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Air Force Magazine is the magazine of the Air Force Association. The magazine is a monthly paper and electronic magazine. Read the March issue http://ow.ly/uM0oK
Details of the Army’s highly anticipated revisions to grooming and uniform regulations leaked online Thursday, just days before the document was set to go into effect.
The updated Army Regulation 670-1 was approved March 6 by Army Secretary John McHugh, and it will replace more than 50 all-Army messages and include new policies on issues such as tattoos, fingernail polish and general uniform wear, the Army has said.
Senior officials told Army Times last fall that the regulation would largely be a return to rules in place before 2006, when the Army softened policies to allow in recruits with tattoos on their hands and necks. At the time, the Army sought to grow by 80,000 troops.
On Thursday, a set of 57 PowerPoint slides dated March 19 and titled “Uniform Policy Leaders Training” was posted on Facebook by U.S. Army W.T.F.! Moments and quickly spread across Army-related sites.
Among the changes outlined in the slides:
■ Sideburns on male soldiers will not extend below the bottom of the ear opening.
■ Female soldiers can wear their hair in a ponytail during physical training.
■ Tattoos are not authorized on the face, head, neck or hands.
■ Soldiers may have no more than four visible tattoos below the elbow or the knee; tattoos must be smaller than the size of the wearer’s hand.
■ Sleeve tattoos on the arms or legs are not authorized.
■ Enlisted soldiers who exceed the tattoo limit cannot request commissioning; they are not grandfathered.
■ Commanders must validate all tattoos above the neckline, below the elbows and below the knees with a description of the color and shape on an official memo.
■ Commanders will conduct an annual check for new tattoos or brands in prohibited locations.
■ Soldiers may carry a plain black umbrella during inclement weather while wearing the service, dress and mess uniforms. Umbrellas are not authorized in formations or when wearing field or utility uniforms.
How much do you know about Social Security? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is: not much.
This pessimistic conclusion comes from Financial Engines, a Sunnyvale, Calif. company that manages 401(k) accounts and IRAs on behalf of people who want investment help. When the company administered an eight-question quiz about Social Security to about 1,000 people ages 55 to 70 in October, almost three-quarters got a grade of “C” or lower (meaning they got six answers or fewer correct) and only 5% received perfect scores. Take the test http://ow.ly/uLJq7
COL Suzanne Vares-Lum, commander of the 298th Regiment MFTU (RTI), wanted to share her unit’s quarterly newsletter. When asked who is the newsletter editor, COL Vares-Lum told Retiree News, “my S-1, MAJ Gavin Tsuda, M-Day Officer produces it for the unit.“
Great unit newsletter!! RTI Newsletter
Toyota must pay more than $1 billion in a settlement the Department of Justice announced Wednesday over the company’s response to consumer complaints stemming from 2009 and 2010 incidents involving sudden acceleration issues in several models.
The company also has been charged with criminal wire fraud, officials said, alleging that Toyota put out “misleading statements” about safety issues in Toyota and Lexus cars. Read more http://ow.ly/uKW3U
Carl K. Tanaka, 54, of Honolulu, a National Guard veteran, passed away on March 4, 2014. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by parents Howard Masaru and Helene F. Tanaka, brother Craig and sister Laurie Ann Kepa.
Give Me Your Password, Please
The incredible popularity of social media sites presents a great opportunity for virus writers, tricking you into emptying your bank account and/or steal your identity.
And, they often do this by simply asking for your help.
It’s true. It’s called social engineering—the art of bending your mind into doing the dirty work, or lowering your security, for them. Here are some tips on how to recognize and avoid this from happening to you. http://ow.ly/uH0GK
Despite a narrow brush with a new reduction to Social Security benefits, seniors will not see the proposed move to a more conservative cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in 2014.
President Barack Obama’s announcement on February 2 that he was scrapping the earlier proposal preserves the status quo for seniors — for now. The grand budget compromise it was supposed to prompt did not materialize.
The back and forth on COLAs, however, is not resolved. It is deeply linked to larger issues of what we mean when we talk about inflation and expenses for the elderly. Let’s look at the landscape, as it stands, and what hasn’t yet been addressed when it comes to COLAs and seniors’ costs. Learn more http://ow.ly/uH0a9
The Office of Personnel Management sent out an email with the following important information.
Retirement Services wants to remind you of some things you can do to safeguard your retirement information. You should always:
– Keep your retirement claim number in a safe place.
– When accessing Services Online (SOL) (www.servicesonline.opm.gov) keep your password in a secure place just as you would with the password to your banking institution. We have made it easy for you to access SOL using your password to make changes to your annuity and manage your account quickly.
– Log into SOL periodically to keep your address and email address up to date so you don’t miss any important information.
Please know that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) employees will not call you and ask for your identifying information over the phone or request your password unless we are contacting you at your request. If you should receive a questionable telephone call from someone claiming to be an employee of OPM, please do not give out your personal information, but contact us immediately at 1-888-767-6738.
Retirement Services has made significant improvements to our online services. You and your fellow retirees have allowed us to increase our database to over 500,000 email addresses. This has allowed us to provide you information in a more timely manner at a reduced cost.
Thousands of you took advantage of opting-in using SOL to download your 2013 IRS 1099R and/or annual annuity statement. Did you know if you had opted-in to receive your 1099R through SOL, it was available on January 14th? This was two weeks before the paper copy 1099Rs were mailed.
We encourage you to access your SOL account and opt-in to receive your future IRS 1099R and annuity statements. Simply, log into www.servicesonline.opm.gov and follow the instructions. In the upcoming months, we will email you to tell you about other enhancements we are working on to assist you.
Special Thanks to Peter “Skipper” Pawling who registered to “Follow Blog via Email” last week.
Thanks for the following new registered readers whose email address did not include a recognizable name: kktaba9
Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) wrote a letter to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James calling on the Air Force to restore a full seven-member Honor Guard at military funerals, reported Alabama blog AL.com. The Air Force announced in July 2013 that it would require a minimum of two personnel for retiree military funeral honor details, instead of the seven it previously provided. The change, which is consistent with DOD policy, was necessary because of sequester-related funding cuts, announced the Air Force at the time. “The veterans who have bravely and unselfishly served our country and protected our freedom deserve our highest measure of respect,” wrote Bachus in the letter, according to the blog. “For many families, the presence of a full military Honor Guard at the memorial service for a loved one is not only a comfort, but a demonstration of respect and appreciation from a grateful nation.” Buchus’ letter comes after family members of Herber Steck, an Air Force veteran, started a petition urging full honors be restored. Steck died in late January. Some 6,000 people have signed the petition to date
Just a few months ago ( July 10, 2013 ) the Navy successfully conducted take-offs and landings from a fairly new nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS George W. Bush, with a new stealth jet called theX-47B.
What is so different about this plane is the fact that it is a ‘drone’. Yes, it is completely unmanned. Drones come in all sizes, and the X-47B is likely one of the larger ones.
What is so ironic about all of this is, the fact that the enemy cannot detect a plane like this in the first place. In the unlikely event they get lucky at shooting one down, there will be no human loss of life or captivity. As you view the flight deck crew signaling the plane, they are simply signaling the on-board cameras, who in turn are being manned by staff inside the command intelligence center (CIC) onboard the ship.
Also check out the short distance this plane needs for a takeoff. Impressive indeed. X-47B UCAS Aviation History Under Way –
YouTube http://www.youtube.com/embed/WC8U5_4lo2c?feature=player_embedded
Thanks to Fred Hyun for sharing this video
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Bailey never fought in Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia, where many U.S. troops were exposed to the toxic defoliant Agent Orange.
But last July, Bailey, then 67, won a hard-fought and groundbreaking battle when the Veterans Affairs Department finally approved his claim that Agent Orange caused his prostate cancer and metastatic pelvic cancer.
The C-123 aircraft that were used to spray Agent Orange in the war zone were kept in the operational inventory until 1982, years after the last U.S. troops came home from Southeast Asia. Though Bailey never served in the combat zone, he was among the roughly 2,100 pilots and aircrew members who flew aboard the planes in those postwar years. Read more http://ow.ly/uz2B1
