military officers association of america p. o. box 5693, sun … · military officers call sun city...
TRANSCRIPT
MILITARY OFFICERS CALL
Sun City Center Chapter Military Officers Association of America
P. O. Box 5693, Sun City Center, FL. 33571
Volume 32 Number 3 March 2016
President’s Message Charles Conover LTC USA (Ret)
March 2016
Dear Colleagues
What a wonderful turnout we had for the February meet-ing with over 100 in attendance. A hearty “Thank You” to everyone who helped to make this happen. We had a nice presentation by LCDR John Glynn USN (Ret), speaking on Heraldry, a subject that he is well qualified to talk on. While we have released the tickets for the “Veteran’s South of the Border Dinner Dance” being held on Satur-day March 5th at a cost $26.00/person, we will still ac-cept reservations on a first come basis (call 813-260-3257). Our 1st Vice-President, Bennie Blackshire is working hard on the plans for our Memorial Day Ceremony. If you can help, please contact Benny (813-260-3105). As mentioned at our February meeting, we have ar-ranged for two special tour events for our members. The first is our trip to the Armed Forces History Museum in Largo, FL at a cost of $26.00/person for retired or active duty military and $39.00 for all others. The second is a visit to MacDill Air Force Base on Fri-day March 18th to see a practice of the air show being presented on Saturday. The neat thing about going on Friday is that our attendees will receive VIP treatment with reserved seating and other benefits. Cost is on-ly$22.00/person. Our guest speaker for March is MG Jim Dozier, USA (Ret) talking about his experience during the 1981/82 RED GUARD kidnapping. We look forward to his presentation.
Charlie Conover
JAMES DOZIER MAJOR GENERAL, U. S. ARMY, RETIRED --Born in Arcadia, Florida. Graduated from DeSoto County High School in Arcadia. --Graduate of U. S. Military Academy, West Point, and the University of Arizona, with MS degree in Aero Space Engineering. --35 years military service with the U.S Army and NATO in the United States, Europe and Asia, with two tours in the Pentagon on the Army Staff, specializing in Current Opera-tions and Resource Management. --Awarded the Silver Star for heroism and the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat in Vietnam. --Retired as a Major General in 1985 and moved to North Fort Myers and became involved in agribusinesses until his second retirement in 2004. --Currently serves as an anti-terrorism consultant to vari-ous government and private agencies as a result of his kid-napping by the Italian Red Brigades terrorists in Italy in 1981. --Serves on the boards of Good Wheels, Hodges Univer-sity Veterans Advisory Committee, DVIC (Disabled Veter-ans Insurance Careers) and various civic, political and charitable organizations in Southwest Florida. --Appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Commission on Veterans Affairs. Also served as one of Florida’s 27 Electors during the 2004 Presidential Election. In 2015, inducted into Florida Veterans Hall of Fame by Governor Rick Scott for service both while on active duty and after retirement. In 2006, married former Sharlene Hamel from Fort My-ers. Jim has two children: Cheryl, a retired USAF Colonel and Scott, an artist living in North Fort Myers. Sharlene has three children, a son, Steve, who lives in Orlando, and a son, Art Jr., and daughter, Laura, who live in Fort Myers.
Publisher/Editor
CAPT Frank Kepley, USN (Ret)
We need your input about member activities asso-
ciated with MOAA and articles of interest to the
military community. Contact Frank at:
[email protected] or 813-642-0801
MARCH SPEAKER
2
The sponsors that appear in this publication/website do not reflect an endorsement by MOAA or this affili-ate.
John Glynn, a retired Naval Officer with 24 years service and 23 years federal civilian service, was the featured speaker at the Feb. monthly meeting/luncheon. John re-tired in 2009 as a District Director for the United States Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service, responsible for the law enforcement and security of all federally owned and leased buildings in TN, KY, MS, AL, and FL. His degrees include: AA, BGS, MBA, and Certificate of Public Management. Author of ‘His Sacred Honor, Judge Richard Stockton, A Signer of the Declaration of Independence’ and ‘Commodore Robert F. Stockton, An American Naval Hero’ [war of 1812 ancestor]; with published articles in the US and Scotland; Historian; and Lecturer on the American Declaration of Independence and The Declaration of Ar-broath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence, in the United States and Scotland. He was a member of Captain Nicolas Martiau Descend-ants Association; Heraldry Society of Scotland; Fellow, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; Officer, Most Venera-ble Order of the Hospital of St. John at Jerusalem (by Queen Elizabeth II) and as such possesses an abundance of knowledge about Heraldry. His presentation was in fact on Heraldry and was very informative. It included a discussion of the various Ameri-can and British military uniform patches that identify the various regiments, companies, special forces etc.. Every piece or bit of each patch has a special meaning depicting the function of that particular fighting force. Attendees numbered over 100. The largest in many years.
Chapter Officers
PRESIDENT LTC Charles Conover, USA (Ret)…..….…......260-3257 [email protected] 1st VP LTC Benny Blackshire, USA (Ret)…………….260-3105 [email protected]
2nd VP MAJ James Haney, USMC (Ret)……………..642-0373 [email protected] SECRETARY D. Kay Benson (Aux).…………………...….… 938-3030 [email protected] TREASURER Lt Col Gene Morris, USAF (Ret) ) ……….……938-5991 [email protected] DIRECTOR LT Dave Floyd, USN (Fmr)... ……….………...334-7797 [email protected]
DIRECTOR
Maj Len Winter, USA (Ret)……….……...633-5788 [email protected] DIRECTOR Doris Glass (Aux)…………………………...….642-0497 Luncheon Reservation Coordinator [email protected] DIRECTOR CAPT Frank Kepley, USN (Ret) ………….… 642-0801 Public Affairs Officer Legislative Affairs Publisher/Editor Officers Call Newsletter [email protected] DIRECTOR Jane Foppe (Aux) ………………………….....541-2618 [email protected] PAST PRESIDENT LT Thom Brown, USNR (Fmr)………….… ….634-7435 [email protected]
PERSONAL AFFAIRS CDR Ed Socha, USN (Ret) …………...……. .634-4957 Proofreader [email protected] JROTC COORDINATOR CDR Gina Alderman, USN (Ret)………..…...331-3390 [email protected] CHAPLAIN Lt Col Samuel Rorer, USAF (Ret)…..………. 260-3882 [email protected] LUNCHEON COORDINATOR LTC Frank Sanyour, USA (Ret) ………....… 642-9777 [email protected]
Charles Conover and John Glynn
3
.
David J. Gauthier Certified Public Accountant
Sun City Accounting
Sun City Center, Florida 33573
(813) 634-9500
(813)642-8112-Fax
Income Tax Preparation
Corporate and Business Taxes
Accounting and Bookkeeping
Financial and Investment Planning
Planning for Freedom Plaza Entrance Fees
4
MEMBER OF THE MONTH
Jim was commissioned into the Army as an Armor Officer. After completing the Basic Officers School at Ft. Knox, Ken-tucky, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion 35th Armor, 2nd Armor Division at Fort Hood, Texas. He then entered flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he was promoted to 1
st LT.
After graduation, he was assigned to the 82nd
Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 1961, he was reas-signed to the 40
th Battalion (Towed Tank), 1
st Cavalry Divi-
sion, Korea, where he was promoted to Captain and after twelve months was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, with the 2
nd Armor Division 16
th Aviation Operation Detachment.
After a short tour, the unit moved to Fort Benning, Geor-gia, to join the formation of the 11
th Air Assault Division. He
had a follow-on assignment to Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he qualified to fly the CV2B Caribou. After qualification, he was deployed to Vietnam with the 134th Aviation Company (Caribou) and then assigned to the G-3 section Headquarters, 1
st Infantry Division where he
was promoted to Major. After Vietnam he was assigned to Fort Knox, Kentucky to attend the Armor Officer Advanced Course and on to Fort Stewart, GA for the Helicopter Qualification Course. Once rotary-wing qualified, he was assigned to the 11
th Armor
Cavalry Regiment in the Republic of Vietnam where he commanded the Air Cavalry Troop. This tour was followed with by an assignment to the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1975, he was assigned command of the 2nd Bat-talion, 66
th Armor, 2
nd Armored Division in Fort Hood, Texas.
Upon completion of his battalion command, he attended the Air War College in Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. In 1978, he was assigned to Fort Monroe, Virginia, as the Executive Officer of the Commander of US Army Training and Doctrine Command. In 1980, he was assigned to The Citadel as the Professor of Military Science and Comman-dant of Cadets. In 1984, he was assigned to 5
th Corps in Frankfurt, Ger-
many, as the Inspector General. He retired in 1987 to Beaufort, South Carolina, and in 2013 moved to Lithia, Florida, and assumed “At Ease.” Awards: Silver Star 4
th award, Bronze Star 2
nd award, Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal 22nd award, Purple Heart, Legion of Merit 2
nd award, Meritorious Service Medal
2nd
award.
The most absurd Islamic State-inspired plot yet? Packing a kangaroo with explosives The Islamic State's ability to inspire individuals all around the world to commit acts of terror has been one of the most worrying aspects of the militant group's rise. However, there
have been repeated reminders that the "lone wolfs" it in-spires may not be so capable of organizing elaborate terror plots – even if they still have the potential to cause harm. That point has been hammered home by the case of Sevdet Besim, a 19-year-old man on trial in Australia for allegedly planning to commit a terror attack in Melbourne last year. Besim has been accused of attempting an unusu-al method for a terror attack: packing a kangaroo full of ex-plosives and setting it loose on Australian police officers. While the kangaroo plot may be farfetched, Besim is also alleged to have eventually settled on a more realistic plan: running over a police officer with a car and then beheading the officer.
Verizon gives automatic discount to 100,000 more active duty, retirees, vets
More service members, retirees and veterans are eligible for a 15 percent discount on monthly wireless service, Veri-zon announced Thursday. The company has identified more than 100,000 additional accounts that are eligible for the discount, according to a press release, and the price break is being automatically applied to those accounts.The discount is not new, but pre-viously it was available only to those who met a minimum plan requirement for their postpaid monthly wireless service. Information was not available about how many in the mili-tary community were already receiving the discount. Those eligible can also receive a 25 percent discount on certain accessories such as select chargers, cases and ex-tended batteries, and 12 percent off certain calling features, such as International Travel to Mexico and Canada, HUM by Verizon and Tech Coach. To sign up or to find out if you’ve been automatically signed up for the discount, visit the Verizon website. You must verify your military service in different ways, depending on your status: Retirees and veterans: Your retiree account statement from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service myPay site; DD Form 214; the planned Veterans ID Card; or VetRewards Card from Veterans Advantage.
March LUNCHEON
♦(813) 642-0497♦ Wednesday, Mar 2, 2016 (Florida Room)
Salad Bar & Fresh Fruit with Assorted Dressings
Corned Beef & Cabbage, Gulden’s Mustard
Salmon with Dill
Parsley Potatoes & Baby Carrots
Dessert Bar: Chef’s selected desserts Beverages: Decaf Coffee, Iced Tea, and Ice Water
COL. James Bradin USA, (Ret)
5
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS
Frank Kepley, CAPT USN (Ret)
VA Proposes New Guidelines To Lower Rx Co-pays for Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs unveiled proposed guidelines to lower copayments for veterans purchasing prescription drugs. VA currently charges veterans an $8 or $9 copay for a 30-day supply of a drug. The copay can in-crease based on the Consumer Price Index. However, VA has frozen copays annually since 2009. Proposed Guideline Details Under its proposal, VA would replace its existing copay pro-cedure with a three-tier system that requires varying copays based on the type of drug. According to the proposal:
Tier one would include generic prescription drugs, with a $5 copay;
Tier two would include other generic medications, with a copay of $8; and
Tier three would include brand-name drugs, with a co-pay of $11.
Copays would not increase annually and could only be changed if additional rules are implemented. In addition, the proposed guidelines would lower VA's annu-al copay cap from $960 to $700. The current cap increases with copays. The proposed changes, if finalized, would take effect in Jan-uary 2017.
VA: Changes Would Reduce Costs for Most Veterans VA projects that about half of all prescription drugs that currently require a copay would fall under tier one of the proposed system. Further, VA estimates that about 80% of eligible veterans would save between $1 and $5 per month-ly supply of a drug under the proposed system, while 6% would see cost increases. In addition, VA said its proposed changes to its annual copay limit could increase the percentage of veterans who save money under the cap from less than 3% to about 9%. According to Modern Healthcare, the proposal has been deemed economically significant and therefore will be re-viewed by the Office of Management and Budget to deter-mine its potential cost effects
Officials from over 50 countries pledge to fight violent extremism together THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Police, politicians and intelli-gence officials from more than 50 countries pledged to in-
tensify the fight against violent extremism by cooperating more closely in tracking foreign fighters, their finances and communications. "We all agree that we need to share information better, smarter and faster," Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said after the meeting at the headquarters of European Un-ion police organization Europol. "Terrorism is like a virus. It adapts," he added. "We have to be quicker than they are." Koenders said that building trust between countries and agencies not always accustomed to swiftly sharing intelli-gence was a key result of the behind-closed-doors meeting.
Are the Commissaries Safe? The FY 2016 Defense Budget proposed privatizing the military commissary system over several years. The Pen-tagon’s main goal was to eliminate the $1.3 billion annual DoD subsidy for the commissary system. The House version of the FY 2016 Defense Authorization Bill didn’t include the proposed budget cut or the privatiza-tion concept. But the Senate version did — cutting the FY 2016 com-missary budget by $322 million and requiring DoD to submit two reports to Congress. The first, due by Feb. 1, was to be on the viability of privatizing the system. If viable, and vali-dated by the Government Accountability Office, a second report was to provide a plan to do so. The threat to this high-value benefit caused understanda-ble uproar among military beneficiaries.
VA Demotes Two Again The VA has demoted and reassigned for the second time two former senior executives who used their positions of influence to force lower-ranking regional managers to ac-cept job transfers against their will and for defrauding the government of a total of more than $400,000 in relocation benefits. Instead of recouping the relocation payments or firing these two high-paid so-called public servants, Diana Ru-bens, former Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations, and Kimberly Graves, former director of VBA’s Eastern Area Office, the Department of Veterans Affairs simply demoted them on January 6 to General Schedule jobs as assistant directors at the VBA’s Houston and Phoenix regional offi-cials, respectively. Under the 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accounta-bility Act, the VA can fire or demote Senior Executive Ser-vice employees immediately, with paychecks getting cut off the day of termination. The affected executive would then have seven days to issue an appeal to MSPB, which in turn would have 21 days for an expedited adjudication. As part of their demotion from the Senior Executive Ser-vice to the GS, the two will see a pay cut though they will continue to receive a salary nearly twice the average salary of hard-working Americans who pay the taxes that afford these generous salaries. Rubens’ annual salary decreased to $123,775 from $181,497; Graves’ annual salary fell to $122,932 from $176,558.
6
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? (update on previous item) MSPB Reverses SES Demotion for Kimberly Graves The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) has over-turned the Veterans Affairs Department’s decision to de-mote Kimberly Graves, a senior executive service official who used her position for personal gain. (see previous page) The reversal means that Graves, the former director of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s St. Paul, Minn., regional office, will be reinstated to the Senior Executive Service. An MSPB administrative judge issued the oral decision on Wednesday after a hearing in Chicago; the court transcript of the ruling should be available on MSPB’s website later. A decision on whether to uphold or overturn the demotion of Diana Rubens, former director of VBA’s Philadelphia office, is still pending, but will be announced in February. It’s not yet clear what the MSPB judge’s rationale was for reversing the department’s decision. Editors note: Here we go again. Congress will continue to loudly complain about the VA not firing people and this is what happens when they attempt to do so. These two peo-ple should be fired. Period!! How can the public begin to believe the VA is really trying to get rid of their bad apples when something like this occurs. CONGRESS is the only body that can put a stop to this. But will they? Apparently not. These two were involved in outright thuggery. Their conduct is reprehensible. The MSPB is a joke and should be radically changed or eliminated.
.Reminder: Higher drug co-pays, uniform formulary in defense bill
Easier access to urgent care, higher pharmacy co-pays and a coordinated formulary between the Defense and Vet-erans Affairs departments are among the changes service members, families and retirees will see in health care as a result of the fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill. If the legislation gets past a threatened veto from President Obama over unrelated issues, Tricare beneficiaries will see an uptick in co-payments for prescription medications at retail pharmacies and by mail once the bill, HR 1735, be-comes law.
Under the bill, co-payments for a 30-day generic prescrip-tion filled at a Tricare network pharmacy would rise to $10, from the current $8, while prescriptions for brand name drugs will rise to $24, up from $20.
Generics still would be available at no cost by mail, but a 90-day prescription for a brand-name medication by mail would rise to $20, up from $16, and medications not on Tricare’s formulary would increase to $49, from $46.
Prescriptions would continue to be available at no cost to customers using military pharmacies. (SeePage 13)
DoD rejects 'Nintendo medal' for drone pilots and cyber warriors
The Pentagon has firmly rejected the idea of giving drone pilots and cyber warriors their own medal, and instead will offer a new "R" device to pin on existing noncombat med-als. After a two-year review of the once-controversial issue, defense officials decided that creating such a device that may be affixed to noncombat performance awards is suffi-cient to "specifically recognize remote but direct impact on combat operations," according to a memo obtained by Mili-tary Times. The memo added that a common definition of "direct im-pact on combat operations" should be devised. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is expected to sign the memo later this week. The small pin — a quarter-inch "R," denoting "remote," that will be stylistically similar to the existing "V," denoting valor — could be affixed to an array of non-combat medals, for example the Meritorious Service Medal
Navy launching first Great Green Fleet next week Stars and Stripes
The Navy will launch the first vessels of its “Great Green Fleet” next week in San Diego. Carrier Strike Group 3 and its flagship, the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS John C. Stennis, will deploy using alternative fuels. “The ‘Great Green Fleet’ highlights how the Navy and Marine Corps are transforming our energy use to increase our combat capability, operational flexibility and resiliency so that we can go farther, stay longer and deliver more fire-power,” Lt. Chika Onyekanne, a Navy spokesman, said in a statement. Carrier Strike Group 3, the centerpiece of the initiative, will use alternative energy as part of its normally planned operations and exercises, Onyekanne said. The Navy obtained about 78 million gallons of biofuel to power the “Great Green Fleet,” according to Biofuels Di-gest, an industry newsletter, adding that the Defense Lo-gistics Agency paid $2.05 per gallon. Biofuel can be produced from a variety of sources — crops, wood, vegetable oils, animal fats and algae. The biofuel DOD will use is not the same as the earlier generation ethanol and biodiesel commonly used in cars and trucks. It is third-generation, with much less oxygen than in ethanol and so-called biodiesel, but holds the same energy “density” as petroleum fuels. That means the ener-gy released is equal to its fossil counterparts.
7
VA outperforms private sector on quality of medication treatment for mental health
How is VA performing relative to other healthcare sys-tems? Investigators at the RAND Corporation took a close look at the quality of pharmacotherapy for psychiat-ric patients within and outside VA. The study used admin-istrative databases to extract health information on ap-proximately 850,000 VA patients and 550,000 privately insured patients diagnosed with PTSD, depression, sub-stance use disorders, schizophrenia, or bipolar in 2007. Investigators compared VA and private sector patients on seven indicators of medication treatment quality, such as whether patients received appropriate lab tests or filled their prescriptions.
On every indicator, VA outperformed the private sector. For example, 86.9% of VA patients received lab tests, compared with 49.7% in the private sector. And VA pa-tients with depression were nearly twice as likely as their private sector counterparts to fill a 12-week antidepres-sant prescription.
The study did not look at the quality of medication treat-ment for PTSD specifically. However, over a third of the VA patients had PTSD (compared with 4.5% of private sector patients), so the promising results seen in the VA sample reflect, in part, care received by PTSD patients.
ECT (Shock Therapy) reduces symptoms and suicidality in patients with comorbid PTSD and depression Early approaches to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) caused serious side effects and presented safety risks. Today, thanks to improved delivery methods, ECT is safe and effective for severe, treatment-refractory depression. Reports of use in comorbid depression and PTSD exist but there is little information about efficacy. Recently, in-vestigators at the James A. Lovell Federal Healthcare Center examined the long-term benefits of ECT for co-occurring depression and PTSD
The study did not report whether ECT improved only those PTSD symptoms that overlap with MDD, or if trau-ma-specific symptoms (like flashbacks and trauma-related nightmares) also responded.
Over an 8-year interval, rates of death (9.7%) and sui-cide (2.2%) in the ECT group were less than half that of the antidepressant group (18.0% and 5.9%, respectively)
and were similar to that of the healthy group. Though it is unknown whether ECT improves PTSD independently of depression, these results suggest that ECT may have both short- and long-term benefits for some depressed patients with PTSD.
Editors Note: I was the chief of surgery at the James Lov-ell VA for 12 yrs. and observed many ECT treatments. The improved patient behavior was immediate and dra-matic in most instances.
VA leads list of repeat HIPAA violators
The Department of Veterans Affairs topped a list of re-peat violators of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac-countability Act with 220 complaints between 2011 and 2014, according to an analysis of federal data by ProPub-lica. Following the VA were CVS Health with 204 com-plaints and Walgreens with 183. The HHS Office for Civil Rights received almost 18,000 HIPAA complaints last year, and fewer than 30 cases since 2009 have resulted in agreements in which violators agree to pay financial fines, while cases that end with corrective plans and tech-nical assistance are more common.
Regulators have logged dozens, even hundreds, of complaints against some health providers for violating federal patient privacy law. Warnings are doled out pri-vately, but sanctions are imposed only rarely
Hundreds of health providers nationwide repeatedly vio-lated HIPPA privacy between 2011 and 2014, a ProPubli-ca analysis of federal data shows.
The VA was the most persistent HIPAA violator in the data. Time and again, records show, VA employees snooped on one another and on patients they weren’t treating. One employee accessed her ex-husband’s medi-cal record more than 260 times. Another employee peeked at the records of a patient 61 times and posted details on Facebook. A third improperly shared a vet’s health information with his parole officer.
Florida Council of Chapters Communiqué
December 2015 Issue
See what the other Chapters are doing. The Florida
Council of Chapter’s newsletter, the “Communiqué” can
be accessed by clicking on the link below. After you click
the link and then click Allow, it may take a minute or so
for the newsletter to pop up. It is worth the wait.
Apr2014.pdfhttp:www.moaafl.org/communique
Editor—Marty Brown. Send articles and photos to:
8
Smell Tests Could One Day Reveal Head Trau-ma and Neurodegenerative Disease
Name that smell—if you can't, it could be an indicator of a problem somewhere in your brain. New research suggests that scratch-and-sniff smell tests could become an easy and cheap way to detect signs of traumatic brain injury and neu-rodegenerative ailments.
Recent research found that a diminished sense of smell predicted frontal lobe damage in 231 soldiers who had suf-fered blast-related injuries on the battlefield. In the Depart-ment of Defense study led by Michael Xydakis of the Uni-formed Services University of the Health Sciences, subjects with low scores on a smell test were three times as likely to show evidence of frontal lobe damage during brain imaging than those whose sense of smell was normal.
The new results add to a growing understanding of the link between brain damage and an impaired sense of smell. Researchers have been working for years to use olfaction tests to track damage to the brain caused by neurodegener-ative ailments such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseas-es.
Brain 'Scarring' Injuries largely caused by bombs in war zones, researchers say
New research finds brain "scarring" in many members of the U.S. military who suffered concussions during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. "More than half of the military service members we studied have one or more lesions on the brain that can be thought of as scars in their brains," said study lead author Dr. Gerard Riedy, a radiologist specializing in the brain at Wal-ter Reed National Military Medical Center. The study involved more than 800 service members with blast-related concussions. More than four out of five report-ed one or more blast-related incidents, and almost two-thirds said they lost consciousness. According to Riedy, the new study "is just the tip of the ice-berg" in terms of research into how soldiers are affected by these often-devastating injuries.
Expert says handheld ultrasound soon to re-place stethoscope
Cardiologist Eric Topol, chief aca-demic officer of Scripps Health in San Diego, says he uses a portable echocardiogram through his smartphone and has not used a stethoscope in almost six years. Although the FDA approved a dig-
ital stethoscope, the Eko Core, last year, many physicians can't recognize pathology correctly based on recorded heart sounds, and handheld ultrasounds provide high-resolution detail of heart structures, Topol says.
Smart thermometer launched by Withings
A Wi-Fi-enabled thermometer was released by Withings at the Consumer Electronics Show. Withings Thermo uses 16 different infrared sensors to measure tempera-ture from the temporal artery in the patient's head. "With just a point in the direction of the artery, without requiring any motion or scanning, the sensors take 4,000 meas-urements in two seconds ... The hottest point is then de-termined to ensure the most accurate and reliable single temperature reading," according to Withings Pentagon needs to improve prescription moni-toring, GAO says The Government Accountability Office has found differ-ences in the way the Defense Department and the De-partment of Veterans Affairs monitor prescriptions and treat post-traumatic stress disorder. The report found that the VA closely monitors prescription practices regarding PTSD patients, while the Defense Department monitors prescriptions but doesn't specifically track those for PTSD. The GAO recommends that the Pentagon align its practices with those of the VA.
Luncheon: Wednesday Mar 2, 2016 11:00 am
Florida Room
Board Meeting: Wednesday Mar 9, 2016 10:00 am
SunTrust Bank
Membership Committee Mtg. Trinity Baptist Church
3rd Wed at 10:00 am (Mar. 16th)
Monthly Member and Board Meetings
Good news!! No known deaths the month.
IN MEMORIAM
9
EHR idealistic, not practical
The idea of electronic health records (EHR) is a great concept. Idealistic, but not practical. While it allows for some innovative ways to store and look at data, the pro-cess of data entry has made a workday so long that the job cannot end at a reasonable time if a full-time partner is to see the volume of patients needed in a usual clinic day. That has resulted in decreased and lower quality face time due to the need to look at a screen. It has resulted in the inability to fully see, examine, analyse and talk to a patient in the previous 15-minute slot that was given to a routine follow-up visit. That has resulted in a choice that must be made between direct care for sick, needy, dying and suffer-ing patients, and the need to satisfy the many EHR require-ments to complete the visit. The end result is either a rushed visit, with attendant pa-tient and doctor dissatisfaction, risk for errors, omissions and/or inevitable delays in the office patient flow as doctors try to catch up. This, in turn, makes for less satisfying home and family time and results in its own damage to relation-ships, rest and physical activity. It is causing burnout, and will (as already documented in many media sources) cause many seasoned physicians to leave practice. The health of patients is taking a back seat to the need to chart ostensi-bly to satisfy administrative, regulatory and financial needs. The need for additional staff (mid-level and clerical) to accomplish the myriad tasks has created understaffing, poorer staff retention ability and a decaying work environ-ment, also felt by the patients. This EHR mandate needs urgent review and overhaul if we are to avoid a system of healthcare delivered by a harried, uncaring workforce.
Egregious safety failures at Army lab led to anthrax mistakes
A brigadier general who led an Army biodefense lab in Utah is among a dozen individuals facing potential discipli-nary actions — including loss of jobs — for egregious fail-ures that contributed to the facility mistakenly shipping live anthrax to other labs for more than a decade, according to the military’s accountability investigation report that was provided to USA TODAY. The review found that top officials at the Dugway Proving Ground southwest of Salt Lake City had multiple warning signs of scientific and safety problems, yet they failed to take action despite earlier, serious incidents in the facility’s labs during 2007-2011 involving anthrax, VX chemical
nerve agent and poisonous Botulinum neurotoxin A.
Ray Mabus stands fast despite criticism of women serving in all Navy, Marine jobs Navy Times | In a speech before hundreds, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus quipped about the grousing some of his initiatives have sparked with sailors and Marines, including top leaders, as he has changed traditions that go back decades. The biggest controversy arises from the final integration of women into the Navy and Marine Corps’ last all-male units. Through a series of memos over the past weeks, Mabus has ordered the two services under his authority to put to-gether their plans. Part of that integration will include desegregating the Ma-rine Corps’ uniquely gender-separated boot camp, a set-up the service has said contributes to a more open training environment, cultivation of role models of the same gender and fewer distractions. Mabus could not say whether an integrated boot camp will mean that recruits just train together or also sharing berthings.
Fewer than 100 Guantanamo prisoners left as 10 leave to Oman MilitaryTimes
MIAMI — Ten prisoners from Yemen who were held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have been released and sent to the Middle Eastern nation of Oman for resettlement, offi-cials said Thursday, portraying it as a significant milestone in the long-stalled effort to shutter the offshore detention center. The release, among the largest on a single day under President Barack Obama, puts the prison population below 100 for the first time since shortly after it opened in January 2002 to hold men suspected of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. There are now 93 still held.
LUNCHEON
Wednesday, March 2rd, 2016
♦Call 642-0497♦
Florida Room, Atrium
North Campus SCC
Reservations no later than 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb 28, 2016
Please give full names of members, total number attending.
Cost is $14.00 payable at the door in cash or check. Social
hour begins at 11:00 a.m. Business meeting at 11:15 fol-
lowed by lunch and a speaker.
Remember, if you make a reservation and do not attend,
you are expected to pay.
10
Abe says summit with Putin needed to re-solve territorial row
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that summit talks with Russian President Vla-dimir Putin must take place in order for the countries to forge a peace treaty. Japan and Russia never signed a peace treaty after World War II because of conflicting claims over islands north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, which Japan calls its "Northern Territories." When asked about Putin in a news conference, Abe said, "We both recognize that 70 years after the war's end, to not have concluded a peace treaty is abnormal." "But without a summit meeting this Northern Territories problem cannot be resolved," Abe said.
US Army Wants Robot Medics To Carry Wounded Soldiers Out Of Battle
This is an understatement: Battlefields are unsafe. For troops wounded in combat, they need to get out of battle fast and to medical care. Historically that’s been the role of human medics, who bravely risk enemy fire to save their wounded comrades. That’s profoundly dangerous work, undertaken by humans because we haven’t, historically, had any other options. Earlier this week, Major General Steve Jones, command-er of the Army Medical Department Center, said that in the future, we might send robots instead. Jones said:
America's new high-tech aircraft carriers are more important than ever, experts say
Sophisticated anti-ship weapons and concerns about the U.S. Navy’s global ‘reach’ highlight the importance of America’s new state-of-the-art aircraft carriers, according to naval experts. A recent report by Jerry Hendrix of the Center for a New American Security suggested that the aircraft carrier, the
backbone of the U.S. Navy since World War II, might soon be threatened by a number of weapons including shore-based anti-ship systems. This report came out as the U.S. Navy revealed that it lacks the capability to provide a con-tinuous aircraft carrier presence in both the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific until at least 2021. At present the United States' 10 carriers – until the Ford comes online – is equal to all the other nations in the world combined. However, the United States is far from the only nation currently building carriers, with a number of nations including the Chinese, British and even Indians now devel-oping aircraft carriers. The British are now following America's lead and are building not one but two carriers. "Carriers aren't going away," said a Navy representative. "That is why everyone wants one." "The carrier hasn't sailed into the sunset," he added. "There is nothing that can compare to the flexibility and offer the capabilities of a carrier. It is not just for launching strike aircraft, there are all those other things it can do, ranging from humanitarian to disaster relief." Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) introduced legislation that would increase the number of operational carriers in the U.S. fleet mandated by law from 11 to 12. The Navy has two ships already in its pipeline for deployment.
Pentagon expects decision on trans military ban in spring
The Pentagon has affirmed it intends to make a determi-nation on the transgender military ban this spring after the conclusion this month of an internal six-month review. Matthew Allen, a Pentagon spokesperson, said Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will make a decision at that time in response to a Washington Blade inquiry this week for an update on the review. “The transgender working group appointed by the secre-tary of defense will conclude its deliberations by the end of January and present its findings and recommendations directly to the secretary soon thereafter,” Allen said. “The secretary will take whatever time he needs to analyze, evaluate, and discuss the Working Group’s findings with his immediate staff and the senior leadership of the depart-ment. We do, however, anticipate a final decision from the secretary sometime in the spring.”
Air Force won't consider dropping 'man' from job titles The Air Force is not considering dropping gender-specific references to "man" from its titles – but that could change. Last week, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus ordered the service to review all of its job titles and consider removing refer-ences to "man" from titles such as yeoman, fireman and seaman. The Navy's review of the job title language is part of its preparation to open up all jobs to women sailors in Marine ground combat elements and the Navy SEALs.
11
Florida Council of Chapters 2016 Leadership Forum
Hilton Hotel, Ocala, Florida - January 8 – 9, 2016
Three members of the Sun City Center Chapter attended the FCOC Leadership Forum in January and gained new in-sights into how to lead our chapter in 2016. It is always a pleasure to meet with other chapter leaders and to share ex-periences, good & bad. Representatives from MOAA National and the FCOC led our discussions and shared with us the state of MOAA. 2015 was a very good year and we want to make 2016 even better. MOAA is still growing and is the strongest lobbying group we have in Washington.
Following are a few highlights from the conference:
FCOC Board of Directors Meeting, Friday, 8 January
FCOC Pres. Marc Oliveri, conducted the meeting.
President’s Report: Marc Oliveri
a. 2015 Cruise raised $5,152 that goes to help out chapters in Recruiting & Retention.
b. Legislative alerts for national level now include state level alerts.
VP’s Report: Len Friedlander Manatee Chapter has made an affiliation with Manatee Goodwill. The Veterans Task Force has a proposal for Goodwill Industries statewide to partner with local chapters.
Area VP’s Reports: FCOC has 43 active chapters. Each AVP reported on significant happenings in their area.
Committee Reports:
a. 2016 FCOC Convention will be on 7 venues in Lakeland and Polk County.
b. 2017 FCOC Convention will be at sea on a 7-day cruise from Cape Canaveral.
2016 Winter Leadership Forum, Saturday, 9 January
1. Current Florida Legislative Affairs: Steve Murray
a. Jan – Mar Session (FL) about 3 dozen legislative bills
b. Continuation budget for all VA in Governor’s budget
c. Funding for a new (8th) Veterans home
d. Florida is redoing state drivers license to replace “V” with full word Veteran
2. FCOC Web Site: LCDR John Snyder
An orientation to the FCOC web site was presented. FCOC will help our Sun City Center Chapter to develop its own website.
3. Legislative Affairs: LtCol Bob Bienvenue (2016 Strategy)
a. An overview of legislative affairs was presented. The central theme is “One Powerful Voice”. MOAA website has region legislative reports.
b. 2015 Legislative Hits: Medicare Premium Relief; Honoring reservist as veterans; commissary system main-tained; sequester avoided through FY 2017; repeal of retiree COLA cap.
c. 2015 Legislative Misses: Reduced pay raise/housing allowance; increased pharmacy co-pays; little progress on concurrent receipt; major retirement system reforms.
d. Chapter mission: timely response to urgent “Calls to Action”; MOAA represents 880,000 constituents in Florida; establish grass roots voice.
e. National Level: MOAA is the leader of the National Military Coalition.
f. Get Chapter Members involved: assist members in signing up for legislative updates; demonstrate how to use the emailsystem; provide hard copies of letters and addressed envelopes at meetings to send to local congressional offices; send volunteers to visit local offices.
g. Provide a written guide on “how to” log into MOAA and FCOC.
12
4. MOAA National Presentation: Col Barry Wright (Part 1)
This presentation addressed upcoming programs and 2016 incentives. MOAA currently has 412 chapters.
5. Recruiting and Retention Chapter Updates: CAPT Ernie Joy & Col Scott Berry. Each Area Vice President gave an update on their chapters 2015 goals and achievements. Sun City Center’s goal was 16 new members; re-cruited 25. Anticipated losses were 12; actual was 24. Deceased and moved do not count against retention num-bers. SCC had 10 deceased and 4 moved so retention loss was only 10.
6. 2017 Convention at Sea: CAPT. Robert Watts/CPT. Don Weaver/Capt. Larry Jackson
The Cape Canaveral Chapter will host the 2017 Florida Convention at Sea on the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas departing from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
7. 2016 Convention Update: Col. Gary Clark (slide presentation)
The Imperial Polk County Chapter will host the FCOC Convention to be held on seven venues at Lakeland, Florida, May 13-15, 2016.
8. MOAA National Presentation: Col. Barry Wright (part 2)
a. Available Tools: Life membership rolls over to the surviving spouse and a new MOAA number is issued.
b. New 2016 Chapter Recruiting Guide is being mailed out to chapter presidents.
c. The Affiliate electronic newsletter is a good source. You have to opt-in to get it.
Sun City Center Chapter attendees were: Charles Conover, President; Benny Blackshire, 1st VP & Membership Co-chair; and Jim Haney, 2
nd VP & Membership Co-chair
The End of 'Midshipman'? Navy Secretary Calls for Gender Integration
What happens when you take the "man" out of "midshipman"? Navy officials will consider this question as they turn to lan-guage in an effort to fully integrate women into all levels of the service, including the Naval Academy. Ray Mabus, the secretary of the Navy, issued a memo to the chief of naval operations on Jan. 1 asking for an "update of position titles and descriptions to demonstrate through this language that women are included in these positions." He also wrote: "Please review the position titles throughout the Navy and ensure that they are gender-integrated ... removing 'man' from their titles." So what should it be? Midshiperson? Shipmate? Just mid? Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson assigned the Navy's master chief petty officer to establish a group that will, Navy officials said, "canvass the fleet, talk with sailors to hear their thoughts and provide recommendations on feedback." Navy officials said a report, due to Mabus no later than April 1, will outline which titles should change and how -- and if some with storied histories, such as "midshipman," should remain as they are
Lawmakers push VA to let doctors recom-mend medical marijuana
Twenty-one lawmakers have written Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald urging him to let VA doctors discuss marijuana as a potential medical treatment in states where it is legal. Under a VA policy that expired on Jan. 31, VA doctors are not allowed to discuss medical marijuana with their patients or recommend it as a treatment. Senators and representatives — 19 Democrat s and two Republicans, including Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada, a physi-cian and Army Reserve brigadier general who chairs the House Armed Services personnel panel — want a new policy that “removes barriers that would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship” in states where medical mariju-ana is legal. The policy, lawmaker say, “disincentivizes doctors and patients from being honest with each other.” “You are in a position to make this change when the cur-rent directive expires. ” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Steve Daines, D-Mont., and others wrote Wednesday to McDonald. “We ask that you act to ensure that our veter-ans’ access to care is not compromised and that doctors and patients are allowed to have honest discussions about treatment options.” Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, and 17 states have laws regu-lating oils derived from marijuana plants. However, mariju-ana possession and use continues to be a crime under federal law.
13
Sun City Center Chapter Military Officers Association of America P.O. Box 5693 Sun City Center, FL. 33571-5693
Place Stamp
Here.
Current Resident or
Prescription Costs — 2016 Military Pharmacy
Get up to a 90-day supply of most prescription drugs.
$0 copayment
Home Delivery Get up to a 90-day supply of most prescription drugs.
Generic formulary: $0
Brand name formulary: $20
Non-formulary: $49 (unless you get medical necessity)
Network Pharmacy Get up to a 30-day supply of most prescription drugs.
Generic formulary: $10
Brand name formulary: $24
*Non-formulary: $50 (unless you get medical nedcssity)
If you want a 90-day supply from your network pharmacy, you'll pay the cost for each 30-
day supply. For example, a 90-day supply of a generic drug will cost $30.
The Sun City Center, FL MOAA Newsletter is published by the Sun City Center Chapter, which is an affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). MOAA and its affiliated chapters and councils are non-partisan.
MOAA Take Action link: http://www.moaa.org/Main_Menu/Take_Action/Take_Action.html
14
15
The annual dance is sponsored
by the combined Sun City
Center Veteran’s Organizations.
All Veterans and friends are welcome. A so-
cial hour with appetizers will start at 5:00
p.m.. A three entrée buffet (chicken, pork,
& fish) by Banquet Masters with their fa-
mous dessert bar will follow at 6: p.m. The
program will be a mix of patriotism and cas-
ual (south of the border). No shorts or
flip flops please. BYOB and setups; glasses
and ice will be provided. There will be both
50/50 and “Happy Hour Basket” raffles.
Cost is $26.00 per person.
Time:
Community Association’s
Florida room
American Legion (634-7777)
DAV (634-1761)
Leathernecks (634-6707)
MOAA (260--3257)
MOWW (633-1063)
Silver Osprey Squadron (260-
3221)
For general ticket sales (260-
3221)
Email [email protected]
Contact persons
Sun City Center Veterans
Annual Dinner Dance
South of the
Border Fiesta
Checks should be made payable to :
“American Legion Post 246ww”
Date:
16
MOWW SCC Golf Benefit
Freedom Fairways GC
3932 Upper Creek Road
Sun City Center, FL 33573 Saturday, 2 April 2016
Cost: $55 per player
Registration 07:30 AM
108 Golfers - 27
Teams MAX
Enjoy a complete pro-
gram of contests, 18
holes of golf (including
cart, if required), break-
fast, door prize chance
for each player and an
awards luncheon.
Putting contest on
the practice green
Closest to the pin
(Men & Ladies) con-
tests; 4 holes
Longest putt con-
tests; 4 holes
Hole in One contest;
1 hole
All for just $55/player
Third Annual Military Order of the World Wars
Sun City Center Youth Leadership Program Golf Benefit –
4 Person Scramble
This year’s event will be held Saturday, 2 April 2016, at the Freedom Fairways Golf Course (Par 63) in Sun City Center, FL.
Registration & Continental breakfast begin at 07:30 am, with tee-off at 08:30 am. Lunch & awards ceremony start about 12:00 noon.
The cost for this event is only $55. This price includes en-try into all contests, 18 holes of golf, riding cart (if re-quired), breakfast, lunch, raffle ticket, and awards. Mulli-gans available for purchase; 2 for $5.
To help us properly plan for this event, please pre-register by calling (813) 260-3257 or email [email protected] to register as foursome or indi-vidual.
Golf attire is required; collared shirts, shorts (no cut-offs ) and slacks. No steel spikes are allowed on the course.