From The New York Times website
Shingrix, the vaccine approved last year to prevent shingles, has proved so popular that its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, has not been able to produce it quickly enough to keep up with the demand.
The vaccine is recommended for most people over 50. But many are having trouble getting it. The company says there are no manufacturing problems — it just didn’t expect so many consumers to want the vaccine.
Hawaii Air National Guard photograph | click to enlarge
In the early 1980s, Moses Akana joined the Hawaii Air National Guard after serving several years in the Air Force. This photograph show him in front of a radar screen controlling aircraft.
His brother, Francis, also enlisted and the then-297th Air Traffic Control Flight gained two trained air traffic controllers. Both brothers served for many years and later retired.
Of all the risks couples face in retirement, the death of a spouse is a certainty.
But they don’t seem to be planning it, according to a Merrill Lynch and Age Wave study on widowhood. Consider:
+ More than half (53 percent) of widows say they and their spouse did not have a plan for what would happen if one of them died.
+ Seventy-six percent of married retirees say they would not be financially prepared for retirement if their spouse died.
+ Following the death of a spouse, half of widows experience a household income decline of 50 percent or more.
So what should couples do to better prepare for the loss of a spouse?
We are predicting that over 1/3 of the demand for #pilots, technicians and cabin-crew will be in the Asia Pacific region. Tag a friend who might be interested! RELEASE: https://t.co/Z4CQOoK9qI #BoeingGlobalServices pic.twitter.com/jliH3SfPOo
— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) August 28, 2018
From the 117th MPAD Facebook page
Hawaii Army National Guard photograph | click to enlarge
Six new officers and six new warrant officers have joined the ranks of the Hawaii Army National Guard after successfully completing Officer/Warrant Officer Candidate School. The newly commissioned Warrant Officers represent the first graduates from the 1st Battalion, 298th Multi-Functional Training Regiment.
Congratulations to the Hawaii Army National Guard’s newest leaders!
From the Kahala Nui website
About 5% of American elderly now live in senior living communities. Florida’s The Villages is the country’s fastest-growing and largest retirement destination. Marketed as a community for active seniors, most subcommunities in The Villages require at least one 55-year-old in each residence; anyone under 19 (of school age) must limit visits to 30 days a year.
From the Kiplinger Magazine website
Who should get Grandma’s cherished engagement ring? How would she want her funeral to be arranged? Where are the keys to the shed out back? Who is going to take care of her dog?
The days and weeks after a loved one passes can be filled with equal parts sorrow and confusion. Not only must you say goodbye to an important person in your life, there is the added stress of sifting through their estate to make sure family members and friends receive their inheritance.
Proper estate planning, of course, makes this easier. Hopefully you have a will of your own in place to address the transfer of your financial interests. Beyond that, you’ll likely have named an executor to handle those affairs. This is the stage of estate planning where most people stop because they think, “My will directs all the assets in my estate, so if that’s in place, I’m done, right?”
Not quite. There are many other important parts to this process that can get forgotten along the way. Call it the “softer side” of estate planning.
Lorin Thomas Alapaki Smith, 51, of Kane’ohe passed away on August 24, 2018. He was a graduate of Lahainaluna High School where he was a boarder for 4 years. He served in the United States Air Force for 3 years and continued his service with the Hawaii Air National Guard for approximately 23 years as an Aerospace Propulsion Technician. He was also employed as an Aircraft Mechanic at Hawaiian Airlines for approximately 20 years.
He is survived by his wife, Christina, children, Kamuela and Kiana, mother, Abbie Richardson, father, Lorin (Lani), brothers, Mark Kale (Rena) and Owen Keola, grandmother, Abbie McGurn, uncles, Richard (Kapua) and Liko McGurn, James Smith, aunts, Candy Lyman and Sandy Smith.
A Celebration of Life gathering will be held on Saturday, October 13, 2018 at the Ko’olau Ballrooms & Conference Center at Ko’olau Golf Course. Visitation begins at 9:00 a.m., and service at 10:30 a.m., with reception to follow. A private burial will be held at a later date. Arrangements provided by Borthwick Mortuary.
Retiree News photograph | click on photograph to enlarge
This photograph features three Chiefs who served as the Command Chief Master Sergeant of the Hawaii Air National Guard. they served as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commander, HAwaii Air National Guard.
From left to right: Delbert Dandurant, Stanley Gomes, and Kent Billings.
They were attending the promotion ceremony of then-Brig Gen Peter “Skipper” Pawling. The ceremony was during the November 2004 UTA weekend.
The U.S. Air Force has selected the Boeing T-X advanced pilot training aircraft which features an all-new aircraft designed, developed and flight-tested by Boeing and Saab. | From the Boeing website
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a $9.2 billion contract to build the service’s next aircraft for training future pilots.
The firm fixed-price contract award includes funding for 351 jets, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment, Boeing said. The payment structure, officials said, also allows for an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity option to give the Air Force the opportunity to purchase up to 475 aircraft and 120 simulators.
Finally, a replacement of the T-38 Talon which the Air Force used for pilot training for over 50 years.
If military families are experts on anything it’s traveling. Whether we are making a PCS move cross-country, taking a road trip to visit family, or sneaking away for a post-deployment vacation, we’re always on the go.
Traveling is even more fun when you find great discounts to help you out along the way. Military families also have access to benefits available to them for many of their travel needs.
There are lots of different ways to travel and lots of ways to use military discounts and benefits.
From a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency press release
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) on October 3, 2018.
The test was originally scheduled for September 20, 2018 but due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence, the alert test was moved to the secondary date option. A backup date is always planned in case of widespread severe weather or other significant events on the primary test date. FEMA and the nation’s emergency management community remain committed to the life-saving activities occurring through parts of North Carolina and South Carolina.
The WEA portion of the test commences at 8:18 a.m. HST and the EAS portion follows at 8:20 a.m. HST. The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether technological improvements are needed.
Cell phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower and whose wireless carrier participates in WEAs should be capable of receiving the national test message and will receive the same special tone and vibration as with all WEA messages (i.e. Flash flood, AMBER Alert).
This is the fourth EAS nationwide test and the first national WEA test. The WEA test message will be sent to cell phones. Previous successful EAS national tests were conducted in September 2011, 2016 and 2017 in collaboration with the FCC, broadcasters, and emergency officials.
The EAS test is scheduled to last approximately one minute and is made available to EAS participants including radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers. The test message will be similar to regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar.
The WEA test message will read “This is a test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert system. No action is needed.” The WEA system is used to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations through alerts on cell phones. It allows customers whose wireless provider participates in WEA and who own a WEA compatible wireless phone to receive geotargeted alerts of imminent threats to safety in their area through unique tones and vibration. The national WEA test will use the same special tone and vibration.
Richard Rapoza
Public Information Officer
richard.d.rapoza@hawaii.gov
One of the good things about Vacations Hawai‘icharter flights is you never know who you’ll meet. Hawaii Air National Guard Retirees Blossom Loganand Carol Kellettwere accompanying their Moms to their respective high school class reunions. Blossom’s Mom graduated from Kapa‘a High School; Carol’s Mom graduated from McKinley High School.
This photo was taken at the California Hotel & Casino at Market Street Cafe in late September.
Thanks to Carol for sharing this photograph and her comments.
Passports last a long time, so it’s easy to forget that yours is about to be invalid. Whether you have an unexpected international trip come up or you meticulously planned an international journey without paying attention to the most important details, sometimes you need a passport – fast.
If you need to get a passport in a hurry, the U.S. State Department can expedite your passport approval process.
