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Early Guard training

F-47 Armament specialists

Armament specialists of the Hawai‘i Air National Guard train to load the .50-caliber machine guns used in the F-47 Thunderbolts or “Jug” that made up the bulk of the early Air National Guard aircraft inventory nationwide. The 199th Fighter Squadron flew “Jugs” from July 1947 through 1954 when the squadron received it’s first F-86E Sabre jet.

Photograph from the National Guard website

Related:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt

Veterans Day: Discounts and Freebies

The following is a list of Veterans Day discounts on restaurants, goods, services and events for 2014. Please check back frequently as the list is updated daily.

All of the following discounts have been confirmed for 2014, either through press release or direct communication with the company.

Continue reading http://ow.ly/DU6wx 

These Foods Could Change Your Life

You can eat your way to health — in fact, certain foods possess powerful abilities to soothe aches and pains, lower blood pressure, enhance your mood, and more.

Nutritionist and author Joy Bauer gives her favorite food cures

Seniors in almost every state are struggling to afford retirement

Seniors in almost every state in the country don’t have enough income to get by comfortably.

Households ages 65 and older in the U.S. are living on an average of only $37,847 a year. That’s around 60% of the annual earnings of today’s 45- to 64-year olds and falls well short of the 70% in pre-retirement income that’s typically recommended for retirees, according to an Interest.com analysis of 2013 Census Bureau data.

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Happy Birthday HIANG

Jug over Diamond Head

On November 4, 1946, the four original units of the Hawai‘i Air National Guard received Federal recognition.  These units were: the 199th Fighter Squadron, 199th Utility Flight, Detachment C, 199th Air Service Group, and the 199th Weather Station.  We recognize this date as birthday of the Hawai‘i Air National Guard.

The 199th Fighter Squadron flew F-47 Thunderbolts, shown in the photograph above, from July 1947 through 1954.  “Jugs”, as they were known, made up the bulk of the early Air National Guard aircraft inventory nationwide.

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Retirees must report marital changes promptly

Air Force retirees are required to report marital status changes to the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System and the Defense and Finance Accounting Service.

Retirees must advise a uniformed service identification card issuing facility about any dependent additions within 30 days. Entering a new spouse in DEERS and getting a dependent identification card is imperative for documenting eligibility for military benefits. Retirees must also report a new marriage to DFAS. Retirees married for the first time, or who remarried after retirement, must notify DFAS to properly establish or re-establish their desired Survivor Benefit Plan coverage.

Laws governing the Survivor Benefit Plan, or SBP, carefully outline program policies. A retiree who was not married at the time of retirement has one year from the marriage date to enroll a new spouse. Retirees forfeit the opportunity to participate in the program if they fail to apply within one year.

A retiree, who was married at retirement and originally elected SBP spouse coverage, can elect to cover a future spouse if the previous marriage ends in divorce or death of the spouse. In the event of divorce, a future spouse may be covered only if the divorce decree does not contain language mandating the retiree’s need to provide former-spouse SBP coverage.

A retiree who was married at retirement and declined SBP spouse coverage cannot later enroll in the plan on behalf of that spouse or any future spouse unless a congressional open enrollment period is authorized. The last time Congress authorized an open enrollment was Oct. 1, 2005, through Oct. 1, 2006.

Retirees who marry for the first time or who originally elected SBP coverage for a previous spouse and would like to provide SBP coverage for their current spouse, should report their marriage to DFAS using a DD Form 2656-6, Survivor Benefit Plan Election Change Certificate. They must attach a copy of the marriage certificate for DFAS to use in processing the request.

Retirees with suspended spouse coverage may elect not to resume spouse coverage upon remarriage. A request to terminate suspended spouse coverage must be received by DFAS before the first anniversary of the remarriage. Failure to notify DFAS to terminate suspended spouse coverage before the first anniversary of the new marriage will result in SBP coverage being automatically reinstated.

For assistance with any SBP actions, call 877-353-6807 to reach the nearest Air Force SBP representative.

Taken from the Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Afterburner, the e-newsletter for USAF retired personnel

 

Taps: Benjamin Boniface Kailieha Jr.

Benjamin Boniface Kailieha Jr., 75, of Wai‘anae, a Bishop Estate land appraiser and an Army National Guard retiree, passed away October 17, 2014. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by wife Frances K., son Bennard, daughters Bernardine Shattuck and Trevor Ranadey, four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Medicare 2015 Part B Charges Remain Unchanged, Part A Deductible Up Some

MedicareCard_Header

Premiums, copays and deductibles for other Medicare programs announced too.

Read more http://tinyurl.com/k9nzj5s     

Taps: Elvin Kaliko Kamoku

Elvin Kaliko Kamoku, 94, of Hilo, a Hawaii County fire chief, a C. Brewer and Co. longshoreman, an Army veteran who served in World War II and a first lieutenant in the National Guard, passed away on October 24, 2014. He was born in Kapoho, Hawaii. He is survived by sons Elvin K. Kamoku and Richard Sakai; daughters Pauline H. Salazar, Leona L. Kamoku, Rhona N. and Penny A. Kamoku, Betty Anne Kiba and Evelyn Sakai; 13 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

Taps: Wesley Kee Sen Woo

Wesley Kee Sen Woo, 80, of Honolulu, a National Guard veteran, passed away on October 15, 2014. He was born in Pepeekeo. He is survived by sons Frederick and Clayton; daughters Phyllis Woo Holland, Jocelyn Kimura, Lorri Worthy and Tammy Reardon; brother Carlton Woo; sisters Loretta Kawaiaea, Georgette Baligad and Sharilyn Kama; and six grandchildren.

Women Registering for the Draft

WASHINGTON — As Norway became the first NATO country to require women to register for the draft this month, it has American military analysts debating whether the US could be on the verge of taking the same step, too.

It was back in 1981 that the US Supreme Court ruled that requiring only men to register for the draft was constitutional, since there were US laws that banned women from fighting in combat.

Continue reading http://tinyurl.com/mcj4tgk 

Wearing unearned medal can be a crime; free-speech claim rejected

Lying about receiving a military medal is constitutionally protected, but there’s no right to carry the lie a step further by wearing a combat decoration that hasn’t been earned, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.

The difference, said a divided panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is that lying is speech, but wearing a medal is conduct.

http://tinyurl.com/mox6jf4      

Update: Warrior Training Center leader firing

A lieutenant colonel relieved of his post as head of the Warrior Training Center at Fort Benning, Georgia, was not authorized to wear the Ranger and Sapper tabs displayed on his uniform, base officials said Thursday.

Lt. Col. Gerald H. Green III, a member of the National Guard in active service with the WTC, was removed from command Oct. 9 and is under investigation, the base said in an Oct. 24 news release.

Continue reading http://tinyurl.com/m4cf9sx

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Pay Raise for Troops Still Up in the Air

Lawmakers have a lot of work to do when they return to Washington Nov. 12 after the mid-term elections, including deciding how big of a pay raise to give military service members next year.

The House and Senate versions of the fiscal 2015 Defense authorization bill differ on the amount of the pay increase: the House-passed legislation tacitly supports a 1.8 percent across-the-board boost for members of the military, while the Senate bill includes a 1 percent raise – the same amount that President Obama has recommended.

Continue reading http://tinyurl.com/mv8f86w