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Keeping up with “Innovation”
Trapped indoors with the winter doldrums? WNET-NY has produced an engaging eight-part series called “Innovation” that will keep you on the edge of your couch cushion. The program, which will air on
PBS stations, explores how technology has changed everything from medicine and travel safety to warfare and crime. Three episodes of interest are:
- SpyCatchers: By accessing the FBI’s counterterrorism facility, producers explore the world of espionage and see how master spies use today’s latest techniques and gear to counter threats from a changing, ill-defined enemy. SpyCatchers airs Feb. 24.
- Future Combat: Producers look back at the successes and failures of the high-tech weapons and communications systems that were used in the 2003 war with Iraq. The program investigates how a new generation of weapons is altering the political and technical reality of combat. Future Combat airs March 2.
- Air Safety: Despite the advanced technology that goes into developing and maintaining aircraft, the history of commercial aviation is filled with deadly crashes. The investigations that follow such disasters often produce big advances in air safety. This episode tells the stories of accidents and how they have changed the way we fly today. Air Safety airs April 6.
For more information about the program, visit www.thirteen.org. Check local listings for exact dates and times.
Lost and Found in Kamchatka
In the January 2001 issue of The Retired Officer Magazine, the feature article “One Down in Kamchatka” told the story of the crew of a U.S. Navy
PV-1 that had been missing since March 25, 1944. The plane and its crew were on a mission to attack Japan’s Northern Kuril Islands when they were hit. The men tried to reach the airport in Kamchatka,
USSR, but never made it. The crash site was discovered years later in the mountains of
Kamchatka.
MOAA’s 2004
Convention
Mark your calendar now for MOAA’s 2004 Convention, to be held Oct. 13–17 in Nashville, Tenn. Join fellow members for what promises to be MOAA’s finest convention ever—a mix of fun, food, music, camaraderie, and a host of informational sessions. Home to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville is a city rich in history, commerce, and entertainment.
MOAA has reserved a block of rooms for its members at the downtown Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Members will be able to make reservations through MOAA’s Member Service Center beginning June 2004. Look for a detailed convention agenda and registration information in the June issue of
Military Officer.
By matching mitochondrial DNA from the recovered bones with samples from maternal family members, investigators identified three of the seven crewmembers.
AM2c Donald Lewallen, AMM2c Clarence Fridley, and AOM3 James Palko were returned to their families this past fall. The remaining bone fragments, which were too small to identify, were laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Resuming DIC Payments
For years, MOAA fought for widows entitled to VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
(DIC) to be allowed to keep the payments if they remarry at age 55 or older. Fifty-five is the age at which survivors may keep other survivor benefits if they remarry, with the exception of
DIC.
In late November, in a partial victory, Congress passed a bill (H.R. 2297) that contained a provision authorizing
DIC and other benefits for surviving spouses who remarry after age 57. President George W. Bush signed it Dec. 16, 2003.
Qualifying spouses who remarried at age 57 or older before the bill was enacted will have one year, beginning Jan. 1, 2004, to apply for reinstatement of these benefits. The new legislation also permits qualifying remarried spouses to retain other federal benefits, including
VA education benefits and VA home loan guaruntees. All remarried surviving spouses also are eligible for burial in a national cemetery based on their prior marriage to a deceased military
servicemember.
DoD must determine if it plans to restore Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) payments to eligible surviving spouses who remarry after age 57.
MOAA believes that clearly was the intent of the provision in H.R. 2297, but DoD has the final say under Title 10. Up-to-date information will appear in
MOAA’s print and electronic media. To subscribe to the Legislative
Update, visit
www.moaa.org/email.
She’s Still a “10”
Though Bo Derek often is remembered as the beauty in the movie “10,” she also has been a voice for veterans’ rights. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi recently presented the actress with the highest award offered by the
VA.
Derek has served as honorary chair of the VA’s National Rehabilitation Special Events and visits va medical centers across the country. She also tours with the
USO and works with the Special Forces
Association.
“I am so overwhelmed and inspired by all the courage all veterans show ... .” says Derek. “As an American, I am reassured by the
VA’s commitment to take care of our veterans, and it’s truly an honor for me to be part of that mission.”
Golf Anyone?
One of the largest retired military events—the 21st annual National Retired Military Golf Classic—will take place June 1–5 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Golfers are encouraged to compete for more than $125,000 in prizes. Priority will be given to those who have played in previous tournaments. After Feb. 1, acceptance will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
For information, call (800) 255-4763 or write to the National Retired Military Golf Classic, P.O. Box 3608, Myrtle Beach, SC 29578.
TOPS for Spouses
Looking for a job? Is your spouse? TOPS recently opened its full range of transition services to spouses of MOAA members. Services include:
- résumé critique;
- individual career counseling (by phone, by e-mail, or in person at MOAA’s headquarters);
- access to daily job postings (TOPS will place jobs of interest to MOAA members and member spouses on the job site);
- ability to post a résumé in the TOPS résumé database (qualified spouses can have their résumés forwarded to an employer requesting candidates
for a specific job);
- access to background information on more than 12 million businesses
and companies;
- access to 2,600 informational network contacts; and
- full use and privileges of the TOPS library (located at MOAA’s headquarters).
Spouses who are seeking or changing jobs are strongly encouraged to attend the 2004 MOAA Career Fair, which will be held April 22, 2004, from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Hall D of the Washington, D.C., Convention Center.
For more information, visit www.moaa.org/tops.
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