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SOUTH JERSEY VETERANS NEWSLETTER

SPONSORED BY:

SOUTH JERSEY VIETNAM VETERANS ASSOCIATION

GLASSBORO VFW MEMORIAL POST 679

MILITARY ORDER OF PURPLE HEART CHAPTER 336

275 WILMER STREET, GLASSBORO, NJ

856-243-5000

 

 

SOUTH JERSEY VIETNAM VETERANS ASSOCIATION

 

BUSINESS MEETINGS: IS THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH AT AT 7 PM.  

 

SJVVA OFFICERS

Charles Gallagher, President (609)280-9100

Andrew Bain, Vice President

Ray Milligan, Secretary

Charles Byers, Treasurer

David Studstill, Sgt. of Arms

 

Committee Chairpersons

Public Relations/Communications:

   John Tedeschi (856)256-8866

Quartermaster:  Bob Cermak – (856) 228-2764

Advertising:  Paul Introcaso: (609)634-4453, Drew Bain: 856)384-0226, Bob Harris: (856) 629-2793 

Membership:  John J Tedeschi: (856)256-8866

Newsletter:  Colleen Murtaugh

Auxiliary:  Carole TedeschI

Chaplain:  Lou Perry

Color Guard: Ray Wands (856) 226-5944

 

 

 

GLASSBORO VFW MEMORIAL POST 679

 

BUSINESS MEETINGS:  IS THE 4^TH TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH

AT 7 PM.  

 

VFW POST 679 OFFICERS

Jack Haas, Commander

Ray Wands, Sr. Vice

Dennis Cleary, Jr. Vice

Charles Gallagher, Quartermaster

Ray Milligan, Surgeon

Charles Byers, Service Officer

Jacqueline Posey, Chaplain

John Tedeschi, Judge Advocate

John Girardi, Adjutant

Warren Gansart, Officer of the Day

 

VFW CHAIRPERSONS

Dennis Cleary, Building

Ray Wands, Grounds

Dennis Cleary, Bingo

Drew Bain, Armour

Don Holland, Bar Chairman

Charles Gallagher, Hall Chairman

 

MILITARY ORDER OF PURPLE HEART

DJ BENTZ, III

CHAPTER 336

 

BUSINESS MEETINGS: IS THE 3^RD THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 7 PM.

 

Military Order of Purple Heart

Charles Byers, Commander

Paul Introcaso, Sr. Vice

James Winkler, Jr. Vice

Louis Damiano, CFO

Charles Gallagher, Judge Advocate

Dennis Cleary, Sgt. of Arms

Matt Crawford, Adjutant

  

           

PTSD GROUP MEETINGS:

 

 CAMDEN COUNTY:

 

DR. JENSEN:

MONDAY EVENINGS, 1868 GREENTREE ROAD, CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY, AT 8:00 P.M.

 

DR. HANKINS:

1868 GREENTREE ROAD, CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY ON TUESDAY, AT 10:30 A.M., AND WEDNESDAY AT 10:30 A.M., AND WEDNESDAY EVENING AT 5:30 and 7:00 P.M.

 GLOUCESTER COUNTY:

FRIDAY:   WITH DR. JENSEN AT THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS SERVICE OFFICE,  EXIT 20, OFF 295. 

Two meetings will be held: 

1^st beginning at 9:45 – 10:45 AM.  

2^nd beginning at 11:00 to 12PM.   

Wednesday morning with Dr. Jensen -- PTSD meeting at the VFW Post 679 in Glassboro at 10:30 AM.

VFW

 

 Bingo is every Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m.

 

PLEASE COME OUT WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! 

 

 

VFW ON SATURDAY NIGHTS

Just a reminder to everyone that the post will be open every Saturday night from 7 PM Till .....?      Please come out and enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow Veterans. 

We have a pool table, shuffle board, the "Wii" game, Juke box and TVs.

 

SOUTH JERSEY VETERAN EVENTS

 

January 6, 2009 - Veterans Advisory Committee meeting, 7PM, Supt of Schools Bldg.

 

February 3, 2009 - Veterans Advisory Committee meeting, 7PM, Supt of Schools Bldg.

 

February 14, 2009 – Valentine’s day Show, VFW 2071, (Franklinville). Frank Sinatra tribute.  Call Al (694-0022) or Rudy (694-2527) Tickets $25.00 Dinner and show

 

March 3, 2009 - Veterans Advisory Committee meeting, 7PM, Supt of Schools Bldg.

 

March 14, 2009 – St. Patrick’s Day Beef and Beer.  7-11 p.m.  Tickets $25.00.  Buffet, Beef and Beer.  DJ.

Cash Bar.

  

SJVVA CHRISTMAS PARTY 2008

 

New Officers

 

 

 

 VFW

 

VETERANS DAY 2008 – A STUDENT’S REFLECTION

 

Veterans Day and Clayton high school on the day before veterans day, commander Jack Haas of the Glassboro VFW Post 697 and commander Chuck Byers of The Military Order Of The Purple Heart attended classes at the school. Chuck showed a short film on Vietnam. After the film Chuck and Jack talked shortly on there experiences in Vietnam then turned it into a question & answer session for the reaming time. We spent most of the day going from class to class the students as well as the teachers showed much interest and there were many questions asked. Enclosed is a letter I received from a student ;       On behalf of the students of Clayton High School, I would like to extend a heart felt thank you to Mr.Chuck Byers and Mr Jack Haas for your wonderful presentation to our class.It is a shame how quickly Mr. Byers and Mr. Haas were deployed for the war because of the draft. I know it had to be hard for you being drafted at a young age, packing your bags and leaving without a choice.  My grandpa was in the very same war that you two were in. For me, the Vietnam war was differ ant from the other wars just because he was in it. I have a passion for history, and that passion came from my grandpa's experiences in the war. I learned just how rough war is from my grandpa's stories, and now I no even more about the war from the stories Mr. Byers and Mr. Haas told our class at Clayton High School on the day before Veterans Day.  One of the points in your presentation that really sticks with me is how you learned to perform in the medical field with a dog being brought into the area and shot, and you having to help the dog. I know it could not have been an easy thing to see the dog in pain, and to know that you would have to encounter even more pain-the real deal, the casualties of life.  Veterans Day is all about showing respect to all veterans, regardless of the conflict or war that he or she may have served in. No matter what, we should all show respect to the ladies and gentlemen who served our country throughout the world and helped to solve global problems.  Your speech really made me realize how hard it is to live as a veteran with all those memories, Thank you for sharing your stories. Sincerely, Joseph Grosso 10th grade student

 VETERAN NEWS

 VA MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT:    Service-disabled and low-income veterans who are reimbursed for travel expenses while receiving care at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities will see an increase in their payments beginning 9 JAN 09. A recently passed law allows VA to cut the amount it must withhold from their mileage reimbursement.  The deductible amount will be $3 for each one-way trip and $6 for each round trip -- with a calendar cap of $18, or six one-way trips or three round trips, whichever comes first. 

GI BILL:    An estimated 526,000 veterans, active duty servicemembers,

and reserve component personnel are expected to apply for benefits under the new Post-9/11 GI Bill program when the program begins 1 AUG 09. VA officials have

promised that, unless the new Congress adds a new layer of complexity to improve the program, payments to qualified students and their colleges will begin as scheduled with the fall 2009 semester. Members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity came away reassured by the testimony by VA officials 18 NOV during which they laid out in detail their near- and long-term

strategy for bringing the Post-9/11 GI Bill to life. The near-term plan is to hire and train an additional 400 claim processors to handle the extra workload from the new GI Bill during the program’s first year. Through fall 2010, the VA will screen and approve new GI Bill applications using the same manual method the department has used for years to pay claim under the Montgomery GI Bill

(MGIB) and other veterans’ education claims. “The veteran will apply online for benefits as [most] do now,” said Keith M. Wilson, director of education service for the Veterans Benefits Administration. “We will determine eligibility with our existing staff and the additional staff we hire to process these claims, just as we do now.”  

     Though benefit applications are filed online, the VA does not process that information using computers. Instead, claim processers review the information

filed, verify eligibility, and calculate the payments. The turnaround time is an average of 19 days on an original claim and 10 days for a supplement claim.

Those will remain the goals for the new GI Bill. By NOV 2010, however, the VA plans to have a fully automated claim processing system in place. It will be designed and built under an interagency agreement by the Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. The command, known also as SPAWAR, has the information technology expertise the VA lacks to build its own automated claim processing

system. Most early participants in the new GI Bill will be transferring in from the MGIB, seeking nearly to double the value of payments. To qualify for at least partial post-9/11 benefits, applicants must have served on active duty at least 90 aggregate days after 10 SEP 01. Full benefits will be available to

individuals who served at least 36 total months on active duty after 10 SEP 01, assuming they haven’t used MGIB. Also eligible for full post-9/11 benefits will be veterans who served at least 30 continuous days on active duty since 11 SEP

01, and were discharged due to service-connected disability.  

GI BILL TUITION REIMBURSEMENT:    The Post 9/11 GI Bill will provide up to 100% of your tuition. In addition, the program provides a monthly housing stipend a stipend of up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies. If you attend less than full-time you will receive a portion of the payment based on the number of units of study.

The amount of tuition and stipends paid under the Post 9/11 GI Bill will vary depending on your state of residence, number of units taken, and amount of post 11 SEP 01 active-duty service. Here is a quick reference showing the percentage

of total combined benefit eligibility based on the following periods of post 9/11 service:  

100% - 36 or more total months

100% - 30 or more consecutive days with Disability related Discharge.

90% - 30 total months

80% - 24 total months

70% - 18 total months

60% - 12 total months

50% - six total months

40% - 90 or more days

 

     Under the new GI Bill you will be provided tuition up to the highest established charges for full-time undergraduate students charged by the public institution of higher education in the State in which you are enrolled. One of

the added features of this tuition payment plan is that the tuition will be paid directly to the school, relieving you of the responsibility. This is similar to the process used for military tuition assistance. Based on 2008 in-state tuition

rates, the anticipated annual tuition payment rate for 2009 will be just over $6,000. The low being Wyoming at $3,500 a year and Michigan which is the highest

payment in-state tuition rate at $13,000. [Source: Military.com 26 Dec 08 ++]  

COLA 2010:    The 5.8% cost of living adjustment (COLA) retirees will see in their Jan. 2 paychecks will be the largest one since 1982. But the new fiscal year is a whole different story, as steeply falling prices have started off next year's COLA calculation in a deep hole. This month, the Bureau of Labor

Statistics announced that the consumer price index dropped 2.3% in the month of November. That makes a whopping decline of 3.8% for the first two months of

FY2009 - the biggest two-month drop in more than 60 years. In case you’re wondering: if inflation is negative for the year, there would be no COLA in 2010. Retired pay would not be reduced. [Source: MOAA Leg Up 19 Dec 08 ++]  

VA DISABILITY COMPENSATION:   Every surviving spouse of a veteran

receiving VA disability benefits at the time of his death, if the death was after 31 DEC 96, should call the VA. On 12 DEC 08, the headline War veteran widows wrongly denied help in an AP story told the sad tale of another benefits

miscue at the Department of Veterans Affairs.  In recent years VA has been plagued by negative headlines, from a stolen laptop with personal information on

millions of veterans to claims document shredding at a majority of VA regional offices around the nation. The War veteran widows headline was not exactly accurate.  As Paul Harvey says, here’s the rest of the story: 

•Each year the Federal government pays compensation and pension to millions

of disabled veterans.  Compensation is paid for service connected disabilities (war service not required); pension goes to wartime veterans who are totally

disabled and have a low income.  Checks are direct deposited or mailed out each month for the preceding month.

•   Under the law, both benefits end on the last day of the month in the month preceding the veterans death (e.g., if a veteran dies on 10 JUN, the benefit is terminated on 31 MAY).  Since it may take days or weeks for VA to receive word

of a veteran’s death, and may take more time to process that information, benefit checks are often sent out after a veteran dies.

•   In 1996 Congress changed the law to allow the surviving spouse (for the sake of simplicity, lets call them widows) to receive or keep the veterans benefit for the month of death.  This change applies to the widows of all veterans,

whether the veteran had wartime service or not.

•VAs implementation of the change in law was less than elegant: to make it easy on itself widows were required to contact the VA to claim that last check. 

Usually, that claim was in the form of an application for death benefits.  Those who were awarded death benefits received either an amount equal to the last

check or their new death benefit, whichever was greater. 

•   The problem, of course, was that many widows did not apply for death benefits or payment of the last check.  As a consequence, a large number of widows failed to receive money to which they were entitled.  To be fair, most of

these checks were for $100-200: real money but not usually crucial to making the mortgage.  However, some were $2,500 or more: serious money that could spell the

difference between eating every day of the month and skipping meals or not paying bills.

•   VA will begin issuing retroactive payments to eligible surviving spouses at the end of DEC 08.  Payments will continue to be issued as additional unpaid

beneficiaries are identified and VA is able to obtain current address

information. VA is in the process of identifying every veteran who died between 1996 and December 2008 and was receiving a compensation or pension check when he died. 

It is reviewing its computer

records to see if the veteran was married at the time of death and working with Social Security to obtain current addresses for

widows.  VA promises to make press announcements, news releases and perform outreach to try and locate every widow who may be entitled to the veteran’s last check.  To date VA has identified nearly 11,000 surviving spouses of deceased veterans who will receive a lump-sum payment to correct an error in their VA

benefits.  Payments were to be released to these survivors on 29 DEC 09.  The total value of the payments is about $24 million. Also documented were more than 73,000 who had been previously paid. 

 VA promises to fix the computer program.  And it has briefed the major veteran service organizations. VA says that it wants every surviving spouse of a

veteran who died after 31 DEC 96, who is unsure whether they received the veterans last check either separately or as part of their award of death benefits, to call 1-800-749-8387 Mon thru Fri 07-1900 CST and speak with a counselor.  The counselor will need information that identifies the veteran (either his Social Security number or his VA claim number).  They will also ask for the full name of the surviving spouse, a current address and a phone number. 

The VA counselor will forward that information to people who will research VA records to see if the last check was ever paid.  If it was not paid, and the caller can be identified as the surviving spouse, then VA will issue a new

check. Inquiries may also be submitted through the Internet at

http://www.vba.va.gov/survivorsbenefit.htm. [Source: Assistant Director National Veterans Service Gerald Manar notice 18 Dec & VA News Release 24 Dec 08 ++]

 Changes coming to veterans hospitals?

 By Jennifer Calhoun,  Staff writer

A recent brouhaha over closing the emergency room at Salisbury’s Veterans Affairs hospital has some critics worried that unwarranted changes could be coming to veterans’ health care.

In September, the Salisbury hospital planned to eliminate its emergency, inpatient and surgical services.

Under the proposal, veterans needing emergency services would be directed to local hospitals on a fee-for-service basis, while others would be directed to the VA’s new outpatient facilities in Charlotte and Winston-Salem.

Salisbury would retain its mental health and long-term care services, and the emergency room would be turned into a 12-hour urgent-care center.

The plan is part of a national movement to shift the VA’s focus from inpatient to outpatient care, reduce delays in care and cut back on costs, according to James Peake, secretary of Veterans Affairs.

This month, however, communitywide protests in Salisbury forced VA officials to put the plan on hold until 2013.

Critics said the loss of the Salisbury emergency room would hurt veterans, who would pay more for emergency services, while clogging up busy, private hospital emergency rooms that don’t specialize in veterans’ health issues.

Essie Hogue is president of the regional chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees. Hogue said the VA knows the specific health-care needs of veterans, and private hospitals do not.

Veterans would also have to pay for services they once got for a mere copay, she said.

Dr. Dave Rainey, spokesman for the the VA’s Mid-Atlantic network, said the changes would help, not hurt, veterans.

The Mid-Atlantic network covers eight hospitals, including Salisbury and Fayetteville, as well as six other VA medical centers and 16 community-based outpatient centers.

Rainey said the proposed changes are a cost-effective way to expand health care and localize emergency room services, while eliminating waste in the form of underused facilities.

This year, between 10 and 15 surgeries have been performed at the Salisbury hospital, Rainey said.

“It’s a relatively small number of vets that can be affected,” he said.

Still, the Salisbury emergency room had 21,000 visits last year and is considered the leading care center in the Mid-Atlantic network. The hospital serves about 62,000 of the network’s 318,000 patients, Rainey said.

But only 10 percent of the emergency room visits were true emergencies — a problem private, not-for-profit hospitals are also struggling with as patients continue to use the emergency room for many of their health-care needs.

“On one hand, we have a $1.8billion budget,” Rainey said. “That’s taxpayer money, and it has to be spent effectively, by making plans in the short term and the long term. That’s the business case for what we plan there in the Salisbury VA.”

But the VA also looks at the problem in terms of compassion for its veterans, Rainey said.

It’s one of the reasons the protests helped stave off the emergency room closure in Salisbury. At least for now.

‘Enhancing’ services

Rainey said the VA will use the next five years to educate veterans on the changes.

One of the educational tools is a 24-hour call line where veterans can find out about their benefits in private settings, he said.

In the meantime, VA services in the Mid-Atlantic region will continue to expand.

The Jacksonville outpatient VA clinic has already been expanded, and the Wilmington outpatient clinic is also expected to grow during the next few years. A new clinic was added in Hamlet, and another is set to open in Lumberton in September.

With more outpatient clinics, and localized emergency room care from private hospitals, the change is expected to help veterans receive quicker, more localized service.

“We’re not taking it away,” Rainey said. “We’re enhancing it.”

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center is also expected to expand, officials said.

In a written response, VA officials said that Fayetteville was “awaiting the award of a construction project to improve workflow efficiency and patient privacy in the emergency and outpatient departments. The project will improve our ability to treat our veterans. There will be no reduction in services.”

Still, change could come to the VA in the form of a new White House administration. President-elect Obama recently appointed Gen. Eric “Ric” Shinseki to secretary of Veterans Affairs. Shinseki, former chief of staff for the Army, will replace Peake.

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama’s transition team, said future plans for the VA hospitals haven’t been formulated yet.

But while Obama campaigned, he promised to expand VA centers across the country and allow all veterans access to services. He also proposed to increase funding for VA medical care and make improvements to claims processing and procedures.

Vietor said Shinseki would make his own recommendations sometime after the inauguration on Jan. 20.

 

  

St Patrick’s Day

Beef & Beer

 

Saturday
March 14, 2009

7 -11 pm

$25.00

 

Buffet, DJ & Beer (and soda)
Cash Bar

 

VFW Post # 679
275 Wilmer St

Glassboro, NJ

 

For tickets contact:
John: 856-256-8866
Charles: 609-280-9100

 

TaylorMade’s r7 Limited Golf Driver Winner to be announced!

 

Sponsored by:

SJVVA / MOPH / VFW679

Benefits

Veterans Helping Veterans Fund

 

TaylorMade’s r7 Limited Golf Driver

 

Chances $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00

Raffle to be held 3/14/2009 at St Patrick's Beef & Beer    

Winners need not be present to win

 

For Tickets, please contact:

Charles – 609-280-9100 - Drew – 609-352-4194 - John – 856-256-8866

 

TaylorMade r7 Limited
An attractive head with max ball-flight adjustability

TaylorMade's r7 Limited driver has a more triangular head than its predecessor, the r7 SuperQuad. This shapely design distributes mass farther back and toward the heel and toe for greater stability (10 percent higher MOI) and shot-shape variability (by 25 percent). Placing the removable 16-gram plug in the toe (versus heel) produces up to a 35-yard difference in shot direction (see flight map). By comparison, the SuperQuad shot shape varied by 28 yards. TaylorMade matches this stable head to a longer shaft—45.5" versus 45"—to help you belt bigger drives without suffering control issues.

Credit: Schecter lead