Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 08/13/2009

Dear Sgt Shaft,
I am a former spouse of a deceased retired military. I was married for 18 years and received retirement pay/alimony until his death in August 2006. I was told by another servicemember that I may be entitled to a dependent ID card. Can you research this for me or direct me to who might be able to assist me with this matter?

Thank you.
Kaye M via the internet

Dear Kaye,
My sources tell me that you do not qualify for military benefits because you do not meet the 20-20-20 rule. You need to have been married to the servicemember for 20 years and the marriage must have lasted 20 years while he was earning credit toward retirement. It appears that you are two years short.

If there was physical abuse that was punished by Uniform Code of Military Justice, it's possible you may still qualify. Other than that, no.

Shaft Notes
Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Florida Republican, member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, recently saluted the courage of the Tuskegee Airmen by presenting Mildred Wilson, widow of Staff Sgt. Elmer H. Wilson, with a bronze Tuskegee Airmen Congressional Gold Medal for her husband's valiant service during World War II. The presentation took place at the Bayou Presbyterian Church, Tarpon Springs, Fla.

The Tuskegee Airmen were a dedicated group of blacks who enlisted to become America's first black military airmen during World War II as part of the 332nd Fighter Group of the Army Air Corps. While the group was praised for their work flying combat aircraft against the Nazis, they faced discrimination at home.

"The perseverance and courage exhibited by Staff Sergeant Wilson played an important role in the liberation of millions of people," Mr. Bilirakis said. "I am honored to have the opportunity to help recognize his intrepid service as well as the support and resolve of his wife Mildred, who served as a constant pillar of strength back home."

In 1942, Staff Sgt. Wilson, a Philadelphia native, was inducted into the Army Air Corps. His high test scores and previous mechanical experience led to his selection to the Tuskegee Army Air Field's 99th Pursuit Squadron in Tuskegee, Ala., where he trained in armament and camera technology.

Staff Sgt. Wilson, known to his friends as "Pop Wilson," earned two Bronze Stars and a Good Conduct Medal during his service.

Mrs. Wilson is the seventh of 10 children and married Staff Sgt. Wilson during the summer of 1941. Six months later, Staff Sgt. Wilson was drafted into the Army Air Corps. Mrs. Wilson eventually earned a master's degree in education and taught high school for 19 years while raising four children before retiring. The couple moved to Tarpon Springs in 1988, where Staff Sgt. Wilson died eight years later. Mrs. Wilson is still giving piano lessons at age 89.

Mrs. Wilson said her husband never said much about the time he spent as a camera technician in the Army Air Corps. "They got called all kinds of names," she said of the Tuskegee Airmen. "But it didn't bother [Elmer]."

Spouse Act
The Senate recently approved the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act as an amendment to the 2009 Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390) at the request of Sen. Richard M. Burr, North Carolina Republican, putting the legislation on a fast track for passage into law this year.

The bill authored by Rep. John Carter, Texas Republican, currently has more than 140 bipartisan co-sponsors. The high level of support Mr. Carter has built in the House makes it likely the final version of the Defense Authorization Act will include the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act when it is signed into law by the president.

"This is fantastic news for our service families worldwide," said Mr. Carter, who has been pushing the legislation for the last four years. "We should have done this long ago, but at least we are now on track to have a new law in 2009."

The bill allows a military spouse who moves out of a state with their service member under military orders to have the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse, regardless of where they are stationed. Service members themselves have had that option for decades, while spouses did not, leaving many families with split residencies.

In addition, the legislation also included amendments from three Democratic senators: Florida Sen. Bill Nelson's amendment to repeal the survivor-dependency benefit offset - known as the SBP/DIC offset; Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's amendment to provide earlier retirement for Guard and Reserve forces to Sept. 11, 2001; and New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer's amendment to improve military and overseas absentee voting.

Appointment
Congratulations to Bob Carey on his recent appointment as the director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program. He administers the federal responsibilities of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act for the secretary of defense, who is the presidential designee. The act covers the voting rights of all members of the Uniformed Services, Merchant Marine, and their family members, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and all U.S. civilian citizens residing outside the United States. His responsibilities include executive oversight of other federal government departments, agencies, and entities that cooperate in carrying out the act.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Carey served as executive director of the National Defense Committee, a grass-roots military service organization focused on protecting the legal rights of individual service members (including military voting rights) and strengthening the civil-military relationship. He was an active advocate for reforming the voting systems for military and overseas citizen voters.

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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