P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e

O F F I C E R S

President

LTC Bobbie Williams

USA, (Ret)

540-429-2057

1st VP

Col David Rubinstein

(772) 463-1607

USAAF (Ret)

2nd VP

CDR Dayne Clemmer

USNR, (Ret)

772-225-6491

Secretary

Sally Clemmer

Marjorie Armstrong,

Treasurer

CDR Anthony DePaul USN, (Ret)

772-341-0205

Board of Directors

MAJ Hal Davis

USA (Ret)

LT O’neil Estrala

USN (Ret)

CWO2 Jack Irvin

USA (Former)

Immediate Past President

CWO2 William Armstrong

USA (Ret)

772-464-8532

T R E A S U R E C O A S T C H A P T E R

A 5 S T A R C H A P T E R

March 2017

MOAA and the

Treasure Coast Chapter are independent, nonprofit and

politically nonpartisan organiza-tions.

Upfront, I would like to thank the TC-MOAA Board of Directors and Officers, sponsors, JROTC

Cadets, and volunteers for making our 1st Annual TC-MOAA & JROTC 5K Run-Walk a great

success. You helped raised over $2600 dollars for our JROTC and Veteran programs. Moreover, I

want to extend a heart-felt thank you, for your commitment to making this event so successful. It

was the vision of our past President and 1st Vice President; Board of Directors and the Planning

Committee who helped bring this concept and major fundraising event to fruition. Your generous

contribution helped make our vision a reality by helping to offset the cost by making a donation,

sponsoring a Cadet Team, securing sponsors, and giving your time, talent and treasure! As we con-

tinue to grow as a chapter, please know that partnerships with our sponsors are vital to the success

of this chapter.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jack Irvin for his 14-Years of dedicated, loyal,

faithful and honorable service and support to our beloved chapter and the eight JROTC programs in

St Lucie and Martin counties. He tireless fostered, maintained, enhanced and improved our rela-

tionships with the eight JROTC programs. His efforts will have a lasting impact on the programs he

served and our future leaders!

As well, I want to thank the members who came out and supported the homeless veteran stand-

down on February 21, 2017. Your efforts and support of our veterans will pay major dividends!

Again, if you missed our February general membership program, you really missed an excellent

history lesson and informative presentation provided by Ms. Jackie Williams. She covered the im-

portant role of Witham Airfield during WWII. She truly knows her history and how to show the

significance of history on our current communities and lives.

Finally, save the date and make note of the general membership meeting change to March 23, 2017

for this month. We will host our 2nd Annual JROTC Recognition Dinner at the 19th Hole Golf

Course and Clubhouse. Meet, greet and receive Cadets from 6:00-6:30 PM; Dinner 6:30-7:15 PM;

and Guest Speakers 7:15-7:45 PM. I am encouraging everyone to attend and support our JROTC

Cadets and to bring a friend or guest. I look forward to seeing you at the March general member-

ship meeting.

Bobbie

JROTC Recognition Dinner March 23, 2017

6:00 Meet, Greet and Receive Cadets Dinner 6:30

19th Hole Golf Course

Call Tony DePaul for Reservations (772)341-0205 Join us to show support for the JROTC Students in our area.

Bring a guest

Treasure Coast Homeless Veteran Stand Down TCC MOAA members participated in the Homeless Veteran Stand Down in February. Many homeless

veterans were provided haircuts, new clothing, shoes, food and medical care. It was an amazing day with many local or-ganizations participat-ing to help veterans.

Upcoming Events March 14 Board Meeting 6:00 23 Evening Meeting 6:00 PM Program JROTC Recognition April 11 Board Meeting 6:00 PM 20 Baseball Game May 9 Board Meeting 6:00 18 Evening Meeting 6:00 PM Korean POW

US Representative Brian Mast Says

THANK YOU! With Congress out of session this week, I had the op-portunity to hear from people all across our community

on a wide range of issues. I just want to take this oppor-tunity to say thank you to everyone who attended a meet-ing, joined our town hall or hosted me at their business.

Our town hall meeting on Friday lasted more than 4 hours and I stayed to answer every single question. While everyone didn't always agree on every single is-sue, I believe having the conversation is critical. In addition to our town hall, I met with more than 25 dif-ferent local groups and organizations to discuss issues ranging from healthcare to our environment. Each of these provided an opportunity to hear a new perspective on an issue, and I'm eager to tackle these priorities in Congress.

PAGE 2

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE By David Rubinstein

The MOAA takeaway is that the President is pushing for a $54B increase in military spending and to fund it he is asking for large cuts out of the Secretary of State and the EPA budg-ets. This proposal will not fly, at least not in this form. Some Conservative leaders are saying that the increase in Military spending is not enough and there does not appear to be much support for the heavy cuts in the Secretary of State and EPA budgets. The Republicans may not agree to any increase in the deficit so the outcome is very much in doubt. I suspect that the Department of Defense will get the $54B in spending increases but not at all sure about how things will work out, if at all, on spending offsets elsewhere.

Help Wanted!!!! Vote Early and Vote Often

The Treasure Coast Chapter of the Military Officers Associa-tion of America submitted a video in the USA Today Commu-nity Thrives Contest on behalf of the Cadets of St Lucie and Martin Counties. Our Video is called “Cadets Winning Citi-zenship Race”

copy and paste this link into your browser: http://usatodaynetwork. secondstreetapp.com/api/ organiza-tion_user_email_ verifications?token=308be226- d108-4c99-af35-b932fd3efdb7& opid=327781&redirect=http%3a% 2f%2fact.usatoday.com% 2fsubmit-an-idea%23%2flogin% 2fdqrbpw4zdde%2f-SS-gallery

The voting period will start on March 13 at 11:59am EST. Each person is authorized one vote per person, per day. The ten entries in each category with the highest number of votes will move forward to a panel of judges for review.

(Bottom line, we need committed voters every-day from March 13 thru April 7)!

Judging will take place from 8-27 April.

On or around April 28, 2017, the Gannett Foundation will award one $100,000 grant and two $50,000 grants for the top three submissions per category. If we win one of the contest grants; we will share the grant proceeds equally with the eight JROTC programs within our catchment area and the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America!

If you have questions; please contact LTC (Ret) Bobbie Wil-liams @ (540) 429-2057 (cell) or answerthecall4u@gmail.com. Questions regarding the official rules for details, check out the FAQs page, or con-tact act@usatodaynetwork.com.

PAGE 3 Hidden Hiring Hurdle A provision of the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Au-thorization Act establishes a 180-day hiring delay for mili-tary retirees before they can be hired as Defense Depart-ment civilians, although waivers can be considered. The restriction originated in the Senate Armed Services Com-mittee, where there were concerns that one-third of mili-tary retirees hired over a three-year period landed their civilian positions while still in uniform. TRICARE Pharmacy - FYI. Express Scripts added Walgreens to the TRICARE retail pharmacy network and dropped CVS pharmacies. TRI-CARE Pharmacy Benefit – FYI. The pharmacy benefit under Tricare For Life (TFL) is the same pharmacy bene-fit as TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Standard. You can fill prescriptions three different ways: at a military treat-ment facility like Patrick AFB, at a local retail pharmacy, or through the mail-order pharmacy (Drugs are classified into 3 tiers that correspond to co-payments: Tier 1: Gener-ic drugs, $8/30 day supply from retail pharmacy, $0/90 day supply from TMOP Tier 2: Brand Name Drugs, $20/30 day supply from retail pharmacy, $16/90 day sup-ply from TMOP Tier 3: Non-Formulary drugs, $47/30 day supply from retail pharmacy, $46/90 day supply from TMOP. However, some beneficiaries are required to use the mail order pharmacy (administered by Express Scripts) to fulfill select maintenance medication prescrip-tions. This program only applies to a select group of brand name maintenance medications. If you are prescribed one or more of the affected medications, you will be contacted by Express Scripts Chapter Dinner Meetings You are encouraged to participate in our monthly dinner meetings. We have a program each month that is interest-ing, informative. And gives each of us a chance to meet other military families. We are committed to having 20 members at each meeting in order to keep the price down and continue having the space available to us. The 19th Hole has been very accommodating to our chapter and we would like to continue the relationship. If you have any suggestions about what would encourage your attendance please call Dayne Clemmer 72-225-6491 or Bill Armstrong 464-8532

MOAA Military Family Initiative The MOAA Military Family Initiative’s mission is to fund military family career development programs and services that help currently serving troops and veterans of all ranks, their families and their survivors sustain the quality of life they so richly deserve. MMFI funds programs in five areas of critical military family finan-cial wellness need: Career Transition, Financial Education Outreach, Military Spouse Ca-reer Development, Warrior Family Reintegration, and VA Disability Claims Information, Assistance and Referral. Learn more about MMFI and how you can get involved: http://www.moaa.org/

Impact of Sequestration on America! Sequestration is intended to save the federal government and the American people from increasing national debt. It slashes spending, indiscriminately. If it weren't for some temporary budgetary maneu-vering a few years back, cuts could have been much worse than they are currently. Regardless, we are still facing the expiration of those budget maneuvers and the revival of sequestration cuts across the board. We don't know exactly how bad it might get, but we can tell you, this is the elephant sitting in the living rooms of military families who need childcare. In an effort to control the growth of the federal government, and the costs associated with it, the president ordered a temporary hiring freeze of federal employees just a few days after taking office. As DoD examined the policy, it came out with guidance exempting critical categories. One of those categories is “positions providing child care to the children of military personnel.” Despite the exemp-tion, some federal positions responsible for a part of the hiring pro-cess may be short staffed as a result of the hiring freeze, resulting in a backlog of hires and creating a seam between the authority to hire and the ability to do so. Last week in a Senate hearing, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey noted the need for child care to keep military spouses employed, and the high demand for it. Currently, child care is the “No. 1 re-sourced function within [Morale, Welfare and Recreation], United States Army by size and scope. And it's critical to our success and it's something we have to continue to invest in for the future,” said Dailey. He also stated that the Army lacks sufficient space, requir-ing new construction to meet requirements - a growing challenge under sequestration. Within the week following that Senate hearing, both Fort Knox, in Ky., and U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbade, an-nounced suspension of some of their child care programs. Just as quickly, concern among military families became apparent, and the Army responded using all means at their disposal to reopen those programs via use of overtime and other personnel tools. The good news, in some cases, is that when families cannot access child care on the installation, they may have access to a child care subsidy for use at a private facility that meets the DoD's rigorous accreditation standards. However, those facilities may not be readi-ly available, either because they don't meet DoD's subsidy standards or because there is simply a shortage of open slots. Additionally, some changes have recently taken place reducing the subsidy pro-vided for part time or before- and after-school child care programs. Research shows how significantly families view childcare to their military family readiness. Sixty-six percent of military families in-dicate that their most desired resource from DoD for ensuring fami-ly health and happiness during military service was “accessible and affordable childcare.” Military spouse unemployment remains three or more times higher than the national unemployment rate, and childcare is one of the top five reasons military spouses give for not working. Solid access to childcare bridges a gap for many families, whether it's financial, social, or emotional. Even with the precautions taken, such as the hiring freeze exemp-tion for military child care providers, military support functions are highly intertwined, and some resources are finite. Access to support is not a one-step event, but a process requiring complex coordina-tion and choreography - when one step is off, it can change every step that follows. DoD's forethought in exempting military child care providers was critical and appreciated, as well, as their use of personnel tools to bridge gaps. MOAA remains concerned that se-questration will test the limits of what the military can do to help its people remain ready. We hope Congress can mobilize against se-questration this year, to prevent more negative impacts.

TRICARE: Protect your personal information Don’t wait for fraud against TRICARE beneficiaries to be in the news. Always protect your personal information! Whether you’re active duty or retired, don’t share your uniformed service identifica-tion card, or personal or family information with someone you don’t know. Protecting your personal information is vital to your privacy, an prvents abuse of taxpayer dollars. Fraudsters often target TRICARE beneficiaries. For example, they conduct fake surveys to collect personal information. They call say-ing they know you have TRICARE and want to let you know you qualify for a free or low cost knee brace or walker. They then bill TRICARE for services or supplies you don’t need and never get. No one from TRICARE will ever recommend a particular product or medicine. If someone does, don't share any personal information. If you think you’re the victim of TRICARE-related fraud, report it to the Defense Health Agency. Also, report when you think a provider or company is trying to defraud TRICARE. For example, if your TRICARE explanation of benefits (EOB) shows a charge for services you didn’t get, tell your TRICARE regional contractor. TRICARE won’t just call or email you asking for personal identifying infor-mation, such as your uniformed service ID number, social security number, or Department of Defense benefits number. Only give that kind of information to a trusted person or office, like your doctor, a TRICARE claims processor or regional contractor. Be wary of an unknown person offering a gift or reward in exchange for a health service. They may be trying to commit fraud. For more information about fraud, visit www.health.mil/ Source Army EchorPast Predent

Cape Canaveral National Cemetery The first phase of construction at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery in Mims (Scottsmoor), Florida, is near-ly complete and the cemetery staff is planning to move from temporary facilities to the new permanent buildings in April. The cemetery has been conducting inground burials for casketed and cremated remains while operating in a small completed portion of the Phase I property. The move to permanent facilities also in-cludes activation of the cemetery’s columbarium, which is an above ground courtyard structure consisting of 7,200 niches, for placement of cremation urns. The 318-acre cemetery began inter-ments Jan. 12, 2016. The VA National Cemetery serves the burial needs of more than 163,000 Veterans in the Space Coast area, in-cluding Orlando and Daytona. VA purchased the land in July 2012 for $2.1 million. The property is located along U.S. Route 1 in Scottsmoor, in northern Brevard County, 2 miles south from Inter-state 95, Exit #231, and 12 miles north of Titusville. “More than 300 families had completed the burial scheduling process when we opened for burials Jan. 12, 2016,” said Cape Canaveral National Cemetery Director Don Murphy. “Today, after just a year of con-ducting interments, nearly 1,700 Veterans and their family mem-bers have been laid to rest in this national shrine. When construc-tion is complete, which includes the columbarium, we will have a second burial option for Veterans and their eligible family mem-bers who are cremated,” Murphy said. Murphy also indicated 200 families have been waiting for the columbarium to be completed so they can schedule interment of their loved one in the new court-yard above-ground structure. Cape Canaveral National Cemetery will begin accepting applications for inurnment of cremated re-mains of deceased eligible Veterans and their spouses on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. The next of kin (NOK) or funeral home acting on the family’s behalf, may request inurnment in the columbarium at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery by contacting VA’s National Cemetery Scheduling Office (NCSO) in St. Louis, Missouri. First, send a copy of the military discharge documents to the NCSO by fax at 866-900-6417 or email at NCA.Scheduling@va.gov. Next call the NCSO toll free at 800-535-1117 to complete the applica-tion process. After construction is complete and the columbarium is available, cemetery staff will contact the NOK of who have completed the application process to schedule a date and time for the committal service of their loved one. Burial in a VA National Cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces and Veterans who have met minimum active duty service requirements and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. Their spouse, widow or widower, minor children, and, under certain con-ditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities, may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran. Members of the reserve com-ponents of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial. VA provides the gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, government headstone or marker, U.S. burial flag, Presidential Memorial Certificate and perpetual care of the gravesite at no cost to the family. For questions regarding burial eligibility and burial application at the cemetery, please contact the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery staff at 321- 383-2638 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. More information about VA’s burial benefits and Cape Canaveral National Cemetery is available online at www. cem.va.gov.

PAGE 4

Toll-Free: 800-211-5107 Price Match Guarantee Earn Chapter Incentives for each trip or flight booked

http://brennco.com/MOAAVACATIONS

TCC MOAA Members at State Leadership Conference

Past President Bill Arm-strong presented State MOAA Leadership Award by State President Marc Oliveri

PAGE 5

Winners Jensen Beach High

Congressman Brian Mast with Dayne Clem-mer and Robin Bynoe

February Dinner Reservations 19th Hole at the Saints Golf Course Club House

March 23, 2017 Reservations Deadline March 21, 2017

Call, email or mail Reservations to: CDR Anthony DePaul, USN, Ret. 3309 Red Tailed Hawk Dr Port St. Lucie, Fl 34952 tonydepaul@comcast.net 772-336-6854 If Mail Enclose check for total payable to: TCC – MOAA Names of Attendees: __________________________________________________________ Please reserve for: _____ @ $22 Total $________ JROTC Donation ____________ Dues ________________ Total included: $___________________

Treasure Coast Chapter MOAA 2860 Yates Rd Fort Pierce, Fl 34981

WE NEVER STOP SERVING The treasure Coast Chapter of the Military Officers Associa-tion of America is a non-profit veterans association dedicated to maintaining a strong national defense and to preserving the earned entitlements of members of the uniformed services and their families and survivors. Membership is open to anyone who holds, or has ever held, a commission or warrant in any component of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and their surviving spouses. We strive to foster fraternal relations among active, reserve, National Guard, retired and former commissioned and warrant officers of the seven uniformed services. Our chapter adheres to the principles and goals of the Military Officers Association of America.