Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 12/19/2005

Dear Sgt Shaft,
I retired from the Navy after 20 years active duty. Got a job with the federal government and will be 62 in 2016. Will have 10 years in as a fed in 2010. Can my wife have Tricare Prime as her main insurance also? She also works for the federal government and is worried that if I should pass away she may not be eligible for it. She wants to continue to keep her own insurance? That is a chunk of change I would prefer not to have to pay. She will be 62 in the year 2012.

Many thanks.
Z. B. Via the internet

Dear Z,
Under age 65, both you and your spouse by default have the TRICARE Standard benefit similar to a PPO with a deductible of $150/person or $300/family and 25% cost shares. You also have the option of enrolling in TRICARE Prime that acts like a HMO managing your healthcare through the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) for an enrollment fee of $230/person or $460/family. Upon reaching age 65, you are eligible for TRICARE for Life (TFL) which works in combination with Medicare to cover your healthcare needs. Should your spouse be hesitant, she has the option to suspend rather than terminate her FEHBP to use TRICARE. With the suspension she can obtain the FEHBP during a future open season.

Shaft Notes
In response to several recent requests for prints of “Assured Victory”, as many of you already know, George Skypeck has generously donated hundreds of these prints to the Blinded American Veterans Foundation (BAVF). A copy can be obtained for a $100 tax-deductible contribution to BAVF. These donations will go to helping the wounded and their families at Bethesda Naval and Walter Reed Army Medical Centers. The original painting, “Assured Victory is now on public display loan to Arlington National Cemetery’s Visitor’s Center. It depicts the terrorists attacks and events of “September 11, 2001,” in New York City (World Trade Center) and Washington, D.C. (the Pentagon). It depicts the heroic sacrifice of the brave police, firefighters, and Pentagon employees as well as showing the resolve of America’s gallant military forces to bring the “War on Terrorism” as President George Bush termed it, to the terrorists no matter their haven, location or support base worldwide. To that end, the painting depicts the first units to respond: the US Air Force’s B-1,B-2, and B-52 bombers and AC-130 gun ships; the U.S. Army Special Forces, Rangers, the Marines with both an MEU and attack F-18 aircraft from US Navy aircraft carriers; the U.S. Coast Guard and seaport and inland waterway security; the Army and Air National Guard forces, the FBI and CIA; the Department of Homeland Security and the many unseen faces of America’s reserve forces and agencies. terrorists are shown.

The main centerpieces are the famous “Statue of Liberty” in New York City’s harbor, and the “Statue of Armed Freedom” which rests atop the U.S.Capitol building dome of Congress in Washington, D.C. and overlooks the Pentagon. To me, both symbols define the American sense of spirit, duty and compassion-we welcome all peoples as friends, and oppose all enemies with the entire might of our people. They also represent the “Twin Sisters of Victory”. Below them is a purple and black mourning ribbon blending into the purple and white ribbon of the Purple Heart Medal linking the Pentagon to the World Trade Center casualties, and the two symbols of American sacrifice, which probably will continue as the war progresses: the military’s “Purple Heart Medal” (for deaths and wounds in combat), and the new government civilian “Defense of Freedom Medal,” as well as the new “Global War on Terrorism Service Medal” and the “Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal” The entire background of the painting is the American flag...”The Stars & Stripes” which still flies at “Ground Zero” in NYC and at the Pentagon....and now briskly in the hearts of Americans everywhere.

Special thanks to the Pitney Bowes Corporation for agreeing mail the prints to the generous donors

HR 2062 was recently passed by the Congress and signed into law by the president renaming the Newville Post Office honoring

SFC Randall “Randy” Shughart, United States Army, who along with MSGT Gary Gordon, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions above and beyond the call of duty on October 3, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia. His story was featured in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down.”

Randy Shughart was a 1976 graduate of Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania. For several years Richard Chamberlain, a Korean War veteran, has been attempting to have the new Big Spring high school building named in honor of Shughart. Randy Shughart was only the fourth Medal of Honor recipient in all of central Pennsylvania in 140 years, since the Civil War.

"This bill received support from the entire Pennsylvania Delegation, which shows our sincere appreciation for the men and women who protect our freedoms here at home," said Congressman Bill Shuster, a member of the Armed Services Committee. "And at the local level we worked with Cumberland County officials because his commitment to duty deserves recognition. Randall Shughart is a true American hero and we must always remember the sacrifices he made as well as many others because their services keep us safe at home. "Members and alumni of Chi Gamma Iota, the XGI fraternity of Penn State-Harrisburg who spawned this legislation will be spearheading the renaming ceremony during this year’s memorial day commemoration

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-257-5446 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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