Message Center

There are millions of dollars waiting to be claimed by servicemembers
and veterans who were stop lossed, and time is running out!

Those eligible must submit their claim by Oct. 21, 2010.

The DoD Web site links to service-specific sites, where you can get more information, or begin the RSLSP claim process.

The 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act established Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP), providing $500 for each month/partial month served in stop loss status. Service members, veterans, and beneficiaries of service members whose service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss between Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 30, 2009 are eligible for RSLSP.

To receive this benefit, those who served under stop loss must submit a claim for the special pay. Throughout the year, the services have been reaching out to service members, veterans and their families through direct mail, veteran service organizations, and the media.

But there is still money left to be claimed, and the deadline is approaching. We’re reminding all service members who are eligible to submit a claim for the benefit available to them. The average benefit is $3,700.

Tell a Friend

We are also asking all current service members to ‘tell a friend’ – if you know someone who separated/retired and may be eligible for this benefit, remind them to submit a claim before the deadline!

Note on Eligibility

Effective Dec. 19, 2009, per the Defense Appropriations Act, stop-lossed service members who voluntarily reenlisted or extended their service, and received a bonus for such reenlistment or extension of service, became no longer eligible to receive retroactive stop loss special pay.

If you haven’t yet heard, the Military Officers Association for America is now a fully recognized veterans service organization (VSO) in the eyes of the U.S. Government!

What does that mean?

It means we’re now an even more credible force, fighting for the rights and benefits of all servicemembers and their families on the Hill.

Read the full text of the charter online!

WASHINGTON (AFRNS) — Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki announced June 29 that the Department of Veterans Affairs is offering bronze medallions to attach to existing, privately purchased headstones or markers, signifying a deceased’s status as a veteran.

“For veterans not buried in a national or state veterans cemetery, or those without a government grave marker, VA is pleased to offer this option that highlights their service and sacrifices for our country,” said Secretary Shinseki.

The new item can be furnished instead of a traditional government headstone or marker for veterans whose death occurred on or after Nov. 1, 1990, and whose grave in a private cemetery is marked with a privately purchased headstone or marker.

Under federal law, eligible veterans buried in a private cemetery are entitled to either a government-furnished grave marker or the new medallion, but not both. Veterans buried in a national or state veterans cemetery will receive a government headstone or marker of the standard design authorized at that cemetery.

The medallion is available in three sizes: 5 inches, 3 inches and 1½ inches in width. Each bronze medallion features the image of a folded burial flag adorned with laurels and is inscribed with the word “Veteran” at the top and the branch of service at the bottom.

Next of kin will receive the medallion, along with a kit that will allow the family or the staff of a private cemetery to affix the medallion to a headstone, grave marker, mausoleum or columbarium niche cover.

More information about VA-furnished headstones, markers and medallions can be found at www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmtype.asp.

VA is currently developing an application form for ordering the medallion. Until it is available, applicants may use the form for ordering government headstones and markers, VA Form 40-1330. Instructions on how to apply for a medallion are found on the VA website at www.cem.va.gov/hm_hm.asp.

Veterans with a discharge issued under conditions other than dishonorable, their spouses and eligible dependent children can be buried in a VA national cemetery. Other burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or grave marker.

The new medallions will be available only to veterans buried in private cemeteries without a government headstone or marker. Families of eligible decedents may also order a memorial headstone or marker when remains are not available for interment.

VA operates 131 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, and 33 soldiers’ lots and monument sites. More than 3 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict — from the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan — are buried in VA’s national cemeteries on more than 19,000 acres.

Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the VA website on the Internet at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 800-827-1000. (Courtesy of VA News)

Indianapolis, June 23, 2010 — The Defense Finance and Accounting Service will stop all current U.S. Savings Bond allotments processed for military personnel, military retirees and federal civilian employees effective July 31, 2010. This comes following the U.S. Treasury’s decision to convert to electronic transactions via TreasuryDirect.gov.

DFAS customers wishing to start or to continue purchasing bonds through payroll deduction will be required to establish an online account with TreasuryDirect. Once they have an account in TreasuryDirect, they can establish a new allotment using the TreasuryDirect account number through their normal pay system.

For individuals without computer access or who desire paper U.S. Savings Bonds, paper bonds will continue to be available and may be purchased at participating financial institutions. Check with your financial institution to see if they offer paper Savings Bonds.

According to a press release from the Treasury Department, the move to require electronic purchases of bonds is part of a larger initiative to increase customer service, security and reliability and, at the same time, reduce the costs associated with printing paper documents. The department estimates the overall push to electronic transactions will save approximately $400 million and 12 million pounds of paper in the first five years.

Information on purchasing Treasury securities is available at the DFAS website.

This weekend is about celebrating the men and women who serve our country in uniform. With all of the events taking place around the country, we’d like to hear how YOU are celebrating the holiday.

Taking the kids to an air show? Or going to a local war memorial to pay respects to those who have fallen in combat?

Not able to get out this weekend? There are movies and specials, concerts and tv programs dedicated to the honor military servicemembers, too!

Plenty of ways to celebrate the sacrifices made every day in our name- what do you plan to do?

We had never heard of it either, but it sounds pretty cool, right? Oh, brave new world! The face of military journalism is changing every day- sometimes by the minute! Guess this is one way to keep up with the times.

Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications has won a new, multimillion dollar contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to continue the school’s long-running Military Visual Journalism Program.

Newhouse has for many years offered two Department of Defense-sponsored programs that teach active-duty military personnel photojournalism and broadcast journalism.

Under the umbrella of the Newhouse Military Visual Journalism Program, the military photojournalism (MPJ) and military motion media (MMM) programs accept enlisted service members who work as mass communication specialists, combat photographers and military journalists. The programs last for 10 months.

The military photojournalism program began at Newhouse in 1963, during President John F. Kennedy’s administration. The early days of the program involved only one military branch, the U.S. Navy, and the first curriculum was designed to help active-duty sailors sharpen their photography and storytelling skills. Other military departments joined the program in later years.

“Our military visual journalism students have been part of the very fabric of the Newhouse School since 1963,” says MPJ program director Anthony Golden. “With this new five-year contract our sailors, marines, soldiers and airmen will be working with us on the future of visual journalism. Our tradition continues.”

The DoD decided to expand into broadcast journalism training in 1992, after reassessing coverage of the Gulf War. At that time, Newhouse won the first Military Motion Media contract.

MMM program director Dona Hayes says she looks forward to continuing the collaboration between the photojournalism and motion media students. “For the first time this year, both groups have been working side-by-side to produce a multimedia website,” Hayes says. “With the rapid changes in media and in our world, who knows what the students will be producing by the end of this new contract?”

The FBI has asked for MOAA members’ assistance in gathering information leading to the arrest of James “Whitey” Joseph Bulger, a former Boston crime boss on the FBI’s Top 10 list for 19 counts of RICO-murder, plus extortion, money laundering, and narcotics violations.

Bulger, whose story was the basis for The Departed (Warner Brothers, 2006) served in the Air Force and considers himself knowledgeable in military history, especially World War II history.

The FBI contacted MOAA because of Bulger’s potential connections in the military community.

For more information on Bulger, including how to submit information for the FBI’s $2 million reward, visit www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/bulger.htm or www.moaa.org/fbi.

See full-page FBI Wanted Poster of Bulger (PDF)

Starting about March 15, more than 130 million addresses will receive a 2010 Census form by mail or hand delivery. The 2010 Census will document the changes in our nation since the last decennial census in 2000 and tell us how we’ve evolved as country. Because census data affect how more than $400 billion in federal funding is distributed to tribal, state, and local governments, the census also will frame the future of our country and our community for the next 10 years.

During Census 2000, the mail participation rate was 72 percent as of the April 2000 cut-off. About $85 million is saved for every one percent increase in mail participation. For these and many other reasons, everyone’s participation in the census is encouraged.

Other facts:

It’s easy. The 2010 Census form asks 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. It is one of the shortest census forms in history.

It’s important. Census data are used to reapportion seats in Congress and ensure proper district representation in state and local governments. Information from the census helps determine locations for child-care and senior centers, new roads, hospitals, schools and community centers.

It’s safe. By law, the U.S. Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement entities. All Census Bureau employees take an oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

The most efficient way to respond to the 2010 Census is to complete the form as soon as it arrives and return it in the postage-paid return envelope. Census workers will visit households that do not return forms by the end of April to take the count in person.

In September 2009, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund launched a national call for photos, to gather pictures of the more than 58,000 men and women whose names are on The Wall. If you have photos you would like to share, you can upload them on their Web site.

From the Build the Center Web site:

For many, the Vietnam War is from the distant past. Some 40 percent of the 4 million people who visit The Wall today are too young to remember. To them the long list of names cut in the smooth black granite are faceless; they have no context, no connection.

By telling the stories behind every name, the Education Center will help visitors understand the courage, sacrifice and devotion of those who fell, those who returned, and those who waited. While learning truths about the Vietnam War, visitors will also discover how the Memorial shaped the ways Americans mourn, and the vital part The Wall played in helping to heal the bitter divisions that tore at the nation’s heart and soul.

Effective February 18 – the rule to amend the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations by implementing a statutory amendment reducing from three years to one year the length of time a member of the United States Armed Forces has to serve to qualify for naturalization through service in the Armed Forces.

In addition, this rule amends DHS regulations by implementing a statutory amendment to include as eligible for naturalization individuals who served or are serving as members of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of the U.S. Armed Forces during specified periods of hostility.

This rule also amends the regulations to remove the requirement to submit Form G-325B, Biographic Information, with Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for applicants applying for naturalization through service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

By eliminating the Form G-325B requirement, the rule will reduce the response burden and amount of time it takes U.S. Armed Forces members to complete the paperwork required with a naturalization application.

Read the full text of this final rule from the Department of Homeland Security.