COMMENTARY This is the thirteenth Retiree Newsletter, normally published in Apr, Aug and Dec. Our purpose is to keep you informed and provide you a continuing sense of belonging to the Guard after retirement. We hope the newsletter helps accomplish that purpose.

Information is furnished through various sources. If you have an item you would like considered for publication, please send it to the MEARNG Retiree Council, Camp Keyes, Augusta, ME 04333 or e-mail it to gmusk@gwi.net or souleda@me-arng.ngb.army.mil

We are continuing to update our mailing list to include all MEARNG retirees. If you know any retiree(s) who are not receiving the newsletter, please send their name and address to a member of the Retiree Council or e-mail us.

Please advise us of mailing address changes and those due to 911. If you do not wish to continue receiving the newsletter, contact a council member.

New Members Needed. Membership is open to retirees of all ranks and gender from all parts of Maine. We would especially like to see more enlisted folks participate. If you or a retiree you know are interested, please contact a Council member.

RETIREMENT BENEFITS AND SERVICES

TRICARE OR CHAMPUS

For the latest information, call CW3 Beane at 626-4338 or SFC Buck at 626-4283, MENG-HRO-AGR or click on www.tricaare.osd.mil on the Internet.

There’s good news for Central Maine Retirees and their families. Martin’s Point is finalizing negotiations for contracts with care providers (under Martin’s Point TRICARE Prime) in the Augusta – Waterville area. As soon as the particulars are known (doctors or other providers), the details will be announced by the AGR Office.  

 

RETIREMENT BENEFITS AND SERVICES Continued

DEERS/ID CARDS

The Personnel Services Branch (PSB), beginning in January, picked up the responsibility of initiating all ID Cards. The Senior Army Advisor’s office no longer initiates ID Cards at their location. The ID Card/DEERs location in Augusta is now on the 1^st floor of Bldg. 7 by Veterans Administration and MEMA. If requesting an ID card, call PSB at 626-4455 to make arrangements. The same service is available at the Portland, Bangor and Caribou armories.

ARMY EMERGENCY RELIEF ANNUAL FUND CAMPAIGN MARCH 15 – MAY 1, 2000

The Army Emergency Relief (AER) is available to assist AGE soldiers and their families as well as Guard Retirees and their families in emergencies. AER is not federally funded and depends solely on donations from service members, retirees and the public for its continuing operation. For more information check the AER website at www.aerhq.org .If you have further questions or would like to donate to this worthy cause, call the AGR Manager in the Human Resources Office at 626-4338.

TRANSITIONS

Retirements through March 2000

SFC Michael Buckley

SFC Maurice Dubord

COL Linda Karod

SSG Karl Morse

MAJ Dale Smith

SSG Robert Tremblay

ORGANIZATION

See current MEARNG Organizational Chart attachment.

 

VETERANS CORNER

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Frank Soares, Director, Bureau of Maine Veterans’ Services

The Second Session of the 119^th Legislature has been very busy and many of the items they have considered are veteran related. As many of you know, some veteran related bills were carried over from the last session plus two veteran studies were conducted last fall. The results of all these actions are listed below.

 

LD 2328 – Rules for the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery. In essence, this bill would have forced the Department to utilize Rule Making Procedures as defined under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). This is a very cumbersome process that is usually reserved for highly sensitive rules (such as DHS and welfare) or rules affecting funds. The Administration opposed this LD. Through efforts my MG Adams, civic leaders and legislative leaders, a compromise was reached on this issue and the LD came out of committee as Ought Not To Pass.

 

LD 2329 – Public Assistance Designation. This issue was carried over from last year and went before a legislative study committee. This LD is a recommendation of that committee. In essence, it would designate any funds allocated for Veteran Financial Aid as public assistance funds and allow the person using VFA to qualify for legal and medical assistance.  Ought to Pass as Amended.

 

LD 2330 – DVEM Report on Veteran Laws. Requires the Commissioner to report to each new Legislature on the status of veteran laws and recommendations to change those laws. Signed into law 3/16/00.

 

LD 2331 – Expanded Eligibility for Property Tax Exemption. Sets $5000 as the new limit for property tax exemption at age 62. Ought to Pass.

 

LD 2332 – Motor Vehicle Registration and Title Fees. Drops the fee for annual registration from $23 to $5 and eliminates the annual fee for Purple Heart, Pearl Harbor and POW. Ought Not to Pass.

 

VETERANS CORNER Continued

 

LD 2336 – Funds to Enhance the Bureau of Maine Veteran Services. Upgrades the halftime positions in the Field

Offices to fulltime; provides an account clerk for the Veteran’s Financial Aid Program and funds for new computer equipment. Ought to Pass as Amended.

 

LD 2337 – Funds to Expand the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery Systems. Provides funds for the burial of veterans in Caribou and a formula to reimburse the System for burials not covered by USDVA plot allowances. Ought To Pass.

 

LD 2471 – Recognition of Vietnam Vets. Provides for a bronze plaque in the Hall of Flags recognizing all Vietnam Veterans for their service. Ought to pass as Amended.

 

LD 2585 – Maine National Guard Education Bill. Provides funds for Guardsman to use in college by establishing a tuition assistance plan. Ought to Pass.

 

LD 1934 – Funding for the Veterans Financial Aid Program was carried over from last session. This program provides $200,000 to fund the VFA Program. A major hold up on this bill was the issue of having enough staff to administer this program. LD 2336 resolved the personnel issue.

 

As we approach the end of session, we will just have to wait and see which of the Ought to Pass items will be funded by the Legislature. Presently, the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on 7 April 2000. Once adjournment takes place, we know exactly which bills made it. Those bill marked Ought Not to Pass are probably dead. I will update you on all

these items in the next newsletter.

 

 

 

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Taps

MSG Philip Bibeau

CW4 Nathan Ford

SFC Aime Lapierre

MSG Howard Pratt

 

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Retiree Council Meetings

The Council meets at 0900 in the TAG conference room, Camp Keyes, Augusta. Any retiree is welcome to attend. The Meeting dates are 18 Apr, 20 Jun, 15 Aug, 17 Oct and 19 Dec.

National Guard Association

If you are not a member, either annual of life, now is the time to join the National Guard Association.

For officers and warrant officers, call HQ MENG at 207-626-4311and ask for Major Alan Tibbetts who will send you an application for retired life membership. Fill it out and return it with a check payable to NGAUS in the amount of $125.00. He will provide information on annual membership if so desired. See the attached application to join both the MEANGUS and EANGUS.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Prayer Breakfast

 The Annual Prayer Breakfast will be held at the Augusta Armory, 0700 –0830, May 4. See attached flyer.

Retirement Party for Major General Adams

 

You are invited to a retirement party for MG Earl L Adams, the Adjutant General, on Saturday May 6 at the Augusta Armory. See attached flyer. Also, see the article on MG Adams retirement in “The Bullet”, attached.

 

50^th Reunion of 703^rd AAA (90MM) Gun Bn

 

A reunion is scheduled for all former members of the 703^rd AAA (90MM) Gun Battalion, a former Maine Army National Guard unit, which was mobilized in August 1950 for the Korean War. It will be held on August 12, 2000 at the Bath Senior Citizens Activity Center, located on Floral Street, Bath, Maine. Battery B of the Battalion is hosting the event. Committee members are planning an outstanding evening which will include a social hour, buffet, prize for the oldest member, prize for the member who travels the longest distance and a special guest speaker The committee is looking for a member of each unit of the battalion to assist in locating former members. For more information contact one of the following: Albert White Jr., RR1, Box 471, Bath, ME 04530,Tel.No 442-8734; John J. Lowery Jr., 35 Cherry ST, Bath, ME 04530, Tel. No. 443-5197; George Wyman, Mere Point Road, Brunswick, ME 04111, Tel. No. 729-9392. Upon receipt of your request for more information, you will be sent a detailed letter of invitation to the reunion. 

UPCOMING EVENTS Continued

Armed Forces of the U. S. Retiree Appreciation Day

Retiree Appreciation Day this year will be held on September 30th at the National Guard Armory located just off I-293 at 771 Canal ST, Manchester, NH. Retirees of all

branches of the Armed Forces and all reserve components including gray area retirees (under age 60) are invited to attend. The event is sponsored by the New Hampshire National Guard in cooperation with the Maine and Vermont National Guard, Brunswick Naval Air Station and the Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont Army Retiree Councils. More information will follow in our next newsletter.

Military Ball

The Augusta Area Military Association is hosting the Military Ball scheduled for October 21, 2000, at the Augusta Armory.

 

Maine Historical Society Annual Meeting

The Maine Historical Society will hold its Annual Meeting on November 11, 2000 at the Senator Motel in Augusta.

 The theme of the evening will be A Night with Joshua Chamberlain. As guest speaker, the Society is trying to get Jeff  Daniels who portrayed General Chamberlain in the movie “Gettysburg”. Also invited will be 20^th Maine reenactors. Additionally, Maine and Alabama units who recently held an historic “walk” at Gettysburg will be attending. Both of these units share continuous military lineage with the militia and volunteer units that fought at Gettysburg. More information will be provided in the next newsletter. Plan to attend. The Society needs your support.

 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Awards Ceremony

The MEARNG Retiree Council and the Maine Military Historical Society held an awards ceremony in the TAG Conference Room, Camp Keyes, on December 21, 1999 to express appreciation to several individuals for exemplary support. Certificates of Appreciation were awarded to MAJ John McKenney and MSG Robert Haley for their work on Retiree Appreciation Day 1999. Framed portraits of Joshua Chamberlain were presented to COL Donovan Lajoie, COL Richard Green and CW5 Ronald Roussel for their work with and support of the Maine Military Historical Society. The ceremony highlight was presentation of the DVS Distinguished Service Medal to COL John Sapp (Ret) for his untiring effort in support of the Historical Society and Museum by MG Earl L. Adams, the Adjutant General.

 

 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION Continued

Armed Forces News – The Free Weekly Newsletter for Armed Forces Personnel and Retirees

You can sign up for free weekly email delivery of Armed Forces News to be automatically delivered to your home or office. Simply go to http://www.armedforcesnews.com and click on “sign up” at the top of the home page. The

following, published in the 3/11/00 issue, is a sample of the information the newsletter contains:

Congress Urged to Fix TRICARE – Now!  The 30-member Military Coalition has urged the Senate Armed Services Committee to make immediate improvements to Tricare for Medicare-eligible retirees. They said older military retirees are frustrated by being locked out of uniformed services health coverage. “These retired American patriots don’t have time to wait out the results of lengthy demonstration programs,”said coalition spokesman CDR Mike Lord, USN (Ret). “They need to have that debt paid back now.”

MAX FACTS

If you would like to receive MAX FACTS, a periodic email publication with a wealth of retiree information, email your address to mailto:souleda@me-arng.ngb.army.mil. Inform-ation and comments contained in “Max Facts” are the personal comments of Max J.Beilke, PERSCOM. They are not official, regulatory nor policy and do not state nor imply a Department of Defense, Department of Army, ODCSPER or Office of the Army Retirement Services, position, policy statement, or endorsement. “Max Facts”are intended solely for information and personal interest of recipients.

Attention U of Maine ARMY ROTC Alumni 

If you are an Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (Army ROTC) graduate from the University of Maine, then the Black Bear Battalion wants to hear from you. The Black Bear Battalion has formed an Army ROTC Alumni Chapter of the University of Maine General Alumni Association and is developing a comprehensive list of alumni. Please contact the Professor of Military Science, LTC Marc Girard at (207) 581-1120 or email at marc.girard@umil.maine.edu and let him know you’re out there. You can also reach him by mail at University of Maine, Room 114 Armory, Orono, ME 04469-5750. The Black Bear Battalion homepage is located at ume.maine.edu/ ~ArmyROTC.

FEEDBACK

Let us know what you think of the newsletter. We value your opinion and will publish your comments (without

FEEDBACK Continued

name unless advised otherwise). We also solicit your thoughts on other information provided. Here are some recently received notes.

Thanks for the update. That is great news. I do appreciate hearing from you and by all means keep up the good work.

Thanks for including me on your list. Although I am a “gray area” retiree, I am quite interested in current affairs of the military. I retired with 24 years in the MEARNG and still feel a part of the community. Thanks again!

I think MAX FACTS is great and keep up the good work. I hope to make one of the retiree meetings but it is difficult due to my civilian job…. but I plan on taking a personal day as it means that much to join you and the others.

Correct Mailing Address

If anyone knows the correct mailing address for the following retirees, give it to one of the council members so we can update our database. We want to be sure all retirees  get their newsletter and other information

   COL Hebberd, Nathan C.        LTC Haynes, Paul S.

   SFC Kivler, Thomas C.            SGT Foss, Stephen W.

   SGT Dumais, Adrien A.           SGT Dehart, Michelle L.

 

Retiree e-mail Addresses   Listed below are e-mail addresses of some of our retirees. If you’d like to be included, please furnish us your address.

COL David Blair  - dhblair@mint.net

BG Nathan Grass – ngrass@ainop.com             

SFC Peter Howland – moat@juno.com

LTC James Laflin – james.laflin@state.me.us

BG Donald Marden – dhmarden@mint.net

COL Gautrey Musk –gmusk@gwi.net

SFC Gary Owen – gsowen@mint.net

1SG Allen Perkins – alsar@cybertours.com

Retiree e-mail Addresses - Continued

SFC Dean Soule – deano@clinic.net

MSG Richard Soule – dsoule@clinc.net

MAJ Richard West – major063@aol.com

BG Edwin Whitney – edwhit@blazenetme.net

COL Francis (Frank) J. Amoroso – colonelandbetty@hotmail.com 

                               

 

RETIREE COUNCIL MEMBERS

 

Romain Savoie

                Nathan Grass

               Gautrey Musk                    

               Robert Weymouth

                                Albert White, Jr.         

                Douglas Welsh, Jr.

                                James Laflin                      

Martin Asdourian

                Donald Laflin              

Dean Soule

                Edward Davis              

David Blair

                Clifton Johnson