Vol. XXXV No. 3 MOAA FIVE STAR AWARD 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 March 2010 KOS KOMMENTS Jim Chandler, CDR, USNR (Ret.), Chapter President The Other Kingdom of the Sun the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom, as conductor, featured vocalist, and trumpet soloist. He often appears in Air Force uniform at concerts, and all his concerts offer a Salute to Veterans. I think he is an E-8, but what does a swabby know about Air Force rank insignia? The band s repertoire offers a s I look at my March calendar, I see that our KOS Luncheon is on the 4th. Please help Arlo Janssen, our Program Chair, by getting in your reservations early. He is still arranging the program for that month, but he did mention that we will be having shrimp Creole and rice pilaf. On Sunday 7 March at 1300, consider attending the Kingdom of the Sun Concert Band 20th Anniversary Concert at the MTI building on Ft. King Street. I really appreciate the patriotic emphasis that Les Muncaster, the conductor and music director, places on band concerts. A third generation Salvation Army musician, Les began playing trumpet at the age of six, and continued his pursuit of music as a member of the U.S. Air Force Band for more than 27 years, touring with the band throughout 4 9 18 The band s repertoire offers a wide variety of music including marches, big band medleys, classical, popular music, show tunes, and patriotic tributes. wide variety of music including MOAA has established goals for marches, big band medleys, military veterans for 2010. They classical, popular music, show include: tunes, and patriotic tributes. Legislation promoting better Throughout the year, there are VA caregiver compensation and several performances at venues in benefits. Marion County, all of which are Better treatment for wounded free and open to the public. You (Continued on page 7) Schedule of Events MARCH APRIL MAY 1 Joint KOS/KOS Plus 6 Luncheon, at Stumpknockers. 11:30 A.M., Social 12:00 Noon, Luncheon Elks Club KOS Luncheon 12:00 Noon, Social 12:30 P.M., Lunch Elks Club KOS Board Meeting 12:30 P.M., Elks Club KOS Plus Board Meeting 10:00 A.M., Elks Club KOS Plus Luncheon 11:30 A.M., Elks Club 13 KOS Board Meeting 12:30 P.M., Elks Club 15 KOS Plus Board Meeting 10:00 A.M., Elks Club Visit our website at: www.kosmoaa.org have to get there early! As the other KOS, I think our chapter should support this band s efforts to promote the military. Also, please remember the KOS Plus luncheon on the 18th. Our members are always welcome at their events. Let s continue to support this fine group. Let me finish by mentioning that 11 21 to 22 } KOS Luncheon 12:00 Noon, Social 12:30 P.M., Lunch KOS Board Meeting 12:30 P.M., Elks Club Florida Council of Chapters MOAA Convention, Ft. Meyers
SUNBEAMS PAGE 2 March 2010 KOS PLUS Betty Hayes, KOS Plus President Kingdom of the Sun Chapter, MOAA PO Box 114, Ocala, Florida 34478-0114 SUNBEAMS is published monthly for the information of the members of Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Chapter, an affiliate of The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of either organization. SUNBEAMS is printed by the Concord Press of Ocala, Florida. KOS is a nonprofit organization, incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida on 13 April 1976. It is not associated with the Department of Defense. It is mailed as Third Class bulk mail at the U.S. Post Office, Ocala, Florida under Permit #122. Editor & Publisher: COL Tilford Smith (Army), 237-8726 Email: cynford@stonecreekfl.com Legislation & Assistant Editor: LTC Philip Johnson (Army), 854-3403 Email: pjohnson130@cfl.rr.com Chapter Officers: PRESIDENT: CDR James Chandler, (Navy) 237-3139 1st V.P.: CPT John Rose, (Army) 307-6130 2nd V.P.: LTC Arlo Janssen, (Army) 237-9720 SECRETARY: CDR Robert Buerger, (Navy) 368-6752 TREASURER: LCDR Kathryn Oswald, (Navy) 694-2639 Directors: COL Tilford Smith (Army), 237-8726 LTC Philip Johnson (Army), 854-3403 MAJ Alan Heneisen, CHC (Army), 680-0747 MAJ Louis Share (Army), 873-0969 CW5 Richard Russell (Army), 854-6267 CW2 Jerry Furlong (Army) Immediate Past President LTC Kendall (Ken) McIntyre (Army) 753-4542 Meetings: The Kingdom of the Sun Chapter (MOAA), meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month. Dates, times and occasions are announced in advance in the SUNBEAMS. Members are encouraged to attend and guests are always welcome. Meetings are usually suspended during the summer months of July and August. The KOS Board currently meets monthly on the second Tuesday of each month at 12:30 P.M. at the Ocala Elks Club. Officers and Board Members are required to attend. Visit our website at: www.kosmoaa.org tremendous THANK YOU to all of our members who have renewed their KOS PLUS Membership for 2010. Your timely support for your organization and it s program of giving is truly welcome. But, we are disheartened to report that our membership list for 2010 has, at this date, declined by 20 members. Did you forget to mail in your check? (You can still send it to our Treasurer.) Will you no longer support KOS PLUS and it s service to military organizations? On April 1, our spouses from KOS will join us for the traditional joint luncheon at Stumpknockers on the River. It will be our pleasure to sponsor this annual event. KOS PLUS members, please note that you will NOT be receiving a call from your caller to take your reservations. ALL reservations, to include KOS members, will be accepted by Barbara Miesen at 352-465-5989. It would help greatly if you paid for your reservation by check. The last date for accepting reservations will be Friday, March 26. Please reference the KOS PLUS/ KOS Luncheon meeting notice on page 6 of this issue for the: times, menu, and entree choices. Don t miss this relaxing, informal luncheon. A committee of 5 Board members met on JAN. 7 and reviewed our current By-laws as required. They have recommended the following changes, for your confirmation vote on March 18, 2010. Art. VI, Sec. 3 Currently reads: A simple majority shall prevail... CHANGE TO: A majority of those present shall prevail... Art. VII, Sec. 1A Currently reads: Immediate Past President and Five (5) Directors at Large... CHANGE TO : up to Five (5) Directors at large... Art. VII, Sec. 4D Currently reads: The President will be responsible for announcing meetings in Sunbeams. CHANGE TO: President will write the KOS PLUS report for Sunbeams. Art. VII, Sec. 5D Currently reads: chairmen... CHANGE TO: chairperson... Art. VII, Sec. 8B Currently reads: social meetings CHANGE TO: Board meetings Art. VIII, Sec. 6A Currently reads: chairman CHANGE TO: chairperson Art.VIII, Sec. 6A Currently reads: Make a contact with speakers, entertainment groups, etc. CHANGE TO: add the word and after the word speakers and drop etc. A further suggestion was made. Rather than print all of the past Bylaw changes in the directory each year, the Secretary will keep a master, dated file of all changes amended and approved to the By-laws. Only the current year explanation changes will be printed in the directory. And only print the years of the past changes for reference. MEMORY JOGGER: Welcome Spring with your honey (or bring your husband) at Stumpknockers on the River on APRIL 1.
SUNBEAMS PAGE 3 March 2010 Chaplain s Corner Rev. Dr. Alan J. Heneisen, Chaplain, MAJ, USAR, Ret. Psalm 118:24 says. This is the day that the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it, But, what about the days when we really don t FEEL good. Common standards in the physical world help us understand the spiritual world. The rain falls down, the sun always shines, the moon always reflects the sun s light, and if you jump up in the air you will come back to the ground -[gravity]. But you state: I can t SEE God, so I won t believe until he visibly touches me. I did not cause the rain to fall, nor the sun to shine, nor gravity to exist, but they still perform their functions as part of 2010 Convention May 21 23 New things blowing your way at the convention: There will be a time for military nurses in the Hospitality Room at 3:00 PM on Friday, May 21 just to chat and hear about each other s experiences. Contact Dottie at dccalusa@comcast.net. We are having a vendor s table for MOAA members who have written about their military times. If you would like to join the author s table, email Dottie at dccalusa@comcast.net. The new MOAA travel agency, ICE, will have a representative there to tell you about this new group, and they will have a drawing for a free weeks vacation at one of their luxury resorts. Our speaker for the All Hands Breakfast will be Gen. Dozier, who was captured by a terrorist group called The Red Brigade in Italy and held for 42 days, (Google James Dozier and read the life. These events were created by God, [Psalm 24:1]. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, it states, We walk by faith, not by sight. Let me ask you: Have we grown up so much in our adult lives that we forget the attitude of a child - to trust? Are we so spell-bound by the investigation of the molecules that make up our universe that we forget to notice the beauty of a sunset? Do we get caught up in analyzing the PH content of the earth, that we forget to see the beauty of a rose? I think it is time for us to stop and reflect: Be still and know that I am God, [Psalm 46:10]. Wikipedia account fascinating!) and we have asked Gen. Neal, Chairman of the board of MOAA to be our speaker for the Military Ball. Contest: We have put a paper called The Inside Scoop on the 2010 Convention on the MOAA/ Florida Council of Chapters website. At the end of the paper you ll find a question. The first one to contact us with the correct answer will get a wine basket at the convention as a prize. To find the paper, Google MOAA/FCOC, then click on the convention tab, click on the year 2010 from the drop-down box, and click on the Convention Info tab. Don t forget if you like to golf, sign up for the golf outing at The Dunes golf course on Sanibel Island, Lee Coast chapter of MOAA is organizing that one. Contact Dr. John Frymoyer at 239-472-9396 or tofrys@aol.com (Continued on page 7) Home Are The Hunters The Long Man The Faldetta Novelist 18293 SW 75th Loop Dunnellon, Florida 34432 USA (352) 489-3209 email: paulinefurey@bellsouth.net Google: Pauline M Furey
SUNBEAMS PAGE 4 March 2010 LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS (Excerpts from MOAA s email updates, Copyright Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) or from other sources as cited). Senate OKs Medicare/ TRICARE Payment Fix January 29, 2010 Your Help Is Needed Your recently arrived February issue of Military Officer magazine includes four tear-out letters to key congressional leaders (two on page 36 and two on page 48), urging them to sustain needed defense budget funding and protect military health care. Please sign, stamp, and mail these letters. We have also posted the letters on our website so you can print additional copies for family members and friends to sign. Medicare/TRICARE Payment Fix Coming? It appears that, once again, Congress will act at virtually the last minute to stop a 21% cut in Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors scheduled to take effect on March 1. On January 29, the Senate approved a Medicare/TRICARE amendment offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- NV) before passing H.J. Res. 45, which increases the national debt limit. The Reid amendment would provide a five-year fix for the Medicare/doctor payment problem. If approved by the House of Representatives as expected next week, it would put an end (for a while, anyway) to annual threats that big Medicare/TRICARE payment cuts would cause doctors to drop those programs beneficiaries as patients. Previously, legislators had been considering yet another one-year patch. But because the payment cuts compound each year, a oneyear fix would have meant facing an even larger 26% cut for January 2011. The new legislation would buy Congress five years to come up with a permanent fix. What s that fix likely to be? See the article below on the debt reduction commission. For now, please use MOAA s special health care alert to urge your U.S. Representative to pass H.J. Res. 45 and clear the decks of the #1 current threat to Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries health care. Debt Reduction Commission: Coming for You? Also during consideration of H.J. Res. 45, the Senate rejected an amendment by Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) proposing a statutory debt reduction commission. The proposed commission would be tasked to find ways to reduce the national debt by cutting spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other so-called entitlement programs (which also might include military/va/federal civilian benefits) or raising taxes, or a combination of both. The amendment also proposed a fast-track legislative process Sick Call The following individuals are to some degree under the weather. Please let us know if we have forgotten anyone. Cathy Lewis Shirlee Wolcott is recuperating from surgery.
SUNBEAMS PAGE 5 March 2010 under which Congress would be required to vote quickly on the commission s recommendations, with no option to amend them and limited time for debate. In his state of the Union speech, President Obama (who had expressed support for the Conrad- Gregg amendment) pledged to appoint a similar commission this year by executive order. MOAA believes the debt problems facing the nation likely require some sort of commission to recommend actions to assure a more stable fiscal future. But we re not disappointed by the Senate s rejection of the Conrad- Gregg amendment, as we believe members of Congress must be held accountable for what they approve or don t approve. The American people have to have a voice in the process, and the only way they can exercise that voice is through their legislators. So elected officials must bear ultimate responsibility for their action. Putting in law that legislators must conduct a short-notice, upor-down vote with no amendments would be abdicating Congress responsibility and turning it over to a small number of commissioners who aren t accountable to anyone. Almost certainly, the commission will have to propose some significant benefit cutbacks and tax increases to get the nation s fiscal house back in order. And the American public will have some sober reassessing to do in acknowledging that government revenues and expenditures eventually have to be reconciled especially because millions of baby boomers are about to become eligible for Medicare and Social Security, and those programs don t have the resources to meet that Please go to our website at www.kosmoaa.org for a complete update on the Camp Kiwanis Situation. reality for the longer term. Neither the public nor the Congress can hide from their responsibilities to deal with that situation. We can t just turn it over to 18 appointees and blindly buy whatever solutions they come up with. As we ve seen all too often, even panels of extremely smart people can propose some extremely dumb things. Budget Highlights Military Family Initiatives On January 26, First Lady Michelle Obama briefed nearly 400 military spouses attending the Joint Armed Forces Officers Wives Luncheon at Bolling AFB, DC on the administration s plans to invest $8.8 billion in military family support programs for FY2011. Among the highlights were $1.3 billion to improve availability of high-quality childcare and youth programs, and $84 million for spousal career development, including tuition assistance and a federal internship program. $1.9 billion is slated for counseling and related services for families dealing with deployments. The budget also includes funds to build 10 new DoD schools and renovate more than 100 others, she said. Mrs. Obama especially commended the spirit of volunteerism among military families. [You] still find time to serve others our communities and our country. You put your priorities aside, you take care of each other, and you take care of the nation, she said, and pledged that she and the President would STUMPKNOCKERS Restaurant Featuring Our Famous ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT Catfish Casual Dining on the Scenic Withlacoochee Fresh Grouper, Snapper, Shrimp, Scallops, Oysters, Crab Legs, Frog Legs, New York Strip, Ribeye, Grilled Chicken Breast Full Liquor Bar Highway 200, at the Withlacoochee River in Dunnellon Phone 854-2288 work hard to take care of military families in return.
SUNBEAMS PAGE 6 March 2010 HEADS UP KOS PLUS/KOS JOINT LUNCHEON Stumpknockers Restaurant (SW Hwy 200, at the Withlacoochee River) Thursday, April 1, 2010 Social: 11:30 A.M. Luncheon 12:00 P.M. (Noon) Menu Catfish, Grilled Chicken, or Sliced Beef Salad Baked Potato Rolls and Butter Iced Tea and Hot Coffee Dessert Reservations Required NLT Friday, March 26, 2010 $14.00 per person Please pay by check RESERVATION POLICY: Reservations and payment no later than FRIDAY, MARCH 26. Call Barbara Miesen at 352-465-5989. Please remember that a reservation made is a reservation PAID. Scholarship Contributors Since our February Sunbeams was published the following additional members have made a donation: Evette Aponte Robert Bubeck John Caselli Reginald Franklin Linda McFarland Robert Morris Lois Powers Frank Rasbury Shirlee Wolcott Donations are always welcome and continue to come in. Welcome New Members The following members have been added to the Chapter Roster since publication of the 2009 Membership Directory: MAJ Larry Allen Bond, USA Mrs. Elizabeth Carter LTC Albert F. Celani, USA CWO3 Alvin N. Cotton, USN 1LT Mark Dickerson, ARNG LTCDR Ron Henley, USN MAJ Frederick Fred Smith, USAR LtCol Carol Walker, USAF LCDR Russell Willard, USNR Our chapter looks forward to meeting and socializing with you in the years to come. Thanks for joining.
SUNBEAMS PAGE 7 March 2010 KOS Luncheon Ocala Elks Club (702 NE 25th Avenue, Ocala) Thursday, March 4, 2010 Cocktails (Cash Bar) 12:00 P.M. (Noon) Lunch 12:30 P.M Menu Potato Salad Shrimp Creole Rice Pilaf Grilled Mixed Vegetable Rolls and Butter Iced Tea and Hot Coffee Dessert PROGRAM The Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) speaker for March is Joe Zwick. Mr. Zwick served as a B-17 Ball Turret Gunner in the Army Air Corps (1943-1945). He flew 32 combat missions as a member of the Mighty Eighth Army Air Corps stationed in England. Zwick was part of the October 2009 Honor Flight from Ocala to Washington DC and visited the recently constructed World War II Memorial and other important sites in the Washington area. His talk will recount the details of the special Honor Flight and his memorable adventures during World War II. Reservations Required $14.00 per person RESERVATION POLICY: Reservations must be made no later than Monday, February 1, 2010. For reservations, please call LTC Arlo Janssen at Telephone 237-9720. Please remember that a reservation made is a reservation to be paid. President (Continued from page 1) warriors, especially those with PTSD and traumatic brain injury, women veterans, and those at risk of becoming homeless. An overhaul of the VA claims system, including moving to a paperless, integrated system as quickly as possible to address a backlog expected to approach a million claims. Survivors benefits and GI Bill upgrades. When you get a chance, take the time to visit the MOAA website at www.moaa.org. There is a great deal of useful information for you there. Convention (Continued from page 3) to sign up. There s also the day s fishing trip with Captain Tony Stout in his 31 cabin cruiser, Friday, May 21 or Sunday, May 23, $75.00 and only 6 openings available for that, minimum of 4. Call Tony at 239-549-5629 or astout34@comcast. net to sign up. STUDIO 200 FULL SERVICE SALON 8075 SW Hwy 200 Suite 113 Ocala FL 34481 352-237-7020 STUDIO200@embarqmail.com For details and registration form, go to the Florida Council of Chapters website www.moaafl.org, click on the convention tab, then choose 2010 convention.