Delivering Aid to Pakistan

Our military forces have responded when the world’s citizens have fallen victim to natural disasters. They continued to deliver aid to those affected by the recent earthquake in Pakistan over the winter, when quake survivors faced additional hardships.

In response to the earthquake that struck Pakistan Oct. 8, the United States pledged $510 million in relief and reconstruction efforts, including $300 million in humanitarian assistance, $110 million in military support for relief operations, and at least $100 million anticipated from private contributions.

American helicopters have flown more than 3,300 sorties delivering more than 10 million pounds of relief supplies to the disaster area and transporting more than 15,000 people, including more than 4,000 needing medical attention. More than 250 U.S. military and civilian cargo airlift flights have delivered more than 7,000 tons of medical supplies, food, shelter material, blankets, and rescue equipment to Pakistan. A 125-person Naval Mobile Construction Battalion is working to clear debris and to build support structures at camps for displaced persons. And a U.S. Army MASH operating in Muzaffarabad and a U.S. combined medical relief team operating in Shinkaria have provided urgent medical care to more than 9,000 injured people.

On the Hunt

Grab your résumé and head to MOAA’s sixth annual career fair, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Washington, D.C., Convention Center, Hall E. Employers from a variety of fields — federal and state government, law enforcement, DoD contracting, and more — will be there.

The fair is free, and active duty, Guard, Reserve, former, and retired servicemembers and their spouses are invited. In 2005, the career fair attracted 198 employers and more than 1,500 job seekers.

Get there early and take advantage of the free classes for job seekers, including “How to Work a Career Fair,” “Finding a Job in the Federal Government,” and “Evaluating Employer Benefits Packages.”

For more information about the career fair, visit MOAA’s Web Base at www.moaa.org/tops.

Bodog Gives It Up to Troops

A poker tournament complete with a concert and comedy show was held recently in Oahu, Hawaii, in honor of U.S. soldiers and their families. Bodog.com, an online gambling site, hosted the charity event, which included celebrities, musicians (including Snoop Dogg), comedians, and troops. The event benefited the Fisher House Foundation, which supports military families.

The event was held for the 110,000 servicemembers based in Hawaii, many of whom were awaiting or returning from deployment in the Middle East, and was distilled to a one-hour program, “Bodog Salutes the Troops,” which aired on Spike TV in December 2005.

When to Salute

In Review

Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 By Bill Sloan. Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0-7432-6009-0.

In Marine Corps history the amphibious assault of the coral island of Peleliu in September 1944 stands out as a stunning triumph of courage over steel. It also was the bloodiest and most controversial battle of the Pacific War.

In describing the fighting between the 1st Marine Division and more than 10,000 fanatical Japanese soldiers, Sloan tells of the fear, resourcefulness, and courage of men in close combat. He also criticizes the poor intelligence, ineffective naval and air bombardment, faulty leadership, and political considerations that resulted in needless casualties to seize an objective with no strategic or tactical value.

True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole By Bruce Henderson. W.W. Norton & Co., 2005. ISBN 0-393-05791-7.

The question of who really discovered the North Pole in 1908-1909 is cleverly resurrected in Henderson’s suspenseful, well-crafted, and controversial history of the polar explorations of Adm. Robert Peary and Dr. Frederick Cook, men who were once friends and later bitter rivals in a race of discovery.

History books say Peary was the first to reach the North Pole, but Henderson’s convincing conclusions say it was Cook. Henderson tells of all the polar expeditions by both men, vividly describing the brutal cold, starvation, frostbite, and the deadly dangers of the frozen unknown.

His portrayals of both men reveal Peary to be an arrogant, glory-seeking martinet whose shameful behavior maliciously discredited everything Cook accomplished and Cook to be a forward-thinking yet fatally naive idealist.

This is an excellent story of forbidding geography, indigenous Arctic natives, explorers’ competition, and the foolish desire of man to conquer nature for glory.

— William D. Bushnell

SPECS Vision

For many years MOAA has worked with Cole Vision to provide its members the SPECS Vision Discount Program. In mid-2005 Cole Vision was purchased by EyeMed, which will discontinue SPECS and other programs like it March 31, 2006. After that date retailers will no longer accept the SPECS card. If you want to use your SPECS discount before the end of March, you may use your current card with the expiration date of Dec. 31, 2005; print a new card with the March 31, 2006, expiration date from the Member Offers section of MOAA’s Web Base at www.moaa.org; or simply use plan number 47021 at participating retailers. To find a retailer near you, call (800) 804-4384.

Miscellany: Home Loans and Sport News

Homes made easy The VA has increased its home loan guaranty limit. Veterans now can get no-down-payment loans up to $417,000, up from $359,650. With VA-guaranteed loans, made by banks and mortgage companies, veterans can receive a competitive interest rate without making a down payment. Visit www.homeloans.va.gov.

Going for the gold Disabled veteran athletes now can set their sights even higher. An agreement between the U.S. Olympic Committee and the VA allows participants in the VA’s National Veterans Wheelchair Games and the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic to qualify for the U.S. Paralympic Team.

Nutrition Notes: Sugar, Sugar

Some people try to limit the amount of sugars they consume to lose weight or because they have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes mellitus. The FDA has approved several alternative sweeteners; however, anecdotal reports continue to question the safety of some of these products.

Sugar alternatives are of two basic types: nonnutritive and nutritive sweeteners. Nonnutritive sweeteners are low-calorie sweeteners and include saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K, and sucralose. Early concerns about saccharin causing human urinary bladder cancer based on animal studies have not been substantiated in later human studies.

Nutritive sweeteners have the same calories as sugar — the calories are what make them “nutritive” — so they are not useful in low-calorie diets. They are metabolized more slowly than sugar, so they don’t cause a rapid increase in blood glucose — an advantage for diabetics. Nutritive sweeteners include mannitol and sorbitol, which can cause diarrhea if taken in large amounts. Read labels to find out which sweetener is used when a product says “sugar free.”

An Eye on Tax Changes

As of Jan. 1, 2006, the Federal Estate Tax Exclusion increased to $2 million per person (up from $1.5 million in 2005) and the Annual Gift Tax Exclusion increased to $12,000 per donor per donee (up from $11,000 in 2005). The $2 million exclusion amount provides a credit of $780,800 to offset taxes owed by an estate. These changes mean fewer estates will be subject to taxation at the federal level and will allow for greater annual giving opportunities. Although the increase is welcome, remember your gross taxable federal estate includes:

■ assets owned at death, such as brokerage, IRA, and 401(k) accounts;
■ 50 percent of jointly held assets;
■ face value of life insurance policies you own and are the insured of;
■ value of certain assets transferred within three years of death;
■ present value of certain annuities; and
■ assets in certain types of trusts you exercise control over.

Many people forget to add the value of life insurance when estimating their potential estate tax liability. The chart below summarizes the projected changes in estate tax exemption levels over the next several years:

Although Congress repealed the estate tax, it is only effective for one year — 2010. Under current law, the federal estate tax returns in 2011 with the threshold reduced to $1 million and the top bracket skyrocketing to 55 percent. Keep your eye on this issue so you don’t get blindsided in 2011!

Enrollment Changes for TSP

Effective in 2006, civilian and military employees are no longer subject to a percentage limit on the amount they may contribute to a regular Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account. They may contribute the full amount allowed by the IRS annual elective deferral limit, which is $15,000 for 2006.

Investing in TSP is not limited to stocks. People can choose safer investments, such as government securities, or invest in the new Lifecycle Funds. Open seasons were eliminated July 1, 2005, so employees may start, change, stop, or resume their TSP contributions at any time.

TSP offers investors the chance for lower taxes each year they contribute while not having to pay taxes on earnings until they reach retirement. Eligible employees can take out loans, make in-service withdrawals from their TSP accounts, and keep their account even if they leave military or federal civilian service.

For the Student in Your Life

Students in military families now can receive free SAT and ACT test preparation programs. In association with DoD, eKnowledge LLC announced that a group of NFL, NFL Europe, AFL, and CFL football players has sponsored several million dollars’ worth of programs (valued at $199 each) to military families for the 2005-2006 school year.

Military personnel, active or retired, can request as many programs as they need, paying only the cost of shipping and handling. Each program has two CD-ROMs that include more than 10 hours of training video and require approximately 40 hours of student participation.

Active Duty Spotlight

Lt. Cmdr. George G. Reichert serves as ship’s nurse aboard the USS Nimitz.

Why does the Nimitz have just one nurse? I have four Navy corpsmen to assist me with inpatient care while under way, so there’s really no need for more nurses. We have 10 health care professionals and 30 to 40 corpsmen in the medical unit.

Why the Navy? I joined the Army hoping to see the world, but ended up in Missouri instead, so after finishing nursing school I tried the Navy. On our last deployment alone we visited Hong Kong, Guam, Kuala Lumpur, Bahrain, Dubai, Perth, and Hawaii.

What kinds of cases do you treat? Mostly, the population we serve is young so most are in pretty good shape physically. We see a lot of cellulitis and appendicitis; we do some hernia repair — things like that. Occasionally we treat more serious cases: trauma, gunshot wounds, heart attacks.

What’s the best thing about being a nurse aboard the Nimitz? The variety of things you see. The opportunities for growth and doing different things are just endless.

What’s your most memorable experience? We treated an Iraqi fisherman who had been shot in the abdomen by local bandits. We medevaced him to our ICU, where he stayed until we could transfer him to an Iraqi hospital. It was quite a sight seeing the captain of the Nimitz talking with the captain of a small Iraqi fishing boat.

— Mark Cantrell

Attention!

Check out these military-related entertainment offerings.

Book >> My War: Killing Time in Iraq (Putnam Adult, 2005): Colby Buzzell, a U.S. Army machine-gunner who did a yearlong tour in Iraq, writes about the long, boring spells interrupted by wild fits of confusing action. Buzzell first started writing about his experiences in a blog.

Television >> World’s Largest Concert (PBS, March 2006): A segment of this show, a sing-along concert that links students around the world through music, was taped at McConnell AFB, Kan. About 55 local students sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” On display was a 22nd Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker, a formation of 50 airmen, and a color guard.

Movie >> Lincoln and Lee at Antietam — The Cost of Freedom (Inecom Entertainment Co., 2006): This DVD, narrated by Ronald F. Maxwell, documents the battle that changed the course of the Civil War. It includes first-person accounts, commentaries from renowned historians, and an original music score and costs $24.95.

MOAA’s Call for Resolutions

MOAA’s biennial resolutions offer members the opportunity to participate in the management and direction of the association. Any member may propose a resolution, which should address a legislative or management issue related to the purposes of the association. Proposed resolutions need not be wordy or legalistic, but should express ideas clearly and briefly. A Resoultions Committee, appointed by the chairman of the board, will review all submissions. If the committee finds a proposed resolution to be relevant to the association’s purposes, it will be structured to the desired format. All elegible members will vote on the resolutions through the ballot process.