Rao bulletin 15 September 2016 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles pg Article Subject
Military Legends ► World's First Black Fighter Pilot | Eugene Bullard
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Military Legends ► World's First Black Fighter Pilot | Eugene BullardA largely unsung and non-known hero of the World War One was the fascinating Eugene James "Jacques" Bullard of the Lafayette flying Corps. Bullard was born in a three-room house in Columbus, Georgia, the seventh of ten children born to William (Octave) Bullard, a black man who was from Martinique, and Josephine ("Yokalee") Thomas, a Creek Indian. His father's ancestors had been slaves in Haiti to French refugees who fled during the Haitian Revolution. They reached the United States and took refuge with the Creek Indians. An adventurer by nature, he left the small town of Columbus and moved to Atlanta by himself while still in his teenage years. He had been told that the way to escape racial prejudice was to head to Europe, particularly France (he once said he witnessed a near lynching of his dad). A long time back his father had pointed out to him that Bullard was a French name and that at least one ancestor had hailed from there. Stirred by all the possibilities, he stowed away on a ship bound for Scotland, arriving at Aberdeen and made his way south to Glasgow. On a visit to Paris, he liked what he saw and how he was treated and decided to settle in France. He became a relatively good boxer in Paris and also worked in a music hall. France had been good to Bullard, and he quickly fell in love with the country. So when World War I broke out in August 1914, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion at a time when volunteers from overseas were only allowed to serve in the French colonial troops. Assigned to the 3rd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment as a machine gunner, he saw combat near the Somme River. It was during this time when he learned Americans and other volunteers were now allowed to transfer to Metropolitan French Army units, including the 170th French Infantry Regiment - nicknamed "Les Hirondelles de la Mort," or "The Swallows of Death." Liking the idea of being part of a unit with crack troops appealed to Bullard, so he put in his request to join the regiment. In February 1916, his requested was granted just as the 170th Infantry was sent to Verdun, one of the largest and longest battles of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. The battle took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France. It was during this battle that Bullard was severely wounded on March 5, 1916 and sent to a Parisian hospital where he spent the next six months recuperating. During convalescence, he was cited for acts of valor at the orders of the regiment on July 3, 1917 and was awarded the Croix de Guerre. While convalescing in Paris, his friend and fellow Southerner Jeff Davis Dixon bet Bullard $2,000 that he could not get into the French Air Force. Bullard contended that he could, accepted the bet and on October 5, 1916 arrived at the French aerial gunnery school at Cazaux on the Atlantic. It was here that he met Edmond Genet (the first American flier to die in the First World War in April 1917). He told Bullard about the Lafayette Escadrille which inspired him to be a pilot and not a back seat gunner. In mid-October with Genet's help he transferred to the flight school at Tours for pilot training. The training took a few more months, but it was inevitably given Bullard's persistence that it would pay off. Bullard earned his pilot's license and then Dickerson faithfully paid the $2,000. It was a considerable sum at the time, especially for a gentleman's bet. Dixon admitted that he hated to lose the money, but was delighted that at least Bullard was from Dixie. The result of the bet was to launch Eugene Bullard into history as a first ever African-American aviator. Like many other American aviators, Bullard hoped to join the famous Lafayette Escadrille, but after enrolling 38 American pilots in spring and summer of 1916, it stopped accepting applicants. After further training he joined 269 American aviators at the Lafayette Flying Corps on November 15, 1916. American volunteers flew with French pilots in different pursuit and bomber/reconnaissance aero squadrons on the Western Front. On August 27, he was assigned to the Escadrille N.93 based at Beauzee-sur-Aire south of Verdun. The squadron was equipped with Nieuport and Spad VII aircraft that displayed a flying duck as the squadron insignia. He took part in over twenty air combat missions, and he is sometimes credited with shooting down one or two German aircraft. However, the French authorities could not confirm Bullard's victories. His Spad had an insignia lettered "All blood runs red" and his nickname became the "Black Swallow of Death." When the United States entered the war, the United States Army Air Service convened a medical board to recruit Americans serving in the Lafayette Flying Corps for the Air Service of the American Expeditionary Forces. Bullard went through the medical examination, but he was not accepted, as only white pilots were allowed to serve. Sometime later, on a short break from duty in Paris, Bullard allegedly got into an argument with a French commissioned officer and was punished by being transferred to the service battalion of to the 170th infantry Regiment of the French army. He was discharged in October 1919 and returned to Paris. After the war, Bullard settled down, and in 1923 married a French Countess from a wealthy family named Marcelle Straumann. They had two daughters Jacqueline and Lolita. Post war Bullard bought a bar named "Le Grand Duc" on the north side of Paris. In the late 1930s, prior to the outbreak of World War II, he was recruited by French intelligence to spy on the Germans who come by his bar. He remained very devoted to France and tried to join the French army but was considered too old. In 1940, he managed to find a way out of German occupied France, biked all the way down to Portugal and returned to the United States on a Red Cross ship. He settled in New York City. He was able to extradite his daughters, but Marcelle remained in France and eventually they divorced. In 1954, along with two other French veterans, he was invited by French Pres. Charles de Gaulle to light the flame of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Eugene Bullard received fifteen decorations from the government of France. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor, France's most coveted award. He also was awarded the Medaille militaire, another high military distinction. He died in New York City of stomach cancer on October 12, 1961 at the age of 66 with his achievements all but forgotten. While Eugene Bullard is not as famous as a Tuskegee Airmen or Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Junior, as an African-American aviator, he came before all of them. The Chicago Tribune herald named him as "as probably the most unsung hero in the history of the U.S. wartime aviation." [Source: Together We Served | Mike Christy | August 2016 ++] ***************************** Military History ► How the Rum-Soaked Royal Navy Sobered Up It’s been nearly 50 years since British sailors stopped getting a daily ration of liquor. Here’s your game plan for this Sunday, 31 JUL: download and crank up a sea shanty, hold aloft a tot of dark, tasty rum, observe a moment of silence, and then swiftly knock it back. For Sunday marks the 46th anniversary of Black Tot Day. On July 31, 1970 the British Royal Navy ended a centuries-old hallowed tradition: the issuing a daily dram of liquor to sailors aboard its ships. When the day arrived, sailors around the world gathered for a final tot, and the remnants of the barrels were ceremoniously dumped into the ocean. Afterwards, the navy’s rum budget was diverted into providing other sort of entertainment for sailors. This included bus excursions, golf outings and equipment for discotheques. Military forces were once, essentially, alcohol-powered fighting machines. The Dutch navy provided gin to its sailors. The French (naturally) got wine. The American Continental Navy, established to fight in the War of Independence, included in its charter the issue of a half pint of rum daily to every man, with more doled out for extra duty and during military engagement. But the British navy had the most rococo, highly evolved, and well-documented history of drinking on the high seas. 
A Petty Officer keeps tally of rum and water issued to his seaman The daily tot likely started for a simple reason. Water in the casks would often develop algae and taste putrid and sour. And beer (also rationed for centuries) didn’t hold up well in humid heat; captain’s letters often referred to the beer on board as “stinking.” Higher proof spirits, however, retained their bright, sweet flavor far longer (even improving in the barrel), and as such were much in demand by seamen living on a diet of bland porridge and salted meat. Liquor rations may not have kept men hydrated, but at least it offered an oasis of tastiness. More importantly, of course, alcohol offered a respite from the tedium of shipboard life. In their quarters below decks, men were stacked like cordwood in hammocks in airless spaces, living literal inches away from fellow sailors possessed of uncertain hygiene and almost-certain gastro-intestinal distress. Naturally, the high point of any day was hearing the piper call sailors above decks to receive their daily allotment of spirits. “Good liquor to sailors is preferable to clothing,” noted Woodes Rogers, an English privateer and later governor of the Bahamas, in 1712. But what liquor? Seamen were rationed fortified wines and brandy when in the waters of Europe and Africa. When the British navy turned its sights to West Indies and North America, “naval rum” became an essential staple. By 1740, writes James Pack in his detailed 1982 history of the spirit, “the rum issue, as the daily alternative to beer, was common practice on the West Indies station.” Naturally, sailors tended to quaff their daily pint-sized ration all at once. This led to predictable problems. Traversing lines high in the rigging was difficult enough when sober. And even greater problems arose when in port. Drunken sailors got into fights and were killed, and were more easily shanghaied or recruited aboard other ships when potted and staggering about. Famous and revered Admiral Sir Edward Vernon oversaw ships in the West Indies for decades. He thus saw the effects of rum first hand. It was responsible for “stupefying [his sailors’s] rational qualities,” he wrote, resulting in “fatal effects to their moral as well as their health.” In August 1740, he issued an edict that contained two sweeping changes to the rum rations. First, it was to be disbursed twice daily, thereby discouraging wholesale guzzling. More significantly, he called for it to be significantly watered down: one part of rum to four parts water. Sailors called the new drink “grog.” Grogram was a type of gum-coated cloth that shed rain nicely and was supposedly favored by Vernon. His men had nicknamed him “Old Grogram,” and so a shortened version of the name made the leap to drink, where it has endured to this day. The diluted grog ration was formally incorporated into the naval regulations in 1756, which was followed by a gradual, 260-year history of further watering down. The ration was cut in half in 1823, and then halved again in 1850. Over the next century, the interest among seaman in partaking of the tot started to fall off; by the 1950s, only a third of navy sailors lined up for it. Then came the Breathalyzer. A meddlesome British newspaper used one to demonstrate that a sailor could still be legal drunk after consuming his ration. The House of Commons then took up the debate, and eventually decided that what you do with a drunken sailor is not give him control of nuclear weapons and high-tech electronics. A lump sum of several million dollars was paid into the Sailor’s Fund to compensate for the loss of rum, which went to pay for the disco balls and whatnot. On July 31, 1970, British navy personnel around the globe donned black armbands to mark the lamentable day. Mock funerals were staged. A British guided-missile destroyer tied up at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was the nearest British ship to the international date line, was so was the last to do away with the tot. Crewmen assembled on deck of the HMS Fife, tossed back their final dram, then tossed glasses into the harbor followed by a barrel. And a centuries-old tradition came to an end. But in doing so, it gave birth to another tradition. So ration yourself a tot (neat, no ice, a blend of Jamaican, Guyanese, and lighter rums), and salute the sacrifice of sailors everywhere. [Source: The Dailey Beast | Wayne Curtis| July 29, 2016 ++] ***************************** Military History Anniversaries ► 16 thru 30 SEP Significant events in U.S. Military History over the next 15 days are listed in the attachment to this Bulletin titled, “Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 30 SEP”. [Source: This Day in History http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history | September 2016 ++] ***************************** Medal of Honor Citations ► Dunham, Russell E. 
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to RUSSELL E. DUNHAM Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division Place and date: Near Kayserberg, France, 8 January 1945 Entered service: Brighton Ill. August 1940. Born: East Carondelet, Illinois on February 23, 1920 Citation For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. At about 1430 hours on 8 January 1945, during an attack on Hill 616, near Kayserberg, France, T/Sgt. Dunham single-handedly assaulted 3 enemy machineguns. Wearing a white robe made of a mattress cover, carrying 12 carbine magazines and with a dozen hand grenades snagged in his belt, suspenders, and buttonholes, T/Sgt. Dunham advanced in the attack up a snow-covered hill under fire from 2 machineguns and supporting riflemen. His platoon 35 yards behind him, T/Sgt. Dunham crawled 75 yards under heavy direct fire toward the timbered emplacement shielding the left machinegun. As he jumped to his feet 10 yards from the gun and charged forward, machinegun fire tore through his camouflage robe and a rifle bullet seared a 10-inch gash across his back sending him spinning 15 yards down hill into the snow. When the indomitable sergeant sprang to his feet to renew his 1-man assault, a German egg grenade landed beside him. He kicked it aside, and as it exploded 5 yards away, shot and killed the German machinegunner and assistant gunner. His carbine empty, he jumped into the emplacement and hauled out the third member of the gun crew by the collar. Although his back wound was causing him excruciating pain and blood was seeping through his white coat, T/Sgt. Dunham proceeded 50 yards through a storm of automatic and rifle fire to attack the second machinegun. Twenty-five yards from the emplacement he hurled 2 grenades, destroying the gun and its crew; then fired down into the supporting foxholes with his carbine dispatching and dispersing the enemy riflemen. Although his coat was so thoroughly blood-soaked that he was a conspicuous target against the white landscape, T/Sgt. Dunham again advanced ahead of his platoon in an assault on enemy positions farther up the hill. Coming under machinegun fire from 65 yards to his front, while rifle grenades exploded 10 yards from his position, he hit the ground and crawled forward. At 15 yards range, he jumped to his feet, staggered a few paces toward the timbered machinegun emplacement and killed the crew with hand grenades. An enemy rifleman fired at pointblank range, but missed him. After killing the rifleman, T/Sgt. Dunham drove others from their foxholes with grenades and carbine fire. Killing 9 Germans--wounding 7 and capturing 2--firing about 175 rounds of carbine ammunition, and expending 11 grenades, T/Sgt. Dunham, despite a painful wound, spearheaded a spectacular and successful diversionary attack.   
Dunham and his brother Ralph, who also joined the United States Army, grew up on a farm in Fosterburg, Illinois. On 25 April 1945 when he was presented with the Medal of Honor, General Alexander Patch said as he placed the award around Dunham's neck that his actions in single-handedly destroying the machine gun nests saved the lives of 120 U.S. soldiers who had been pinned down. For his injuries on that 8 JAN, Dunham also received the Purple Heart. Dunham returned to the front before his wounds healed. On 22 JAN his battalion was surrounded by tanks, forcing most of the men to surrender. The following morning, two German soldiers discovered Dunham hiding in a sauerkraut barrel outside a barn. When their search of his pockets turned up a pack of cigarettes, they fought over it, overlooking his pistol in a shoulder holster. Later that day as he was being transported toward German lines, the driver stopped in a bar, giving Dunham the opportunity to shoot his other captor in the head and set off toward the American lines. Dunham suffered severe frostbite while completing his escape. Subsequent awards included the Silver and Bronze stars. Shrapnel from his injuries remained in his body for the rest of his life, and Dunham was quoted as saying "The shrapnel in my leg is a reminder of the war we fought." Dunham and his wife Wilda lived on a small farm near Jerseyville, Illinois for over 30 years. He regularly attended a variety of functions related to honoring Medal of Honor recipients. Dunham erected a monument at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in honor of those who served with the 3rd Infantry Division. The monument was dedicated on May 20, 2000, and stands near Flagstaff and Rostrum Drive on the cemetery grounds. In his later years he still enjoyed coon hunting. Dunham died of heart failure in his sleep on the morning of April 6, 2009 in Godfrey, Illinois at the age of 89. He is interred at Godfrey's Valhalla Memorial Park. [Source: http://www.history.army.mil/moh/wwII-a-f.html#DOSS | September 2016 ++] * Health Care *    
Cockroach Milk ► A Protein Powerhouse Got milk? How about cockroach milk? Yeah. You read that correctly. Cockroach milk is apparently a thing now, and regardless of how vile it may seem, it turns out the insect milk packs a powerful punch when it comes to nutrition. That’s according to a new report from researchers at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in India. The scientists found that cockroach milk is a protein powerhouse and has the potential to become the next superfood. You probably don’t associate cockroaches with producing milk — and in fact, most don’t. The Pacific Beetle Cockroach (Diploptera punctate) is the only known cockroach that not only gives birth to live infant bugs, but also produces a “milk” containing protein crystals to feed its young. 
“The crystals are like a complete food — they have proteins, fats and sugars. If you look into the protein sequences, they have all the essential amino acids,” said Sanchari Banerjee, one of the main researchers, said in an interview with The Times of India. The report was recently published in the journal of the International Union of Crystallography. “The fact that an insect produces milk is pretty fascinating — but what fascinated researchers is the fact that a single one of these protein crystals contains more than three times the amount of energy found in an equivalent amount of buffalo milk (which is also higher in calories than dairy milk),” says Science Alert. Cockroach milk has another big advantage. As the protein is used up and digested, the crystal continues to release protein at a similar rate. “It’s time-released food,” explained Subramanian Ramaswamy, a biochemist at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in Bangalore, India, adding “if you need food that is calorifically high, that is time released and food that is complete. This is it.” So how do you get the milk from the cockroach mothers? You don’t milk a cockroach, if that’s what you’re thinking. “The crystals are currently extracted from the midgut of cockroach embryos — perhaps not the most efficient way of feeding a growing world population,” says CNN. The researchers are hoping to find a way to reverse bioengineer the cockroach milk so it can potentially be consumed as a protein supplement. If you think cockroach milk sounds disgusting, what about crickets? Bugs are increasingly looked at as a way to address growing global food demands. Read more about eating crickets at http://www.moneytalksnews.com/bon-appetit-crickets-anyone. [Source: MoneyTalksNews | Krystal Steinmetz | July 28, 2016 ++] ***************************** Make your Morning Healthier ► Seven Ways Rise and shine! Here’s how to make the first hour the best part of your day Skip the news Starting your day already stressed? Blame the bad news. In a 2014 poll, 40 percent of those who said they were under a great deal of stress pinpointed this top reason: watching or listening to the news. The negativity may make you worried and anxious before you have to tackle the stressors in your own life. Stay informed, but consider listening to a book on tape or podcast during your commute to keep you on an even keel. Pump up your breakfast It’s easy to get protein at lunch (turkey sandwich) and dinner (salmon and veggies), but people often skimp at breakfast (toast and fruit). Eating more protein during the day, including breakfast, is linked to less body fat, better muscle function and better blood sugar control, research shows. A few higher protein morning options: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and hardboiled eggs. Throw open the shades Now this is a reason to love a good sunrise. A 2014 PLOS One study found that more early morning light exposure is associated with lower body fat, possibly because it resets your circadian rhythm, which could boost your metabolism. Heading outdoors is best, but at the very least open your shades to stream in lots of light. Prep coffee Your daily java packs big health perks. The latest: drinking at least four cups a day slashes your risk of melanoma by 20 percent, compared to the noncaffeinated set, per research in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Program your coffee maker to brew in the a.m. or premake a big batch of iced Joe so it’s ready to go when you are. Focus on your shower Morning meditation is helpful, but if you’re pressed for time, even getting in short bursts — called mindful meditation — can help brain areas responsible for memory and stress, say Harvard researchers. “Mindfulness” means being aware of sensations in the moment, like focusing in the shower on the feel of the warm water on your skin and the smell of your body wash. Turn up the tunes Add energy to your morning routine with upbeat music. People who listened to positive tunes while trying to be happier and improve their mood reported more happiness after two weeks compared with a control group. It turns out being cheerful is a decision you can make — and music can help reinforce that sunshiny mentality. Take a 10-minute walk Whether you do it outdoors or on a treadmill when the weather turns icky, commit to a short stint of activity. Overweight postmenopausal women who walked at a modest pace for only 74 minutes a week improved their quality of life (like mood and energy) compared with a sedentary group — whether they lost weight or not. So get out there!. [Source: AARP | Jessica Migala | September 8, 2015 ++] ***************************** Military Drug Take Back Program ► Safe Drug Disposal Excess prescription and over-the-counter drugs can pose a serious risk in your home. The Military Health System (MHS) is helping the military community fight back against the dangers of unneeded, unused and expired drugs by offering Drug Take Back at military pharmacies in the U.S. “Proper disposal of unneeded, unused and expired drugs lowers the risk of misuse and environmental contamination,” said Dr. George Jones, chief of Pharmacy Operations at the DHA. “The MHS Drug Take Back program accepts both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, so this is the time to clean out your medicine cabinet.” Military pharmacies in the U.S. offer two Drug Take Back options. Most pharmacies have fixed containers in place where you can drop off your excess drugs. Others offer envelopes you can take home, fill with your drugs, and then mail in. Some have both. You can’t dispose of illegal drugs at MHS Drug Take Back locations. Check to see if your local military pharmacy offers drug takeback at www.tricare.mil/mtf . “Holding onto drugs past their useful life is a bad idea,” said Jones. “It could be a child accidently ingesting an over-the-counter sleep aid, or an addict finding expired pain killers. Don’t take the risk of having these drugs in your home once you don’t need them anymore.” For more information on the Military Health System’s Drug Take Back efforts, visit the Drug Take Back Spotlight at http://www.health.mil/News/In-the-Spotlight/Drug-Take-Back. [Source: TRICARE Communications | September 12, 2016 ++] ***************************** TRICARE Assisted Living Options ► Benefits Available As you or your loved ones age, you may find that getting to doctors’ offices is more difficult or more frequent. TRICARE offers several options to help you get the care you need. First, decide which services you need, like whether you need a skilled nursing facility or nursing home. Then you can find out if TRICARE covers those services. SNF Care: Skilled nursing care is covered by TRICARE in the U.S. and U.S. Territories within skilled nursing facilities (SNF) if you have a hospital stay of three or more days. Remember, you are an outpatient until the doctor formally admits you into the hospital. You become inpatient on the day you’re formally admitted to a hospital with a doctor’s order. The day of discharge also doesn’t count as an inpatient day. Services covered in a skilled nursing facility include: semi-private rooms (a room you share with other patients), meals, skilled nursing care, physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology services, medical social services, medications, medical supplies and equipment used in the facility, ambulance transportation (when other transportation is dangerous to your health) to the nearest care not available at the facility, and dietary counseling. Nursing home Care: Skilled nursing facility care is different from nursing home care, which is not covered by TRICARE. Nursing homes provide custodial care. i.e. Non-skilled, personal care for basic day-to-day tasks. This includes help with eating, dressing, getting in or out of a bed or chair, moving around, and using the bathroom., which is care that helps you with activities such as: bathing, dressing, walking, eating and sleeping. Learn more about this at http://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/IsItCovered/SkilledNursingFacilityCare . DME: In either situation, you may need durable medical equipment (DME). This is equipment that can hold up to repeated use and serves a medical purpose, like oxygen equipment or insulin pumps. TRICARE covers DME when prescribed by a physician to increase your quality of life. If you can stay home, but still need assistance, you may decide home health care is best for you http://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/IsItCovered/HomeHealthCare. Home health care is provided by nurses, nurses’ aides, or therapists who come into your home to help you with medication or other services. Physical, speech and occupational therapists can visit to help you function better. Medical social service workers can visit to make sure you receive proper care. Coverage is the same as Medicare for these services. Hospice Care: is care for those who are terminally ill. It emphasizes supportive services such as pain control and home care. TRICARE does not cover room and board unless the patient is receiving inpatient or respite care. When you choose hospice care, you've decided that you no longer want care to cure your terminal illness and/or your doctor has determined that efforts to cure your illness aren't working. Hospice care is provided in three benefit periods, and each benefit period requires prior authorization. The first two periods are each 90 days. The final period comprises an unlimited number of 60-day periods, each of which requires recertification of the terminal illness. If a beneficiary revokes a hospice election, any remaining days in that period are forfeited. To learn more about TRICARE coverage go to http://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/IsItCovered/HospiceCare. ALF/Long Term Care: TRICARE and Medicare do not cover assisted living facilities or long term care. The Department of Veterans Affairs pays for long-term care services for service-related disabilities and certain other eligible veterans. They also offer nursing home care and at home care for aging veterans who need long term care. Remember, long term care is care that you need if you can no longer perform everyday tasks by yourself due to a chronic illness, injury, disability or the aging process. Plan ahead and research long-term care insurance, like the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (https://www.ltcfeds.com/) before you need it. [Source: TRICARE Communications | September 12, 2016 ++] ***************************** TRICARE Podcast 364 ► Age 65+ Benefits | Prostrate Cancer | Healthy Aging TRICARE benefits after age 65: Retirement is something we all work hard for. It’s the time in our lives we can relax and enjoy the benefits we worked so hard for. TRICARE For Life is one of those benefits. TRICARE For Life is Medicare-wraparound coverage for TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries who have Medicare Part A and B. There are a couple of things you need to do ensure your transition to TRICARE For Life is smooth. As with all TRICARE Plans, the first thing you must do is ensure DEERS is up-to-date. You’ll receive a post card from DMDC, the Defense Manpower Data Center, four months before your 65th birthday. This postcard is your reminder to ensure your eligibility information is current. Next, the Medicare initial enrollment period is seven months. If you miss your initial enrollment period, your next chance to sign up for Medicare Part B is during the general enrollment period which is from January 1st through March 31st. Your coverage will begin July 1st , and your monthly premium for Part B may go up 10 percent for each 12-month period that you could have had Part B, but didn’t sign up for it. Also, there will be a lapse in your TRICARE coverage until Part B is effective. For more information about TRICARE For Life, visit www.TRICARE.mil/TFL. You can get information about Medicare Parts A and B on www.Medicare.gov . -o-o-O-o-o- Prostate cancer: This is the most common cancer among American men. Most prostate cancers grow slowly but once the cancer is discovered, other tests must be done to determine if it has spread. There are three risk factors that increase a man’s chance of developing prostate cancer: age, race and family history. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that men who are 50 years of age or older; are African-American and whose father, brother, or son had prostate cancer are more likely to develop the disease. If you have any of these risk factors, it is especially important to get screened. You should also talk to your healthcare provider if you are experiencing symptoms commonly associated with prostate cancer. Visit www.Cancer.Gov/Prostate for a list of symptoms. Different people have different symptoms for prostate cancer and some men don’t have symptoms at all. If you do not have any risk factors or symptoms, it is still important to get annual preventive care and discuss a potential screening with your provider. Two tests are commonly used to screen for prostate cancer, the digital rectal exam and prostate specific antigen test. TRICARE covers annual exams and screenings for men with certain criteria. For more information, visit www.TRICARE.mil/Prostate . -o-o-O-o-o- Healthy Aging Week!: Americans are living longer than ever before. TRICARE wants you to have the highest quality of life as you age. Many Medicare beneficiaries are subject to chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Age also brings a higher risk of dementia and infectious disease. Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Infectious diseases such as flu and pneumonia affect the older population much more than younger populations. But there is hope! Much of the illness, disability and premature death from these conditions can be prevented with healthier behaviors, more supportive environments, and better access to preventive services. The CDC recommends getting 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. It is also important to do strength training twice a week. Try to do a variety of activities such as walking, biking or swimming. It makes exercising more fun and reduces risk of injury. If you are at risk of falling or have trouble walking, you should also do balance training at least 3 days a week. These exercises include backwards walking, sideways walking, heel or toe walking and practicing standing from a sitting position. If you have a chronic condition or a disability regular activity can still improve your quality of life and reduce your risk of developing other conditions. Talk to your doctor to develop a physical activity plan that matches your abilities. Some exercise is better than nothing at all! Learn more about getting fit at www.TRICARE.mil/GetFit today! -o-o-O-o-o- The above is from the TRICARE Beneficiary Bulletin, an update on the latest news to help you make the best use of your TRICARE benefit. [Source: http://www.tricare.mil/podcast | September 1, 2016 ++] ***************************** TRICARE Podcast 365 ► OHI | Mobile Device Security | Cholesterol Using TRICARE and Other Health Insurance: For both medical and pharmacy claims, TRICARE is the last payer to all health care benefits and insurance plans, except for Medicaid, TRICARE Supplements, the Indian Health Service and other programs and plans identified by TRICARE. If you have Other Health Insurance, or OHI, let your regional contractor and health care providers know so they can help you coordinate your benefits and ensure timely reimbursement. Beneficiaries must file claims with their OHI first. If there is a billed amount your OHI does not cover, you can file a claim with TRICARE for reimbursement. TRICARE issues reimbursements based on your provider type, so it will not necessarily cover all of the remaining cost. To avoid higher out-of-pocket prescription costs, use a retail network pharmacy that is both covered by your OHI plan and TRICARE. After the OHI pays, TRICARE may reimburse you for part or all of your out-of-pocket costs, including co-payments. For more information about pharmacy claims, go to TRICARE.mil/pharmacy. Finally, it’s important to follow all of your OHI’s requirements and rules. If your OHI denies a claim for failure to follow its rules, such as obtaining care without authorization or using a provider who is not authorized by your OHI, TRICARE may also deny your claim. For more information on using TRICARE with OHI, go to www.TRICARE.mil/OHI . -o-o-O-o-o- Mobile Device Security: You eat right and exercise to make sure your body is fit. But do you take time to check the health of your fitness devices? Fitness tracking wearables and mobile devices store data about your health and physical activities. If they become infected, cyber thieves have access to this information. Your healthcare information is valuable and should be protected. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a thief may use your name or health insurance numbers to see a doctor, get prescription drugs, file claims with your insurance provider, or get other care. If the thief’s health information is mixed with yours, your treatment, insurance and payment records, and credit report may be affected. Steps you should take or:
You are the center of your healthcare. Empower yourself to protect your information. For more information about cyber fitness, visit TRICARE.mil/cyberfit. -o-o-O-o-o- Know your cholesterol numbers: Cholesterol plays an important role in the health of your heart. A build-up of cholesterol and other deposits can block arteries and lead to coronary artery disease – the most common type of heart disease in the United States. Knowing if you have high cholesterol is important because it is one of a number of factors that determine your risk for this disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for some people, the first sign of this disease is a heart attack. Certain lifestyle choices such as smoking, physical inactivity and diet also increase your risk. TRICARE covers cholesterol testing every 5 years in adults age 20 and over. Beneficiaries should talk to their doctor for more information on preventive screenings, and what their specific needs are in order to stay heart healthy. Beneficiaries using TRICARE Standard should note that cholesterol screenings are covered only when combined with an immunization, breast, cervical, colorectal or prostate cancer screening. Prime beneficiaries may receive clinical preventive services from their primary care manager or any network provider without a referral or authorization at no cost. Your liver makes enough cholesterol for your body’s needs, but we often get more from the foods we eat. If we take in more cholesterol than the body can use, the extra cholesterol can build up in the walls of the arteries, including those of the heart. A blood test can detect the amount of cholesterol and triglyceride in your blood. For more information about your covered preventive services, go to www.TRICARE.mil/CoveredServices . -o-o-O-o-o- The above is from the TRICARE Beneficiary Bulletin, an update on the latest news to help you make the best use of your TRICARE benefit. [Source: http://www.tricare.mil/podcast | September 9, 2016 ++] * Finances * 
COLA 2017 Update 03 ► Projecting What to Expect As we get down to the last few months of the fiscal year, a frequent inquiry from MOAA members is, “What do you think the COLA will be?” Anybody can make a guess, and say it's probably not going to be much. MOAA's reaction is, “Let's make as scientific a guess as we can.” The best indicator (and about the only indicator) we have for inflation in the next few months is what happened in the last few months of previous years. And what happened wasn't too good. Here's the average monthly change for July, August, and September for the last three years (these are raw changes in the consumer price index (CPI), not percentage changes): zero, -.2, and -.1. What does that mean? If the CPI follows the recent August-September average this year, your COLA will be: .2 percent. In that case, you'd get an extra $1.66 per month for every $10,000 in annual retired pay, Social Security, VA disability compensation, or SBP annuity - before taxes. Don't spend it all in one place. And that's the good news. If you're a pessimist, you'll remember the last time we had a year with no COLA, we ended up having a second consecutive year without a COLA (2010-11). Further, this year's actual July change wasn't zero (the average for the last three Julys); it was -.5. If that worse-deflation-than-average continues in August and September, we'll have another year with no COLA. The August CPI number, which comes out next week, will be critical in determining your 2017 COLA. [Source: MOAA Legislative Update | September 9, 2016 ++] ***************************** Insurance Coverage ► Its All in the Fine Print You know you need insurance for your home and car, and you may be spending a lot of money on coverage each month. But in all that fine print there are exceptions and exclusions, as well as some surprising things included in standard coverage. Is your insurance company going to come through when you need it? Do you really know what is covered by your policies? Here’s a little quiz to test your knowledge: What if your $50,000 stamp collection goes up in flames with your house? The collection is not covered unless your homeowners policy has a rider specifically for it. Even then, it may not pay the whole amount. Insurance company Travelers notes that standard homeowners policies may restrict payouts for valuable items. For example, these are common limits for popular personal possession categories:
Policies may also limit coverage for home contents to a certain percentage of the home’s value. Either way, it may be tough to get the insurance company to cough up $50,000 for your lost stamps. However, you should be able to buy a rider for high-value items. Unfortunately, even these riders can have limitations. Travelers says a typical rider might only cover up to $10,000 per item. If you can’t get enough coverage through your homeowners plan, you may want to take out a separate policy specifically for your valuables. What if terrorists bomb your house? Your loss will be covered — so long as it’s just a standard explosion, and we aren’t at war. The Insurance Information Institute told Business Insider that nuclear, biological, chemical or radioactive weapon attacks probably won’t be insured losses. However, if it is your run-of-the-mill explosion or damage caused by resulting fire or smoke, you should be all set. Most homeowners policies also typically exclude acts of war. You may think it’s a good thing we haven’t actually declared war since 1942, but your insurance company may define war a little more broadly and include insurrection and rebellion, among other things. Other common exclusions on homeowners policies include:
What if your kid’s computer is stolen from their college dorm room? Your student’s belongings should not require a renter’s insurance policy — that is, your homeowners insurance should cover them. Here’s what Wells Fargo has to say on the subject:
What if some *&$#!@ person put sugar in your gas tank and ruined the engine? They will pay out the claim … if you have comprehensive coverage. Just as your insurance company will pay out for a stolen car, most comprehensive policies also cover vandalism such as graffiti, key damage and, yes, even sugar in the gas tank. Esurance suggests you take these steps if you’ve been the victim of a vandal.
-o-o-O-o-o- The moral of the story is to always read the fine print on your insurance policies before assuming something is — or is not — covered. When in doubt, call the company or your broker for help in deciphering the legalese. [Source: MoneyTalksNews | Maryalene LaPonsie | September 8, 2016 ++] ***************************** Long Term Care FLTCIP Update 10 ► Reduced Premium Options MOAA Transition Center Deputy Director is offering offer some helpful insights to assist in your federal Long Term Care (LTC) insurance decision. He spoke to the federal LTC insurance customer service people and they told him they are willing to run new quotes for policy holders who want to change their program options; even options beyond those listed on their letters. When you call customer service just ask for a new quote and they will send you the new premium rates based on your changed options. What are the options? Inflation Protection option. The historical national average inflation rate for long term care costs is a bit over 3%. Inflation adjustments increase the daily benefit and maximum lifetime benefits amounts in your policy. If you have a fixed-rate inflation adjustment, as most of you do, you pay the appropriate fixed premium associated with the inflation rate as your letter explains. This is an expensive option. Future Purchase Offer (FPO) option. The FPO puts future inflation adjustments in your control and is less costly. Every 2 years, you receive a FPO letter stating an inflation rate adjustment amount as determined by the insurance company and the new premium to activate the new inflated benefit amount. Yes, the premium for this option is flexible unlike your current inflation option. You choose whether you accept the inflation rate adjustment and the new premium amount. If you choose not to accept, your plan stays as is. You can decline the inflation adjustment three times before your policy is permanently fixed at your daily benefit amount. The FPO is less costly than the fixed inflation options because the inflation rate is fluid as are the future premiums. Daily Benefit Amount option. Adjusting your daily benefit amount. Choose a lesser amount and you lower your premium. You have to decide whether you want your LTC insurance to cover all, most, or some of your potential long term care cost. Consider this…
Waiting Period option. This is how long you are willing to wait in a long term care situation before the insurance kicks in. This is like the deductible on your auto or home insurance. The longer you wait for the insurance to start, the cheaper your premium. The average is 90 days. It can be just about whatever you want from no waiting period (expensive) to however long you can wait and cover the costs yourself. Have a number of months in mind when you call customer service. Benefit Period option. This is how long your coverage lasts. The shorter the period, the lower the premium. The average long term care need is 3 years. Most people recover within the 3 years or they pass away. Of course, many plan for extended situations like a dementia issue which could drag on for years. -o-o-O-o-o- 
Figure out what you need given the options above and ask the customer service rep to run you the numbers. Hopefully you can find a workable solution. [Source: MOAA | Lt. Col. Shane Ostrom, USAF (Ret) | August 31, 2016 ++] ***************************** Social Security Fund Depletion Update 12 ► New Publication The Social Security Administration recently released a new publication, “Fast Facts & Figures About Social Security, 2016 (https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts) .” Here are a few highlights:
In the next Congress (2017-18), entitlement (including Social Security) reform almost certainly will be a hot item, and we expect a range of old and some new ideas will be put on the table by various politicians, interest groups, and appointed panels. To date, almost all of the proposed changes have gone nowhere, but the issue isn't likely to go away based on projections the trust fund will be exhausted in 20 years or so. While changes likely will happen at some point, MOAA will be weighing in with analysis of their positive and negative effects. In the end, nobody wants the system to go bankrupt, nobody wants to impose disproportional changes on elderly and disabled beneficiaries and survivors, and nobody wants our children and grandchildren to have to bear a disproportional tax burden. MOAA believes the country can and must avoid those kinds of scenarios. [Source: MOAA Legislative Update | September 1, 2016 ++] ***************************** VantageScore ► Growing FICO Rival A battle of the titans is shaping up in the world of credit-scoring. FICO, the big fish in the industry, is facing growing competition from a rival scoring system, VantageScore [www.vantagescore.com]. It was launched in 2006 by VantageScore Solutions, a joint effort of the three largest U.S. credit-reporting agencies, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Before that the 60-year-old FICO (previously called the Fair Isaac Corp.), inventor of credit-scoring, had the field pretty much to itself. FICO still does dominate. Its scores are used in 90 percent of lending decisions in the United States according to FICO. Increasingly, though, VantageScore is accepted too. Its use grew sixfold between 2012 and 2015, according to Yahoo Finance. “VantageScore is already being used for some auto loans, credit cards and mortgages, and is gaining wider acceptance,” NerdWallet says. And an impressive roster of government and industry databases has embraced VantageScore. Both scoring models use data on individual consumers from credit reports, crunching it in proprietary mathematical models to calculate the odds a borrower will default and translating those odds into scores. Into numerous scores, actually: Both VantageScore and FICO sell many score products to lenders and the finance industry. Some are specific to certain industries — mortgage lending, for example, or auto lending. In other cases, a lender may customize a score a bit to suit its needs. Scores from FICO and VantageScore all range from 300 to 850 (although older versions of VantageScore used a range between 501 and 990). The higher your score, the better your credit. FICO dragged the VantageScore maker to court in an effort to stop it from using its signature 300-850 credit score range, but the company lost the suit in 2010. VantageScore has been gaining ground ever since. Despite the similarities, each company’s approach and its recipes — the formulas used to create a score — differ, sometimes a good deal. VantageScore 3.0, the latest version, produces scores for millions of consumers who did not previously have credit scores because their records contained too little information. While many other scoring models require at least six months of credit history and recent credit report updates, VantageScore only requires one month of credit history and less frequent updates. Credit can now be made available to consumers who are brand new to credit, those who only use credit occasionally and people who haven’t used credit at all recently. You might think that less information means a consumer is a higher risk for default, but VantageScore says that’s not so because it beefs up these “thin” credit files with rental- and utility-payment histories, an approach not used in credit-scoring before. Pulling information from utility bills and rent history lets VantageScore rate people who haven’t used credit much if at all. VantageScore claims that it can produce scores for 30 million to 35 million more consumers with this approach, adding that: Roughly 10 million of those consumers have scores of 600 or higher, which makes them attractive prospects to many lenders and approximately 9.7 million of the consumers who are newly scoreable with VantageScore 3.0 are African-American or Hispanic, and about 2.7 million of them have scores of 600 or higher. One more difference: VantageScore ignores bills that went to collection but have been paid off. (More than half such collection actions involve medical debts, according to the New York Times ). FICO score products take points off for all collections, whether resolved or unpaid. While you probably know this, when shopping for a loan it’s good to bunch your credit applications within a short period of time so multiple credit inquiries don’t lower your credit score. The scoring companies recognize the need for comparison shopping and they count all inquiries made within certain time frames as one. With FICO, you get a 45-day window to show for loans. VantageScore, however, allows 14 days, says The New York Times. The takeaway: If you worry about hurting your VantageScore credit score, get your comparison shopping for loans done within two weeks. The decision about which score to use is up to businesses you deal with, not you. So it’s a good idea to watch both your FICO and VantageScore credit scores every now and then to make sure neither has taken a dive, which can be the sign of an error on your credit report. Here are the simple steps to take:
The two big U.S. mortgage investors, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, are examining the possibility of incorporating alternative credit scores into mortgage lending. A bipartisan bill (H.R.4211, the Credit Score Competition Act of 2015) before the House of Representatives would let Freddie and Fannie use alternative credit-scoring models when choosing mortgages to buy, HousingWire reports. (Freddie and Fannie’s decisions shape the rules that consumers have to play by when applying for mortgage loans; Government gets a hand in these decisions because of its role in keeping credit available fairly.) If the bill, or one like it, becomes law, it could help open homeownership to less-affluent consumers who pay their bills faithfully but can’t now qualify for mortgages because of low or nonexistent FICO scores. [Source: MoneyTalksNews | Marilyn Lewis | September 6, 2016 ++] ***************************** Download 0.8 Mb. Share with your friends:
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