VFW WI Post 8239

October Survey

Posted at 08:29 AM on Monday, October 6, 2008 by post8239

The American Veteran - October Edition

Posted at 12:09 PM on Sunday, October 5, 2008 by post8239

(via The Pentagon Channel)

TRICARE Reserve and Guard Family Benefit Now Permanent

Posted at 12:04 AM on Sunday, October 5, 2008 by post8239

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Eligible families of activated National Guard and Reserve members will continue to save up to $300 in annual deductibles now that a TRICARE "demonstration" program is a permanent benefit.
 
Eligible family members of Guard and Reserve personnel activated for more than 30 days under federal orders in support of a contingency operation are made eligible for TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra, which have annual deductibles.  While they may be eligible to enroll into TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Prime Remote for Active Duty Family Members, which have no deductibles, many may choose to stay with TRICARE Standard or Extra.
 
Introduced as one of the first TRICARE healthcare enhancements after Sept. 11, 2001 to assist the increasing number of National Guard and Reserve service members activated to support the Global War on Terrorism, the benefit waiving annual deductibles has been a demonstration project for over seven years.
 
"The demonstration has worked well and the benefit is not changing," said the Deputy Director of TRICARE Management Activity, Maj. Gen. Elder Granger. "We simply want to make sure our Guard and Reserve families know this is a permanent benefit now that final federal regulation has been published."

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2008 Veterans Day Teacher Resource Guide

Posted at 07:04 PM on Friday, October 3, 2008 by post8239

The 2008 Veterans Day Teacher Resource Guide is now online. Parents and educators can download the guide as a PDF file from the VA Web site:

The guide includes: suggested activities for Veterans Day (such as a school assembly, musical performance, or flag-raising ceremony); information on how to contact veterans service organizations and staff at VA medical centers, benefits offices, and National Cemeteries; information for older students including handouts on the origins of Veterans Day, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, statistics on America’s wars, and scholarships; and subjects for younger students such as a Veterans Day maze and coloring pages. The guide, along with a Veterans Day poster, is being distributed on CD-ROM to principals at 118,000 schools nationwide. America’s veterans have shaped our history. Let’s share their example of courage and sacrifice with future generations.

Click on image to download .pdf file.

Source: VFW WebCOM Membership Forum

NEW LAW HELPS TROOPS AVOID UNFAIR CELL PHONE FEES

Posted at 05:30 PM on Friday, October 3, 2008 by post8239

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold announced today that Congress has passed legislation based on a provision he authored allowing servicemembers deployed overseas to terminate cell phone contracts free of penalties. Feingold introduced the Servicemembers’ Cellular Phone Contract Fairness Act in 2006 after learning Wisconsin servicemembers were being forced to pay early termination fees or pay for a service they could not use when they were transferred overseas. The Feingold measure, which passed as part of the Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act, will expand the rights servicemembers already have to terminate similar contracts like residential and automobile leases without penalty. The measure now heads to the President for his signature.

VA News - Week of September 29, 2008

Posted at 10:08 AM on Thursday, October 2, 2008 by post8239

VFW Salutes Passage of 2009 VA Budget

Posted at 03:28 PM on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 by post8239

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2008--The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is saluting the 110th Congress for providing $50.2 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs fiscal year 2009 budget.

As part of the $634 billion Continuing Resolution signed by President Bush yesterday, VA discretionary funding is increased $4.5 billion over last year, which meets Independent Budget recommendations for healthcare funding. The Independent Budget is a detailed analysis of VA operations that the VFW has co-authored for the past 22 years with AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

VA budget highlights include $3.8 billion for mental healthcare, $584 million for substance abuse programs, $510 million for medical and prosthetic research, $250 million to improve access for veterans in rural areas, and additional funding for homeless grants, the hiring of 2,000 additional claims adjudicators, and to raise the mileage reimbursement rate from 28.5 to 41.5 cents per mile.

“We are very grateful to the president and to congressional leadership for keeping to their pledge to take care of our veterans,” said VFW National Commander Glen Gardner, a Vietnam veteran from Round Rock, Texas. “And we hope the delivery of an on-time budget is the start of a trend that will continue into the next administration and Congress.”

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