From the NGAUS Washington Report
The effort to put Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands back together after they were pounded by Hurricane Maria will be more difficult because they are islands, General Joseph L. Lengyel said Monday on his way to meet with officials in St. Croix.
The chief of the National Guard Bureau called it “a harder response scenario” and said it may take months to restore basic infrastructure, like power, according to a report in The Hill, which covers Capitol Hill.
Mahalo for your support. Sometime on Tuesday, Retiree News surpassed 500,000 views. Since the first post on January 22, 2013, we have strived to live up to our mission statement of “Sharing information with Hawaii National Guard retirees, members and friends.”
Special thanks to those who continue to submit materials for posting. Steve Lum, Billy Chang, Gordon Lau, John “JC” Chun, Aaron Pollick, Bob Inouye, Fred Hyun, Erik Wong – are among those who have consistently emailed things for posting.
Thank you everyone who logs in to see the latest Retiree News post. Moving toward 1,000,000 views.
Circuits check of the tech control van helped assure operational reliability for the mobile units used in support of the Team Spirit 80.
In the photograph above is Mel Tominaga, a member of the 202d Combat Communications Flight (later redesignated the 293d Combat Communications Squadron). He was the acknowledged expert in tech control within the 201st Combat Communications Group. Mel was a Traditional Guardmember who retired as many years of service.
From the U.S. News & World Report website
Americans love their stuff. We’re great at buying and collecting it, but not so savvy at getting rid of it once it’s not useful anymore. Going through all the accumulated things in your home can be an intimidating endeavor. As you age, the task can become overwhelming as volumes grow, and more challenging if your physical health isn’t what it used to be.
By taking control of the clutter in your home early in your retirement, you’ll realize many benefits that would otherwise get lost in a closet somewhere in the basement.
Here are nine benefits of decluttering your home in retirement:
From the nextavenue website
Among the many words used to describe family caregivers — invisible, overwhelmed, heroic, to name just a few — one is often just assumed. That word is “unpaid.” Although family caregivers are often praised as a critical part of the elder care workforce, most don’t get a paycheck.
Yet many caregivers need financial help. In addition to emotional and physical stress, caregiving often brings money worries. Paying for medical supplies and drugs not fully covered by insurance, transportation, home adaptations, home care or any of the myriad other expenses may wreak havoc on a budget. It’s no wonder many family caregivers ask, “Can I get paid for taking care of my mother?”
The short answer? It depends. Here are seven options worth exploring:
L-R: Jose Rivera, William “Bill” Akiona, Gary Von, James “Bubba” Tachihata, David Costa.
This photograph has five flightline mechanics sitting on the wing of an F-4C Phantom II. Jose Rivera, William “Bill” Akiona, Gary Von, James “Bubba” Tachihata, and David Costa were all part of the technician force. All of them retired from the Hawaii Air National Guard with many years of service. James Tachihata passed late last year.
Bill did not have a date for the photograph, but the then 154th Composite Group flew F-4C Phantom IIs from 1976 thought 1987.
It was downloaded off Bill Akiona’s Facebook page with his permission.
From the TRICARE website
You may be wondering what action you need to take, if any, to ensure you continue TRICARE coverage in 2018. If you’re currently enrolled in or eligible for TRICARE coverage on December 31, 2017, you’ll transition to your respective TRICARE plan on January 1, 2018. If you want to enroll in a TRICARE plan or change coverage after January 1, 2018, you’ll need to take action to enroll in the plan of your choice.
All beneficiaries should take action by making sure their information is current in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). If you’ve experienced any changes (for example, marriage, birth, divorce and death), update DEERS as soon as possible to ensure continuous TRICARE coverage.
From the Kiplinger Magazine website
The government is changing the loan’s insurance costs and reducing how much applicants can borrow—and the window for borrowing under the old rules is closing fast.
Air Force Magazine’s back-page feature is “Namesakes.” Every month it profiles the person or people after whom an Air Force facility was named.
Hickam Field (formerly Hickam Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The base merged with the Naval Base Pearl Harbor to become part of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. The base neighbors Honolulu International Airport and currently shares runways with the airport for its activities and purposes.
Hickam is home to the 15th Wing (15 WG) and 67 partner units including Headquarters of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), Hawaii Air National Guard and the 154th Wing (154 WG) of the Hawaii Air National Guard. The Air Mobility Command‘s 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing (515 AMOW) provides tactical and strategic airlift within the Pacific region. In addition, Hickam supports 140 tenant and associate units.
Related:
15th Wing website
From the Los Angeles Times website
The ID theft protection firm LifeLock is certainly one of the big winners from the big data breach suffered by Equifax, which exposed the personal information of 143 million Americans to hackers.
LifeLock has been going to town on the Equifax breach, with ads and press releases trumpeting how the breach proves how valuable its own services (cost: up to $29.99 a month) can be to protect you from identity theft.
Here’s what LifeLock isn’t advertising so widely: When you buy its protection, you’re signing up for credit reporting and monitoring services provided by, yes, Equifax.
Reminders:
The deadline to RSVP for the Hawaii Army National Guard Commander’s Change of Command is tomorrow. For more details, go to this earlier Retiree News post.
“Your TSP Account – What to Think About When Nearing Retirement or Considering Leaving the Government” webcast is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3, 2017, at 2pm (9am in Hawaii). Link in to the webcast via: https://www.sec.gov/video/live/470375936-tsp-presentation-100317.htm. An Earlier Retiree News post on this webcast has more information.
The Pre-Retirement Briefing is scheduled for Friday, October 13, 2017. If you are planning to retire within the next 24 months, this briefing will provide you the information you need to get started. For more details, go to the flyer posted earlier for more information.
Looking for old photographs:
Special thanks to the Retiree News followers who emailed in old photographs for posting!
Whenever Retiree News posts an old photograph, the number of hits to the website increase dramatically. Everyone enjoys viewing old photos that show how people and facilities looked way back then.
If you have any old photos, either black and white or color, consider scanning the photograph and submitting it to Retiree News. JPEG is the preferred format.
Please include a description of the photograph location or activity and the date if possible. If there are individuals in the photograph, provide the names of those you remember.
Submit your scanned materials as an email attachment to retireenews@hawaii.rr.com.
WATCH: 70 years of @usairforce history in 70 seconds. #ASC17 #AFBday pic.twitter.com/KVEtkJAfHo
— Gen. Dave Goldfein (@GenDaveGoldfein) September 21, 2017
From the Military.com website
A series of sweeping TRICARE changes could have a big impact on some of the military health care system’s users — including an extra three months of deductible-free coverage.
Are you one of them? Here’s what you need to know.
From the everyday Health website
Eating while on the road or in a rush can put a real damper on even the best-laid healthy-diet plans. So when you opt for a quick meal, it’s good to have a strategy worked out. Did you know that Subway has more restaurants in the United States than any other food chain? That makes it an easy go-to option for grabbing a quick bite, but how do you balance convenience with good nutrition? We asked several dietitians what they order when they go to Subway, and the general themes were very similar — chicken and turkey reign supreme, watch the sodium, and pile on those veggies!
Not everything on this menu is as fresh as it seems. Six dietitians share their recommendations.
