News and Updates



 
Aerospace Education Newsletter


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July 14, 2010

Air Force launches new uniform website

By Staff Sgt. Steve Grever
Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – The Air Force launched a new public website this month to help educate and inform Airmen about the service’s dress and appearance standards and policies.

The Air Force Directorate of Service’s Uniforms and Recognition Branch created the website in conjunction with the Air Force Personnel Center and several other agencies that features interactive slideshows, uniform regulations, detailed photos and uniform policy updates from the Air Force Uniform Board.

Ruth Ewalt, the Air Force Uniforms and Recognition Branch director, said the new website was developed to be a comprehensive online resource that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for Airmen stationed around the world.

“We wanted to create a place where all Airmen can view any uniform combination in detail,” Mrs. Ewalt said. “This eliminates confusing rumors about the latest versions of Air Force uniforms.”

Airmen also wanted an uncomplicated website that was user friendly and did not require excessive navigation to find information about different combinations of the Air Force uniform.

“We needed a website that would not take more than two or three clicks of the mouse to get an answer to a uniform inquiry,” she said.

Having this information on a public website ensures uniform changes and updates are available to the field in a timely manner than that waiting for updates to Air Force Instruction 36-2903, which is being revised.

“The information will be updated quicker and more effectively,” she said.

Putting the website in the public domain allows users to access it without their Common Access Card, which is helpful for Airmen researching uniform information from computers or smart phones off the military network.

While the new site will be a valuable resource, Airmen should continue to work through their chain of command for clarification and guidance on Air Force dress and appearance standards and policies. For more information, visit the Air Force Dress and Appearance public website at http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/dress/index.asp.


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By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 10, 2010

Lowe's Military Discount

Most members of the military community no longer will have to wait for a special holiday discount to buy shovels, paint, and other home improvement needs.

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s has expanded its 10 percent military discount to all day, everyday, for active-duty, National Guard and reserve, retiree and disabled service members, and their families, company officials announced Wednesday.

Those who want to receive the discount must present a valid military ID card.

All other military veterans will receive the 10 percent discount on the holiday weekends of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day.

The discount is available on in-stock and special-order purchases of up to $5,000. It cannot be used on sales at Lowes.com, on previous sales, or on sales of services or gift cards.

“Lowe’s was founded on the heels of World War II by veterans Jim Lowe and Carl Buchan and has always been a supporter of the military,” said Larry D. Stone, Lowe’s president and chief operating officer, in a statement announcing the new policy.

“The year-round discount program is one way we are reaffirming our commitment to the thousands of men and women who are serving throughout the world, as well as their family members at home.”
_________________________________________________________________________

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2009 - A new Department of Veterans Affairs ruling will soon relieve Vietnam veterans suffering from three specific illnesses from the burden of proving their ailments are linked to Agent Orange exposure to receive VA health care and disability payments.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki's decision, announced today, establishes a service connection for Vietnam vets stricken with hairy-cell leukemia and other B-cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease, VA chief of staff John Gingrich told American Forces Press Service.

Shinseki made the decision based on a recent report by the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine. The report cited new scientific studies pointing to a strong connection between the illnesses and Agent Orange exposure.

Shinseki determined that evidence was compelling enough to establish a presumption that affected veterans' illnesses are service-related, Gingrich said.

This determination will short-cut the process for them to receive services through what Shinseki called "a world-class health care system," as well as monthly disability payments.

But before the ruling takes effect, it must be published in the Federal Register and opened for final comment, Gingrich explained. He predicted that the process would be completed early next year.

It's unclear exactly how many of the 2.1 million Vietnam veterans the ruling will affect, Gingrich said. If 10 percent have the presumed illnesses, that could result in some 200,000 new VA claims.

Agent Orange, named for the orange-colored barrels in which it was stored, was sprayed widely during the Vietnam War to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy. Veterans have long blamed the herbicide for causing a variety of illnesses, but until now, there's been no official recognition of a link. That put the burden on veterans to prove an association - a process Shinseki conceded too often has created an adversarial relationship between the VA and veterans.

Shinseki, a retired Army general and a Vietnam veteran himself, lamented this situation this summer at a medical symposium in San Antonio.

"I have asked why, 40 years after Agent Orange was last used in Vietnam, this secretary is still adjudicating claims for presumption of service-connected disabilities tied to its toxic effects," he told attendees at the Association of the U.S. Army's Institute of Land Warfare Army Medical Symposium.

Shinseki also questioned why the debilitating effects of Gulf War illnesses still are being debated 20 years after Operation Desert Storm.


"Why weren't conclusive studies conducted by [the Department of Defense] and VA to render presumption of service-connected disability resulting from exposure to toxic environments associated with these operations?"
Shinseki asked. "Such findings would have facilitated VA's settling of service-connected disability claims in far less time. The scientific method, and the failure to advocate for the veteran, got in the way of our processes."

Veterans deserve better, he said.

"We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will," he said. "Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."

Shinseki's decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses VA recognizes. Others are:

-- Acute and subacute transient peripheral neuropathy;
-- AL amyloidosis;
-- Chloracne;
-- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia;
-- Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2);
-- Hodgkin's disease;
-- Multiple myeloma;
-- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma;
-- Porphyria cutanea tarda;
-- Prostate cancer;
-- Respiratory cancers; and
-- Soft-tissue sarcoma other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma or mesothelioma.

Biographies:
Eric K. Shinseki

Related Sites:
Department of Veterans Affairs

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AEC Aerospace Education Newsletter - Sep 09

The latest issue of the AEC's Aerospace Education Newsletter is here:
http://www.afa.org/members/AENews/Sept09/default.asp


September 2009



Now available - The Official 2009 AFA Collector’s ornament Air Force memorial Star.  Price $25.00 plus 5.00 shipping.  Contact AFA Headquarters - www.afa.org/store or 1-800-7272-3337 (press 3).

Saturday, September 19, 2009

AFA Members, Congressional Staffers, Civic Leaders, and DOCA members, this week AFA held its annual Air & Space Conference in Washington DC. It was a great event … and very well attended. We had presentations from a vast array of leaders, both inside and outside of the Air Force. Many attendees got to hear from such luminaries as the Doolittle Raiders and the Tuskegee Airmen.

Three of the presentations were especially notable. The first was by Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. His speech can be found on our website at: http://www.afa.org/events/conference/2009/scripts/rgates.pdf

Following his talk, Secretary Gates took questions from the audience. The questions and his answers can be found at: http://www.afa.org/events/conference/2009/pdfs/AFA-090916-GatesQA.pdf

The second notable talk was given by Secretary of the Air Force, Michael Donley. It can be found on our website at: http://www.afa.org/events/conference/2009/scripts/donley.pdf

Finally, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen Norton Schwartz made a presentation that can also be found on our website at: http://www.afa.org/events/conference/2009/scripts/SCHWARTZ.pdf

For your consideration,

Mike

Michael M. Dunn
President/CEO
Air Force Association

To comment on this, visit AFA Blog. (Google account is required)


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While this item may not directly apply to you, it may be of interest for older veterans or families of veterans affected by long term care support requirements. I have also provided a link below, and you might also see the "related articles" on this subject. I know that there are families who have older veterans (fathers, grandfathers) who need aid and assistance in activities of daily living (ADL) and who may be able to access this program under Veterans Affairs.

INTRODUCTION TO THE VETERANS' AID AND ATTENDANCE SPECIAL PENSION

The Veterans' Administration offers a Special Pension with Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit that is largely unknown. This Special Pension (part of the VA Improved Pension program) allows for Veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing, undressing or taking care of the needs of nature to receive additional monetary benefits. It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an assisted living facility also qualifies.

This most important benefit is overlooked by many families with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional monies to help care for ailing parents or loved ones. This is a "pension benefit" and is not dependent upon service-related injuries for compensation. Most Veterans who are in need of assistance qualify for this pension. Aid and Attendance can help pay for care in the home, nursing home or assisted living facility. A Veteran is eligible for up to $1,632 per month, while a surviving spouse is eligible for up to $1,055 per month. A couple is eligible for up to $1,949 per month*.

The Aid and Attendance Benefit is considered to be the third tier of a VA program called Improved Pension. The other two tiers are Basic and Housebound. Each tier has its own level of benefits and qualifications. While the objective of this site is to disseminate information about the Aid and Attendance Benefit, we urge you to read an important document prepared by the American Veterans Institute that clearly explains the Improved Pension program, its levels of benefits and the qualifications for each. If you or your loved one does not qualify for Aid and Attendance, you may want to check to see if you qualify for another level of the Pension.

Please browse this site using the menu on the left to learn more about the Aid & Attendance Special Pension, Eligibility Requirements, How to Apply, What to Expect and Resources to help you with this critical benefit. Also, please visit the Sponsors of this site who have made it possible to disseminate this information to veterans and their families.

Walter M. Ozawa
walter@ozawa.org

http://www.veteranaid.org/

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DISCLAIMER


The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the AFA of the linked website or the information, products, or services contained therein.  The AFA does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.