Alaska’s new attorney general is in the process of hiring a special investigator to look into the handling of sexual assault complaints within the Alaska National Guard, Department of Law spokeswoman Cori Mills said Monday.
Attorney General Craig Richards is vetting five candidates who have strong criminal investigation backgrounds and are in good standing with the Alaska Bar, said Grace Jang, a spokeswoman for Governor Bill Walker.
A provisioned 767-2C freighter took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, on December 28, marking the first flight for the KC-46A Pegasus engineering, manufacturing, and development program. The aircraft, which is “the critical building block for the KC-46 missionized aerial refueler,” took off around 9:30 a.m. and landed three hours and 32 minutes later at Boeing Field, according to a Boeing release.
Boeing must still complete additional modifications, including installing the refueling boom and other military-specific equipment, which are to be completed in time for the first flight of a KC-46 (EMD #2) this spring. “We know flight testing will lead to some discovery; today’s flight kick-starts that work. There is an aggressive schedule going forward into Milestone C decision point for approval to start low rate initial production, but we remain cautiously optimistic we can meet the mark,” said Col. Christopher Coombs, the KC-46 system program manager, in an Air Force release.
Under a 2011 contract, Boeing will build four test aircraft, including two 767-2Cs and two KC-46As. The Air Force intends to procure a total of 179 Pegasus aircraft by 2027, of which the first 18 are to be delivered by August 2017.
Your electronic 1099R for 2014 is available on myPay at
https://mypay.dfas.mil/mypay.aspx?flps=99R~RCPS
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) implemented the myPay web-based system in March 2000. myPay delivers pay information and lets you process pay-related transactions timely, safely and securely. The Web-based system protects against identity theft and is faster and more secure than regular mail by allowing members to access electronic 1099R, RAS and other financial information. myPay matches industry standards for the highest level of encryption and security to protect myPay users.
If you do not have a Password for accessing myPay, you can obtain one by clicking on the Forgot or Need a Password? link on the myPay website at the web address shown above to receive a temporary Password. If you have any questions concerning myPay, please call toll free at 1-888-DFAS411 or 1-888-332-7411, Commercial 216-522-5096, or DSN 580-5096, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Option 5 is for myPay questions. If you have any questions regarding the information on your 1099R, please call 1-800-321-1080.
You can register to receive an email every time there is a new post. In the “Follow Blog 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.
Thanks to these Retiree News readers who registered to “Follow Blog via Email”: George Kaneshiro, Denise Jelinski-Hall, Harry Miller
Hotels are expected to collect a record $2.25 billion in fees this year, according to a report by the New York University School of Professional Studies. To some degree, that amount reflects a slight increase in the number of rooms that have been occupied. But for the most part, it’s a result of hotels levying more fees and charging higher amounts.
The last-minute deal to allow retiree pension benefit cuts as part of the federal spending bill for 2015 passed by Congress last week has set off shock waves in the U.S. retirement system.
(The Hill) The Pentagon is planning another push to whittle down benefits for troops when it submits its 2016 budget to the White House in February over fierce opposition from military groups and some in Congress.
As if losing a spouse wasn’t hard enough, a new New York Life survey says that many widows confront years of undue financial hardship after their husbands die. But there’s a way to avoid this.
WASHINGTON: A major battle is brewing between the regular Army and National Guard. While Congress has frozen the planned transfer of the Guard’s Apache gunships to active-duty units, the Army is already taking steps that may make it much harder to keep the helicopters in the Guard.
The Aviation Restructure Initiative calls for all Apaches to be moved from the Guard to the active Army. That proved so controversial that Congress, in the recently-passed National Defense Authorization Act, created a National Commission on the Future Structure of the Army to evaluate not only ARI but the overall balance between active, Guard, and Reserve forces. In the meantime, the NDAA bans any Apache transfers in ’15 and limits transfers in ’16 to 48 aircraft. Of course, the commissioners need to get appointed, summon witnesses, hear testimony, reach consensus and write their report between now and February 1st, 2016.
Ever wonder why some tax returns are eyeballed by the Internal Revenue Service while most are ignored? Short on personnel and funding, the IRS audited only slightly less than 1% (0.96%) of all individual tax returns in 2013. And we expect the 2014 audit rate to fall even lower as the agency’s resources continue to shrink and even more employees are reassigned to work identity theft cases. So the odds are pretty low that your return will be picked for review. And, of course, the only reason filers should worry about an audit is if they are fudging on their taxes.
Governor David Y. Ige nominated Colonel Arthur “Joe” Logan to serve as the Adjutant General (TAG).
Logan is currently serving as Director of Operations/G3, Hawai‘i Army National Guard (HIARNG), a position he has held since October 2013. Prior to this assignment Logan held positions as the Chief of Staff of the Hawai‘i National Guard (HING) Joint Staff, and Chief of Staff of the HIARNG. Logan deployed to Afghanistan and served as the commander, Regional Police Advisory Command – Central, in support of the Afghan National Police. Prior to his deployment he served as the Joint Forces Headquarters – Hawai‘i (JFHQ-HI) Counterdrug Coordinator and the J2 Director of Intelligence. Logan holds a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a BA in Justice Administration from Hawai‘i Pacific University.
Colonel Logan’s nomination is subject to Senate confirmation during the upcoming 2015 legislative session.
In the same press release, Governor Ige named Colonel Kenneth Hara as the Deputy Adjutant General (DAG).
Hara is the Chief of the Joint Staff for the HING where he is responsible for day-to-day operations. Prior to that, he served as commander for the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, HIARNG. Hara received his Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and BA in Human Services from Hawai‘i Pacific University.
Congratulations to both officers!
The December 2014 Edition of National Guard is available online
Features:
‘Anyone who says we are worn out doesn’t know the Guard today’ A conversation with Gen. Frank J. Grass, the chief of the National Guard Bureau
When Getting an ‘F’ is Excellent Guard aviators are raving about their new Chinooks, and more F-model CH-47s are coming to the Guard inventory
A Closer Look New museum gallery shares the Guard’s World War II story with more personal mementos
The National Guard Association of the United States
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Lieutenant Colonel Melvin “Humphrey” Souza passed away on December 23, 2014. Humphrey was a fighter pilot who served with the 199th Fighter Squadron, flying F-86 Sabers and F-102 Delta Daggers. More recently, Mel served with the Hawaii Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
Humphrey’s memorial services will be on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at St. Patrick’s Church in Kaimukī, starting at 9:30 a.m. His burial will be at 1:00 p.m. at The National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific (Punchbowl).
Following his burial, there will be a celebration of Mel’s life at the Elks Lodge 616 in Waikīkī. This event begins at 2:30 p.m. and will run to 7:30 p.m.
Please check for the obituary for more information about family. Obituaries are published three or four days before the day of services.
