***Disclaimer*** The information contained in this issue is for informational purposes only. The objective is to keep the military community informed. It is not an Official DoD sanctioned newsletter and as such should not be quoted as an authoritative source on DoD policy. It is the responsibility of the reader to verify exactly how information applies to them if they intend to expend funds or time in following up on the data provided. RETIREES ADVISORY COUNCIL Tuesday, 9 January 2018, 1000 Attendees: Lt Col Tony Cole Lt Col Chong Gregory CMSgt Kim Vinson CMSgt Dan Delzingaro Col Gilly Marshall (Ret) Lt Col Joseph Tichich (Ret) Lt Col Bill Hampton (Ret) CMSgt Ken Oyer (Ret) MSgt Jerry Waldrop (Ret) CW04 Gerald Watkins Ms. Tamala McCoy 45 MSG/CD 45 FSS/CC 45 SW/CCC 45 MSG/CCC Retiree Activities Office (RAO) Project Emeritus MOAA VA Manatee Cove Golf Course Brevard Veterans Center (BVC) AAFES The meeting was called to order at 1000 by MSgt Waldrop. Welcome back everyone. This is the first RAC of the New Year. Lt Col Cole (45 MSG/CD): Happy New Year. It s good to see everyone again. We had a launch this weekend, and it went well. The next Falcon 9 launch coming up is the first of one trying to get to Mars. Exciting times. Question: Was there a sonic boom before the launch this weekend? No the sonic boom occurs after takeoff, when the first stage comes back. CW04 Watkins (Brevard Veterans Center): Brochures were handed out to all attendees. The Center is hosting a Key Lime Pie festival on 13 January. We expect a good turnout, depending on weather. We will have a 12 foot key lime pie, which is the largest in the world. There will be food, live music and fun. Admission is $10. There is a new VFW Post opening at the Center - Island Post 12167. This is the first one opening in Florida in the last 8 to 12 years. The ceremony will at 1200 on 27 January. There will be an Honor Guard, bands and VIPs who will be speaking to the crowd. The Center is in the process of establishing a monument to the four Chaplains from WWII. The Chaplains were on an Army transport ship off the coast of Greenland. The ship was hit and the Chaplains helped personnel get into life vests and off the ship. When the life vests were gone, the Chaplains removed their own vests and gave them to others. There were 242 survivors. One of the survivors remembered looking back and seeing the Chaplains locked arm and arm, praying. The monument will be dedicated on 31 May. Please get the word out. As a side note - only nine Chaplains have ever received the Medal of Honor in the history of the country.
Lt Col (Ret) Hampton (MOAA): We will be hosting the installation banquet for new officers on 13 January. For the MOAA Scholarships, our goal this year is to collect enough money to award 10 $3,500 scholarships. Application deadlines is 15 June. Scholarship winners will be presented at the July luncheon. Lt Col Gregory (45 FSS/CC): For the third year in a row, our FSS has been named the #1 FSS in the Air Force, based on customer satisfaction surveys. This is great news. We have a new program - Shark U. This is a FaceBook page where active duty members, civilian employees, dependents and retirees can go to sign up for professional development training and speaker series. At the golf course, the eating establishment is now called Hackers. Please go and vote for the new mascot - a shark or gator. You can also enter a contest to name the new mascot. The winner will receive a large screen TV. As mentioned back in November - in December, we started accomplishing all retiree ID cards online only. This is still being advertised on the SW website, the FSS website, in the Services magazine. We continue to make gains; in two weeks we have pushed out over 50 ID cards. Ms. McCoy (AAFES): Thank you for making this one of the best holiday seasons for your Exchange. Thank you for shopping your Exchange. Please come check out some of our ongoing sales - we have a 55 Samsung TV for $399 and a 58 Samsung TV for $549. We still have a few left. The Star Card, as mentioned previously, can now be used in the Commissary. This was started back in October. To date, over $200K in sales were from the Commissary by people using their Star Card. Using your Star Card benefits both MWR and DeCA. When you use your Star Card, you earn points. For every 2,000 points earned, you will receive a $20 gift card that can used in the Exchange or the Exchange Online. The Exchange will be closing at 1600 on 24 January for inventory; the Class Six will be slowing at 1800 on 26 January for its inventory. If you shop the Exchange Online - you now have the option to have your purchase delivered directly to your home. If the PAFB Exchange does not have an item in stock, it will be shipped from another Exchange in the program. The Exchange will be part of the Retiree Appreciation Day. CMSgt Vinson (45 SW/CCC): There are 32 launches scheduled for this year; 24 SpaceX and 8 ULA. The next launch is on 18 January. The window opens at 1952. There will be no fly back with this one; no sonic boom. The wing s annual award ceremony will be 23 February at the Holiday Inn in Viera. The theme is going to be A Night at the Oscars. More to follow.
Lt Col (Ret) Tichich (Project Emeritus): Over the past several years, we have been attempting to spread the word about the MOAA scholarships, yet there have been no applicants from Patrick. How do we get the word out to the base populace? Reminder - the VITA program is up and running for those who want to have their taxes done for free. It operates out of the Shark Center, so getting onto base will not be an issue. If you know of anyone who is interested in volunteering, have them contact the Project Emeritus office. If you know of an organization on base in need of volunteer help, have them contact us. Project Emeritus number is 494-7656. Col (Ret) Marshall (RAO): The RAO office is now only open Monday-Thursday, 1000-1400. One of our volunteers left. The head of the Florida Volunteer Association will be coming down from Hurlburt for a visit sometime later this month or February. We are joining with Fort Stewart in a Retiree Appreciation Day on 24 February up at the University of Central Florida. This is a huge event. Our AAFES will have representatives there. There will also be representatives from Tricare, MOAA, the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs and others. See attached flyer. We have been working with the Fort Stewart POC. MacDill will also be joining in this event. They will have a booth set up to do ID cards. This will be in lieu of anything being held at Patrick this year. Question: Will transportation be provided to take individuals to and from the event? No. CMSgt (Ret) Oyer (VA): Brevard County retiree military deaths in December only totaled 3; which is the lowest ever. This information is also provided to Project Emeritus. For the past 15 years, this information was obtained from Florida Today; however, since the newspaper has significantly increased its cost, information will only be pulled from the Wednesday and Sunday papers. Information will continue to be provided to the best extent possible. There is a retired CMSgt Glenn Robinson who mentioned he would like to attend our meetings. He has yet to show up. Is there any way the Chiefs can contact him? Only if he attends the Chiefs Group meetings. There was no Chiefs Group meeting in December. Discussion on issue with renewing dependent ID card. Once the kiosks are established, it should make it easier. People would be able to have photos taken right there at the kiosk. Dependent ID cards must be renewed every three years, in the event something changes. MSgt (Ret) Waldrop (Manatee Cove Golf Course): The new menu at the golf course is really good. See attached menu of new food items. Be sure to go and vote for the new mascot. In December, the golf course had 3,708 players; 38 no shows and 16 rain checks. We are down to only 17 members in the E1-E4 range. We need to do more to support our younger troops. In the E5-E9 range, we are up to 64; up to 18 officers and 63 DoD.
Guests are up to 260, which probably includes civilians since we are open to the public. We hosted 1,549 retiree families. Sal is the RAC Vice President. He is aware of this. We will be holding elections next year, since the president and vice president terms are two years. We are still missing reps from the MDG and DeCA. MSgt Waldrop will stop by the Commissary later today and speak with the manager. Lt Col Cole will contact the MDG. Thank you CMSgt Vinson for attending today s meeting. Meeting was adjourned at 1056. Next meeting will be Tuesday, 6 February, 1000, in the 45 MSG conference room - Bldg. 423, Room S-125.