Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America 1 PMOAA Beacon The City of Five Flags-Pensacola Florida 4 Star Chapter Award – 2002 5 Star Chapter Awards — 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 http://www.pmoaa.org PRESIDENT’S CORNER It will be time to fill several vacant board member offices, therefore, the Board of Directors of PMOAA will be appoint- ing a Nominating Committee of five regular members of PMOAA who, at the time of their election, are not serving as voting members of the Board. The Nominating Committee will ascertain that nominees are willing and able to serve in proposed offices. The Committee will elect its own chairman, who shall notify the Secretary, in writing, of the names of members proposed for open elective offices not later than the Board meeting for the month of September. We would like to start this process earlier, as past history has shown getting into the summer months makes this process difficult. The following offices are available: President, 1 st Vice Presi- dent, 2 nd Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and three board members. We are asking those with a desire to help choose our new club leaders or desire to fill one of the vacant positions, to step up now in order to make this process seamless. Please let us hear from you ASAP. The Florida Council of Chapters will hold its annual conven- tion in Sarasota, FL at the Hyatt Hotel on 7-10 June 2013. All PMOAA Board members have current commitments. We are seeking someone to attend as a voting delegate to rep- resent Pensacola. Please check out the details at http:// www.moaafl.org/Events or contact CPT Neal Schneider. RADM Joan Engel is piecing together our annual awards package for the MOAA Excellence Award. We have been fortunate to have won the Five Star category for nine con- secutive years and we need your help to make it ten. We need you to let Joan know where you volunteer and how much time you donated for 2012. Your affiliation/interaction with local military installations is very important. This is criti- cal, so please get us the information this week! While I am on the subject of awards, we were recently informed that our website has won the Col Marvin J. Harris Communications Award for the third consecutive year. Way to go, CPT Schneider! Our social at Azalea Trace featured the topic of “Elder Law” and was presented by local Elder Law Attorney Steven E. Quinnell. Mr. Quinnell answered many of our members’ questions and added to our knowledge of this important mat- ter. Mr. Quinnell was also the attorney who contacted me in September 2002 to inform PMOAA that Mrs. Anna Johnson had bequeathed one half of her estate to PMOAA for our education program. That money created the Anna Johnson Scholarship Fund which was invested into a 529 College Savings Plan made up of five conservative mutual funds. Since August 2003, we have awarded $41,000 in scholar- ships from that plan. The initial investment remains intact and will continue to grow. Our next social event will be dinner at New World Land- ing. This is also our Annual Raffle which is one of two forms of revenue used to run our Organization, the other is membership dues. Our program will feature Linda Hartman from the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Flori- da, Inc. Social Hour begins at 1730, dinner at 1830. Vann Milheim PMOAA April Photos All photos courtesy of Christine Frazier (More photos on page 4) PMOAA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION The time for the scholarship application process is here. If you have dependents or grandchildren who are eligi- ble for one of our annual scholarships, be sure to remind them to go to the PMOAA web site for all the necessary information, including the application form. To be eligi- ble, the applicant must be a resident, dependent of a resident or grandchild of a resident of Escambia, Santa Rosa or Baldwin (AL) counties. They must have com- pleted a minimum of one year at a college/university, with at least a 3.0 GPA if undergraduate, or a 3.5 GPA if a graduate student for the two preceding semesters (fall of 2012 and spring of 2013), as a full time student. Ap- plications must be submitted no later than 15 June 2013 and may be downloaded at www.pmoaa.org. The number of scholarships we can award to these out- standing young Americans is determined by the gener- ous contributions made by the PMOAA membership. Your continued support of this most rewarding and worthwhile program is much appreciated. CAPT James L. Frazier, USN (Ret) Chairman, PMOAA Scholarship Committee Mr. Stephen Quinn and CDR Vann Milheim
Transcript
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
What’s Inside… pg 1 President's Corner
pg 1 PMOAA Scholarship Application
pg 2 Legislative Affairs
pg 3 Legislative Affairs (Cont)
pg 3 ROWWA
pg 3 Steve Quinnell
pg 3 Singles Group
pg 4 PMOAA April Photos
pg 5 Member Spotlight Update
pg 5 A Special Thank You
pg 5 Chapter Logo Shirts
pg 6 Board of Directors Minutes
pg 7 Auxiliary Corner
pg 7 May Raffle Dinner Reservation
pg 7 Going on Vacation?
PMOAA Beacon is published by UPS Store 2927, proud member of PMOAA 4051 Barrancas Avenue, Suite G Pensacola, FL 32507-3482 Tel (850) 457-1099 Fax (850) 457-1022
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PMOAA Beacon The City of Five Flags-Pensacola Florida
4 Star Chapter Award – 2002 5 Star Chapter Awards — 2003, 2004, 2005,
It will be time to fill several vacant board member offices, therefore, the Board of Directors of PMOAA will be appoint-ing a Nominating Committee of five regular members of PMOAA who, at the time of their election, are not serving as voting members of the Board. The Nominating Committee will ascertain that nominees are willing and able to serve in proposed offices. The Committee will elect its own chairman, who shall notify the Secretary, in writing, of the names of members proposed for open elective offices not later than the Board meeting for the month of September. We would like to start this process earlier, as past history has shown getting into the summer months makes this process difficult. The following offices are available: President, 1
st Vice Presi-
dent, 2nd
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and three board members. We are asking those with a desire to help choose our new club leaders or desire to fill one of the vacant positions, to step up now in order to make this process seamless. Please let us hear from you ASAP.
The Florida Council of Chapters will hold its annual conven-tion in Sarasota, FL at the Hyatt Hotel on 7-10 June 2013. All PMOAA Board members have current commitments. We are seeking someone to attend as a voting delegate to rep-resent Pensacola. Please check out the details at http://www.moaafl.org/Events or contact CPT Neal Schneider.
RADM Joan Engel is piecing together our annual awards package for the MOAA Excellence Award. We have been fortunate to have won the Five Star category for nine con-secutive years and we need your help to make it ten. We need you to let Joan know where you volunteer and how much time you donated for 2012. Your affiliation/interaction with local military installations is very important. This is criti-cal, so please get us the information this week! While I am on the subject of awards, we were recently informed that our website has won the Col Marvin J. Harris Communications Award for the third consecutive year. Way to go, CPT Schneider!
Our social at Azalea Trace featured the topic of “Elder Law” and was presented by local Elder Law Attorney Steven E. Quinnell. Mr. Quinnell answered many of our members’ questions and added to our knowledge of this important mat-ter. Mr. Quinnell was also the attorney who contacted me in September 2002 to inform PMOAA that Mrs. Anna Johnson had bequeathed one half of her estate to PMOAA for our education program. That money created the Anna Johnson Scholarship Fund which was invested into a 529 College Savings Plan made up of five conservative mutual funds. Since August 2003, we have awarded $41,000 in scholar-ships from that plan. The initial investment remains intact and will continue to grow.
Our next social event will be dinner at New World Land-ing. This is also our Annual Raffle which is one of two forms of revenue used to run our Organization, the other is membership dues. Our program will feature Linda Hartman from the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Flori-
da, Inc. Social Hour begins at 1730, dinner at 1830. Vann Milheim
PMOAA April Photos All photos courtesy of Christine Frazier
(More photos on page 4)
PMOAA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
The time for the scholarship application process is here. If you have dependents or grandchildren who are eligi-ble for one of our annual scholarships, be sure to remind them to go to the PMOAA web site for all the necessary information, including the application form. To be eligi-ble, the applicant must be a resident, dependent of a resident or grandchild of a resident of Escambia, Santa Rosa or Baldwin (AL) counties. They must have com-pleted a minimum of one year at a college/university, with at least a 3.0 GPA if undergraduate, or a 3.5 GPA if a graduate student for the two preceding semesters (fall of 2012 and spring of 2013), as a full time student. Ap-plications must be submitted no later than 15 June 2013 and may be downloaded at www.pmoaa.org.
The number of scholarships we can award to these out-standing young Americans is determined by the gener-ous contributions made by the PMOAA membership. Your continued support of this most rewarding and worthwhile program is much appreciated.
CAPT James L. Frazier, USN (Ret) Chairman, PMOAA Scholarship Committee
Immediate Past President LtCol Walter R. Limbach, USMC (Ret) 850-473-9899 [email protected]
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
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AUXILIARY CORNER - LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
The Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee (AMAC) sup-ports MOAA’s Goals goals and advises MOAA’s presi-dent about survivor issues. We actively support MOAA’s legislative agenda, storming the Hill each year with MOAA members from across the nation. We also work with auxiliary liaisons and council and chapter presidents to promote MOAA’s agenda in communities and states. As members of the AMAC, we support these military re-tiree and survivor goals for 2013:
Oppose military benefit changes that are incon-sistent with service career sacrifices;
Preserve full-inflation COLAs; End the deduction of VA disability compensation
from military retired pay; End the offset of VA Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation (DIC) from the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities;
Implement a more equitable military disability re-tirement system;
Restore VA DIC compensation for qualifying survi-vors who remarry after age 55;
Reform to equalize the SBP calculation for a re-servist who dies performing inactive duty training as the same for active duty deaths;
Authorize survivors to retain a deceased retiree’s full final-month retired pay;
Authorize SBP annuities to be paid to special needs trusts for permanently disabled children;
Reform the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act; and
Authorize Space-A travel for gray area Guard/Reserve retirees and qualifying survivors.
The AMAC’s goal for 2013 is the elimination of the SBP/DIC offset. Sen. Bill Nelson, whose SBP/DIC amendment to eliminate the offset was not included in the 2013 Na-tional Defense Authorization Act, plans to introduce a new bill soon. Rep. Joe Wilson introduced a companion bill, H.R. 32, Jan. 3. Kathy Prout, AMAC vice chair, visit-ed Wilson’s office that day to thank him for his continued support. Cosponsors for this bill are needed. To help, call and email your congressional representatives.
Progress could be made by expanding or extending the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA), currently set at $90 a month, which was funded five years ago to provide additional income to surviving spouses whose SBP had been partially or completely offset by DIC. Con-gress was unable at that time to secure the required funding for full repeal, but it did find the money to start the process of mitigating the offset — a so-called Band-Aid solution. If funds become available but are not enough to eliminate the offset, the 2017 SSIA sunset provision should be extended. If the SBP/DIC offset is not completely repealed, we support extending SSIA until the offset is eliminated completely.
Kathy Prout and Janet Snyder Members, Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee
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Legislative Update
TRICARE Fee Hikes (Source: MOAA) DoD proposed similar fee increases last year and in the past. Congress enacted selected current and future increases in 2011 and 2012, but explicitly limited dis-cretionary increases by DoD. “Cost Growth since 2000/2001” claims are misleading:
DoD diverted $700M surplus in FY12 and $2.5 billion sur-plus over FY10-12. FY12 reprogramming request to Hill acknowledged retiree costs went down 2.5%. At 10% of DoD budget, DoD is getting health cost bargain–vs. 16% share of all national spending. Proposed health fee schedules discriminate against mili-tary retirees. No other federal employee or retiree pays income-based fees for service-earned health coverage. Military retirement and medical benefits are the primary offsets for enduring decades of extraordinarily arduous service conditions. The Obama administration’s proposed budget seeks to increase enrollment fees for retirees who select TRICARE Prime and begin charging enrollment fees for TRICARE Standard/Extra. After 2018, all TRICARE enrollment fees, floors and ceilings, and deductibles for retirees would climb yearly by the same percentage increase of cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for military retired pay to keep pace with inflation. Retirees 65 and older who use the Medicare supplement known as TRICARE for Life would be required to pay as much as $150 a year in 2014. The fees will reach $618 in 2018.
Military Pay In 2003, Congress explicitly tied annual military raises to private sector pay growth, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics‟ Employment Cost Index (ECI). Now, the FY14 budget proposes a 1% pay raise cap (vs. the 1.8% indicated by the ECI). Because the President and Con-gress have acted to freeze federal civilian pay raises, some have opined “the military should share that sacrifice.” Sustaining pay raises comparable to the “average Ameri-can” is a fundamental tenet of the All-Volunteer Force. Congress has worked for the last 12 years to fix the 13.5% pay gap (and resulting retention problems) caused by re-peatedly capping military raises below private sector pay growth in the 1980s and '90s.
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day (Source: Tricare Communications) Take-back was Saturday, April 27. Those who missed the opportunity are encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Depart-ment and request information about disposing of unused or unwanted prescription drugs. Contact Deputy Delarian Wiggins (850) 436-9496.
VA Budget, $153 Billion (Source: Veterans Administra-tion) The following are highlights from 2014 VA budget request: Health Care VA is positioned to provide care to 6.5 million Veterans in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The patient total includes 675,000 people whose military service began after Sept. 11, 2001. Major spending categories within the health care budget are:
$6.9 billion for mental health; $4.1 billion for health care for Veterans of Operation
Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Op-eration New Dawn;
$2.5 billion for prosthetics; (Col. Pappas comment: assuming 70,000 injured Vets who require a prosthet-ic device, each device costs $35,000.)
$601 million for spinal cord injuries; $246 million for traumatic brain injuries; $230 million for readjustment counseling; and $7.6 billion for long-term care.
Expanding Access (Col. Pappas Comment: Otherwise known as "growing government") The proposed budget would ensure that care and other benefits are available to Veterans when and where they need them. Among the programs that will expand access under the proposed budget are:
$460 million in home tele-health funding, which helps patients monitor chronic health care problems through innovative uses of the telephone, a 4.4 percent in-crease over the current year;
$422 million for women-specific medical care, an in-crease of nearly 14 percent over the present level;
$799 million for the activation of new and enhanced health care facilities;
$116 million for the construction of three new national cemeteries;
$8.8 million for “VetSuccess on Campus” at 84 facili-ties, a program that helps Veterans transition to col-lege life.
Eliminating Claims Backlog (Col Pappas Comment: Four years into it and the backlog has grown.) The plan will systematically reduce the backlog and elimi-nate the claims backlog. All claims will be processed within 125 days with 98 percent accuracy.
Eliminating Veterans Homelessness A major strategic goal for the Department is to end
homelessness among Veterans in 2015. The budget request targets $1.4 billion for programs to prevent or reduce homelessness, which includes:
$300 million for Supportive Services for Veteran Fami-lies (SSVF) to promote housing stability;
$278 million for the HUD-VASH program wherein VA provides case management services for at-risk Veter-ans and their families and HUD provides permanent housing through its Housing Choice Voucher program(Col. Pappas comment: But the Administration would have nothing to do with School vouchers. Being chari-table, that seems a bit disconnected.);
$250 million in grant and per diem payments that sup-port temporary housing provided by community-based organizations.
Veterans Job Corps The budget proposes a Veterans Job Corps, focused
on investing in Veterans’ skills and experience, putting tens of thousands of Veterans into civilian jobs.
$1 billion in mandatory funds to help unemployed Vet-erans;
A target of putting 20,000 Veterans to work (Col. Pap-pas comment: Another big government jobs program) within the next five years in conservation, law enforce-ment and infrastructure jobs on public lands;
(Continued on page 3)
GOING ON VACATION?? If you are planning to be away from the area for a pro-longed period of time, please notify our data base manag-er, Elaine Ciardello at [email protected] or 439-1892. Whenever a Beacon is undeliverable, it is returned to us and we have to pay for that transaction. We are coming into the busy summer travel months. If you are leaving the area, please let us know how long you will be gone and when we should resume delivery of the Beacon. Your cooperation is appreciated.
PMOAA May Raffle Dinner Meeting
Thursday, 16 May 2013 New World Landing, 600 South Palafox Place
Pensacola, FL 32501 In the British Room
Social Hour 1730 Followed by Dinner at 1830
Guest Speaker: Linda Hartman Wildlife Sanctuary of NW Florida
Menu (List menu choices below)
#1 Beef Roulade with Mushrooms in Port Wine Sauce
#2 Chicken Medallions in Lemon Cream Sauce with Artichokes and Roasted Red Peppers
Roasted Red Potatoes and Chef’s Fresh Vegetables Both served with Mixed Green salad with Ranch
or Italian Dressing Dessert: Key Lime Pie
Rolls, Butter, Water, Tea and Coffee Cash Bar Available
Reservations must be received by Monday, 13 May 2013
NO EXCEPTIONS
Meals are ordered on the basis of accepted reservations. Phone/email reservations are
considered committed and payable at the door.
RSVP to: Captain Neal J. Schneider, USA RET 1580 Woodlawn Way Gulf Breeze, FL 32563
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
PMOAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING 23 April 2013
President Milheim called the meeting to order at 1545 with the following members present: CDR Milheim, CPT Schnei-der, CAPT Walsh, RADM Engel, CAPT Thompson, MAJ Werner and Maj Booton. Members absent: LTC Kuklish, LtCol Limbach, LtCol Sanders and Maj Fitzgerald. Col Pap-pas, Chair of the Legislative Committee was also present. March Minutes: A motion was made by MAJ Werner, se-conded by CAPT Walsh that the February minutes be ap-proved. Motion carried. Treasurer Report: Captain Walsh reported that the Schol-arship fund total is $3,999.00 and the raffle sales are going well. He also mentioned that there are approximately 60+ members who have not renewed their dues for 2013. These individuals will no longer be receiving a Beacon. Maj Wer-ner, with assistance from Maj Booton, will call the delin-quent members and provide a report at the next board meeting.
COMMITTEE REPORTS Legislative: Col Pappas stated he will address Tricare changes, the VA budget and gun control in his next article. He was also going to address the proper disposal of excess medications when MAJ Werner reported that designated Walgreens drug stores will be collecting expired or unused medications on Saturday 27 April 2013. Membership: No activity by Maj Fitzgerald. Survivor Assistance: Captain Mayer reported to RADM Engel that LtCol Alan Sanders has agreed to serve on the Survivor Assistance Committee. Captain Mayer inquired about a PMOAA policy regarding deceased members. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by CPT Schneider, seconded by MAJ Werner that assistance would be provid-ed only to members in good standing and long standing members, who because of age, are no longer current in their dues, and no others. Motion carried. Scholarship: As reported by Captain Frazier, scholarship applications are due 15 June. The committee will meet 9 July to review applications. Captain Frazier will meet with Maj Booton to discuss his committee membership. Hospital Liaison: Captain Thompson reported the next Health Care Consumers Council meeting would be held on 6 June and he is unable to attend. Captain Schneider vol-unteered to attend. The new pharmacy opens in June.
OLD BUSINESS PMOAA Logo Shirts have been received and they look good. Captain Schneider is still taking orders for the shirts. Convention Ad: Through the assistance of numerous peo-ple, the new convention ad is completed. A copy of the ad was available for board member viewing. Recruiting Brochure: RADM Engel made recommenda-tions for updating the brochure. All board members are to review the information and submit comments to RADM En-gel with a copy to CDR Milheim by close of business on Sunday. PMOAA Directory Addendum: Once the telephone calls are made regarding renewals, Elaine Ciardello will publish an updated addendum which will be enclosed in a future edition of the Beacon. No action will be taken at this time for placing the directory on a disc. New NW AVP Nominations: CDR Milheim as the Presi-dent of the incumbent AVP is charged with submitting a
nomination for AVP. The nominee is Colonel Scott W. Ber-ry, USAF (Ret) of Niceville. Member Spotlight: LtCol Sanders first member spotlight article was well received. Look for another spotlight in the May Beacon. NEW BUSINESS Col Marvin J. Harris Communications Award: PMOAA received first place honors in the web site category for 2012. Congratulations to Captain Schneider for all his hard work. Memorial Day Celebration: This year’s ceremony will be held on Monday 27 May at Barrancas National Cemetery vice the NAS Chapel. No further information is available so please check the newspaper for details. PMOAA Raffle Status: Captain Herman reports there has been a good return on raffle ticket sales. Veterans Day Parade: An invitation has been extended by Avant Garde to PMOAA members who are unable to walk in the parade to ride the Avant Garde float. More de-tails to follow. FCOC Convention: Convention will be held in Sarasota from 6-8 June. Captain Schneider will attend as the AVP and will represent the chapter. No board members were available to attend. It is important that we support these conventions as there is a great deal of work done by the hosting chapter. CDR Milheim will address this in his Pres-ident’s column. Federal Tax Filing: Capt Walsh reports everything is OK. Special Request: A request was received from Covenant Hospice asking for donations. PMOAA will consider this on a case to case basis. It will not be listed as a line item in the budget. Memorial contributions are made throughout the year if Hospice is designated by an individual. Thank You Notes: Several thank you notes have been received from surviving family members for contributions made in memory of their loved ones. Delinquent 2013 Renewals: A list was provided by Cap-tain Walsh. MAJ Werner will start making the calls with assistance from Maj Booton and will report at the next board meeting. Nominating Committee: CDR Milheim requested assis-tance from the board members regarding potential candi-dates for the nominating committee. Five regular members are required for this board. If you have anyone in mind, please let CDR Milheim know by the end of the week. Board Meeting Time: Is 1530 convenient for board mem-bers? Since not all board members were in attendance, CDR Milheim will poll all members via email. Returned Beacons: Captain Walsh reported that each time a Beacon is returned, it costs PMOAA money. Mem-bers are encouraged to let the data base manager know if they are going to be temporarily away and to stop delivery of the Beacon until their return. We are incurring charges of $120-$130 per year on returned Beacons. Next Social Event: will be held on Thursday, 16 May at New World Landing. This is our annual raffle event. Linda Hartman from the Wildlife Sanctuary of NW Florida is the guest speaker. Beacon deadline is NLT COB Wednesday, 24 April 2013. The next board meeting is Tuesday, 21 May at 1530 at Azalea Trace. Meeting adjourned at 1700. Respectfully submitted,
RADM Joan M. Engel, Secretary 6
Legislative and Benefits Update (Continued from page 2)
Developing back-to-work programs for Veterans with other federal agencies, including the departments of the Interior and Agriculture, the National Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration, and the Army Corps of Engi-neers; and
Supporting job-producing projects with contracts and grants with non-federal organizations, such as states, non-profits and private businesses.
Other Services for Veterans Other features of the administration’s FY 2014 budget
request for the department are: $250 million to administer the VA-run system of national
cemeteries; $3.7 billion for information technology; $1.2 billion in construction, cemetery grants and ex-
tended care grants.
Gun Violence and Legislation Colonel Pappas' Commen-tary One recognizes that the topic of gun violence elicits a range of emotions and that it is a controversial subject at the least. The U.S. military oath of office included the words: "to up-hold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic." The Second Amendment to the Con-stitution states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The courts have repeatedly upheld the right to own weap-ons. Some suggest that gun ownership was intended for hunting and survival but the plain reading of the 2nd Amendment is "the security of a free State." On December 14th, 2012 Adam Lanza shot and killed twen-ty children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elemen-tary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In my opinion, the cause of the Sandy Hook tragedy was Adam Lanza's empty spiritual and resulting mental states that prompted him to commit deadly violence. Unless, and until, politicians and religious leaders are willing to confront the reality of individ-ual behavior and responsibility, and seek spiritual as well as social ways to ameliorate the violence, U.S. society will make pathetic little progress and the pain will repeat. A frequent choice for violence is a semi-automatic high powered rifle or handgun; convenient, available and deadly. Such weapons impart disproportionate power in the wrong hands; but who determines "wrong hands”? The political left's solution would be to remove such weapons from the hands of everyone. There are approximately 310 million Americans; in addition, there are likely 15 million illegal, undocumented inhabitants in the nation. So, of the 325 mil-lion people who live here, and because one person with an illegally acquired weapon wreaks havoc, all 324,999,8xx remaining U.S. residents should be denied their rights un-der the 2nd Article of Amendment of the Constitution? Let's assume that all firearms are confiscated...would it fol-low with absolute certitude that violence would decline in direct proportion...or at all? It is doubtful, because if an evil person is determined to commit a violent act, that person will find an effective means to do so. Crossbows, bow and arrows, knives, homemade explosive devices such as the ones in Boston, and black market guns to name just a small number, would abound. The Senate version of "Gun Con-trol" legislation would have required firearms registration
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that would ironically apply only to those who obey the law. It failed. More recently we witnessed the attack by Islamic terrorists in Boston. Will bomb-makers be required by law to register or obtain a permit? That's nonsense! Just like the non-sense requiring law abiding citizens to obtain a permit to buy a weapon, will somehow stop criminals and Islamists from obtaining them. If Sandy Hook Elementary had been guarded, or if anyone had a weapon Adam Lanza probably would have been stopped at the first door. If Lanza had used a suicide belt, the explosion would have killed and maimed a lot more people, damaged a lot more property. Now, Sandy Hook stands in contrast to the vile act by Is-lamic Terrorists at the Boston Marathon. All the noise and clamor about guns is rubbish. It was Lanza who pulled the trigger! Dissimilarly, the Boston Marathon attack was likely the work of organized Islamists on a mission to harass and disrupt. Semper Fidelis
Col Bob Pappas Colonel Pappas' opinions are entirely his and do not reflect official positions of MOAA or its affiliates.
RETIRED OFFICER WIVES AND WIDOWS ASSOCIATION
The Retired Officers Wives and Widows Association will hold their luncheon and meeting on Thursday, May 9th at the Angus Steak House. Social time begins at 11:00 fol-lowed by a program and lunch at 11:30. The featured speaker will be Carolyn Guest, author of “A Southern Man-sion Mystery”. Friends and guests are welcome to attend. Cost for the luncheon for members and guests is $18. Reservations are required and must be received no later than May 6th. Please send your check to: ROWWA c/o Mary Chase, 5321 Crystal Creek Drive, Pace, FL 32571. Wives and widows of retired military officers from all U.S. military branches are invited to attend. For further infor-mation concerning the luncheon or ROWWA membership, please call Mary Chase at 995-4466 or Myrl Eisenger at 477-5869.
STEVE QUINNELL
Steven Quinnell, Elder Law Firm and Estate Planning, was the featured guest speaker at the dinner meeting at Azalea Trace on 18 April. For those of you who were unable to attend, the following email was received from Steven:
“Thanks for your great hospitality for my guests and my-self at Azalea Trace last Thursday. A very nice group. If I can answer any questions for anyone, you’re welcome to contact me. Any first consultation from your group is no charge. Thanks again, Steve Q.”
Steve may be contacted at (850) 432-4386.
SINGLES GROUP
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 23rd at Hall’s Seafood, 920 East Gregory Street, Pensacola start-ing at 5 PM. Margaret Wade is our hostess. All single members of PMOAA are invited to join us. If you need di-rections or further information, please call Margaret at 944-3641.
Gisela Vogentanz
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: LTC Fred Dunaway, U.S. Army
A FLYING EMU?
All of us have experiences that are interesting, humorous, inspiring, or a combination thereof. But few have tales thrill-ing enough to inspire Hollywood action heroes. One among us DOES have stories to tell that could grab the attention of a Tom Clancy or Stephen Spielberg. This is his story.
Ever since the 1940’s when the United States saved the continent “down under” from the advance of the Japanese Empire, the Australians have been among our most faithful allies. Therefore, it was not surprising that the Aussies wanted to help during our struggle in Vietnam. When mili-tary planners compared our shortfalls with their resources, the two intersected in one specific need: helicopter pilots.
The helicopter was perfectly suited to combat operations in a country with difficult terrain and poor roads. The Army and Marine Corps needed LOTS of helicopters to put troops where they needed to be, keep them supplied, and rescue the wounded. The training pipelines from Fort Rucker and NAS Whiting could not pump out pilots fast enough to meet the demand.
Not only did the Australians have pilots; they had EXPERI-ENCED pilots. In the 135th Assault Helicopter Company – until then, a typical U.S. Army air assault unit – the average pilot was a warrant officer, not far removed from high school, with perhaps 200 flight hours in his logbook. The average Royal Australian Navy pilot, soon to be “loaned” to the 135th, was a commissioned officer with over 1,000 hours.
A joint force was created to integrate Australian experience with American tactics. This joint force, built around the 135th, was designated the Experimental Military Unit (EMU). Americans wanted to name the unit for an Australi-an bird, not realizing that the emu does not fly. The Aussies - with their typical “spit-in-the-eye-of-danger” sense of hu-mor - accepted the misnomer as a joke rather than an in-sult.
The EMU flew UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, better known as Hueys. The iconic Huey came in two basic varieties: UH-1D & UH-1H “slicks” carried troops into combat, while UH-1C gunships, known as Taipans – a venomous Australian snake – provided armed escort.
Our own Fred Dunaway – then an Army major, later retiring as a lieutenant colonel – served as the last commanding officer of the EMU. Major Dunaway commanded the joint force in 1971 and 1972.
An EMU crew’s typical day began around 0430, with the flight departing at dawn. A 12-hour flying day was fairly rou-tine.
Transporting troops into combat was the most common mis-sion but EMUs flew in a variety of scenarios, including med-evac, re-supply and hunter-killer. The latter employed “slick” launching flares to attract enemy attention. When the bad guys revealed their position by firing at the slick, two gunships made them wish they had ignored those flares. EMU aircraft even participated in special operations with Na-vy SEALS, occasionally assisting in the capture of senior Viet Cong personnel.
One EMU story typifies the skill and daring of the EMU pi-lots, especially the more experienced Australians. On 4 Dec 1970, an EMU crew witnessed a life and death struggle
More PMOAA April Photos All photos courtesy of Christine Frazier
(Continued from page 1)
between Viet Cong forces along a riverbank and two South Vietnamese patrol boats. The VC had already sunk one of the boats and disabled the second. The hapless crew of the patrol boat drifted toward the enemy at the water’s edge. Under heavy fire, the Australian pilot hooked his Huey’s skids on the boat’s superstructure and towed it to safety, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for his inge-nuity and courage.
Joint combat operations ended in June 1971, but friend-ships forged in the fires of combat have endured. Fittingly, the EMU has memorials in both Australia and the U.S.; in Bomaderry, New South Wales, dedicated April 2002, and at Fort Rucker, Alabama, dedicated May 2005. LTC Duna-way, assisted by his wife Caroline, organized and led the latter ceremony, attended by over 40 of his Australian brothers in arms.
LtCol Alan Sanders, USMCR (Ret)
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
We extend a very special thank you to the PMOAA Auxil-iary and Social members for their generous support of the Chapter Scholarship fund. Through their generosity they have contributed a total of $1,475.00 or 37% of the current $3,990.00.
CAPT Bart Walsh, Treasurer
CHAPTER LOGO SHIRTS If anyone would like to order a chapter logo shirt, please contact CPT Schneider at 932-9242 or by email [email protected]. Shirts are $36.00 each and a minimum of 12 shirts is required before an order can be placed. The chapter has chosen light blue as the official shirt but other colors are available.
CPT Neal Schneider
Kathy and CAPT Dennis Losh Bunny and CDR Ron Cummins and Sister, Anna
CDR Gage Woodward and RADM Bill Gilmore
Polly Lowell and CDR Jim McGill
Christine and Col Michael Cook
Katherine and LtCol Terry Harris-Inman
LtCol Alan Sanders, Mr. Stephen Quinell and Mr. Hubert Ross
LtCol and Mrs. Albert Stumpe MaryFrances Gamber and Gisela Vogentanz
CAPT and Mrs. Dennis Feram CDR and Mrs. Henry Buckley Mrs. Eileen Brotherton
BLACKWATER RIVER WATERFRONT One minute from I-10, this gorgeous flat, cleared lot features 125' of waterfront with deep depth right at the bank. Surround-ed by expensive executive type homes, you can build yours to suit yourself and enjoy spectacular sunsets, fish in your own back yard, or be enjoying downtown Pensacola in 25 minutes. Have it your way! Call today! $240,000.
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
4 5
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: LTC Fred Dunaway, U.S. Army
A FLYING EMU?
All of us have experiences that are interesting, humorous, inspiring, or a combination thereof. But few have tales thrill-ing enough to inspire Hollywood action heroes. One among us DOES have stories to tell that could grab the attention of a Tom Clancy or Stephen Spielberg. This is his story.
Ever since the 1940’s when the United States saved the continent “down under” from the advance of the Japanese Empire, the Australians have been among our most faithful allies. Therefore, it was not surprising that the Aussies wanted to help during our struggle in Vietnam. When mili-tary planners compared our shortfalls with their resources, the two intersected in one specific need: helicopter pilots.
The helicopter was perfectly suited to combat operations in a country with difficult terrain and poor roads. The Army and Marine Corps needed LOTS of helicopters to put troops where they needed to be, keep them supplied, and rescue the wounded. The training pipelines from Fort Rucker and NAS Whiting could not pump out pilots fast enough to meet the demand.
Not only did the Australians have pilots; they had EXPERI-ENCED pilots. In the 135th Assault Helicopter Company – until then, a typical U.S. Army air assault unit – the average pilot was a warrant officer, not far removed from high school, with perhaps 200 flight hours in his logbook. The average Royal Australian Navy pilot, soon to be “loaned” to the 135th, was a commissioned officer with over 1,000 hours.
A joint force was created to integrate Australian experience with American tactics. This joint force, built around the 135th, was designated the Experimental Military Unit (EMU). Americans wanted to name the unit for an Australi-an bird, not realizing that the emu does not fly. The Aussies - with their typical “spit-in-the-eye-of-danger” sense of hu-mor - accepted the misnomer as a joke rather than an in-sult.
The EMU flew UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, better known as Hueys. The iconic Huey came in two basic varieties: UH-1D & UH-1H “slicks” carried troops into combat, while UH-1C gunships, known as Taipans – a venomous Australian snake – provided armed escort.
Our own Fred Dunaway – then an Army major, later retiring as a lieutenant colonel – served as the last commanding officer of the EMU. Major Dunaway commanded the joint force in 1971 and 1972.
An EMU crew’s typical day began around 0430, with the flight departing at dawn. A 12-hour flying day was fairly rou-tine.
Transporting troops into combat was the most common mis-sion but EMUs flew in a variety of scenarios, including med-evac, re-supply and hunter-killer. The latter employed “slick” launching flares to attract enemy attention. When the bad guys revealed their position by firing at the slick, two gunships made them wish they had ignored those flares. EMU aircraft even participated in special operations with Na-vy SEALS, occasionally assisting in the capture of senior Viet Cong personnel.
One EMU story typifies the skill and daring of the EMU pi-lots, especially the more experienced Australians. On 4 Dec 1970, an EMU crew witnessed a life and death struggle
More PMOAA April Photos All photos courtesy of Christine Frazier
(Continued from page 1)
between Viet Cong forces along a riverbank and two South Vietnamese patrol boats. The VC had already sunk one of the boats and disabled the second. The hapless crew of the patrol boat drifted toward the enemy at the water’s edge. Under heavy fire, the Australian pilot hooked his Huey’s skids on the boat’s superstructure and towed it to safety, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross for his inge-nuity and courage.
Joint combat operations ended in June 1971, but friend-ships forged in the fires of combat have endured. Fittingly, the EMU has memorials in both Australia and the U.S.; in Bomaderry, New South Wales, dedicated April 2002, and at Fort Rucker, Alabama, dedicated May 2005. LTC Duna-way, assisted by his wife Caroline, organized and led the latter ceremony, attended by over 40 of his Australian brothers in arms.
LtCol Alan Sanders, USMCR (Ret)
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
We extend a very special thank you to the PMOAA Auxil-iary and Social members for their generous support of the Chapter Scholarship fund. Through their generosity they have contributed a total of $1,475.00 or 37% of the current $3,990.00.
CAPT Bart Walsh, Treasurer
CHAPTER LOGO SHIRTS If anyone would like to order a chapter logo shirt, please contact CPT Schneider at 932-9242 or by email [email protected]. Shirts are $36.00 each and a minimum of 12 shirts is required before an order can be placed. The chapter has chosen light blue as the official shirt but other colors are available.
CPT Neal Schneider
Kathy and CAPT Dennis Losh Bunny and CDR Ron Cummins and Sister, Anna
CDR Gage Woodward and RADM Bill Gilmore
Polly Lowell and CDR Jim McGill
Christine and Col Michael Cook
Katherine and LtCol Terry Harris-Inman
LtCol Alan Sanders, Mr. Stephen Quinell and Mr. Hubert Ross
LtCol and Mrs. Albert Stumpe MaryFrances Gamber and Gisela Vogentanz
CAPT and Mrs. Dennis Feram CDR and Mrs. Henry Buckley Mrs. Eileen Brotherton
BLACKWATER RIVER WATERFRONT One minute from I-10, this gorgeous flat, cleared lot features 125' of waterfront with deep depth right at the bank. Surround-ed by expensive executive type homes, you can build yours to suit yourself and enjoy spectacular sunsets, fish in your own back yard, or be enjoying downtown Pensacola in 25 minutes. Have it your way! Call today! $240,000.
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
PMOAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING 23 April 2013
President Milheim called the meeting to order at 1545 with the following members present: CDR Milheim, CPT Schnei-der, CAPT Walsh, RADM Engel, CAPT Thompson, MAJ Werner and Maj Booton. Members absent: LTC Kuklish, LtCol Limbach, LtCol Sanders and Maj Fitzgerald. Col Pap-pas, Chair of the Legislative Committee was also present. March Minutes: A motion was made by MAJ Werner, se-conded by CAPT Walsh that the February minutes be ap-proved. Motion carried. Treasurer Report: Captain Walsh reported that the Schol-arship fund total is $3,999.00 and the raffle sales are going well. He also mentioned that there are approximately 60+ members who have not renewed their dues for 2013. These individuals will no longer be receiving a Beacon. Maj Wer-ner, with assistance from Maj Booton, will call the delin-quent members and provide a report at the next board meeting.
COMMITTEE REPORTS Legislative: Col Pappas stated he will address Tricare changes, the VA budget and gun control in his next article. He was also going to address the proper disposal of excess medications when MAJ Werner reported that designated Walgreens drug stores will be collecting expired or unused medications on Saturday 27 April 2013. Membership: No activity by Maj Fitzgerald. Survivor Assistance: Captain Mayer reported to RADM Engel that LtCol Alan Sanders has agreed to serve on the Survivor Assistance Committee. Captain Mayer inquired about a PMOAA policy regarding deceased members. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by CPT Schneider, seconded by MAJ Werner that assistance would be provid-ed only to members in good standing and long standing members, who because of age, are no longer current in their dues, and no others. Motion carried. Scholarship: As reported by Captain Frazier, scholarship applications are due 15 June. The committee will meet 9 July to review applications. Captain Frazier will meet with Maj Booton to discuss his committee membership. Hospital Liaison: Captain Thompson reported the next Health Care Consumers Council meeting would be held on 6 June and he is unable to attend. Captain Schneider vol-unteered to attend. The new pharmacy opens in June.
OLD BUSINESS PMOAA Logo Shirts have been received and they look good. Captain Schneider is still taking orders for the shirts. Convention Ad: Through the assistance of numerous peo-ple, the new convention ad is completed. A copy of the ad was available for board member viewing. Recruiting Brochure: RADM Engel made recommenda-tions for updating the brochure. All board members are to review the information and submit comments to RADM En-gel with a copy to CDR Milheim by close of business on Sunday. PMOAA Directory Addendum: Once the telephone calls are made regarding renewals, Elaine Ciardello will publish an updated addendum which will be enclosed in a future edition of the Beacon. No action will be taken at this time for placing the directory on a disc. New NW AVP Nominations: CDR Milheim as the Presi-dent of the incumbent AVP is charged with submitting a
nomination for AVP. The nominee is Colonel Scott W. Ber-ry, USAF (Ret) of Niceville. Member Spotlight: LtCol Sanders first member spotlight article was well received. Look for another spotlight in the May Beacon. NEW BUSINESS Col Marvin J. Harris Communications Award: PMOAA received first place honors in the web site category for 2012. Congratulations to Captain Schneider for all his hard work. Memorial Day Celebration: This year’s ceremony will be held on Monday 27 May at Barrancas National Cemetery vice the NAS Chapel. No further information is available so please check the newspaper for details. PMOAA Raffle Status: Captain Herman reports there has been a good return on raffle ticket sales. Veterans Day Parade: An invitation has been extended by Avant Garde to PMOAA members who are unable to walk in the parade to ride the Avant Garde float. More de-tails to follow. FCOC Convention: Convention will be held in Sarasota from 6-8 June. Captain Schneider will attend as the AVP and will represent the chapter. No board members were available to attend. It is important that we support these conventions as there is a great deal of work done by the hosting chapter. CDR Milheim will address this in his Pres-ident’s column. Federal Tax Filing: Capt Walsh reports everything is OK. Special Request: A request was received from Covenant Hospice asking for donations. PMOAA will consider this on a case to case basis. It will not be listed as a line item in the budget. Memorial contributions are made throughout the year if Hospice is designated by an individual. Thank You Notes: Several thank you notes have been received from surviving family members for contributions made in memory of their loved ones. Delinquent 2013 Renewals: A list was provided by Cap-tain Walsh. MAJ Werner will start making the calls with assistance from Maj Booton and will report at the next board meeting. Nominating Committee: CDR Milheim requested assis-tance from the board members regarding potential candi-dates for the nominating committee. Five regular members are required for this board. If you have anyone in mind, please let CDR Milheim know by the end of the week. Board Meeting Time: Is 1530 convenient for board mem-bers? Since not all board members were in attendance, CDR Milheim will poll all members via email. Returned Beacons: Captain Walsh reported that each time a Beacon is returned, it costs PMOAA money. Mem-bers are encouraged to let the data base manager know if they are going to be temporarily away and to stop delivery of the Beacon until their return. We are incurring charges of $120-$130 per year on returned Beacons. Next Social Event: will be held on Thursday, 16 May at New World Landing. This is our annual raffle event. Linda Hartman from the Wildlife Sanctuary of NW Florida is the guest speaker. Beacon deadline is NLT COB Wednesday, 24 April 2013. The next board meeting is Tuesday, 21 May at 1530 at Azalea Trace. Meeting adjourned at 1700. Respectfully submitted,
RADM Joan M. Engel, Secretary 6
Legislative and Benefits Update (Continued from page 2)
Developing back-to-work programs for Veterans with other federal agencies, including the departments of the Interior and Agriculture, the National Oceanic and At-mospheric Administration, and the Army Corps of Engi-neers; and
Supporting job-producing projects with contracts and grants with non-federal organizations, such as states, non-profits and private businesses.
Other Services for Veterans Other features of the administration’s FY 2014 budget
request for the department are: $250 million to administer the VA-run system of national
cemeteries; $3.7 billion for information technology; $1.2 billion in construction, cemetery grants and ex-
tended care grants.
Gun Violence and Legislation Colonel Pappas' Commen-tary One recognizes that the topic of gun violence elicits a range of emotions and that it is a controversial subject at the least. The U.S. military oath of office included the words: "to up-hold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic." The Second Amendment to the Con-stitution states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The courts have repeatedly upheld the right to own weap-ons. Some suggest that gun ownership was intended for hunting and survival but the plain reading of the 2nd Amendment is "the security of a free State." On December 14th, 2012 Adam Lanza shot and killed twen-ty children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elemen-tary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In my opinion, the cause of the Sandy Hook tragedy was Adam Lanza's empty spiritual and resulting mental states that prompted him to commit deadly violence. Unless, and until, politicians and religious leaders are willing to confront the reality of individ-ual behavior and responsibility, and seek spiritual as well as social ways to ameliorate the violence, U.S. society will make pathetic little progress and the pain will repeat. A frequent choice for violence is a semi-automatic high powered rifle or handgun; convenient, available and deadly. Such weapons impart disproportionate power in the wrong hands; but who determines "wrong hands”? The political left's solution would be to remove such weapons from the hands of everyone. There are approximately 310 million Americans; in addition, there are likely 15 million illegal, undocumented inhabitants in the nation. So, of the 325 mil-lion people who live here, and because one person with an illegally acquired weapon wreaks havoc, all 324,999,8xx remaining U.S. residents should be denied their rights un-der the 2nd Article of Amendment of the Constitution? Let's assume that all firearms are confiscated...would it fol-low with absolute certitude that violence would decline in direct proportion...or at all? It is doubtful, because if an evil person is determined to commit a violent act, that person will find an effective means to do so. Crossbows, bow and arrows, knives, homemade explosive devices such as the ones in Boston, and black market guns to name just a small number, would abound. The Senate version of "Gun Con-trol" legislation would have required firearms registration
3
that would ironically apply only to those who obey the law. It failed. More recently we witnessed the attack by Islamic terrorists in Boston. Will bomb-makers be required by law to register or obtain a permit? That's nonsense! Just like the non-sense requiring law abiding citizens to obtain a permit to buy a weapon, will somehow stop criminals and Islamists from obtaining them. If Sandy Hook Elementary had been guarded, or if anyone had a weapon Adam Lanza probably would have been stopped at the first door. If Lanza had used a suicide belt, the explosion would have killed and maimed a lot more people, damaged a lot more property. Now, Sandy Hook stands in contrast to the vile act by Is-lamic Terrorists at the Boston Marathon. All the noise and clamor about guns is rubbish. It was Lanza who pulled the trigger! Dissimilarly, the Boston Marathon attack was likely the work of organized Islamists on a mission to harass and disrupt. Semper Fidelis
Col Bob Pappas Colonel Pappas' opinions are entirely his and do not reflect official positions of MOAA or its affiliates.
RETIRED OFFICER WIVES AND WIDOWS ASSOCIATION
The Retired Officers Wives and Widows Association will hold their luncheon and meeting on Thursday, May 9th at the Angus Steak House. Social time begins at 11:00 fol-lowed by a program and lunch at 11:30. The featured speaker will be Carolyn Guest, author of “A Southern Man-sion Mystery”. Friends and guests are welcome to attend. Cost for the luncheon for members and guests is $18. Reservations are required and must be received no later than May 6th. Please send your check to: ROWWA c/o Mary Chase, 5321 Crystal Creek Drive, Pace, FL 32571. Wives and widows of retired military officers from all U.S. military branches are invited to attend. For further infor-mation concerning the luncheon or ROWWA membership, please call Mary Chase at 995-4466 or Myrl Eisenger at 477-5869.
STEVE QUINNELL
Steven Quinnell, Elder Law Firm and Estate Planning, was the featured guest speaker at the dinner meeting at Azalea Trace on 18 April. For those of you who were unable to attend, the following email was received from Steven:
“Thanks for your great hospitality for my guests and my-self at Azalea Trace last Thursday. A very nice group. If I can answer any questions for anyone, you’re welcome to contact me. Any first consultation from your group is no charge. Thanks again, Steve Q.”
Steve may be contacted at (850) 432-4386.
SINGLES GROUP
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 23rd at Hall’s Seafood, 920 East Gregory Street, Pensacola start-ing at 5 PM. Margaret Wade is our hostess. All single members of PMOAA are invited to join us. If you need di-rections or further information, please call Margaret at 944-3641.
Gisela Vogentanz
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
2
AUXILIARY CORNER - LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
The Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee (AMAC) sup-ports MOAA’s Goals goals and advises MOAA’s presi-dent about survivor issues. We actively support MOAA’s legislative agenda, storming the Hill each year with MOAA members from across the nation. We also work with auxiliary liaisons and council and chapter presidents to promote MOAA’s agenda in communities and states. As members of the AMAC, we support these military re-tiree and survivor goals for 2013:
Oppose military benefit changes that are incon-sistent with service career sacrifices;
Preserve full-inflation COLAs; End the deduction of VA disability compensation
from military retired pay; End the offset of VA Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation (DIC) from the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities;
Implement a more equitable military disability re-tirement system;
Restore VA DIC compensation for qualifying survi-vors who remarry after age 55;
Reform to equalize the SBP calculation for a re-servist who dies performing inactive duty training as the same for active duty deaths;
Authorize survivors to retain a deceased retiree’s full final-month retired pay;
Authorize SBP annuities to be paid to special needs trusts for permanently disabled children;
Reform the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act; and
Authorize Space-A travel for gray area Guard/Reserve retirees and qualifying survivors.
The AMAC’s goal for 2013 is the elimination of the SBP/DIC offset. Sen. Bill Nelson, whose SBP/DIC amendment to eliminate the offset was not included in the 2013 Na-tional Defense Authorization Act, plans to introduce a new bill soon. Rep. Joe Wilson introduced a companion bill, H.R. 32, Jan. 3. Kathy Prout, AMAC vice chair, visit-ed Wilson’s office that day to thank him for his continued support. Cosponsors for this bill are needed. To help, call and email your congressional representatives.
Progress could be made by expanding or extending the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA), currently set at $90 a month, which was funded five years ago to provide additional income to surviving spouses whose SBP had been partially or completely offset by DIC. Con-gress was unable at that time to secure the required funding for full repeal, but it did find the money to start the process of mitigating the offset — a so-called Band-Aid solution. If funds become available but are not enough to eliminate the offset, the 2017 SSIA sunset provision should be extended. If the SBP/DIC offset is not completely repealed, we support extending SSIA until the offset is eliminated completely.
Kathy Prout and Janet Snyder Members, Auxiliary Member Advisory Committee
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Legislative Update
TRICARE Fee Hikes (Source: MOAA) DoD proposed similar fee increases last year and in the past. Congress enacted selected current and future increases in 2011 and 2012, but explicitly limited dis-cretionary increases by DoD. “Cost Growth since 2000/2001” claims are misleading:
DoD diverted $700M surplus in FY12 and $2.5 billion sur-plus over FY10-12. FY12 reprogramming request to Hill acknowledged retiree costs went down 2.5%. At 10% of DoD budget, DoD is getting health cost bargain–vs. 16% share of all national spending. Proposed health fee schedules discriminate against mili-tary retirees. No other federal employee or retiree pays income-based fees for service-earned health coverage. Military retirement and medical benefits are the primary offsets for enduring decades of extraordinarily arduous service conditions. The Obama administration’s proposed budget seeks to increase enrollment fees for retirees who select TRICARE Prime and begin charging enrollment fees for TRICARE Standard/Extra. After 2018, all TRICARE enrollment fees, floors and ceilings, and deductibles for retirees would climb yearly by the same percentage increase of cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for military retired pay to keep pace with inflation. Retirees 65 and older who use the Medicare supplement known as TRICARE for Life would be required to pay as much as $150 a year in 2014. The fees will reach $618 in 2018.
Military Pay In 2003, Congress explicitly tied annual military raises to private sector pay growth, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics‟ Employment Cost Index (ECI). Now, the FY14 budget proposes a 1% pay raise cap (vs. the 1.8% indicated by the ECI). Because the President and Con-gress have acted to freeze federal civilian pay raises, some have opined “the military should share that sacrifice.” Sustaining pay raises comparable to the “average Ameri-can” is a fundamental tenet of the All-Volunteer Force. Congress has worked for the last 12 years to fix the 13.5% pay gap (and resulting retention problems) caused by re-peatedly capping military raises below private sector pay growth in the 1980s and '90s.
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day (Source: Tricare Communications) Take-back was Saturday, April 27. Those who missed the opportunity are encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Depart-ment and request information about disposing of unused or unwanted prescription drugs. Contact Deputy Delarian Wiggins (850) 436-9496.
VA Budget, $153 Billion (Source: Veterans Administra-tion) The following are highlights from 2014 VA budget request: Health Care VA is positioned to provide care to 6.5 million Veterans in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The patient total includes 675,000 people whose military service began after Sept. 11, 2001. Major spending categories within the health care budget are:
$6.9 billion for mental health; $4.1 billion for health care for Veterans of Operation
Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Op-eration New Dawn;
$2.5 billion for prosthetics; (Col. Pappas comment: assuming 70,000 injured Vets who require a prosthet-ic device, each device costs $35,000.)
$601 million for spinal cord injuries; $246 million for traumatic brain injuries; $230 million for readjustment counseling; and $7.6 billion for long-term care.
Expanding Access (Col. Pappas Comment: Otherwise known as "growing government") The proposed budget would ensure that care and other benefits are available to Veterans when and where they need them. Among the programs that will expand access under the proposed budget are:
$460 million in home tele-health funding, which helps patients monitor chronic health care problems through innovative uses of the telephone, a 4.4 percent in-crease over the current year;
$422 million for women-specific medical care, an in-crease of nearly 14 percent over the present level;
$799 million for the activation of new and enhanced health care facilities;
$116 million for the construction of three new national cemeteries;
$8.8 million for “VetSuccess on Campus” at 84 facili-ties, a program that helps Veterans transition to col-lege life.
Eliminating Claims Backlog (Col Pappas Comment: Four years into it and the backlog has grown.) The plan will systematically reduce the backlog and elimi-nate the claims backlog. All claims will be processed within 125 days with 98 percent accuracy.
Eliminating Veterans Homelessness A major strategic goal for the Department is to end
homelessness among Veterans in 2015. The budget request targets $1.4 billion for programs to prevent or reduce homelessness, which includes:
$300 million for Supportive Services for Veteran Fami-lies (SSVF) to promote housing stability;
$278 million for the HUD-VASH program wherein VA provides case management services for at-risk Veter-ans and their families and HUD provides permanent housing through its Housing Choice Voucher program(Col. Pappas comment: But the Administration would have nothing to do with School vouchers. Being chari-table, that seems a bit disconnected.);
$250 million in grant and per diem payments that sup-port temporary housing provided by community-based organizations.
Veterans Job Corps The budget proposes a Veterans Job Corps, focused
on investing in Veterans’ skills and experience, putting tens of thousands of Veterans into civilian jobs.
$1 billion in mandatory funds to help unemployed Vet-erans;
A target of putting 20,000 Veterans to work (Col. Pap-pas comment: Another big government jobs program) within the next five years in conservation, law enforce-ment and infrastructure jobs on public lands;
(Continued on page 3)
GOING ON VACATION?? If you are planning to be away from the area for a pro-longed period of time, please notify our data base manag-er, Elaine Ciardello at [email protected] or 439-1892. Whenever a Beacon is undeliverable, it is returned to us and we have to pay for that transaction. We are coming into the busy summer travel months. If you are leaving the area, please let us know how long you will be gone and when we should resume delivery of the Beacon. Your cooperation is appreciated.
PMOAA May Raffle Dinner Meeting
Thursday, 16 May 2013 New World Landing, 600 South Palafox Place
Pensacola, FL 32501 In the British Room
Social Hour 1730 Followed by Dinner at 1830
Guest Speaker: Linda Hartman Wildlife Sanctuary of NW Florida
Menu (List menu choices below)
#1 Beef Roulade with Mushrooms in Port Wine Sauce
#2 Chicken Medallions in Lemon Cream Sauce with Artichokes and Roasted Red Peppers
Roasted Red Potatoes and Chef’s Fresh Vegetables Both served with Mixed Green salad with Ranch
or Italian Dressing Dessert: Key Lime Pie
Rolls, Butter, Water, Tea and Coffee Cash Bar Available
Reservations must be received by Monday, 13 May 2013
NO EXCEPTIONS
Meals are ordered on the basis of accepted reservations. Phone/email reservations are
considered committed and payable at the door.
RSVP to: Captain Neal J. Schneider, USA RET 1580 Woodlawn Way Gulf Breeze, FL 32563
Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America Pensacola Chapter Newsletter - May 2013 - Military Officers Association of America
What’s Inside… pg 1 President's Corner
pg 1 PMOAA Scholarship Application
pg 2 Legislative Affairs
pg 3 Legislative Affairs (Cont)
pg 3 ROWWA
pg 3 Steve Quinnell
pg 3 Singles Group
pg 4 PMOAA April Photos
pg 5 Member Spotlight Update
pg 5 A Special Thank You
pg 5 Chapter Logo Shirts
pg 6 Board of Directors Minutes
pg 7 Auxiliary Corner
pg 7 May Raffle Dinner Reservation
pg 7 Going on Vacation?
PMOAA Beacon is published by UPS Store 2927, proud member of PMOAA 4051 Barrancas Avenue, Suite G Pensacola, FL 32507-3482 Tel (850) 457-1099 Fax (850) 457-1022
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PMOAA Beacon The City of Five Flags-Pensacola Florida
4 Star Chapter Award – 2002 5 Star Chapter Awards — 2003, 2004, 2005,
It will be time to fill several vacant board member offices, therefore, the Board of Directors of PMOAA will be appoint-ing a Nominating Committee of five regular members of PMOAA who, at the time of their election, are not serving as voting members of the Board. The Nominating Committee will ascertain that nominees are willing and able to serve in proposed offices. The Committee will elect its own chairman, who shall notify the Secretary, in writing, of the names of members proposed for open elective offices not later than the Board meeting for the month of September. We would like to start this process earlier, as past history has shown getting into the summer months makes this process difficult. The following offices are available: President, 1
st Vice Presi-
dent, 2nd
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and three board members. We are asking those with a desire to help choose our new club leaders or desire to fill one of the vacant positions, to step up now in order to make this process seamless. Please let us hear from you ASAP.
The Florida Council of Chapters will hold its annual conven-tion in Sarasota, FL at the Hyatt Hotel on 7-10 June 2013. All PMOAA Board members have current commitments. We are seeking someone to attend as a voting delegate to rep-resent Pensacola. Please check out the details at http://www.moaafl.org/Events or contact CPT Neal Schneider.
RADM Joan Engel is piecing together our annual awards package for the MOAA Excellence Award. We have been fortunate to have won the Five Star category for nine con-secutive years and we need your help to make it ten. We need you to let Joan know where you volunteer and how much time you donated for 2012. Your affiliation/interaction with local military installations is very important. This is criti-cal, so please get us the information this week! While I am on the subject of awards, we were recently informed that our website has won the Col Marvin J. Harris Communications Award for the third consecutive year. Way to go, CPT Schneider!
Our social at Azalea Trace featured the topic of “Elder Law” and was presented by local Elder Law Attorney Steven E. Quinnell. Mr. Quinnell answered many of our members’ questions and added to our knowledge of this important mat-ter. Mr. Quinnell was also the attorney who contacted me in September 2002 to inform PMOAA that Mrs. Anna Johnson had bequeathed one half of her estate to PMOAA for our education program. That money created the Anna Johnson Scholarship Fund which was invested into a 529 College Savings Plan made up of five conservative mutual funds. Since August 2003, we have awarded $41,000 in scholar-ships from that plan. The initial investment remains intact and will continue to grow.
Our next social event will be dinner at New World Land-ing. This is also our Annual Raffle which is one of two forms of revenue used to run our Organization, the other is membership dues. Our program will feature Linda Hartman from the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Flori-
da, Inc. Social Hour begins at 1730, dinner at 1830. Vann Milheim
PMOAA April Photos All photos courtesy of Christine Frazier
(More photos on page 4)
PMOAA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
The time for the scholarship application process is here. If you have dependents or grandchildren who are eligi-ble for one of our annual scholarships, be sure to remind them to go to the PMOAA web site for all the necessary information, including the application form. To be eligi-ble, the applicant must be a resident, dependent of a resident or grandchild of a resident of Escambia, Santa Rosa or Baldwin (AL) counties. They must have com-pleted a minimum of one year at a college/university, with at least a 3.0 GPA if undergraduate, or a 3.5 GPA if a graduate student for the two preceding semesters (fall of 2012 and spring of 2013), as a full time student. Ap-plications must be submitted no later than 15 June 2013 and may be downloaded at www.pmoaa.org.
The number of scholarships we can award to these out-standing young Americans is determined by the gener-ous contributions made by the PMOAA membership. Your continued support of this most rewarding and worthwhile program is much appreciated.
CAPT James L. Frazier, USN (Ret) Chairman, PMOAA Scholarship Committee
Immediate Past President LtCol Walter R. Limbach, USMC (Ret) 850-473-9899 [email protected]
