Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 03/14/2005

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
I just read an article of yours on "Older DIC widows free to remarry." The statement that caught my interest was "Although they (meaning the widows who had passed the 57th-birthday mark) and had remarried before the new law, were taken care of through a provision that gave them the opportunity to apply for reinstatement, they faced a deadline of Dec. 15, 2004, to do so. I never knew about the law until I read your article. I appreciate your urging Congress to extend the time limit for those who might have been eligible but were not aware of this provision of the law. W hat steps can I take to encourage this deadline to be extended?

My husband was a Vietnam veteran helicopter pilot and was killed on active duty in a helicopter crash on February 18, 1975. Only being 30 years old at the time, I chose to remarry and lost my benefits.

I would appreciate any information you can give me.

Sue O, Military Widow
Charleston TN

Dear Sue
The Department of veterans affairs attempted to reach out to you and other surviving spouses. Unfortunately because the window of opportunity to receive this DIC benefit was restricted by time constraints you and many others are no longer eligible. I urge the Congress to revisit this provision of the legislation and to extend the deadline to apply for reinstatement.

Dear Sgt Shaft

Your answer to Mrs. A, of California in Monday's The Washington Times was great as far as it went. However, Mrs. A may get a rude surprise if she follows through with her remarriage plans. It's true she will retain her DIC benefit, but she also asked about her Navy ID card, access to military bases, medical care, commissary, exchange, etc. The Navy will cease being a part of her life as all those benefits and privileges will be LOST if she remarries. The lesser benefits may be reinstated later if the remarriage ends due to death or divorce, but military medical benefits will be gone forever. Mrs. A. may qualify for VA health care benefits through CHAMPVA, but they are far less generous than TRICARE For Life.

I speak to many widows who learn too late that remarriage has drastically and unalterably affected their military benefits. Please make sure that Mrs. A. is fully informed before she decides about her second chance at happiness. Thanks for all you do for servicemembers and their loved ones.

Regards,
Bud Schneeweis CAPT USCG (Ret.)
Director, Benefits Information Dept. Military Officers Association of America

Dear Bud

You are absolutely correct, When a remarriage ends by death or divorce, the unremarried widow may apply for a Military ID Card that permits Exchange, Commissary and MRW, but no Military Medical benefit. She may be eligible to apply for CHAMPVA health benefits, administered by the VA.

Shaft Notes
The Sarge is looking forward to attending a book event at the National Press Club on March 30 at 6:30 PM featuring Katherine M. Skiba author of, Sister in the Band of Brothers. The event will include A Q&A and book signing. This riveting memoir provides a vivid you-are-there account of her experiences with the Army’s legendary 101st Airborne, the division celebrated for its heroism in World War II as the “Band of Brothers.” When U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in March 2003, our soldiers weren’t the only ones who put their lives on the line: so did 600 “embedded” journalists, including Skiba. . Skiba, a writer and photographer, was the sole female civilian among the 2,300 soldiers of the 159th Aviation Brigade, whose pilots flew Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters into the thick of battle. Taking readers across the wind-blown deserts of Iraq and into cramped seventy-man tents, where personal space barely exists and tempers can flare, she deftly and sympathetically portrays her brothers and sisters-in-arms—rigid commanders, gung-ho warriors, and daring aviators, as well as intelligence officers, mechanics, medics, and cooks, among many others. She details her dealings with the soldiers, her clashes with a battalion commander, and her friendship with a lieutenant colonel who helped keep her sane. Meantime she tells of the journalist-husband she left behind—and the encouragement he gave her when the going got rough. Whether pounding out a story on her laptop, strapping on a gas mask at a moment’s notice, or flying toward the frontlines, Skiba stuck it out despite her own doubts and earned the respect of one grizzled sergeant major, who quipped: “You’ve got balls.” The risks were very real for her and anyone else who covered or fought in the war, even in its early days, long before triumph trailed off into something less than permanent victory. Her story testifies to the courage it took to endure such risks, while acknowledging the inevitable costs of war. Katherine M. Skiba is a Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, for which she has reported since 1982. The winner of twenty-four journalism awards, she has covered world events from the violence-charged Gaza Strip to the crumbling Soviet Union to the uneasy streets of postwar Kosovo.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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