Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 08/20/2007

Dear Sgt Shaft

I am seventy years old and have been paying SBP for over thirty years. Has legislation passed or is pending to allow me to discontinue payments? If so, what are the hr bill numbers?

.THANK YOU

John d, MSGT RET.
Via the internet

Dear John

My sources at the Military Officers Association of America tell me that If Congress does nothing more on SBP, you will stop paying premiums in October 2008 – a little over one year from now. However, Congress is considering advancing the effective date of the paid-up provision to October 2007. Here is the most recent legislative action on this issue:

Key Bills/Status: Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ 3rd) has once again introduced Paid Up SBP legislation, H.R. 784 that would move up the current 2008 implementation date for 30-year paid-up Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage. In the Senate Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) has introduced a joint SBP-DIC and SBP Paid up bill. The Military Retiree Survivor Equity Act, S.935, would repeal the SBP-DIC offset and move up the effective date of paid-up SBP to 1 Oct. 2007. In the House Representative Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) has introduced H.R.1927, a companion bill to Nelson's S. 935.

A buddy of the Sarge is trying to locate retired Army Colonel Gerardo Acosta Garcia. If anyone out there knows his whereabouts please ask them to contact me via email or phone.

From the East Coast to the West Coast, more than 500 “golden age” veterans will travel to Houston to participate in the largest sports and recreational competition for senior veterans in the world. The 21st National Veterans Golden Age Games, sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) and Help Hospitalized Veterans (HHV), will take place August 27 – 31.

Golden Age Games competitions are open to all U.S. military veterans, age 55 or older, currently receiving care at a VA medical facility. Hosted by the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, the Games give participants the opportunity to compete in ambulatory, visually impaired and wheelchair divisions according to their age, in sports such as swimming, bicycling, horseshoes, bowling, croquet, discus and shot put.

The National Veterans Golden Age Games is the premier senior adaptive rehabilitation program for veterans in the United States. The only national multi-event sports and recreational seniors’ competition program, it is designed to improve the quality of life for all older veterans, including those with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. For a number of events, the Games serve as a qualifying competition for participating in the National Senior Games, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The majority of the Golden Age Games events will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The opening ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 27. Festivities include music and a ceremonial lighting of the torch. The competition begins with bicycling on Tuesday, August 28, at 8 a.m., at Reliant Park. Amid the competition, veterans will be treated to Texas hospitality at area attractions.

For more information on the Golden Age Games, look online at www.veteransgoldenagegames.va.gov, or call Jenny Tankersley Ballou, National Veterans Golden Age Games public affairs coordinator, at (757) 728-3450 or (757) 254-6058.

It is a great to hear some good news from Iraq from The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. on his recent return from a whirlwind trip to the region that included accompanying American and Iraqi soldiers on patrols in downtown Baghdad. The lesson Gary Kurpius took away from the two-day visit is that the troops on the ground believe their war is winnable.

“There are many success stories that are happening every day that are not being reported in the mainstream media,” said Kurpius, a Vietnam veteran from Anchorage, Alaska. “Chief among those unreported stories is the fact that the new strategy is producing measurable results.”

Kurpius explained that Iraqi security forces outright control seven of Iraq's 18 provinces, a number that is expected to more than double over the next six months. The reason is the Iraqi military is stepping up to protect their own country. The VFW has expressed its support of the new strategy that combines military, diplomatic and economic initiatives.

"Security brings hope, and that's what this country is experiencing right now," he said.

Kurpius witnessed significant signs of progress while accompanying three foot and vehicle patrols into bustling Iraqi marketplaces that just a few short months ago were deserted.

“Our troops are living with Iraqi forces in outposts scattered throughout Baghdad,” he said. “The nonstop security is making a positive impact on the safety and well-being of the civilian population, which in turn is giving them hope for better future — a future without sectarian violence or foreign extremists.”

Kurpius said challenges still remain, especially in the political arena, but he cited security as the overarching priority because without it, nothing can be achieved.

“I met with top leaders like Army Gen. David Petraeus and an Iraqi general, and I met with squad leaders and privates who suit up and head outside the wire every day in 125-degree heat. Our troops are well aware of how long we’ve been in Iraq and of waning public support of their mission, but their morale is super-high because the new strategy is producing positive results,” he said.

“They told me that they just need a little more time and patience so that all the parts of the new strategy can come together. We owe them that much.”

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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