VOLUME 3 NUMBER 12

www.usawoa-ftlowell-apache.org 

DECEMBER 2005

Where are the Email Addresses?

Note: email addresses are no longer one click linked, sorry for the extra step. Please write down the address and type it into your email program.

THE CHIEF SAYS

Fellow Warrants,

Thanksgiving has just past and the Christmas season is upon us.  It is a time to think of all the good things we have and to thank God for giving us the opportunity to "be all we can be" in a country that allows you to rise to the level you want if you have the desire, discipline, and energy to make it happen.

We many times think that we have it tough and with the passage of years; we are not as "good" as we used to be.  We've all felt the pangs and sores of added years.  However, when I start thinking like that, I look around and see others that have crippling diseases, physical damages, and financial losses that make my "problems and aches" seem insignificant.  So think of others during this Christmas season; look at the bright side and help out our fellow man when you can.

Remember, when you wake up each day you are on the top side of the earth, not the underside.

See you all on December 18^th at my house. Vin-

Merry Christmas to All

DIVISION OF LABOR

Since our recent election, there has been a change. Joe will continue to edit The Eagle and Michael Turner will ‘publish’ it – that means he will post it on our website and email a copy to all of our members with email plus other key WOs around the globe.

JUST A THOUGHT

As we head into years end and the Christmas season, it might be the time to give some thought to those less fortunate than us. Tucson Marines have an active ‘Toys For Tots’ program and all they ask is one give a nice un-wrapped toy that will go to a needy child.

I’m sure the Davis-Monthan AFB chaplains could use some help re-filling their non-perishable food stock, drained by Thanksgiving, just in time for Christmas.

DECEMBER 25 EVENTS

1776: American forces under George Washington cross the Delaware River

at night and raid British Hessian mercenaries at the Battle of Trenton the next day.

1868: By presidential proclamation, President Andrew Johnson grants

unqualified amnesty to all those who participated in the rebellion against the United States.

1941: The British military garrison in Hong Kong surrenders to Japan.

1991: Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as Soviet president, and Communist Russia ceases to exist.

DECEMBER 25^TH BIRTHDAYS

Jesus Christ (0000)

Clara Barton, Founder Of the American Red Cross (1821)

Humphrey Bogart, American Actor (1899)
Muhammed Ali Jinnah, Indian Politician And Leader Of The Muslim League (1876)
Cab (Cabell) Calloway, American Band Leader, Actor, And Singer (1907)

Larry R. Csonka (1946)

Sissy Spacek (1949)

WHAT’S NEW

Warrant Officer Historical Foundation adds two additional directors - During the Board's Annual Meeting in October 2005 a Resolution was passed to add two additional Directors to the Board. On November 17 CW5 (Ret) Donald "Woody" Woodruff and CW2 (Ret) Ben Gottfried were elected as Directors for a term ending in October 2007.

U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program Assists Soldiers - The Army is changing the name of the Disabled Soldier Support System (DS3) – a program that assists severely wounded Soldiers –to the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program. “Medical technology has advanced to the point where Soldiers injured today on the battlefield are much more likely to survive than those injured in previous wars. Soldiers enrolled in the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program are also more often able to continue service to their nation in the Army. The name change of this program is indicative of the Warrior spirit that today’s Soldiers so proudly display.

VA Discovers Prescription Fraud - Veterans who fill their prescriptions through the VA are being warned about a fraudulent company called Patient Care Group, which is calling veterans and claiming the VA has changed the way it dispenses prescriptions. These phony representatives claim veterans now must use Patient Care Group to get their medications. Beneficiaries then are asked for a credit card number to ensure they continue to get their prescriptions. Please be aware the VA has not changed the prescription process in any way. If you receive a call similar to the one described above, please call the VA at 1-800-827-1000.

Western Region Director Harry Wilson emailed 135 non-affiliated members on 25 November 2005 to invite them to join their local chapters. Our only addressee is WO1 Eddie Giron. [Veep Ron, please see if you can get him on our Chapter books.]

RESERVE CALL UP SUSPENDED

WASHINGTON -- The Army has suspended plans to expand an unwieldy, 16-month-old program to call up inactive soldiers for military duty, after thousands have requested delays or exemptions or failed to show up.

Despite intense pressure to fill manpower gaps, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said the Army has no plans for any further call-up of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) beyond the current level of about 6,500 soldiers. The IRR is a pool of about 115,000 trained soldiers who have left active-duty or reserve units for civilian life, but remain subject to call-up for a set period.

The Army also announced, in a memo released this week, that it will no longer involuntarily mobilize from the IRR an estimated 15,000 Army officers who have already completed their eight years of required military duty, stating that under a new policy it will offer them a chance to resign instead.

Poor records management has hampered the Army's efforts to draw on the pool, intended to fill holes in existing Army units, Harvey told defense reporters last week.

Since June 2004, the Army has begun mobilizing 6,535 people from the IRR. Of those, about 3,300 have reported for duty, and 1,450 have been granted exemptions on medical or other grounds, according to Army figures from October. The Army is trying to locate more than 400 who were supposed to report by October but have not.

Stretched thin by the war in Iraq, the Army began calling up IRR soldiers last year for the first time since the 1991 Persian Gulf War to meet its growing manpower needs.

RETIREMENT SERVICES MARKS 50 YEARS

Army News Service

Laura Paul  November 14, 2005

WASHINGTON - Nov. 14 marks the 50th anniversary of a program that was designed to keep retiring Soldiers close to the Army for the rest of their life. The Army Retirement Service Office has been helping Soldiers and families transition into retirement and continuing to support them in retirement for 50 years.

Of course, the Army has been retiring Soldiers for more than 50 years. This anniversary commemorates the creation of a separate office and program at Headquarters, Department of the Army. In 1955, the retired population was growing. Army retirees alone had increased almost sevenfold from about 15,000 before World War II, to almost 100,000 after Korea. In September of that year, the assistant secretary of Defense for Manpower and Personnel recommended that all services look into establishing a Retired Activities Branch.       

That same month, the Army chief of staff directed establishment of a Retired Activities Branch. On Nov. 14, the Retired Activities Unit was stood up as part of the Personal Affairs Section, Personnel Services Branch in the Office of the Adjutant General. The Army’s commitment to its retirees was made clear in the circular announcing the new unit, “To further the maintenance of a strong bond between the active Army and its retired members, commanders at all levels are enjoined to encourage a more personal relationship in all dealings with retired personnel.”         

In the early days of the program, about 22 staff members served all retirees, answering letters and phone calls and even receiving visits to the one office in Washington, D.C. Even then, similar offices were being started in the different parts of the Army throughout the world. Today, the HQDA Army Retirement Services office is staffed by only six people, but the network of those serving retiring and retired Soldiers, families and surviving spouses has grown. Now, retiring Soldiers and spouses and more than 900,000 retired Soldiers and surviving spouses are served by 110 installation Retirement Services Officers worldwide.

One force multiplier are retirees themselves who live up to the motto “Still Serving.” Often that service comes through participation in the installation retiree council. These councils, made up of appointed retiree volunteers, bring retiree concerns to the attention of the installation and, if warranted, to the Army Chief of Staff’s Retiree Council. The CSA Retiree Council, begun in 1972, is a group of 14 retired Soldiers, appointed by the CSA. They meet annually at the Pentagon to review issues surfaced by installation retiree councils. After briefings and consultations, the council decides which issues merit the attention of Army leadership. The council’s annual report is posted on the Web site.        

Retired Sgt. 1st Class Dan Horn has been part of the Fort Polk, LA., Retirement Services Office both as a Soldier and a civilian employee. A few years after his military retirement, he decided he “wanted to give something back,” so he got involved in the Fort Polk Retiree Council which he now chairs.     

Over the years, the Fort Polk Council has seen issues that it and other councils have forwarded to the CSA Retiree Council improve the lives of retirees and families. Horn points to the changes in receipt of retired and disability pay as an example. “Councils asked for a change in the system that reduced retired pay by disability pay,” Horn said. “Now some retirees are getting some of that money back through CRDP (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments) and CRSC (Combat-Related Special Compensation).”

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example."  Thomas Morell

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