The Department of Veterans Affairs bought more than $11 million worth of weapons, ammo and other security equipment between 2005 and 2014, according to a report released last month by a non-profit organization that tracks spending across the federal government.
The report, called The Militarization of America and published by OpenTheBooks, said the VA acquired a variety of pistols — Berettas, Sig Sauers, Lugers — and ammunition, as well as body armor, police batons, ballistic shields, riot shields and helmets, night gun sights, tactical equipment for crowd control and more.
If your ex-husband worked and paid Social Security taxes, both you and your kids may very well be eligible for survivor benefits, but you need to act quickly because benefits are generally retroactive only up to six months. Here’s what you should know.
Under Social Security law, when a person who has worked and paid Social Security taxes dies, certain members of that person’s family may be eligible for survivor benefits including spouses, former spouses and dependents. Here’s a breakdown of who may be eligible.
As workers get older and closer to retirement, they often focus solely on the “vacation” aspects of retirement. They can’t wait to forget about the daily work grind and start traveling and pursuing their hobbies and interests. But that would be a mistake with possible serious long-term consequences.
Instead, you should think about life not just immediately after you exit from employment, but further down the road as well. You can find some helpful insights in this regard in a recent study titled “Leisure in Retirement: Beyond the Bucket List,” a collaboration between Merrill Lynch and Age Wave, a research firm that focuses on age-related issues.
The report suggests that you focus on four stages of retirement leisure as you transition from being “time constrained” to “time affluent.”
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If you were one of the many people who created an asset trust a couple of years ago to help your descendants save on estate taxes, you probably wish you hadn’t.
While the estate tax rules have been one of Congress’ favorite footballs to kick around in the last few decades — exemption levels and tax rates have changed some 20 times since 1976 — the so-called fiscal cliff deal struck in early 2013 seems to have settled the issue.
The July issue of the Kūkā‘ilimoku, the newsletter of the 154th Wing features:
*KC135s Return
*BG Woodrow comments
*Push up and sit up tips
*The first Kukuailimoku was published when? For real?
*Unit Highlights
*PLUS MORE
Social Security is an important piece of your retirement planning, but it can be difficult to figure out on your own what to expect the program to pay you when the time comes. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration itself recognizes the need to plan for the future, and the Social Security benefits statement that it provides has a wealth of information that you can use to help you plan for retirement.
You can register to receive an email every time there is a new post. In the “Follow Retiree News via Email” section and press “Follow”. On the next screen, enter your email address and press ENTER. Shortly, you will receive a confirmation email to your address from WordPress.com. You acknowledge the email and you are a registered reader.
After you compete this short registration process, you get a notification email every time there is a new posting. The email has a quick teaser of the posting, along with tags that indicate how the posting relates to special topics/areas. There is a direct link to the website (Read more of this post)
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Thanks for the following new registered readers whose email address did not include a recognizable name: Malcomsbad, boat.dave, bradleydonato
The January-June 2016 Afterburner is available now online. For a direct link to the latest Afterburner, click here.
Air Force retirees and annuitants who have an online myPay account are now automatically receiving the Afterburner electronically. People with a myPay account have been removed from the hard-copy mailing list. The Air Force partnered with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in order to save more than $131,000 in printing and postage costs each issue.
Retirees and annuitants can keep their email address updated on myPay by logging into myPay at https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx. Once logged in, click on “Email Address” and review/edit the “personal email address” block. Click on “Primary” and “Accept/Submit” to complete the transaction.
An archive of current and past issues of the Afterburner is available at http://www.retirees.af.mil/afterburner/.
Anyone who has served in the armed forces will tell you military rations aren’t exactly dinner at The Ritz-Carlton. In fact, many items are less flavorful than a plain Ritz cracker. Early on, servicemembers asked that candy be added to the ration menu, and military food scientists, in collaboration with commercial candy manufacturers, worked hard to grant that wish.
However, the first joint venture between the military and a candy manufacturer must have been a huge disappointment for military personnel. Rather than a treat to satisfy a servicemember’s sweet tooth, the resulting The creation of the D-bar dates back to April 1937, when the Army Quartermaster General sent Capt. Paul Logan to meet with William Murrie, president of the Hershey Chocolate Corp. (known today as The Hershey Co.), to discuss the creation of a ration bar that would meet the nutritional needs of soldiers.
Working out isn’t only about how you’ll look in that bikini. Getting — and staying — in shape boosts heart health, helps your skin and improves your sleep, to mention just a few of the healthy perks.
And just last week, we added another motivation to the list, when a new study linked jogging to increased life expectancy. Researchers from the Copenhagen City Heart Study found that jogging one to two-and-a-half hours a week in two or three different sessions was associated with an additional 6.2 years for men and 5.6 years for women.
The CDC recommends healthy adults get two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (like brisk walking), plus two or more days of strength-training a week.
Retiree News is sad to report that Reuben Kaneshiro passed away last night at Pali Momi. Reuben was 67 years old. Several Retiree News readers emailed in with information about his passing. Special thanks to Nolan Kanekuni and David “Mac” McCulloch for submitting the photographs.
Reuben joined the Hawaii Air National Guard after serving on active duty in the United States Navy. He served in the maintenance branch of the 293d Combat Communications Squadron for many years.
Rest in Peace Reuben
Retiree News will post information about his service when it becomes available.
For more the 65 years, the United States Army Ranger School has been known as the “toughest combat course in the world”.
Having a sense of purpose could add years to your life, according to a study published in 2014 in Psychological Science. Researchers from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and the University of Rochester in New York, tracked the physical and mental health of more than 7,000 American adults ages 20 to 75 for 14 years, and found that those who felt they had a purpose or direction in life outlived those who did not
When it comes to inflammation, a known cause for back pain, it’s true that you are what you eat. Many foods have been shown to reduce inflammation, as well as to increase it. So when you have back pain, diet may help you avoid it. You just have to carefully choose your foods so you can reduce back pain and maintain good nutrition.
