voted for "Change", you should do it more than often! TRICARE FOR LIFE'S FUTURE.... TRICARE For Life was instituted to correct the broken promise that military retirees would receive free healthcare coverage for life and it covers the Medicare co-pay. Now a heavy assault has begun on Veterans'/Retirees' benefits to pay for other programs our President promised during the campaign. And it is a high priority of his administration. The one item of most interest to Retired Military is in Article 189. If approved by Congress, the first assault wave would hit in 2011 and would hit hard. It would initiate cost sharing to require retirees to pay the first $525 of medical cost and 50% of the next $4,725 for a first year cost of $2,888 per person. It would be indexed to increase with inflation. A reason given for this action (for PR effect) is "overuse" by Retirees.
For those of you who are covered by TFL you will want to pay attention (Below) to what BG Bob Clements has surfaced about the future of TFL. In any case, on page 189 of the Congressional Budget Office report, see the note below on how to get to that spot, there is a strong recommendation to eventually eliminate the program as it is too expensive. Just another move to slight those of us who dedicated much of our adult lives to the defense of our country.
I strongly recommend that you contact your elected officials and register your strong opposition to the elimination of the TFL program. Heads-up from BG Bob Clements, USAF Ret (P38 Bob) The following has been added to the Congressional Budget Office Web Site: www.cbo.gov/ < http://www.cbo.gov/
a.. Budget, Options, Volume 1: Health Care ( www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9925 http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=9925
For those who have never opened one of these web sites from OMB: > 1. double click on the above URL > 2. click on PDF > 3. click on the binoculars > 4. do a search for TFL Now here it is folks and I will guarantee if you sit around on your behind and do nothing about it, as they bring these options forward this coming year, you will lose one of the best healthcare benefits that the Medicare eligible retired military have. It is short of the promises made that we fought so hard for back in the late 90s and early 2000s but it is still the best healthcare program that anyone in the United States has, bar none. People who are professionals always look for the channel of least resistance when it comes to cutting money out of the Federal and DOD budget. I can tell you this straight on, military retirees are one of those channels of least resistance noted for sitting around, doing nothing, and waiting for ole Joe to do it for them. You had better wake up. Your medical benefits are prime target. If you lose them, you have nobody to blame but yourself. Let me repeat that ... you have nobody to blame but yourself. The way to secure your benefits is to write to your members of Congress and to keep writing and writing and writing. ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH!! Keep repeating the above statement until you are blue in the face.
Now I'm going to make one more statement to all of you younger people out there who are not yet eligible for TRICARE for Life. HEALTH CARE WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME THE DOMINATING FACTOR IN YOUR LIFE.
Remember that . . . . It will impact you big time with the utmost in cruelty unless you are fortunate enough to die from a heart attack or get run over by a truck. The service organizations will put up a fight, but, they will need your help and can't do it by themselves. I hope this makes it clear as to what you can expect if you do nothing.
To show you how stupid these professionals can be at times just read the data on the noted sites closely. You will see that in spite of the MTFs (Military Treatment Facility) need to get patients back to keep their doctors busy and the hospitals from going to clinic status, these people from OMB would employ a means to keep retirees from using MTF facilities by charging them a fee for services. How dumb can you get. Even if you are an Obama fan, and believe that changeth cometh, TFL option from OMB will not go away.
They need the money they spend on you for other programs for people who produce nothing but votes to keep their boss in office. If you know of anyone who is Retired Military, please forward this to them.
Remember- TFL is an "Earned Benefit" that's been granted by a previous Congress.
