Forty years ago, on July 12, 1973, a massive blaze engulfed the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Mo. Although no one was injured in the horrific fire, it destroyed an estimated 16 million to 18 million files, including 75 percent of all Air Force records for personnel discharged between Sept. 25, 1947, and Jan. 1, 1964, according to the National Archives. Roughly 80 percent of Army records for personnel discharged between Nov. 1, 1912, and Jan. 1, 1960, also were destroyed.
The fire is still taking its toll on military families, as the lost records were quite literally one of a kind and irreplaceable. It has sadly become common for military retirees and their family members to run into a dead end when attempting to research or access service records.
Read the Air Force Magazine article http://ow.ly/mUuu1
Sequestration went into effect March 1, 2013. Due to this congressional act, the Department of Defense and the Department of the Army had to enact furloughs for DOD civilians and budget cuts. These weekly furloughs and the reduced funding will impact the availability and timeliness of USAG-HI programs and services for Soldiers and military families, July 8-Sept. 30, 2013.
To learn about the impact on Army programs and services here in Hawaii, go to http://ow.ly/mQDzV. Click on the directorates and offices listed to access additional information about their provided programs and services.
Special thanks to these Retiree News readers who registered to “Follow Blog via Email” last week: Cathy Inouye, Eddie Chung Hoon, Randall Mau
Apologies to three registered readers whose email addresses did not include a recognizable name, but thank you for registering.
In the library of Air Force Fact Sheets, is one that discusses applying for reserve retired pay. Read more http://ow.ly/mMtI1
Herbert Cardoza, also known as “Richard” and “Da Bread Man,” 78, of Ookala, Hawai‘i, a state heavy-equipment operator, rancher and a Hawai‘i Army National Guard veteran, passed away on July 2, 2013 in North Hawai‘i Community Hospital. He was born in Hilo. He is survived by daughters Jennifer and Rochelle Silva, Michelle, Lisa and Peggy Cardoza, and Joann Maximo; sister Clara Valente; 10 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Members of the 487th Field Artillery did the cannon salute for the Independence Day celebration at Schofield Barracks. See the photos of the ceremony http://ow.ly/mMs8t
Photos by TSgt Andrew Jackson, HIANG.
Click to enlarge
On behalf of Major General Darryll D.M. Wong, you are cordially invited to the retirement dinner honoring CMSgt Denise Jelinski-Hall. Please review the attached flyer above and utilize the link below to submit your RSVP.
Here is the link to submit your RSVP: https://einvitations.afit.edu/inv/anim.cfm?i=161755&k=0367430E7E52
Checks payable to “HING Events“, PLEASE submit immediately upon submitting your RSVP to
CMSgt Robert S.K. Lee III, 3949 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu HI 96816-4495
We hope you join us on this special evening of honoring one of Hawaii’s own.
Honored to serve,
CMSgt Robert S.K. Lee III, Senior Enlisted Leader, Hawaii National Guard robert.lee.4@us.af.mil Office: (808)672-1220 Mobile: (808)722-7199
Francis Yoichi Ryusaki, 78, of Waimea, Hawai‘i, a retired employee of the Hawai‘i County Department of Water Supply, Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and Hapuna Prince Beach Hotel, and a veteran of the Air Force and Hawai‘i Air National Guard, passed away on July 2, 2013. He was born in Honoka‘a, Hawai‘i.
He is survived by wife Thelma; sons Bryan and David; brothers Bill M. and Morris; sisters Shimeji Kanazawa, Hideko Maruyama and Elsie Yamamoto; and two grandchildren.
Get an instant, personalized estimate of future social security retirement benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
January 2013 was the last time the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will send the 1099-R Tax Statements in the mail. Starting in January 2014, annuitants will have to log on the OPM website where they can view and download their 1099R for colander year 2013.
To do this you will need to log on to Services Online which requires a password. If you need a new password, go to www.ServicesOnline.OPM.gov and select the “Forgot Password” link.
Visit Services Online at www.ServicesOnline.OPM.gov to:
– view your annuity statement,
– change your mailing and direct deposit address
– change your tax withholding
– manage your retirement account.
It is safe, secure and easy to use. Provide your e-mail address when logging on to receive periodic e-mail updates with important information.
Whether you shop at your local commissary or not, the Defense Commissary Agency (DECA) wants to hear from you.
From June 1 through August 1, DECA is seeking your input in an online survey that will be available here on www.commissaries.com. During that time, just click on the “take our survey” link or access the survey page directly.
“We’re asking for input from our regular shoppers, occasional shoppers and non-shoppers alike,” said Tracie Russ, director of DeCA’s business development directorate. “The responses will be analyzed and used to improve the commissary for all our patrons.”
The survey takes only 8-12 minutes to complete, and Russ said the time spent will have meaningful impact on future improvements at commissaries worldwide.
Arlington, Virginia (6/27/13) – The Army National Guard today announced the launch of Guard Your Health (http://www.guardyourhealth.com), a website developed to be a central place for Army National Guard Soldiers and family members to find information and resources on health topics and medical readiness. Read on http://ow.ly/mB1N5
The following post covers the 50th anniversary of the Hawaii Military Academy Officer Candidate School on November 4, 2012. The video came up in a lunch time discussion and several recommended it be posted.
298th Regional Training Institute (RTI) and Hawai‘i Military Academy Officer Candidate School celebrated fifty years of training Hawai‘i’s Military leadership with a tree planting ceremony at the RTI campus. Its mission is to train Soldiers and leaders of the United States Army to the standards set forth by the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), to provide them with the resources and knowledge to train to standards and lead effectively in all circumstances, and to provide specific Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) qualifying material and engagement scenarios to support the Hawai‘i Army National Guard (HIARNG) and DOD contingencies. Includes sound bites from Officer Cadet Hew-Len and Brig. Gen. Bruce Oliveira. View video http://ow.ly/mAVhH
If you want to enhance your knowledge but can’t afford the time or money for academic pursuits, there is a site offering intellectual stimulation at no cost – and you can access it at a moment’s notice. Nonprofit site Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org) has short videos – 10 minutes long on average – covering science, math, history, and economics, plus some test prep.
While its collection of humanities videos is slim, it boasts an astounding number of math and science videos, detailing everything from arithmetic to “partial derivatives of vector valued functions.” Courses employ a human instructor’s voice over a blackboard-style screen. Many videos have problem sets for testing yourself on the things you just learned.
