VOL 43 No. 6 Nov 2016 GREATER CINCINNATI CHAPTER MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA AN AFFILIATE OF THE MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Renew your dues please see page 5! Surviving Spouse Holiday Luncheon 13 Dec - See page 4 for reservations. WHERE: General Membership Meeting - Election/New Board Speaker: Rudy Jansen, Retired Federal Administrative Law Judge Manor House Restaurant 600 Maple Trace Dr., Springdale, OH (Gathering Room) WHEN: Friday, 13 Jan 2017 TIME: 11:30 AM Social Time 12:00 PM Lunch Program follows Luncheon Rudolf Jansen is a retired Federal Administrative Law Judge. He began his legal career in 1966 with the U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service where he served for 14 years. In that position, he handled primarily U.S. Tax Court cases in litigation. He also did review work for collection cases as well as reviewing criminal enforcement matters prior to referral to the Department of Justice for prosecution. In 1980 he accepted an appointment as an Administrative Law Judge with the U.S. Department of Labor. In that position, he handled cases involving approximately 90 different federal labor statutes as well as serving as a Mediator and Special Trial Judge for various cases involving laws administered by other federal agencies. Judge Jansen is a member of the State of Indiana Bar, and has also been admitted to practice in various U.S. District Courts, the 6 th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Tax Court. Upon his retirement from the bench about 10 years ago, he engaged in a variety of endeavors including parish related activities and also began a 10 year association with numerous primarily WWII veterans to prepare their documents and oral histories for submission to the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress. Files have also been submitted to the WWII Museum in New Orleans and the 8 th Air Force Museum in Savannah, Georgia. He earned his Bachelor degree from Marian University and a Juris Doctor from Indiana University, Indianapolis, School of Law. He married his college sweetheart, Barbara Franz, in 1964 and they have 5 children. LUNCH RESERVATION: Friday, 13 January 2017 Manor House Restaurant Springdale, OH. Name: Rank & Service: Spouse/Guests: (ARE YOU A NEW MEMBER, OR FIRST TIME OUT? ) Entrée choices: Lunch BUFFET $14.00 (Menu changes daily but always includes a selection of homemade soups, 3 salad selections, three entrees, two vegetable dishes and a side dish and includes Manor House bread pudding for dessert ) Total Reservations = Total $ Make Checks payable to GREATER CINCINNATI CHAPTER/MOAA and mail to LTC PAUL FELLINGER, 5493 Delhi Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45238-5139, (Phone (513) 451-9881) or email: pwf5493@aol.com. Please make reservations NLT than 11 January. No cancellations after that date.
2016 CHAPTER OFFICERS AND BOARD (phone # s are area code 513 unless noted) Executive Committee President LTC Al Brauer, USA 677-8320 Immed PP BG Tom O Brien, USA 421-0118 1st VP CAPT Steve Drefahl, USN 752-4097 2nd VP CAPT Mike Glaser, USN 675-0895 Secretary CAPT Alan Echt, PHS 573-0315 Treasurer LTC Paul Fellinger, USAR 451-9881 Chaplain Rev Joseph L Boone, USA 853-2051 Legislative Ofc BG Tom O Brien, USA 421-0118 Natl Bd RADM Larry Hereth, USCG 812 537-2968 Past Natl Bd MAJ Isaac Mincy, USAF 542-6145 Surviving Diana Lochocki, Surviving Sp. 560-0540 Spouse Liaison State Council Delegate CAPT Alan Echt, PHS 573-0315 Alt Delegate MAJ Ed Knox, USAF 674-7755 Committees Programs Vacant Membership CAPT Mike Glaser, USN 675-0895 R.O.T.C. LTC Al Brauer, USA 677-8320 Reserve/NG CAPT Steve Drefahl, USN 752-4097 Historian LCOL Dick Probst, USAF 703-0754 Sympathy/ Vacant Personal Affairs TOPS LtCol Brad Hamant, USAF 439-3140 VA Brick Liaison BM2 Ben Staubach, USN 919-3659 CinMoaaNews/ CWO3 Kym Mader, USN 759-0852 Public Affairs Service Representatives Army COL Robert Greene, USA 859 689-4321 Navy CAPT Rex Settlemoir, USN 598-9549 Coast Guard CAPT Rex Settlemoir, USN 598-9549 USPHS CAPT Alan Echt, PHS 573-0315 Air Force MAJ Ed Knox, USAF 674-7755 Marine Corps CAPT Rex Settlemoir, USN 598-9549 PURPOSES OF THE GREATER CINCINNATI MOAA CHAPTER The purposes of Military Officers Association of America as stated by national are printed on the outside of each Newsletter. The corresponding purposes of our Chapter as stated in our BYLAWS, Article II are: (a) To promote the purposes and objectives of the Military Officers Association of America (b) To foster fraternal relations among retired, active and former officers of the uniformed services. (c) To protect the rights and interests of personnel of the uniformed services and their dependents and survivors. (d) To provide useful services for members and their dependents and survivors. (e) To serve the community and the nation. Your officers and Board members welcome your comments and suggestions on steps that may be taken to strengthen our Chapter and its benefits to all members. LOCAL Chapter: CinMoaa News is published to arrive at your home 10 days before each meeting. Articles and corrections for the News must be in the hands of editor 4 weeks before each meeting date. Mail to CinMoaa News, 8099 Pepper Pike, West Chester, OH 45069. Or E-mail chmader@fuse.net. For MOAA National information: Visit the MOAA Web Site - INTERNET ADDRESS HTTP://www.moaa.org TAPS If you know a member of MOAA who has past away, please let us know so we may pass it on. LTC James Applegate, USAF, Ret - 3/11/2014 MEETINGS - Mark your Calendars NOW! Watch www.cincymoaa.org for updates. BOARD MEETINGS 2nd Friday of each month, 1200 - American Red Cross Building* 2111 Dana Ave., Cincinnati, OH Conference Call in is available. Contact a board member for more details. Spouses and guests are welcome at all meetings. (* Board meetings falling on the date of a member meeting is held after the member meeting) MEMBER MEETINGS 2017 Members Meetings Plan now to attend Jan 13, Apr 7, Jun 9, Sept 8, & Dec 8 2
Board Elections for 2017 It is time to elect our Board for the coming year. Below is the proposed list of candidates and positions. Come to the January meeting to support your board elections and welcome in your newly elected board. President Immed PP 1st VP 2nd VP Secretary Treasurer Chaplain Legislative Ofc Natl Bd CAPT Steve Drefahl, USN LTC Al Brauer, USA CAPT Mike Glaser, USN LtCol Brad Hamant, USAF CAPT Alan Echt, PHS LTC Paul Fellinger, USAR Rev Joseph L Boone, USA BG Tom O Brien, USA RADM Larry Hereth, USCG There is still time for you to help make a difference and serve on a committee. A couple of committee chairs still need to be filled. Consider serving your chapter by chairing the Programs Committee and the Sympathy/ Personal Affairs committee. Contact CAPT Steve Drefahl if you are interested at sdrefahl@fuse.net or call (513) 752-4097. Where Things Stand with the National Defense Authorization Act We'll have to wait at least another six weeks before Congress makes final decisions on the force levels, pay raise, TRICARE fees, and other changes in the FY 2017 Defense Authorization Act. But we can be pretty sure of at least some of the new changes because they were included in both of the bill versions passed by the House and Senate. Based on the above, here is what we expect the new defense bill will require. TRICARE: TRICARE Standard will have a new name (possibly TRICARE Preferred) and be reconstituted as a preferred provider network, which means some charges will be higher for visits with doctors who aren't in the new TRICARE network. The new version of TRICARE Standard/Preferred will have an annual enrollment requirement. If you're under 65 and in TRICARE Standard now, you've never had to explicitly enroll. If you didn't enroll in the HMO-style TRICARE Prime, you were automatically covered under Standard. No more. This is important: starting in 2017, retirees and family members under 65 will have to sign a document to enroll in either the version of Standard/Preferred or TRICARE Prime. If you don't actively enroll in one or the other, you and your family won't be covered by TRICARE. So you'll need to pay attention to notices about the annual enrollment period, starting next year. No later than January 2020, retired enrollees in the new version of TRICARE Standard/Preferred will have an annual enrollment fee. Again, this will be new, as Standard currently has no enrollment fee. If the House plan prevails in the final bill, the annual enrollment fee for 2020 will be $100/$200 for single/ family. There is a possibility it could be more, depending on continuing negotiations between the House and Senate. Military medical facilities will be implementing a variety of initiatives to improve access to and quality of care, including a standardized appointment system, more use of telehealth services, adoption of common quality/performance measures, and displays of emergency room wait times. SBP-DIC Survivors: We fully expect the current Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA) - $310 per month as of this month - won't be allowed to expire next year. It will be extended for at least one year, which gives us another shot at seeking a further extension and continued increases in the SSIA amount to make more progress toward eliminating the SBP-DIC offset, which is our ultimate goal. Commissaries: The commissary system will be testing house brands and a variable pricing system. This means shoppers at some locations might see increases and others might see decreases, although Congress still requires commissaries maintain the same overall levels of beneficiary savings and satisfaction. Reimbursement for Drill-Related Travel: Both bills give service secretaries more flexibility to pay higher reimbursements, on a case-by-case basis, to members traveling beyond normal commuting distance. 3
SURVIVING SPOUSE CORNER Being Thankful (By Sharon DeVaney, member, Surviving Spouse Advisory Committee) We will celebrate Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. But did you know this was not always the case? Here s a little history: The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621 after their first harvest in the New World, and the feast lasted three days, with 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims in attendance. On Oct. 3, 1979, President George Washington proclaimed the first official Thanksgiving to be held Nov. 26 of that year. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day should be observed the last Thursday in November. This again changed Dec. 26, 1941, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed a bill into law declaring that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November. Everyone has different Thanksgiving traditions. Maybe you will begin the day with a church service. You might spend the day helping to cook and serve a meal at a charitable organization or on a military post or base. Maybe you will celebrate at home with family and friends. Or perhaps you ll spend the day making a plan for your Black Friday shopping excursion. However you spend your time, if you have loved ones serving overseas, I am sure your thoughts will be with them and their fellow servicemembers. For me, this day always has been about finding my recipes for favorite dishes, shopping for groceries, and planning how to prepare all the foods. My husband's agenda for the day included a run followed by turkey dinner and watching football games. When we were overseas and living on the economy, we went to the mess hall for Thanksgiving. There were several benefits: 1) The mess hall was decorated; 2) the meal was wonderful and someone else had done the work; and 3) you could visit with all your friends without having to cook, serve, and clean up after the feast. I want to thank all the dining hall chefs and staff everywhere for making Thanksgiving so enjoyable for families far away from home. However you spend your day, remember to give thanks for our servicemembers all over the world. I hope you have a happy holiday. Surviving Spouse Holiday Luncheon WHERE: Manor House Restaurant 600 Maple Trace Dr., Springdale, OH (Gathering Room) WHEN: Tuesday, 13 Dec 2016 TIME: 11:00am 2:30pm The Surviving Spouses of Greater Cincinnati Chapter MOAA are planning a luncheon and are extending an invitation to the Spouses of the Chapter to join us. This is a Social Event for us to get acquainted and enjoy the afternoon. Please feel free to bring a guest if you would like. Any questions call Diane 513-560-0540. WE DO HOPE YOU JOIN US. LUNCH RESERVATION: Tuesday, 13 December 2016 Manor House Restaurant Springdale, OH. Spouse Name: Spouse s Members Name: Guests Name: Entrée choices: Lunch BUFFET $14.00 (Menu changes daily but always includes a selection of homemade soups, 3 salad selections, three entrees, two vegetable dishes and a side dish and includes Manor House bread pudding for dessert ) Total Reservations = Total $ Make Checks payable to GREATER CINCINNATI CHAPTER/MOAA and mail to GCCMOAA, Diane Lochocki, Surviving Spouse Liaison, 5305 Crossbridge Drive, West Chester, Ohio 45069. ((RESERVATIONS DUE NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, DEC 8th)). 4
2016 CHAPTER DUES ARE DUE! Please pay now- IF you haven't done so. To determine whether your dues are paid, please check your address sticker on the other side of this form. The year is shown for the latest year for which your dues are paid. (Life members show LIFE). If your number is (2015) or lower, please return this form (with your name sticker on reverse) along with a check for your dues to bring you up to current year. Please mark your selection of dues (one year, multi-year or life). If you are moving out of state and don t want to continue your chapter membership or have any other status change, please let us know. Also please indicate on your check the year(s) your dues are for. NEW - You can now renew your membership online. Go to http://www.moaa.org/content/chapters-and- Councils/Chapters-and-Councils.aspx#Chapter-Dues. Chapter Membership Renewal. Name: Rank: Your email address please: Member $28 for three years $19 for two years $10.00 for one year Surviving Spouse (surviving spouse of a deceased officer) No Cost Please renew as a LIFE member. (Please circle amount in fee schedule.) Make check payable to: Greater Cincinnati Chapter / MOAA Mail Renewal form and check to: LTC Paul Fellinger, 5493 Delhi Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45238-5139 There is no membership dues for Surviving Spouses. -------------------------- cut here --- --------- Dues Form ---------------------cut here---------------------------- WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS LTC Daniel Shea, USA, Ret Vets, retirees will see a 0.3% COLA hike in 2017 (By: Leo Shane III, Military Times, October 18,2016) LIFE MEMBERSHIP FEES (Fee is based on your age, nearest birthday) Member Age up to 55 $161.25 Age 56 to 70 $127.50 Age 71 to 89 $ 93.75 Age 90 and over Waive Military retirees and individuals receiving veterans benefits will see only a 0.3 percent cost-of-living increase in their federal benefits next year, a nominal increase matching 2016 s hike. On Tuesday, officials from the Social Security Administration announced the small raise, the third consecutive year the benefits adjustment will be under 0.5 percent. Since 2009, the cost-of-living hike has been more than 2 percent only once, when it reached 3.6 percent in 2011. Veterans benefits are not automatically tied to the Social Security increase, but in July lawmakers passed legislation linking the two benefits for 2017. In the last few decades, veterans have seen their annual adjustment differ from the Social Security COLA only one time, and then only due to minor rounding differences. The Social Security COLA is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics periodic Consumer Price Index, a statistical estimate of the anticipated price of a variety household goods and services. This year, officials are estimating only small increases in those costs, identical to the rise seen in expenses heading into 2016. The Social Security, military retiree and veterans benefits changes affect more than 70 million Americans, about 22 percent of the country s population. According to the Associated Press, the 0.3 percent adjustment will mean less than $4 more a month for a Social Security recipient who sees the average payout of $1,238. The adjustment will go into effect for beneficiaries starting Dec. 30. Veterans using Medicare for health coverage may not see anything at all once those medical costs come into play. The Associated Press reports that Medical Part B premiums, which are usually deducted from Social Security payments, are expected to increase this year, effectively wiping out the COLA hike. Congratulations to members of The University of Cincinnati Army ROTC Bearcat Battalion for having the highest participation rate by both staff members and cadets in the Honoring Our Heroes 5K Run/Walk. The Oct 15th event was sponsored by the Veteran s Associate Group of the Kroger Company. Winning the women s division 5K run was Elizabeth Haase, the daughter of LTC and Mrs. Albert Brauer. 5
Greater Cincinnati Chapter MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA 8099 Pepper Pike West Chester, OH 45069-2842 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CINCINNATI, OH PERMIT NO 6122 Postmaster: Dated material, Please Expedite ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED PURPOSES OF MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA TO inculcate and stimulate love of country and flag; TO defend the honor, integrity, and supremacy of our National Government and the Constitution of the United States; TO advocate military forces adequate to the defense of our country; TO foster fraternal relations between all branches of the various services from which our members are drawn; TO further the education of children of service personnel; TO aid active and retired personnel of the various services from which our members are drawn and their dependents and survivors, in every proper and legitimate manner; TO present their rights and interests when service matters are under consideration; and TO foster the integrity and prestige of uniformed service. from the Preamble to the Association s Bylaws