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RETIRED  and  SEPARATED…Not  gone,  Not  forgotten.

 

RETIREE RAG August 2017

 

JOINT  NGAKS/EANGKS  CONFERENCE  DETAILS  –  April  28-­‐29  2017    

April  28-­‐29,  2017  saw  the  Joint  NGAKS/EANGKS  State  Conference  in  Wichita,  Kansas.    There  were  close  to  100  Retirees  and  spouses  at  the  event,  which  offered  hospitality,  presentations,  knowledge  sharing  and  camaraderie.        Special  presentations  to  the  Retiree  breakfast  and  lunch  sessions  were  great  learning  opportunities  for  all.    General  (Ret)  Daryl  McCall,  the  Army  Retiree  Rep  to  the  National  Guard  Association  of  the  US  (NGAUS)  presented  at  breakfast  on  the  work  of  NGAUS  to  include  retirees  in  advocacy  efforts,  and  gave  an  update  on  the  military  retirement  system  changes,  legislative  initiatives  that  are  in  play  now  in  Congress  and  the  state  of  the  Budget.    It  was  timely  and  informative!    Our  new  2nd  District  Congressman,  Roger  Marshall,  also  joined  the  retiree  breakfast.      Our  lunch  presenter  was  Roy  Gibson,  a  retired  military  member  and  Representative  of  the  Military  Benefits  Association.    MBA  has  a  number  of  offerings  for  military  members  and  retirees,  including  newsletters,  insurance  products,  and  other  services  for  members  and  families.    Roy  gave  away  a  fantastic  prize—a  signed  KC  Chiefs  football!    Karen  Haynes  was  the  winner!  

   

Thank  you  to  all  who  supported  the  Joint  Conference!    

Pictured  are  top  left:  Retiree  breakfast  attendees;  top  center:  Gen  Daryl  McCall;  top  right:  Congressman  Roger  Marshall  and  General  McCall;  bottom  left:  Retiree  breakfast  attendees;  bottom  right:  Sheli  Sweeney  presentation  by  Maj  Jason  Inskeep,  NGAKS  President.      

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RETIREE BRIEFING HELD: On August 5, 2017, NGAKS and the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of Kansas sponsored a Retiree Briefing for all Kansas National Guard Retired/Separated members who wished to attend in Wichita. Special thank you to Captain Naomi Hume, NGAKS President, for helping to organize the event in Wichita and the continued support of SFC Etoi Purnell, who is the TAG Office of Retiree Services Director, supporting all National Guard retirees in Kansas. The information offered at the event included Tricare, Prescriptions, Dental, Hospice and Nursing Home Care; Federal Long-Term Care Insurance programming; VA health benefits and eligibility; Assistance from the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs including Kansas Military cemeteries, markers, nursing homes; Military ID cards, military records and inheritance and gift taxes; Armed Forces Vacation Club and Space-A Travel –190th ARW (Forbes) & McConnell AFB were also covered. The NGAKS and EANGKS Continuity Committee members assisted in planning and providing lunch.

Thank you to all who presented and made the briefing possible!

 

More than 67,000 veterans have applied to shop on the military exchange store

websites under a recently released benefit, officials said Thursday. The benefit clears the way for honorably discharged veterans from any era to shop

at the exchange stores online. In the past, the shopping benefit, both online and at brick-and-mortar locations, was limited primarily to active-duty troops; National Guardsmen, reservists and their dependents; and retirees and their dependents.

The benefit, which is set to officially begin on Nov. 11 -- Veterans Day -- rolled out June 5 for a group of "beta testers" randomly selected from those who applied to use the system via the new VetVerify.org web portal. That system allows veterans' information to be verified with the Defense Department so they can be cleared to use the online exchange stores.

About 57,000 veterans have been verified through the system since the June 5 start, said Christopher Ward, a spokesman with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which is managing the program. About four percent of those verified have been selected as beta testers, he said.

When selected as early users, veterans will receive either a message at the time of application letting them know that they can shop immediately or an email notification later.

Army  and  Air  Force  Exchange  Service  to  Open  on  line  shopping  service  to  ALL  veterans  who  have  been  honorably  discharged  on  Veterans  Day  2017  

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Military Distinctive License Plates

 You may make application for a Kansas distinctive military license plate by meeting the qualifications outlined in the Kansas Statutes Annotated listed below. Applications should be presented to your local County Treasurer's office at http://www.kansastreasurers.org/vehicle/vehicle.htm . License plates may be obtained for any of the following categories of military service:

• Combat Wounded Purple Heart • Congressional Medal Of Honor • Disabled Veteran (See also Form TR-103) • Ex-prisoner Of War • National Guard (See also Form TR-129) • Pearl Harbor Survivor • U.S. Veteran • Vietnam Veteran's Plate

   

VIETNAM  WAR  

Premiering Sunday September 17, 2017 at 8/7c on Kansas Public Television Stations is a 10-part documentary on the Vietnam War. There are photos, stories, interviews, and more covering the details that lead up to the Vietnam War and American involvement, through the fall of Hanoi, and evacuation by U.S. Troops and helicopters in 1975.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s ten-part, 18-hour documentary series, THE VIETNAM WAR, tells the epic story of one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in American history as it has never before been told on film. Visceral and immersive, the series explores the human dimensions of the war through revelatory testimony of nearly 80 witnesses from all sides—Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as combatants and civilians from North and South Vietnam.

The series took ten years to make, and includes rarely seen archival footage from sources around the globe, photographs taken by some of the most celebrated photojournalists of the 20th Century, historic television broadcasts, evocative home movies, and secret audio recordings from inside the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. THE VIETNAM WAR features more than 100 iconic musical recordings from greatest artists of the era and haunting original music

 

Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death. ~Omar N. Bradley~

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ARMY RETIREE REPRESENTATIVE: A new Retiree Representative for Army was elected by the retirees in attendance at the conference, as defined in NGAKS bylaws. Please welcome and support LTC Ray Rhodd (Retired) as he serves on the NGAKS board representing the issues that are important to National Guard members who are separated or retired. Please feel free to reach out to Ray with suggestions, comments, events and articles at: LTC Ray Rhodd (Ret), Kansas Army National Guard Retiree Representative, 785-640-8751 or rhoddrl@aol.com

THANK YOU TO RETIREES: The Retiree Hospitality Room has collected donations during the annual State conference for the past four years for the Kansas Military Funeral Honors Program. This program provides appropriate final tribute to Kansas veterans, acknowledging their faithful and honorable service to our state and nation. A note of thanks was received by Major General Lee Tafanelli, the Kansas Adjutant General, stating, “…Your support of this program will assist with ensuring deserving veterans are honored with the dignity and respect they deserve. Your continued commitment to serving veterans and their families is remarkable. On behalf of the men and women serving in the Kansas Military Funeral Honors Program, veterans and their families, please accept my deepest appreciation for this generous donation.”

             Fort  Riley  Retiree  Appreciation  Day  2017              All  military  retirees  are  invited  to  attend  the  Retiree  Appreciation  Day  at  Fort  Riley!    When:    Friday,  October  20,  2017  Location:  Riley's  Conference  Center  -­‐  Fort  Riley  Time:  8:00  am  to  3:30  p.m.  Parking:    Plenty  of  parking  at  Riley's  Access  to  Post:  Military  ID,  or  if  you  don’t  have  a  military  ID,  Contact  the  Retiree  Services  Officer  (RSO),    Georgia  Rucker  to  be  put  on  the  pre-­‐screening  guest  list  for  access  to  post.  Georgia  can  be  reached  at  Georgia.a.rucker.civ@mail.mil  .    Events  include  information,  briefings,  prizes,  food,  health  screen  and  shots,  and  camaraderie.    For  more  information  contact  Sheli  Sweeney  at  785.213.9053  or  shelisweeney@hotmail.com.      DIRECTIONS:  Take  Main  Gate  from  I-­‐70,  left  on  Henry  Drive,  left  on  Holbrook  Ave,  right  on  Huebner  Rd  to  Seitz  Drive,  turn  right  to  446  Seitz  Drive,  Fort  Riley,  to  Riley  Conference  Center.    On  the  map  site,  Riley  Conference  Center  is  #51  on  the  Main  Post.    http://www.riley.army.mil/Portals/0/Docs/Units/Staff/PAO/FRPointOfInterestMap.pdf