From the Military Times website
When confirmation hearings for the next Veterans Affairs secretary begin in a few weeks, privatization of the department will be the main focus of most lawmakers’ questions.
Nearly everyone in the veterans’ community and on Capitol Hill is against privatizing VA — and nearly everyone has a different definition of what privatization is.
From the Everyday Health website
It’s frightening to know that you could get a blood clot in your leg, called deep vein thrombosis, when you’re recovering from surgery or stuck in a car or airplane for hours. Well, here’s something that will make you feel more in control: If you spend a few minutes on movement and prevention exercises, you may be able to avert dangerous clots.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) develops when your blood pools during inactivity and thickens into a clot. It’s more likely to happen in the lower part of your body, but it can also happen in your arm or other areas. If the clot begins to travel, it could make its way to your lungs and lead to pulmonary embolism, in which the clot blocks the flow of blood. If that happens, your lungs could be seriously damaged, and it could even lead to death.
Check with your doctor before you do any of these movements to make sure they’re safe for you.
Morgan Freeman served in the United States Air Force in his younger years. Though even deep into his acting career, his love of flying is still part of his personal life, owning four planes, including 2 jets – all of which he has a license to fly.
Freeman is known for his awarding winning voice both in narration, as well as his iconic roles in films. He has won Academy awards and even received several nominations for an Oscar. He has been ranked to have over 4 billion dollars in gross box office sales, being the number 4 highest box office earning star (as of 2017).
From the Air Force Times website
The Air Force is closing in on a new report on whether it should reinstate warrant officers for the first time in six decades.
And while nothing has been settled about whether warrant officers will return or what they will look like, the Air Force’s personnel chief is already thinking ahead, contemplating whether they could include aviators — and if they could help solve the service’s long-standing pilot retention problem.
Lt. Gen. Gina Grosso, the Air Force’s personnel chief, said in a March 22 interview at the Pentagon that a long-awaited report on the feasibility of re-establishing warrant officers is expected to be finished in April and provided to Congress.
Thanks to Gordon Lau for sharing this article with Retiree News
If you’ve been listening to the news recently, you’ve probably heard the name “Cambridge Analytica” come up — and all kinds of stories about the data firm’s former executives claiming they could manipulate and intimidate large numbers of people with crafted, targeted social media content.
While that’s not what we’re here to talk about today, it does tie in to the greater issue: the parts we, the general users of the web, might have played in giving Facebook access to enormous amounts of our data.
From the Honolulu Advertiser archives
Eleven members of the Hawai’i Air National Guard were honored for outstanding achievements yesterday at Hickam Air Force Base.
Among the actions of the Hawai’i Guard in 2006 were support operations here in the wake of last spring’s floods and last fall’s earthquakes. In addition, more than 100 Hawai’i Air National Guard members served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
From the Kaiser Health News website
When she was a young physician, Dr. Martha Gulati noticed that many of her mentors were prescribing vitamin E and folic acid to patients. Preliminary studies in the early 1990s had linked both supplements to a lower risk of heart disease.
She urged her father to pop the pills as well: “Dad, you should be on these vitamins, because every cardiologist is taking them or putting their patients on [them],” recalled Gulati, now chief of cardiology for the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.
From the Military Times website
VA is a late addition to the adjustable-rate mortgage game, having only received permanent federal authority to back these types of loans in 2012. But they are now an option for VA-backed borrowers, and with the expected uptick in interest rates for 2018, the loans may be worth a second look for some eligible service members and veterans.
From the U.S. Air Force website
The first of eight C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets arrived here February 8 for its christening and Hawaiian blessing before a crowd of spectators and distinguished visitors from the local and military communities.
15th Airlift Wing Airmen and members of the 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard flew the C-17 together, signifying a new era of “total force integration.”
From the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) website
Reporting the death of a retiree can be a difficult task for family or friends. We know that waiting on the phone and talking to one of our customer service representatives is not high on the priority list right after someone passes away. DFAS has re-introduced the option to report the death of a retiree online.
To use the online Notice of Death option, click on the link at the top of the Retired Military & Annuitants main page, which is located at https://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary.html. This will take you to a form where you will enter all of the pertinent information. When reporting a retiree’s death, be sure to have the following information available:
Retiree’s full name
Retiree’s SSN
The date of death
Cause of death
Marital status, If married, the wedding date
The form also asks for your name, address, phone number and email address. If you are completing this form on behalf of someone else, such as the spouse or child of the deceased retiree, please use the contact information of the person you are helping to make the report. Updates on the status of the claim will be sent to the email address provided, including an email verifying that the notification was received.
From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website
VA disability compensation provides monthly benefits to Veterans in recognition of the effects of disabilities, diseases, or injuries incurred or aggravated during active military service. The program also provides monthly payments to surviving spouses, dependent children, and dependent parents in recognition of the economic loss caused by a Veteran’s death during military service or, after discharge from military service, as a result of a service-connected disability. A summary of VA’s disability compensation programs is below.
Vernon Matsuto Miyake, 71, of Honolulu, passed away on March 21, 2018. Born in Waimea, Kauai, he retired as the Assistant Accounting Manager for Bank of Hawaii, Main Branch and as a major for the Hawaii Army National Guard.
He is survived by his wife, Linda; daughters, Chelsey and Kaylea.
Visitation from 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, 2018, at Hosoi Garden Mortuary; service at 6:00 p.m. Arrangements provided by: Hosoi Garden Mortuary
The photograph from the Hawaii Air National Guard’s HIANG 25 booklet. It shows then Airman Second Class (A2C) David Rodrigues receiving training on the F-86E Sabre fire control system. He served in the section prior to his commissioning.
After commissioning he served in command and staff positions at the 201st Combat Communications Group and Hq, Hawaii Air National Guard. He ended his career as a brigadier general serving as the Commander, Hawaii Air National Guard. He retired in 1995 after 40 years service.
In his civilian career, he retired from Hawaiian Electric as a vice president.
From the Military Times website
Thousands of veterans previously denied disability benefits for pain issues related to their military service may now be eligible for that assistance, thanks to a federal court ruling this week.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a 19-year-old precedent used in more than 11,000 VA claims denials that stated veterans had to have a clear medical diagnosis connected to their pain in order to be eligible for those disability payouts.
