FRAtoday September 2020
comunicaitons
FROM THE BRIDGE
SHIPMATE FORUM	5
On & Off captol hill	7
FEATURE  STORies
VETERANS’ MATTERS19
SHIPMATE NEWS21
TAPS22
Reunions	25
AUXILIARY OF THE FRA27
FINANCE MATTERS28

COMMINICATIONS

Earning the Anchor
I would like to say congratulations to all those who were selected for advancement to chief petty officer. This is your most important achievement in enlisted advancement, and you and your families should be very proud of your accomplishment.
Chief petty officer is the seventh enlisted rank (pay grade of E-7) in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.  The CPO is above petty officer first class and below senior chief petty officer. The term “rate or rating” identifies the career field or job of a Chief Petty Officer. The grade of chief petty officer in the Navy was established on April 1, 1893.
I have been told that the definition of a Navy chief is that they are a tried and true leader, training Shipmates in their ratings while guiding and training junior officers to become future leaders. When confronted with a challenge, the age-old catchphrase in and around the Navy is, “Ask the chief.”  Chief petty officers are expected to be technical and practical experts providing solutions to both officers and enlisted personnel. The chief’s expertise is a vital part of the U.S. Navy’s successful daily operations and ability to accomplish anything. 
Navy chiefs are often considered the backbone of senior enlisted leadership. They are humble professionals who work as advocates for their Shipmates’ best interests. The Navy chief removes barriers and handles adversity to allow sailors to do their jobs to the best of their abilities while demonstrating the humility of taking a back seat when a good job is rewarded. A chief is an example of the importance of the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment. A chief takes honor in doing the right thing, even when it’s not popular. A chief has the courage to stand up for what is right and has the commitment to stay the course no matter what heavy seas or rough waters lie ahead.
I have had the pleasure to meet so many chiefs while attending FRA events. I can say the Navy and the FRA are lucky to have these sailors within our ranks.   FRA
In Loyalty, Protection and Service,
William D. Stevenson, Editor-in-Chief

Return to Table of Contents

FROM THE BRIDGE

What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been
I am sure most of you have heard the song “Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead — if not, then at least some of the lyrics. There is one line in the song that singer Jerry Garcia said was a metaphor for the band’s troubles on the road and how they adapted. I think it is a very good metaphor for this year’s FRA board of directors too, which seems to sum up the experience that 2020 has delivered so far: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” 

When COVID-19 hit in March, we all were instructed to not socialize. Restaurants, places of worship and large gatherings were shut down. At the branch level, in-person meetings were all canceled. At the regional level, meetings were also canceled. At the national level, Sailor of the Year and Recruiter of the Year ceremonies, Storming the Hill, the Naval Academy presentation and Arlington Memorial Day ceremonies were all canceled. 
Some events were conducted virtually, but they were not the same. 

Yes, it has been a strange year, but this FRA trip is not over. As the FRA starts to plan for its 100th anniversary in 2024, we need to look forward to our second century. What we all share as Shipmates is the same commitment to loyalty, protection and service that the FRA was founded on; but we now do it differently. The networking is done mostly via the internet not at a bar. Information about our association is readily available via the internet, not so much by mail. 

In 2005, we voted to have veterans join — that vote told the organization that the Shipmates want us to survive and to carry on. We are now a veterans service organization and we have established a Veterans Service Foundation. Every day, people are joining the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. As they are finishing their enlistments, whether for four years or 20 years, they become our target demographic.  The possibility of recruiting new members is out there. We just need to get out there ourselves to inform and persuade Shipmates of the value of membership and how we help veterans.

Email Use Increases
The number of Shipmates who are connected to the internet is growing. I know this because of the volume of mostly encouraging emails that I have received throughout the year. A recent FRA fundraising effort was conducted by email and of the 40,702 emails sent, the successful send rate was 98 percent. Here is an interesting fact: 37 percent of the opened emails were accessed on a mobile device. As we all seem to be using email more, I hope that I have been able to respond to your legitimate questions and concerns to your satisfaction, and if we happen to disagree, that is OK too. At least we can communicate easily and frequently. 

Shipmates, please provide your email address to your branch or the Membership Services department at National Headquarters. Otherwise, you are not taking advantage of being able to quickly receive valuable information.  

In Conclusion
When I was in the Navy, I was always told, “Overcome, improvise, and adapt,” and I believe that holds true for most Shipmates — we must have all had that same chief! When the need arises, everyone steps up. As the number of positive COVID-19 cases goes up across the country, 

I ask you all to do your part to keep yourself, your families and your Shipmates as minimally exposed as possible. We are living in a world that has more screen time, less in-person contact, more opportunities for misperceptions, less willingness to take time to clarify, more tensions, and less time spent reflecting on others’ views. It is not easy to deal with this everyday, so please find ways to make time to refresh so you can be your best for yourself, your family, and your Shipmates. 

In Loyalty, Protection and Service, Donna M. Jansky 
Donna is national president and may be reached by email at: janskyd@comcast.net

Return to Table of Contents

sHIPMATE FORUM

The Skywarrior Tankers
I am writing in response to the Shipmate Forum letter, The Skywarrior Tankers, in the May issue of FRAtoday. I was fortunate to have served in several squadrons of various types of aircraft. My first deployment was with a Helicopter squadron (multi mission, primary ASW).
The letter noted the Skywarrior as the first off/last on aircraft during carrier ops, but I respectfully disagree. The SH-3 Sea King was the actual first off/last on aircraft during flight ops. A Sea King was always assigned plane guard (SAR) duties. 
I recall my deployment in 1982 aboard the USS RANGER (CV-61). At that time, we picked up the VQ squadron somewhere around the Philippines or Guam, during blue water ops. No denying the big Whales’ presence on the flight deck when they arrived. 
I would be remiss if I did not mention the tragic loss of life on that cruise. One of the Skywarriors crashed at sea, six shipmates were lost. I also would be remiss if did not note, a seventh crew member was rescued by HS-2 pilots and air crew.
I believe the “at sea SAR” set a “distance traveled” milestone, but can't confirm it.
Very Respectfully,
Kirk M. Burch, AD1, USN (Ret.)

Vietnam Veterans Article
 I would like to follow up on our conversation about the Message to All Vietnam Veterans article in the June Issue of the FRAtoday magazine. When I noticed the story kept focusing on the end of the war and when all troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973, it floored me.
The media and history books for some reason do not really know exactly the true story or are so indoctrinated saying that March 29, 1973, was the end. The real truth is the bitter end came and the last combat troops left when the embassy fell April 30, 1975. A very sad day for sure.
I made a deployment with HC-1 Det-4 on the USS RANGER from early November 1972 to June 22, 1973, and then again from May 1974 to October 1974. We cruised up and down the coast of Vietnam doing airstrikes and logistics support for our Cruisers and Destroyers that were closer than we were. I was also on a small one-helicopter detachment from HC-1 DET-4 for approximately two weeks during the de-mining operations on the USS WORDEN (DLG-18) which acted as Flagship for CTF-78 and as an alternate site for meeting the North Vietnamese. We were just outside Haiphong harbor and made daily flights into Hanoi to deliver and pick up dignitaries.
I only hope that the people who were off the coast on those ships (April 1975 to May 1975) that participated in the mass evacuation of Saigon would speak up. If the U.S. Navy had not been off the coast in support of that operation, thousands of lives would have been lost.
Regards and thanks for the callback,
AFCM George Trax, USN (Ret.)

Stripes Do Not Match the Caption
I received the July issue of the magazine and enjoyed the reading. I found one error on page 47, in the caption of the bottom photo. The second person from the left, Glenn McDonald, is captioned as being a “Col. in the USNR.”  The uniform he is wearing has Lt. Commander (LCDR) stripes on it.
Philip A. Stone, SK1, USCG (Ret.)
Treasurer, FRA Branch 40, Chesapeake, VA

Military Housing Privatization Initiative
Thank you for the article by Elise Howard. The battle to address the negligence in base housing should have been settled several years ago. The funds were allocated but then reallocated for the border wall.  Congress funded the repairs plus maintenance but did nothing after the funds were diverted.  Is this the thanks military members receive for their service?
CPO J.G. Burns, USN (Ret.)

Letters published in Shipmate Forum reflect the opinions and views of individual FRA members. They do not reflect the position of the FRA. The FRA is not responsible for the accuracy of letter content. Submit letters to FRAtoday, 125 N. West St., Alexandria, VA 22314 or to fratoday@fra.org.

Return to Table of Contents

ON AND OFF CAPITOL HILL

NDAA Moves Forward
As FRAtoday goes to press the House and Senate have each passed their version of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA/HR 6395/S. 4049). Despite the pandemic Congress has been working on the Defense authorization bills and on spending bills to keep government operating after October 1, 2020. A conference committee made up of Senators and Representatives will be appointed to resolve the differences between the two Defense Authorization bills. The Conference will write a final NDAA based on provisions of the two bills. When there is agreement on a final bill it will be submitted to both the House and Senate for a final vote. If approved by both chambers it will be sent to the President to sign into law or be vetoed. Members should use the Action Center (www.fra.org) to weigh in on issues impacting their pocketbook.  

Retiree Issues

House & Senate Pass Their Version of 2021 NDAA
The House and Senate considered floor amendments and passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA-H.R.6395/S.4049). There were 750 House floor amendments filed for the House NDAA (HR 6395). The House Rules Committee deemed 407 worthy of additional consideration. Key amendments supported by the FRA, such as expanding concurrent receipt, authorizing the Department of Defense (DoD) to waive mail-order prescription co-pays during pandemic, final months’ pay for widows of retirees, expanding the list of diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange did not get called for a vote. The House and Senate devoted considerable debate time to an amendment to cut $74 Billion (10%) from the Defense budget and give it to anti-poverty programs. The House amendment failed 93-324 and the Senate amendment failed by a vote of 23-77. Both bills provide for a three percent annual pay increase for active duty and improve oversight of military privatized housing. 

The House bill was amended to require a moratorium on incinerating PFAS chemicals by Defense. Another ratified House amendment made improvements to military overseas voting. The House bill was also amended to expand and improve the Burn Pits Registry. 

The Senate also passed its version of the FY2021 NDAA after considering floor amendments. There were 799 Senate floor amendments filed for consideration. The Senate considered only six floor amendments, that included FRA-supported amendment sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester that expands the list of diseases (Bladder cancer, Hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism) associated with exposure to the Agent Orange herbicide for which there is a presumption of service connection for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam. The amendment was approved by the Senate (94-6).

Now that both chambers of Congress have approved their version of the FY2021 NDAA a conference committee will be appointed to resolve the differences between the two bills. Once the differences are resolved a final bill will be submit to both House and Senate. If both chambers approve the bill it will be sent to the President to be signed into law or vetoed. 

Members are urged to use the FRA Action Center (www.fra.org)to ask their Representatives to support the Senate provision to expand the list of diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange in the final NDAA (see story below). Other NDAA issues to weigh in on with the FRA Action center include; waive pharmacy mail-order co-pays during pandemic, don’t cut military medical staff , and don’t exclude retirees and military dependents from MTFs . 

NDAA Amendment to Provide Benefits to Vets Exposed to Agent Orange
Sen. Jon Tester (Mont.) successfully sponsored a Senate floor amendment (#1972) for the National Defense Authorization Act (S.4049), which expands the list of service-connected presumptions under the Agent Orange statute to include bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism. Currently, thousands of Vietnam veterans living with chronic health conditions developed during their service are being denied critical benefits and health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Tester’s amendment would provide a presumption of service connection — based on scientific review by the National Academy of Medicine — for bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism. Under a presumption of service connection, veterans suffering from these three conditions would be eligible for essential benefits and VA care. The FRA and several other MSO/VSO organizations have dispatched a joint letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Senate Minority Charles Schumer (NY), urging them to support this amendment. 

Members are urged to use the FRA Action Center (www.fra.org) to ask their Senators to support this amendment.

TRICARE Select Enrollment Fees Beginning 2021
Those TRICARE Select beneficiaries under age 65 and joining the military before Jan. 1, 2018 (Group A) are scheduled to pay a monthly fee beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The monthly fee for an individual is $12.50 and $25 for a family. These and other fee increases were opposed by the FRA and were authorized by the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA-S.2943-P.L. 114-328). 

The Defense Health Agency announced that these beneficiaries will being receiving a communication from their regional contractors with instructions on how to set up payments. The DHA notes that failure to pay will mean loss of coverage until the following open enrollment period. For more information about the fees please go to:  https://tricare.mil/Plans/Enroll/Select/EnrollmentFees.

Veterans Issues

Legislators Urge VA to Implement GAO Recommendations
Key members of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee dispatched a letter to Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie asking him to implement a recent GAO report (GAO-20-387) citing problems with sexual harassment of VA employees. The report claims that between 2014 and 2016, 18 - 27 percent of VA employees were victims of sexual harassment. The report found that VA lacks mandated reporting and oversight of sexual harassment complaints, fails to adhere to Equal Employment Opportunity guidance, and is insufficient in maintaining policies and training VA employees to recognize and address sexual harassment.  

HVAC Subcommittee Hearing on 48-Hour Rule 
The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs recently held a hearing on several legislative proposals, that include bills regarding burial benefits, life insurance, and reinstatement of the 48-hour rule. The hearing focused on legislation (H.R.7443), sponsored by Rep. Collin Allred (Tex.), that would re-instate the 48-hour rule that was rescinded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) earlier this year. this legislation, which would require VA to provide the representative of record of a claimant for benefits an opportunity to review a proposed rating decision prior to formal promulgation. 

On April 24, 2020, the VA rescinded its decades-long policy of permitting accredited service officers to review ratings decisions during the 48-hours prior to their promulgation. This policy, known as 48-hour review was not codified in statute. The 48-hour review policy was an essential feature of the VA claims process. During this review process, veteran service officers (VSO) had the opportunity to review VA decisions to ensure that all claimed conditions had been addressed and properly adjudicated. After reviewing a rating decision, VSOs were permitted to notify the VA of any irregularities, missed conditions, typographical errors, or other mistakes before a disability rating was formally proclaimed. This process allowed for errors to be corrected without requiring veterans to seek redress in the time-consuming and sometimes costly claims appeals process. The 48-hour also reduced the workload of VA’s appeals infrastructure. 

Members are urged to use the FRA Action Center to ask their Representative to support this legislation. 

MilCon/VA Spending Bill Approved by Committee
The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) approved the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (MilCon/VA). Before approving the measure, committee members expressed frustration about the years-long delays in merging the electronic health records (EHR) of the departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense. HAC Ranking Member Kay Granger (Tex.) called the situation “a national disgrace.” MilCon/VA Subcommittee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (Fla.) compared it to delays in the construction of the Capitol Visitor Center, saying eventually appropriators tied the release of funds to certain benchmarks and progress reports. Lawmakers may want to similarly connect requirements to the release of funds to contractors responsible for the health-records merger, Wasserman-Schultz said. FRA supports adequate funding for the VA healthcare and the Department of Defense resource sharing to ensure delivery of a seamless, cost effective, quality services to personnel wounded in combat and other veterans.  

To comply with the spending caps set by last year’s two-year budget deal, some spending has been designated as “emergency,” and is exempt from those caps. This includes $12.5 billion for the VA community care program created by the MISSION Act. The budget further includes $137 million to support the processing of Blue Water Navy disability claims. The bill would block funding for installations named after Confederate officers and would also bar funding for the border wall. The bill will now go to the full House for further consideration. 

How VA’s Regulatory Policies Prevent OTH Veterans from Accessing Benefits 
The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held a hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulatory policies preventing “Bad Paper” veterans from critical benefits. Depending on the type of discharge, an “Other Than Honorable” (OTH) discharge can bar former service members from some VA benefits. In 2017, the VA changed their policy to allow mental health care treatments for OTH veterans. The FRA-supported “Honor Our Commitment Act” (S.699/H.R.1985) enacted into law in 2018 required the VA to provide mental health care to veterans with OTH discharges. 

Subcommittee testimony revealed that approximately 500,000 living veterans from various wars have been discharged from the military under other than honorable conditions. Some of the service members with OTH discharges were due to PTSD or the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy. The VA launched a campaign to reach these veterans to apply for discharge upgrade and inform them of their eligibility for benefits. 

According to the VA, the discharge review is automatically triggered when the former service member applies for VA benefits. The VA cannot re-adjudicate the type of discharge but can investigate the facts and circumstances of the discharge to decide on whether a service member is eligible for benefits.  

Testimony before the subcommittee revealed that the VA’s campaign to reach former service members was ineffective. The VA is turning away service members based on their discharge status without investigating the circumstances of the discharge and there is no clear guidance for VA Veterans Service Reps. (VSR) to adjudicate these cases. The VA claimed to be training frontline workers on the steps they need to take when an OTH veteran walks into any VA facility to apply for help. 

Subcommittee members encouraged the VA to seek their assistance in drafting legislations that will standardize and facilitate the processing of application for benefits by OTH veterans. Some subcommittee members also caution the VA not to move towards a process that will reward bad behavior in the services. 

VA Building a Resilient Veterans’ Health Care Workforce
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing regarding the management of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ workforce. The hearing focused on recruitment, retention, and the building of a resilient veterans’ health care workforce. 

The VA hired more than 23,000 personnel (most of them in permanent positions) in a 3 months period, which is double the amount they have hired in the previous 3 months. This action is mostly to assist the VA’s fourth mission of helping with the national response to the current coronavirus. Among the measures to achieve this rapid hiring expansion are the introduction of policies such as: 
  • Lifting pay limitations. 
  • Reducing hiring timeline. 
  • Reducing onboarding timeline. 
  • Optimizing resources. 
  • Encouraging retirees to return to the workforce. 

To bolster recruitment, the VA established an integrated Staffing Command Cell to drive accelerated hiring and to manage the deployments of staff to affected areas across the nation. The VA is asking Congress to provide flexibility with the hiring process. The VA assured the SVAC, despite more than 47,000 vacancies, there is no gap in care for veterans. 

The VA claimed at the hearing that the cross-training of ambulatory nurses, empowering clinical staff to work at the top of their licensing and providing incentives have all greatly helped with resiliency. These policies have enabled the VA to bring back retirees who have vast experience and helped stabilize retention rates. 

The VA assured the committee that it is monitoring the hiring process to ensure there is no unintended consequences while also tracking the progress of implementing the Mission Act to ensure the goals are being met. The VA hopes to permanently establish some of the temporary policies that allowed them to achieve this goal. 

VA Offers Debt Relief for Veterans in 2020 
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) declared that it will continue debt relief through the end of 2020 for veterans adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. VA is suspending all actions on veteran debts under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department. This includes the suspension of collection action or extending repayment terms on pre-existing VA debts, whichever the veteran prefers. For benefit debts, veterans should contact the VA Debt Management Center at 1-800-827-0648. For health care debts, veterans should contact the Health Resource Center at 1-866-400-1238.

ANC Reduces Restrictions for Funerals 
Arlington National Cemetery will now allow more people to attend funerals. The ANC will now allow up to 50 people at gravesites during military funerals, an increase from the 10-person limit that went into effect in March. The cemetery will also begin offering more honors at funerals such as gun salutes, body bearers, buglers and drummers. These elements of the burial ceremony had been curtailed for three months because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Arlington National Cemetery will continue to balance activities to protect our workforce, funeral attendees and family pass holders while we work to accomplish our most sacred mission in this [COVID-19] environment,” said Karen Durham-Aguilera, executive director of the cemetery.

The restrictions have been reduced because coronavirus cases in the Washington area are trending down, the cemetery said in a statement. In Washington, Maryland and Virginia, hospitalizations were trending down. The ANC is in phase two of its four-phase plan. Phase three is expected to include opening the cemetery to the public, with some restrictions in place.

As of now, the cemetery will remain closed to anyone except family pass holders and funeral attendees. Anyone who enters is required to wear a face mask and maintain social distancing. Family pass holders and funeral attendees are allowed only to visit their loved one’s grave, and then exit the cemetery when they are done. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority reopened the Arlington National Cemetery stop.

Active Duty/Reserve Issues
	
HASC Subcommittee Discusses Sexual Harassment and Assault in the Military
The House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee held a hearing to address sexual assault, harassment, and retaliation in the Department of Defense (DoD). The primary focus of the hearing was to examine the DoD's standards and policies relating to sexual assault in the wake of the murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén at Ft.Hood, Texas. Chairwoman Jackie Spier presented her amendments in the FY2021 NDAA (HR.6395), that recently passed the House, that would strengthen military policies on sexual harassment.

Subcommittee members noted similarities between the Guillén incident and the murder of Marine Lcpl. Maria Lauterbach at Camp Lejeune in 2007. Lawmakers remarked that in both incidents, the victims had disclosed sexual harassment and assault to friends and family. Following the murder of Lcpl. Lauterbach, Congress passed measures in both FY2009 and FY2010 NDAA to address the issues of sexual assault which deals with three primary areas: 
• Prevention- Plans and training guidelines to lessens sexual assault.
• Protection - Provision of tools to victims to protect themselves from retaliation such as expedite transfer out of the unit, victims counsel and legal representation.
• Prosecution: holding the perpetrators accountable.
Members of the Subcommittee pledged to work with DoD to improve the culture and policies dealing with sexual harassment and assaults.  

House Passes Defense Appropriations Bill
The House passed the FY 2021 Defense Appropriations bill (HR 7616 that provides $694.6 billion in new discretionary spending authority for the Department of Defense for functions under the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee's jurisdiction. The spending bill (HR 7616) provides an increase of $1.3 billion above the FY 2020 enacted level, and $3.7 billion below the President's budget request. The FY 2021 Military Personnel recommendation is $157.7 billion for active, reserve component personnel, a decrease of $1.2 billion below the budget request and an increase of $7.5 billion above the FY 2020 enacted level. The measure fully funds the requested three percent increase in active duty annual pay increase that keeps pace with civilian pay.   

Navy personnel spending provides for 347,800 active duty, an increase of 7,300 above current year and equal to the Administration's request; and 58,800 reserve, a decrease of 200 below current year and equal to the request. The Marine Corps personnel spending provides 184,100 active duty, a decrease of 2,100 below current year and equal to the request; and 38,500 reserve, equal to current year and the request. FRA monitors the appropriations process to ensure adequate funding for benefits and quality-of-life programs for active, reserve, retired, and veterans of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard plus their families and survivors.

National Service Commission Issues Final Report
The Commission on Military, National, and Public Service has released its final report on the need for a mandatory national service program, including military service. The FRA participated in a round-table discussion with the commission. In January 2019, the FRA surveyed its members about mandatory national service. The online survey asked, “Should Congress enact a mandatory military service/national public service program?” The responses were:
  • Yes, for men only - 14.7%
  • Yes, for men and women - 67.8%
  • No - 10.5%
  • Unsure/don’t know - 7.4%

The results were shared with the commission, who in turn agreed with the majority of FRA members and recommended that both men and women be required to register for Select Service. Currently, only men older than the age of 18 are required to register. The commission wants to create a common expectation of service among American people, so nobody is surprised by the questions “How have you served?” or “How will you serve?”
FEATURE  STORY

The Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network
Overcoming Trauma One Drawing, Painting and Sculpture at a Time
By Elise M.Howard

Since its inception in the 1940s, art therapy has been treated by many academics like a lopsided sidecar on the motorcycle of traditional talk therapy. There seemed to be something decidedly unscientific about a treatment based in the arts, and the lack of scientifically rigorous research produced by this assumption has kept the practice in the shadows of better-studied modalities. But today, a unique partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, called the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, is healing wounded warriors in surprising ways, funding new clinical research and changing minds about the value of art therapy. 

A Treatment Without Side Effects
What exactly is art therapy? For French physician Dr. Chris Gilbert, Ph.D., it was the best way to help many of her patients.

“I realized that a lot of physical symptoms that people have are due to emotional problems,” Gilbert recalls. “And by giving people medications, I usually added side effects of the medications and didn't solve the problem.”
A holistic practitioner without reservations about exploring treatment options outside the traditional medical framework, Gilbert turned to art therapy techniques to treat these psychosomatic symptoms in her patients. She has since become renowned for her unusual but effective approach to medicine, and has written three books, including “The Listening Cure: Healing Secrets of an Unconventional Doctor,” which explores the use of expressive arts therapies and other unique interventions for difficult-to-treat symptoms like chronic fatigue, recurrent infections and unexplained abdominal pain.

Like the majority of art therapy practitioners, Gilbert uses art in the context of another style of therapy: in her case, Gestalt therapy, which emphasizes seeing individuals as a whole and experiencing the present moment. She says her goal is for the patient to “give a voice to their symptom” to reveal the thoughts and feelings underlying that problem. For example, you might speak for a chronic headache by saying, “I’m this intense blanket of pain that just descends out of nowhere in the middle of the workday, making it impossible to get anything done.” This could suggest that your headaches serve as an escape from particularly difficult days at work. But for many, this unusual way of thinking is a tall order.

“The way to get out of that and to get to the real core is to do an indirect approach, and that is with art,” Gilbert says. “When somebody makes a drawing, their defenses are down and they just draw. I ask them to draw whatever comes to mind. …Then I ask them to give a voice in the first person to whatever is in the drawing — it could be different colors, different shapes. … And then I manage to surface the unconscious problems and expose them, and then we can talk about them.”

Art Therapy Thrives at Military Hospitals
In 2000, after moving to the U.S., Gilbert completed a yearlong residency in the VA Long Beach Healthcare System to qualify for her California medical license. But she found that the VA was not as open to art therapy as her French patients had been.

“As I was an intern, I couldn't do my own way very much. I had guidelines to follow,” she says. And those guidelines definitely didn’t include art.

But over the past two decades, the VA has changed its tune when it comes to expressive arts therapies. In 2011, the DOD and the VA partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts to establish what has become the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, a three-pronged approach to treating post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, and other trauma-related difficulties through expressive arts therapies. The program’s first focus is providing art, music, writing and dance or movement therapy to service members and their families. Its second aim is to support local arts programs near Creative Forces clinical sites so that service members who complete treatment can continue their involvement in the arts recreationally with other members of the community. The third goal of the program is to invest in clinical research so community partners and the next generation of art therapists can be trained in art therapy best practices. 

The program began in 2011 with a single site, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, or NICoE, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2012, the NEA was invited to duplicate the program at the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. After nearly ten years, the program’s success has allowed it to expand to a total of 10 clinical sites across Virginia, Maryland, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, Colorado and Alaska, with three more locations in development in Ohio, Mississippi and Indiana.

A New Way to Tell Trauma Stories
Melissa Walker has been the Healing Arts Program Coordinator at NICoE since its inception. She designed the art therapy portion of the center’s four-week intensive treatment program, which is intended for service members with complex cases including both physical injuries and psychological difficulties that have not responded to other treatments. The integrative treatment model includes traditional medical and psychiatric care, as well as art therapy, music therapy, therapeutic writing, dance or movement therapy, yoga, acupuncture, meditation, canine-assisted therapy, and both group and individual talk therapy. The majority of participants arrive with a PTSD or traumatic brain injury diagnosis.

One of the most striking findings of research into PTSD has been that exposure to a traumatic experience produces a physiological change in brain functioning.

“Neuroimaging scans have shown that the Broca's area of the brain, which is the speech area of the brain, shuts down when individuals try to recount a trauma,” Walker explained in a 2012 interview for the National Endowment for the Arts’ “Art Works” podcast. “However, the part of the brain that encodes the trauma, the sensory kind of aspects of that — sight, sounds, smell, feel — that's the part that lights up, and it's the same part of the brain that you utilize when you're creating art.”

 Walker added that although “there are so many smirks in the room” when a new group of service members is told they are going to be creating art, the majority of those skeptics soon find that they are able to tell their stories through art in a way that they could not express in words. Discussing the experiences depicted in their artwork then helps them to describe their trauma verbally, perhaps for the first time.

“I've had a few service members say there's something so different about the art therapy, because when you are trying to talk about what it is you just created, part of the pressure of describing a horrific moment they remember, or parts of themselves that they're ashamed of, that pressure is alleviated a little bit because everyone's staring at the creation and not right at them,” she said.

Gilbert has similarly found that art can create enough distance between patients and their feelings or experiences to make them feel comfortable discussing them.

“By making the feelings something different, like an art form, it gets outside the body,” Gilbert says. “Then it's much easier to address those because they're not inside, they're outside. Like, …‘There's nothing wrong with me. It's outside. It's that drawing that I'm making.’”

Gilbert says that often patients who are unable or unwilling to discuss their inner thoughts feel they can talk about art “without any danger of really relating because it's just a painting; we're just talking about a painting.” 
In her November 2015 TEDMED talk, Walker recounted the story of one veteran who participated in a mask-making session at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence. This veteran’s mask was a depiction of a terrifying bloodied face — the same face he’d been seeing in nightmares and flashbacks for the past seven years. By depicting his vision in a tangible form, the service member was able to associate the vision with the mask outside him rather than with the memories inside him. He eventually left the mask behind at the NICoE, and along with it, the intrusive visions.

“Now, whenever that service member is haunted by some traumatic memory, he continues to paint,” Walker told the TEDMED audience. “Every time he paints these disturbing images, he sees them less or not at all.” 

Not Just for Artists
For many, the idea of drawing, painting or sculpting for an audience — even for an audience of one in a closed room — is intimidating. But Gilbert emphasizes that art therapy is not just for the artsy.

“The biggest misconception is that art needs to be a certain way,” Gilbert says. “I don't really care about how talented somebody is or not. I think when it comes from the heart, it's always beautiful.”

Additionally, artwork created in a session does not have to be aesthetically pleasing to be effective. The therapeutic purposes of creating art include gaining insight into your thoughts and feelings, processing difficult emotions, and coping with ongoing stressors, all of which can be accomplished even if no one else can tell what your piece is depicting. 

For service members with traumatic brain injuries and other physical combat injuries, crafting art includes additional treatment objectives: relearning fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, sustaining focus over a lengthy period and honing their patience along the way. 

The Healing Power of Art
The Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network represents a shift in the military’s acceptance of expressive arts therapies as legitimate treatments for some of the modern warfighter’s most pressing health issues. As it continues to support research on art therapy, educate art therapists and adjust its interventions based on lessons learned, the program brings our modern medical society closer to a scientific understanding of what humanity has known for millennia: that art has the power to express the unspeakable, heal the invisible, and bring hope to the irreplaceable.

FEATURE

Kennedy Space Center
From Historic Cape Canaveral, The Nation Looks to the Stars
By Ann Norvell Gray

In May of 1961, five months into his new administration and three weeks after Alan Shepard became the first American to fly into space, President John F. Kennedy delivered a stirring speech to a joint session of Congress, laying out the requirements of a comprehensive plan for the nation’s exploration of space. The Apollo program to land men on the moon had existed since the previous year and was chartered by the president on that same day in May.

 It was the Cold War era, and the USSR was already ahead of us in this endeavor. Later the next year, speaking by invitation at Rice University in Houston, Kennedy said this:
“Man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space. . 
“ … We mean to be a part of it — we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace.”

It was an audacious call to action, inspiring national enthusiasm with its focus on cooperation rather than competition, not only among nations, but also among the American centers of scientific research, engineering mastery, political power and financial investment that were already fundamental to this nation’s leadership throughout the world.

Tragically, the young president would not live to see the dream realized. 

Cape Canaveral
Any seafarer or geographer can tell you that a cape is “a high point of land that extends into a river, lake, or ocean.”1 The name “Cape Canaveral” is of Spanish origin, and first appeared on a map in the 16th century.2 It lies approximately midway along the Eastern coast of Florida, just about due east of Orlando. Even a cursory glance at a map shows the cape’s advantages as the launch site into space. It juts into the Atlantic Ocean, well clear of any landmass where falling debris could endanger people. It is also close to the equator, where the Earth’s eastward rotation gives a spacecraft its strongest push as it streams into the sky.

Since 1949, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, or CCAFS, has been there, headquartered at Patrick Air Force Base, and has served as a proving ground for missiles since the Eisenhower administration. Anyone old enough to remember the launches hurtling beyond the Earth’s gravitational force in the 1960s can’t help but recall the nationwide excitement that gave the name “Cape Canaveral” a kind of magic.

For 10 years following the death of President Kennedy in 1963, CCAFS was called Cape Kennedy Air Force Station before reverting to its previous name. Before the COVID-19 pandemic reorganized everyone’s lives, the station’s name was scheduled to change again, this time to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but that event has been postponed until something more like normal life returns.	The John F. Kennedy Space Center
Up the cape to the north-northwest of CCAFS, on Merritt Island, lies NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, or KSC. The center was originally called the NASA Launch Operations Center. It had become an official space center in 1962, and was renamed for President Kennedy soon after his assassination in November of 1963. The KSC managed the Mercury, Gemini and early Apollo missions that took off from CCAFS from launch to recovery. Beginning with Gemini 4 in 1965, the Kennedy Space Center began handing off control after liftoff to Mission Control in Houston.3 

The continuing role of CCAFS meant that the fundamental infrastructure was there, pioneering work toward space travel was already happening, and there was plenty of room for growth and expansion. Understanding what realities awaited us as we broke the bounds of Earth required both great audacity and great caution. As knowledge expanded, so did the facilities on the ground. In 1950, the economy of the surrounding county largely depended on the production of citrus. The rapid growth of the business of space in the 1960s changed everything. 

Kennedy Space Center now occupies more than 140,000 acres of land and water on and around Merritt Island. As you might expect, there are a number of unusual facilities designed for highly specific functions among the 700 or so buildings on the site. At 525 feet tall, the Vehicle Assembly Building is the largest single-story building in the world. Inside, the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo missions was assembled. For 30 years, it was where the external fuel tanks and solid rocket boosters were attached to the space shuttles. All the parts would be stacked up onto a mobile launcher platform on top of a crawler-transporter, the aptly named vehicle that looks for all the world like a section of parking deck mounted on top of a collection of Sherman tanks scaled for King Kong. 

The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building is a simple, rectangular, white modernist complex including dormitories and suit-up areas for the astronauts. The structure also includes offices, laboratories and spacecraft assembly areas. A clean room runs the entire length and height of the building at the rear. For more than 50 years, the facility supported Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Orion missions. Since 2000, the building has been on the National Register of Historic Places.

A familiar part of the landscape is the 3-mile-long space shuttle landing strip, now supporting a variety of military and commercial aircraft uses. It is also known locally as the “gator tanning facility,” accommodating as it does the basking habits of the sun-seeking reptile population.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
From May 5, 1961, when Alan Shepard became the first American suborbital astronaut, people began to descend on the cape to see for themselves what was happening there. By 1963, it was clear that some sort of organized program for visitors was needed. At first, tourists could drive a specific route through CCAFS on Sunday afternoons. In the first year, an estimated 100,000 visitors jumped at the chance. On the first day that the KSC was added to the tour, 2,000 people came. Clearly, it was time to establish some sort of organized center to welcome the public and accommodate their curiosity. 

The National Park Service helped to work out the initial ideas, and operations were turned over to a private concession company. In its first year, nearly half a million visitors took the center’s bus tours. By the end of the summer of 1967, the visitors’ center had grown to 42 acres, beginning what would be more than 50 years of expansion. The opening of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, raised expectations for attractions in the vicinity, and prompted significant upgrades across the whole enterprise, which has been operated since 1995 by Delaware North, an international resort and attraction management company out of Buffalo, New York.

The most instantly recognizable feature of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the rather breathtaking Rocket Garden just inside the entry gates. Seven rockets spanning much of the history of the nation’s space program — and most of them real (except for the fuel, of course) — stand like sentries welcoming you in. The area, explains the Visitor Complex website, “is organized into Mission Zones, allowing you to weave your way through the U.S. Space Program in chronological order: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle, and beyond.” A downloadable map on the website lays out the path through the complex with clear three-dimensional graphics and up-to-date notations. Visitors may choose whatever interests them in any order. 

The Heroes & Legends building includes a film about Apollo’s Mission Control and houses the U.S. Astronauts Hall of Fame. “Behind the Gates” is a bus tour into the KSC and the CCAFS, including a stop at the Apollo/Saturn V Center. “Space Shuttle Atlantis” is the permanent home of the original spacecraft. “NASA Now and Next” is an exhibit featuring the science of current missions and projections into what the future may bring.
Like every such enterprise, the Visitor Complex has been closed since the spring of this year. As we go to press, reopening procedures have been initiated, and the center is now available in part to visitors, with a reduced entry fee and a free rain check for 2021. The complex’s website offers a sense of the zones, amenities and tours as they will be when fully open.

The Final Frontier
Ambitions for and contributions to the future of human presence in space are now shared by military, scientific and corporate enterprise. The list of commercial projects sharing facilities on Merritt Island and Cape Canaveral that are proposed, in development, operational or abandoned is remarkably long, and ranges from fulfilling NASA and military contracts or establishing private satellite communication systems all the way to significant investment in the dream of colonizing Mars. 

According to Steve Garber, NASA’s history web curator, “In recent years CCAFS and KSC have been jointly referred to as the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The name reflects a growing partnership between KSC and the 45th Space Wing (housed at Patrick AFB) and a vision for the future of Florida's Space Coast.” The future is certain to be full of surprises so long as humans continue to be drawn to the great unknown amid the stars.  FRA

Footnotes
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/cape/
www.spaceline.org/capehistory/1a.html
Lipartito, Kenneth; Butler, Orville (2007). “A History of the Kennedy Space Center.” University Press of Florida
science.ksc.nasa.gov/mirrors/msfc/team/ksc.html

Internet Resources
https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com
http://media.kennedyspacecenter.com/kennedy/quick-facts/
https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/blog/rocket-garden
https://www.facebook.com/KennedySpaceCenterVisitorComplex

Return to Table of Contents

VETERANS’ MATTERS

New Caregiver Program Takes Effect October 1st

The Department of Veterans Affairs recently published its final regulation to improve and expand the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) with the final regulation going into effect October 1. This program provides training, education, and assistance to family members caring for a veteran. The expansion will occur in two phases. The first phase that begins this October 1, will include eligible veterans who incurred or aggravated a serious injury in the line of duty while as active duty military, naval or air service on or before May 7, 1975. Phase two will go into effect two years later and include eligible veterans of all eras. The FRA made it a top priority to require the VA to expand this program to all severely disabled veterans regardless of the era of their service. This goal was achieved in 2018 with the enactment of the VA MISSION Act.
The Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, or PCAFC, is available for eligible veterans. Veterans are eligible for this clinical program if they:
•	Have a single or combined service-connected disability rating by the VA of 70 percent or higher, regardless of whether it resulted from an injury, illness or disease.
•	Cannot perform one or more activities of daily living.
•	Require supervision and protection based on neurological impairment or injury.
•	Need the assistance of a family caregiver to live safely in a home setting for a minimum of six months.
A veteran can choose one primary caregiver and up to two secondary caregivers. All caregivers must be at least 18 years old, and should be members of the veteran’s family, such as a spouse, child, sibling, parent, step-family member or extended family member. If a veteran’s caregiver is not a family member, the caregiver must live with the veteran. 

Acting as a caregiver to a veteran is a demanding role, many caregivers must give up their jobs to provide 24/7 care to their veterans. The VA offers many services to support caregivers. Caregivers receive a monthly stipend, access to health care, access to mental health counseling and reimbursement for travel expenses when they must accompany their veteran to medical appointments. 

Additionally, caregivers receive comprehensive training on how to properly care for their veteran. There are numerous community-based programs available to all caregivers that include: 
•	Adult day health care centers, or ADHC, which provide a safe, constantly supervised environment where veterans can go to engage in activities and spend time with their peers. 
•	Respite care, which allows caregivers to take a break or provides care during an emergency or other unexpected event. Caregivers are eligible for 30 days per year, and the care can be provided at home or in a VA facility.
•	Home-based primary care, which delivers routine health care for veterans who have trouble traveling due to their medical conditions.
•	Other home-based services, such as homemaker and health aides, that provide help with personal needs such as feeding and bathing. 
•	Skilled Home Care, which provides homebound veterans with services such as physical, speech and occupational therapy from licensed non-VA medical professionals. 
•	Home hospice care, which can offer services during the advanced stages of a terminal disease. Home Hospice Care can offer comfort and supportive services for the caregiver and veteran, including grief counseling, through an interdisciplinary team of health care providers and local hospice volunteers.              
•	Home telehealth services, which connect the veteran to a provider using video or phone services.

Correspondingly, there are support systems just for the caregiver, including:
•	Annie Caregiver Text Support, a text messaging service that promotes self-care for veterans enrolled in VA health care, as well as for caregivers. 
•	Building Better Caregivers, an online six-week workshop trains caregivers in how to provide better care, and how to manage their own emotions, stress and physical health. 
•	The VA Caregiver Support Line, which connects caregivers to a licensed professional who can answer questions and provide support.
 
There are also other support systems outside of the VA, such as the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. This nonprofit provides grants to caregivers and sponsors an online support group called the Hidden Heroes Caregiver Community, which connects caregivers. The foundation also advocates on behalf of caregivers.      FRA
Yours in Loyalty, Protection and Service,
Noelle Huffer

Noelle is the FRA’s assistant director of veterans programs. She can be reached at NoelleH@fra.org or 703-683-1400, ext. 125.

Shipmate News

1. Branch 294, Crossville, TenN. 
Allie Stover received a first place certificate of achievement at the branch and Southeast Region levels and a plaque of recognition. Stover placed third in her grade nationally and received a $1,000 check from National Headquarters. This year’s theme was “What My Vote Means to Me.”(L to R) Branch Americanism Essay Contest Chair Stuart Litman, North Cumberland Elementary School eighth grader Allie Stover and Branch President Peter Dellarco. 

2. Branch 290, Mayport, Fla.
In honor of Flag Day, Atlantic Beach Shipmate Marty Martineau instructed Boy Scout Troop 837, based out of Jacksonville, on how to retire the flag Branch 290 and BSA Troop 837 retired more than 350 flags this year.

3. Branch 293, Elizabeth City, N.C.
Riley Parker was the eighth grade first place winner at the branch and region levels and was national second place winner. The Americanism Essay Contest awards were presented on June 28. (L to R) Branch President Richard Thomas, Mr. Parker, Riley Parker, Mrs. Parker, teacher Ms. Jackson, Superintendent Dr. Matt Lutz and Branch Essay Chairman Tennell Wright.

4. Branch 251, Mountain Home, ARk.
(L to R) Branch President David Butts presents Shipmate Alton R. Boren his 35-year continuous membership pin and Branch Certificate of Appreciation on July 26 at Boren’s home.

5. Branch 293, Elizabeth City, N.C.
Currituck County Middle School eighth graders Lisa Phillips (L) and Lia Newbern (R) won second and third place, respectively, at the branch level of the Americanism Essay Contest. The awards were presented June 28.

6. Branch 251, Mountain Home, Ark.
(L to R) Shipmate Raymond J. Huerd was presented a 30-year continuous membership pin and Branch Certificate of Appreciation by Branch President David Butts at Huerd’s home on July 6.

7. 2019 Convention, Nashville, Ind.
(L to R) LA FRA PNP Doris Fri, FRA PRPNC Marty Posekany, FRA PRPNC Bob Melson, FRA PRPNC Marcia Cunningham, FRA PRPWC Maria Behm and NED Chris Slawinski help with the 2019 Convention Greetings.

8. Branch 161, Kansas City, Kan.
JrPRPNC Norm Combs tells his obligatory joke to LA FRA members during the Greetings Committee visit by PRPs during the 2019 North Central Regional Convention in Nashville, Indiana. PRPs Duane Burgert, Marty Posekany, Bob Melson and Marcia Cunningham are awaiting their turns at the microphone.

9. Branch 197, Modesto, Calif.
Branch members were unable to plant flags at San Joaquin Valley National Veterans Cemetery this Memorial Day. Branch President Dale Wild still wanted to honor veterans so members planted 300 flags on the field next to his farmhouse. Marine Corps Sgt. Darren Nunes was impressed with what they were doing and asked if he could plant 13 flags to honor friends who served with him in Afghanistan and Iraq. Later, Nunes played the bagpipes before becoming the newest branch member.  

10. Branch 93, Patuxent River, Md.
(L to R) Victoria, Texas radio personality Gary Moses, PRPEC Tom Vatter and his wife Shirley volunteer at a free Veterans and Families Lunch held July 4 to say, “Thank you for your service.” The food was donated by the Vatters, who wanted to give a free, picnic-style lunch to all local veterans.

11. Branch 161, Kansas City, Kan.
Robyn Flippin holds the Bible as RTNC Kevin Flippin is administered the oath of office. 

12. Branch 251, Mountain Home, Ark.
Garrett Ham was recognized with plaques and checks for winning first place for seventh grade at the national level, first place overall for the South Central Region, and first place for seventh grade at Branch 251 in the FRA’s Americanism Essay Contest. (L to R) Branch President David Butts, teacher Ms. Woody, Garrett Ham and Americanism Essay contest Chairman Curtis Grant.

TAPS
Name	Rating	Branch
Abramowicz, Richard	BMCS, USN	MAL
Antonio, Celso	CPO, USN	04

Bailey, William J.	ICC, USN	106
Bassett, David	USN	251
Batucal, Santos C.	SKC, USN	302
Bayless, Gerald L.	YN1, USN	302
Bennett, Warren D.	CPO, USN	MAL
Bockemuehl, George D.	RMCS, USN	281
Bradley, Calvin	CPL, USMC	63
Brittsan, Jerry M.	EM1, USN	269
Buntin, Billy H.	ENCS, USN	269

Campbell, Joseph E.	WTCM(SW), USN	99
Cantrell, William T.	OSCS, USN	47
Chandler, Homer L.	TM1, USN	289
Chapman, Rodney D.	CPO, USN	MAL
Chiappazzi, Gerald M.	YNC(SS), USN	172
Connelly, John W.	RMC, USN	113
Cooper, George T.	LCDR, USN	186
Cribbs, Eddie A.	MMC, USN	11

Dahl, Jon E.	PH2, USN	161
Darby, Raymond L.,	EMC, USN	302
Davis, John A.	MSC, USN	MAL
Deguzman, Dominador C.	CEC, USN	84

East, Francis W.	GYSGT, USMC	MAL
Engbrecht, William J.	PRC, USN	MAL

Fetherland, Dale J.	GYSGT, USMC	302
Finazzo, Anthony J.	EWC, USN	24

Gaffney, Howard K.	EMCS(SS), USN	46
Gallant, Thomas F.	WO1, USN	156
Gardynik, Edward	BTC, USN	298
Goddard, Floyd W.	HMC, USN	182
Goins, Ronald N.	YNC, USN	367
Gore, Frederick E.	LT, USN	MAL

Hampton, Donald,	CPO, USN	MAL
Hayes, Terry E.	AVCM, USN	117
Higgins, Patrick	FCCM, USN	MAL
Honsinger, Leroy G.	AO1, USN	126
Hughes, Charles E.	LCDR, USN	MAL
Hughes, Jack M.	RMC, USN	93
Hughes, Vernard	BTCS, USN	183
Hunsaker, John L.	YNC, USN	109
Husak, Otto J.	TM1(SS), USN	276
Hutchison, William V.	TMC, USN	MAL

Jones, Douglas G.	YN1, USN	MAL
Jones, Hoxie D.	SKCS, USNR	MAL

Kaspick, James A.	HMC, USNR	MAL
Kemble, Robert G.	AKC, USN	41
Knighten, Lawrence L.	MSCS, USN	MAL
Kozina, David	AMCS, USN	MAL
Kyser, Allen C.	ADRC, USN	MAL

Lamolinara, Louis B.	ADR1, USN	22
Leake, Robert W.	LT, USN	MAL
Lind, James R.	BT1(DV), USN	61

Mattingly, Thomas M.	PN3, USN	90
McBurney, Lloyd C.	HMC, USN	216
McCreary, Floyd N.	RMCM, USN	55
McNerney, Daniel H.	LCDR, USN	263
Meadows, Billy B.	ADRC, USN	302
Merkel, Edward R.	RMC, USN	MAL
Miller, Raymond	EMC, USNR	109
Mirabelli, John T.	LCDR, USN	MAL
Montovio, Mark	PO1, USN	207
Morgan, Douglas	MMCM, USN	38
Murray, Russell E.	MGYSGT, USMC	MAL

Newman, George W.	BMC, USNR	MAL
Nybeck, Richard D.	BTC, USN	01

Otto, Claude M.	QMSC, USCG	92

Peek, Luther W.	CAPT, USN	91
Peeke, Charles L.	PH1, USN	MAL
Perkins, Thomas M.	CDR, USN	46
Pfingsten, John E.	PH1, USN	61
Pomeroy, Robert W.	MSGT, USMC	275

Recchinti, Anthony J.	HT1, USN	57
Rohde, Richard D.	STCM, USN	186
Roper, James D.	ICC, USN	MAL

Schlechta, Joseph J.	ETC, USN	269
Shaver, Curtis E.	EMC, USN	248
Shimp, Michael J.	USN	216
Smith, William	MMCM, USN	08
Somers, George E.	TMC(SS), USN	MAL
Spell, Thomas W.	USN 	18
Stanford, Spencer	EM3, USN	294
Strunk, Jasper L.	ICC, USN	MAL
Suprenant, Donald D.	ENC, USN	MAL

Tarrance, Luther W.	RD1, USN	183
Thornal, Fayette M.	RMC(SS), USN	269
Umfleet, Douglas G.	YNCS, USN	29

Warmunde, Kenneth P.	YNCS, USN	60
West, Clarence E.	MS1, USN	MAL
Williams, Nathaniel R.	FTC, USN	08
Wooditch, John A.	HM1, USN	182
Wyzykowski, John P.	OSCM	23

Yoakum, Stan		ETCM(SS)	          269

To report the death of a Shipmate, please contact us via email at mserfra@fra.org or by telephone at 703-683-1400 ext 1. 

Return to Table of Contents

REUNIONS/lOOKINGFOR…

Reunions

USS Remora (SS-487)
11/4/2020 - 11/8/2020
St. Marys, Ga.
Contact: Robert Sharpe
Telephone: 860-501-6161
Email: ussremora@yahoo.com

USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB/CVA/CV-42)
New Dates
11/11/2020 - 11/14/2020
Jacksonville, Fla.
Contact: Bill Solt
Telephone: 321-362-5806
Email: sisbill@aol.com

Tradevman Association
11/29/2020 - 12/3/2020
Orlando, Fla.
Contact: Michael Le Blanc
Telephone: 919-368-8793
Email: Tradevman.association@gmail.com

USS SILVERSTEIN (DE-534)/USS WALTON (DE-361)/USS ROMBACH (DE-364)/USS FOSS (DE-59) 
Canceled 
9/20/2020 - 9/23/2020
Contact: David Cregut
Telephone: 785-828-3446
Email: ksstick@embarqmail.com

Deep Submergence Group
Canceled 
9/25/2020 - 9/27/2020
Contact: Terry Owen
Telephone: 505-301-4349
Email: Terry@DeepSubmergenceGrp.org

USS Preston (DD-795) 
Canceled
10/1/2020 - 10/5/2020
Washington, D.C.
Contact: Bob Werner
Telephone: 703-860-0420
Email: rm_werner@hotmail.com

USS Sperry (AS-12) 
Canceled
10/7/2020 - 10/10/2020
Indianapolis, Ind.
Contact: David Jackson
Telephone: 360-435-6919
Email: djpanda34@cs.com

Patron Four Five Association
Canceled 
10/7/2020 - 10/11/2020
Jacksonville, Fla.
Contact: Doug Mitchell
Telephone: 678-650-7500
Email: poohbearmit@aol.com

USS Ranger (CV/CVA-61) 
Postponed 
9/30/2020 - 10/3/2020
Norfolk, Va.
Contact: Tom Ballinger
Telephone: 210-403-3302
 
USS DOGFISH (SS-350) 
Postponed
10/21/2020 - 10/24/2020
North Little Rock, Ark.
Contact: John Cronenberg
Email: DogfishReunion2020@gmail.com

USS BEALE (DD/DDE-471) 
Postponed
9/27/2020 - 9/30/2020
New Orleans, La.
Contact: Diane Sorola
Telephone: 337-298-3434
Email: sorolasorola@yahoo.com

A list of reunions is at: www.fra.org/Reunions. LookingFor/Reunions must be submitted online, via email to reunions@fra.org, or in writing to FRA LookingFor/Reunions at 
125 N. West St., Alexandria, VA 22314. 

Include your member ID and a daytime telephone number. For help, contact FRA Member Services at 800-FRA-1924.
AUXILIARY OF THE FRA

We Continue to Serve Our Communities

Throughout the past 35 years, I have had the distinct honor and privilege of serving this amazing Northeast and New England Region. The regions have been part of the LA FRA from the beginning in 1930. Since that time, a number of military bases have been shut down or drastically reduced, which has limited our recruiting ability. This lack of growth led to the two regions merging in 2016. The number of actively involved Shipmates may have dwindled, but we continue to push forward and serve our communities.

Over the past few months, life as we knew it has drastically changed. Each day we have watched the number of people infected with this insidious disease continue to rise. Even more devastating has been the ever-rising number of deaths. This virus shows no mercy — it affects the young and the old, the rich and the poor. Schools and businesses were shut down, and people lost their jobs. We were ordered to stay home and wear masks while out in public.  

 Yet, the members of the LA FRA and the FRA have continued to be there for each other and their communities.  There are those who have provided meals, and have delivered groceries and toilet paper. LA FRA members have volunteered when and where feasible. Many of our members are considered “essential workers,” and they have gone to work every day, risking their own health to help keep the rest of us safe.  Many of us have sewn and donated masks or other protective gear to make up for the shortages. I made more than 200 masks myself. To coin a phrase, “We are LA FRA strong.”

To quote the Preamble of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Fleet Reserve Association, “We, the members of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Fleet Reserve Association, do band together to aid, assist and promote in all matters pertaining to welfare, social and patriotic work, for the benefit of the Fleet Reserve Association, its members and their families.” Our members give true meaning to our three cardinal principles: loyalty, protection and service.  My thoughts and prayers are with everyone during this trying time.  

In Loyalty, Protection, and Service, 
RPNE/Eng. Cindy Rodham-Tuck

Cindy is an LA FRA past national president and is currently the regional president of the Northeast/NEng. Region.
FINANCE MATTERS

Are You Prepared for a Financial Emergency?
Mother Nature certainly has grabbed her fair share of headlines the past few years. From blazing wildfires in California to devastating floods in the Midwest, and from massive hurricanes along the coasts to sweeping tornadoes across the Plains — millions have been affected by the recent natural disasters in the U.S.

Less headline-worthy are the financial repercussions following natural disasters and the cash difficulties tens of thousands of families deal with as a result. These catastrophes are unavoidable — and often there’s little time to prepare before disaster strikes homes, families, and communities.

With this in mind, ask yourself this question: “What’s the biggest threat to my financial stability?” Job loss likely comes to mind, perhaps followed by a serious illness or a natural disaster. But lack of cash flow and liquidity management should make the list too — and it’s an ongoing challenge rather than an isolated event. 

Consider Cash Flow and Liquidity Management a Tool, Not a Goal
More than just tracking your income and spending, cash flow and liquidity management is also about planning for unexpected cash needs. Without proper planning for an emergency, you might have to round up all your available cash or liquidate a long-term investment. However, liquidating could disrupt your investment plan. For example, retirement account assets may be subject to tax penalties for taking nonqualified distributions prior to retirement. You might do better keeping those assets invested to potentially generate a long-term return — and keeping your overall wealth strategy intact. 

It’s important to keep in mind that cash flow and liquidity management planning is complementary to investment planning.  Not only does cash flow and liquidity management allow you the flexibility to access money in the event of an emergency, but it’s also a defensive tool to ensure your investment plan is well positioned and not disrupted. 

Here are three steps you should consider as part of a cash flow and liquidity management plan to help protect your loved ones and keep a natural disaster from becoming a financial catastrophe. 

1. Set up an emergency account. In addition to accounts where you currently keep cash assets (including checking and savings accounts; certificates of deposits, or CDs; money markets; or other cash alternatives), fund an emergency account as part of your cash flow and liquidity strategy to help protect all your assets. Set aside enough to cover three to six months of expenses (the right amount for you will depend on your risk tolerance). Keep cash on hand in case your area loses power and ATMs are out of commission.

2. Review your short-term and longer-term payment needs. Understanding when you will need to draw on your money is key to an effective plan. Establish a strategy to immediately access the funds you will need to cover day-to-day expenses, such as those for food, clothing, medical needs, and transportation. Your cash for short-term expenses should be very accessible, perhaps in a checking or savings account. 

For longer-term expenses that reoccur on a regular basis, such as property taxes, you may wish to consider a less liquid investment, such as a CD. This type of investment typically offers a slightly higher return than a regular checking or savings account, and you can choose a payout schedule that aligns with when you will need the money. Generally, CDs may not be withdrawn prior to maturity. CDs are FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor per insured depository institution for each account ownership category. There are other, more sophisticated solutions available where appropriate to help you meet your cash flow and liquidity needs, and we suggest you discuss these with your financial advisor. 

3. Establish a line of credit for ready access to cash, and if used, pay the funds back with an appropriate source when the timing is right. Borrowing against nonretirement investments, such as the equity in a home, or other approaches can provide for short-term cash needs if your emergency fund does not stretch to meet all your expenses. These strategies prevent disruption to your long-term investment plan and can help keep you on track to meet your investment goals.

A line of credit can also help you avoid dipping into retirement accounts too early. Depending on your situation and the type of retirement account, early withdrawal of retirement funds may expose you to potential tax consequences.

Be aware that costs and risks are associated with any borrowing decision, so it is important for you to seek good, objective guidance. Your financial advisor can help you begin the process of determining what type of line of credit option is the most suitable for you.

Life brings expected and unexpected events. An important part of every investment plan is identifying where to access cash when you need it. Talk with your financial advisor about managing your cash flow and liquidity needs.     

Securities-based lending has special risks and is not suitable for everyone. If the market value of a client’s pledged securities declines below required levels, the client may be required to pay down his or her line of credit or pledge additional eligible securities in order to maintain it, or the lender may require the sale of some or all of the client’s pledged securities. Wells Fargo Advisors will attempt to notify clients of maintenance calls but is not required to do so. Clients are not entitled to choose which securities in their accounts are sold. The sale of their pledged securities may cause clients to suffer adverse tax consequences. Clients should discuss the tax implications of pledging securities as collateral with their tax advisors. An increase in interest rates will affect the overall cost of borrowing. Wells Fargo Advisors and its affiliates are not tax or legal advisors. All securities and accounts are subject to eligibility requirements. Clients should read all lines of credit documents carefully. The proceeds from securities-based lines of credit may not be used to purchase additional securities, pay down margin, or for insurance products offered by Wells Fargo and any of its affiliates. Securities held in a retirement account cannot be used as collateral to obtain a loan. Securities purchased in the pledge account must meet collateral eligibility requirements.

Lending and other banking services available through Wells Fargo Advisors (NMLS UI 2234) are offered by banking and non-banking subsidiaries of Wells Fargo & Company, including, but not limited to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (NMLSR ID 399801), Member FDIC, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Certain restrictions apply. Programs, rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change without advance notice. Products are not available in all states. Wells Fargo Advisors is licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act and the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions (NMLS ID 0906158). Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, holds a residential mortgage broker license in Georgia and is licensed as a residential mortgage broker (license number MB2234) in Massachusetts.

This article was written by/for Wells Fargo Advisors and provided courtesy of Carl M. Trevisan, Managing Director-Investments and Stephen M. Bearce, First Vice President- Investments in Alexandria, VA at 800-247-8602.

Investments in securities and insurance products are: NOT FDIC-INSURED/NOT BANK-GUARANTEED/MAY LOSE VALUE

Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

© 2019 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. All rights reserved.