PAHRUMP MILITARY RETIREE



and VETERANS COUNCIL



******A Veteran - whether active duty, discharged, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to and including my life." - (anonymous)******

Managing the web-site

Start by clicking on "Home" Page on the bar above. Then you can click on the subject in the bar above or the right side bar in the Blog Archive or Labels, the information will appear below. To change or see other items in the Archive or Labels just click on them, they will appear below.



Council meeting 23Mar12

24 March 2012

Yesterday we had an area council meeting, there was one representative from Las Vegas and 3 from Pahrump.  There were no items brought up to forward to Department of the Army for the April meeting.

I am now the Chairman of the Pahrump Council again and we will attempt to provide DA with information to make changes for our benefits.

We need Ideas as to what you think needs to be changed so our benefits don't erode.  The only vehicle we have to effect changes or impliment policy is to get your ideas to DA.

Heres how it works.  You recommend a change or an idea that will help the Retiree's. We will research whats going on with it or if its new.  We then will propose those changes to the regional council at Presidio of Monterey which is the council headquarters for the western United States.  If they approve, the idea, or recommended change it is forwarded to Department of the Army.  There is no "Chain of Command" except for the local council, to Monterey, then to DA.

Again, we need your ideas, cite them as :  PROBLEM  ----- THEN RECOMMENDATION ---- THEN FORWARD THEM TO US AT THE PAHRUMP COUNCIL.  (teddy.farson@gmail.com) or enter a comment below.

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Posted by Chairman, Pahrump Military Retiree & Veterans Council at 9:42 PM , 0 comments

Uniformed Services Disabled Retirees

12 March 2012

This web site lists a lot of information, all the military associations, their web sites and a description of what they do.  You'll find several that apply to you and they cover all services.
http://www.usdr.org/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=88888895&Itemid=29
(The following USDR Legislative Priorities are not prioritized in any specific order.)

  • The USDR will continue to support legislation to include all military retirees with less than 50% VA disability rating decision, to include all Chapter 61 medical disability retirees, in the Concurrent Retired Disability Payment (CRDP) program. 
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation to eliminate the 10-year offset for 90% and below under the Concurrent Retired Disability Payment (CRDP)          program. 
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation to eliminate the Survivors Benefit Plan (SBP) offset by the VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). 
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation that provides health and dental care for military retirees and their dependents.
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation that provides mandatory funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation that will increase Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Supplement Service Disabled Veterans Insurance (RH) from its current $10,000 limit to $100,000.  
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation to provide full military burial honors for all military retirees. 
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation that establishes an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Disabled Retiree Affairs. 
  • The USDR will continue to support legislation to waive Medicare Part B payments for all military retirees and their dependents/ survivors regardless of the age and military date of entry.
  • The USDR will support timely and effective processing of all compensation claims submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Read more...
Posted by Chairman, Pahrump Military Retiree & Veterans Council at 5:05 PM , 0 comments
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RECOMMENDED BY PAHRUMP AREA MILITARY RETIREE AND VETERANS COUNCIL:

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VA- APPLICATIONS For DISABILITIES

Applications are pending for over 12 months.

Everyone is aware of this problem. The VA and certainly the Veterans.

This is an outrage! Approximately 1/3 of the applications submitted are by Retired Military Personnel and therefore a problem to the Retired Military Councils.

The other 2/3 are Veterans that have served their country and deserve a decision.

Many have conditions that are aggravated by non treatment. We can do better.

The current omnibus bill, and especially the MILCON-VA provisions, covers a number of important priorities, including: $1.7 billion to allow VA to hire 1,200 additional claims processors to address the nearly 397,000 claims backlog.

(On January 20, 2010 the Federal Times reported the backlog at 489,345.)

This will require; first approval, then hiring, followed by training, and then they can start working on the problem! Looks like about 12 months before they start processing the actual applications. Our veterans deserve better treatment than this. We need to change the way the processing is accomplished.

One possible answer may be: take 200 military personnel clerks, 20 Personnel NCO’s and 5 Warrant Officers and take 95% of the pending applications and process them.

This is not rocket science, there is an established criteria to decide which applications get what percentage and it doesn't have to be done by VA Civilians. The VA may welcome the help. We realize the Active Army is stretched thin, but these veterans need help. This is not the only answer, but it is one solution.

GI BILL POST-9/11: Dependents.

This is the House of Representatives bill to adjust Educational Assistance for Retiree's.
H.R. 3577: Education Assistance to Realign New Eligibilities for Dependents (EARNED) Act of 2009 to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide authority for certain members of the Armed Forces who have served 20 years on active duty to transfer entitlement to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to their dependents. Latest Major Action 9/24-2009 House committee subcommittee actions. Status:
Subcommittee Hearings Held.

DENTAL PROGRAM

Dental program for Emergency situations for Retiree’s could be initiated at the Installation or the VA level to solve only the emergency problems.

EYE COVERAGE:

There is vision/eye coverage for Retirees who use Tricare for life thru NOSTRA, they an get glasses but the coverage does not cover the eye exam. This is provided by the Navy. See the handout for details. TRICARE Prime has coverage for both the exam and glasses every 2 years. Recommend equal coverage through out the Services.

INCREASED PAY FOR DOCTORS

Increase the pay for doctors who handle VA Cases or use Contract services to get the job done. We need to incentivize Doctor participation. The current level of waiting is not treating our former warriors with the respect they deserve. We have sent a letter to Dr Toppo for Input.

IDENTITY THEFT

The phasing out of Social Security Numbers on ID Cards has begun and will be one solution to the problem of Identity Theft.

This problem was brought up by Col Rast (USMC Retired) of Amorgosa

SUICIDE

Discussion revealed a consensus of opinion that Active duty combat tours are too many. We recommend 2 tours in a combat zone in a 7 year period for combat personnel and not more than 3 tours for combat support personnel in the same 7 years.

Discussion: There are 1.1 million personnel in the Army alone. The war has lasted 8 years, Some people are on their 5th tour. This is unprecedented in our history and certainly creates stress. If nation building is the goal, use the civilian agencies to build the new country such as Dept of Agriculture to teach crops, Dept of Education to establish schools etc. and leave the soldiers to provide security for the Americans, and put down insurrections. If we stop some of the Stress we may cut down on Suicide.

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS (PTSD)

PTSD cases are now taking 4 months for an appointment in VA Clinics in rural areas. Recommend increasing the funding and/or contracting services from people that can help. Personnel who have PTSD may not have 4 months before they do something irrational. We can do better.

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