Bill Would Allow Past Airmen With Space Experience To Become 'Legacy Guardians'
A new bipartisan bill is aiming to allow Air Force veterans who served in space operations the opportunity to become legacy Space Force Guardians, in an effort to recognize past service members' contributions to creating the newest military branch.
Blended Retirement System Is Helping Troops Prepare For Their Future
When the Blended Retirement System was created more than five years ago, one of its primary goals was to help service members set themselves up financially for the future, even if they didn’t stay for 20 years and retire. That aim is being met, according to defense officials.
Pioneering Study Links Testicular Cancer Among Military Personnel To 'Forever Chemicals'
Gary Flook served in the Air Force for 37 years, as a firefighter at the now-closed Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois and the former Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana, where he regularly trained with aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF — a frothy white fire retardant that is highly effective but now known to be toxic.
By: Vanessa Lee, AFSA's Legislative Communications and Administrative Assistant
Since the PACT Act took effect a year ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs has increased benefits and health treatment to hundreds of thousands of veterans, and more are anticipated to qualify as they experience ailments brought on by exposure to burn pits and other toxic substances on the battlefield.
Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT Act, anniversary was last Thursday, and at that time the VA had received 843,448 claims under the law and enrolled 113,719 veterans in VA health care as a result of the law.
A total of 340,754 qualified veterans or survivors have received $1.85 billion in disability compensation and other benefits from the department. This number will rise as the VA processes 500,000 pending claims and receives applications from 1.65 million veterans who have declared their intent to file in the previous year.
The PACT Act established links between various medical disorders and toxins prevalent throughout particular historical periods or conditions of military service. The law implies that some illnesses are service-connected if the person served in a specific location at a specific period, rather than requiring veterans or their survivors to demonstrate that a toxic exposure resulted in a specific condition. This indicates that veterans who have previously been exposed to harmful substances while serving may be eligible for additional VA benefits.
In honoring a year-old law that is bringing about the largest extension of veterans benefits in decades, President Joe Biden invoked the memories of his late son and commended officials from both parties for standing with veterans on Thursday. The PACT Act, which aims to enhance health care and disability compensation for exposure to toxic substances, including burn pits that were used to dispose of trash on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, was promoted during the president's and Governor Spencer Cox's visit to the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Below are the campaigns that are currently located on our Action Center. Please take no more than 5-10 minutes to scan through each of the campaigns and click on the custom links provided below.
The Military Spouse Hiring Act would encourage companies to employ military spouses, who frequently face disproportionate impediments in the job market, by extending the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include them.
Intends to help military spouses find better work opportunities.
Support the Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act!
Authorizes veterans with a service-connected disability of less than 50% to concurrently receive both retired pay and disability compensation.
Makes qualified disability retirees with less than 20 years of retirement-creditable service eligible for concurrent receipt, subject to specified reductions in retired pay.
Qualify approximately 42,000 military retirees with combat-related injuries to concurrently receive both military retired pay and Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation.
Provide total offset relief to veterans who suffered combat injuries or illnesses who were medically retired with less than twenty years of service.
Allowsthe receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability.
Extends full concurrent receipt eligibility to individuals who were retired or separated after at least 20 years of military service due to a service-connected disability.
Support the Military Family Nutrition Access Act of 2023!
The Military Family Nutrition Access Act was created to aid military families with active duty members who are facing food insecurity.
By eliminating Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from the income calculations used to establish eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the bipartisan bill will combat food insecurity.
Military personnel risk their life to protect our nation; they shouldn't have to worry about providing for their families.
The Not Just a Number Act would oblige the VA to look into how veterans use their benefits in their yearly report on suicide prevention in order to assess the connection between VA benefits and suicide outcomes.
In its fight against veteran suicides, the VA evaluates which VA benefits have the best impact on preventing suicide and requires the Department to submit recommendations for an increase in such benefits.
If you have any questions, please reach out to AFSA's Military and Government Relations team at milgov3@hqafsa.org.
This edition features Port Mortuary and America’s Missing Heroes, Living with Bipolar Disorder in the Military, Fly-By Wire Defense and AFSA’s American Award Recipient – Don Ward. Read, download, print and share: https://www.hqafsa.org/fallmagazine.html
Greetings AFSA Division and Chapter Leadership,
We are pleased to share the AFSA Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay procedures and marketing materials to help share the process with our members, your membership and potential new recruits.
The Set-It-Forever/Auto Pay program creates an opportunity to JOIN AFSA or RENEW a membership by making a $36 once-a-year/every-year auto payment, or a $4-each-month/every- month auto payment. The $36 once-a-year option is set at $36, and the $4-a-month option includes a bank processing fee of $1 each month.
Review the two ways to enroll, the benefits to using the auto-pay option, and the marketing materials to help share the details of this program and ensure its success.
For questions, please contact AFSAHQ Member & Field team at 800-638-0594 x 288.
Please Update Your Contact Information Today!
Dear Air Force Sergeants Association Member,
In order for the AFSA to effectively communicate with our members, it is essential to ensure we have your current and / or valid e-mail address. We are in the process of updating our records and need your help! Please take a moment to ensure that we have your most current mail and email address (no .mil's); and accurate membership listing information.
We've made it easy, as you can update your information in either one of three ways:
Call Member & Field Relations team directly at 800-638-0594 x 288 (Mon. - Fri. 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST)
Email to: msvcs@hqafsa.org
Visit www.hqafsa.org and select the UPDATE button on the right
We thank you in advance for your support and prompt updates.
In sum, The National Defense Authorization Act in the House was amended to include wording that was taken from the measure known as the Space Force Legacy Guardian Recognition Act. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who sponsored it along with Reps. Salud Carbajal of California, Brian Babin of Texas, Doug Lamborn of Colorado, and Ted Lieu of California, introduced it.
According to the legislation, the Department of the Air Force may recognize former Air Force space operations personnel as honorary detached members of the Space Force, or "Legacy Guardians."
In addition, less than 20% of soldiers had enough service time under the legacy retirement system, prior to BRS, to be eligible for military retired pay. Today, the majority of active duty military personnel take part in the Blended Retirement System, and if they serve for at least two years, regardless of whether they are eligible for a complete retirement, they will get a government retirement payment.
The system is referred to as "blended" because it combines several aspects, including matching contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan and other elements, with a long-standing annuity guarantee for employees who retire from employment. Similar to 401k programs in the private sector, the TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for uniformed service members and federal employees.
And lastly, for the first time, a recent federal study demonstrates a direct link between testicular cancer and PFOS, a PFAS chemical detected in the blood of thousands of military members.
The National Cancer Institute and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences discovered strong evidence that airmen who served as firefighters had elevated levels of PFAS in their bloodstreams and weaker evidence for those who lived on installations with high levels of PFAS in the drinking water using banked blood drawn from Air Force servicemen. Additionally, according to research co-author and senior investigator at the NCI Mark Purdue, the airmen who had been diagnosed with testicular cancer had greater serum levels of PFOS than those who had not.
And that's the way it is for Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
Stay tuned for our next M&G-B, where we will continue to keep you in the loop on all things pertinent to the coronavirus, veterans, active-duty members, guards and reservists, and military family members. Stay happy, and stay healthy!
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