FRA BRANCH 126 NEWS
PRESIDENT PRESIDENT WEST JAX
FRA BRANCH 126 FLEET RESERVE HALL INC
JAMES J. THOMAS ALVIN D. ROBY
Phone 291-1575 Phone 264-6270
VICE PRESIDENT UNIT 126 PRESIDENT
HERMAN ELROD VERALYN THOMAS
Phone 655-2211 Phone 291-1575
SECRETARY BRANCH CHAPLAIN
DONALD F. WALSH VON R. MITCHELL
Phone 282-4650 Phone 291-7885
TREASURER / EDITOR MEMBERHIP
WILLIAM T. KULIER EDWARD H. GRIBBIN
Phone 771-5237 Phone 269-3845
ADDRESS ALL MAIL TO: FLEET RESERVE HALL, 7673 BLANDING BLVD, JACKSONVILLE, FL 32244-5111
BRANCH HALL TELEPHONE (904) 771-2126
BRANCH WEB SITE: http://westjaxfrabranch126.yolasite.com/
JULY & AUGUST 2011 EDITION
NOTICE: The items or opinions published in the Branch 126 Newsletter are those of the contributor of that particular article, and not necessarily that of the Editor, FRA Branch 126 Inc., or the Fleet Reserve Association.
FRA Southeast Regional President Bobby Smith (L) congratulates Shipmate James H. Cunningham Jr. for achieving 40 years of continuous membership in the FRA. The award was presented during the Branch 126 meeting of 16 June 2011. Shipmate Cunningham, a Battle of Midway survivor, was aboard USS Hammann (DD-412) sunk by a Japanese Submarine on 6 June 1942 while alongside assisting USS Yorktown (CV-5).
JULY 2011
Monday 04 July Independence Day – Fly your Flag!
Monday 04 July 1300 Parade Muster behind Orange Park Dog Track (page 2)
Wednesday 06 July 2000 Branch 126 BOD
Thursday 21 July 1930 Branch Meeting
AUGUST 2011
Monday 01 Aug 1930 West Jax Inc BOD
Wednesday 03 Aug 1930 Branch BOD
Thursday 18 Aug 2000 Branch Meeting
SEPTEMBER 2011
Monday 05 Sept 1930 West Jax Inc BOD
Wednesday 07 – 11 Sept Southeast Region Convention (page 3)
Wednesday 14 Sept 1930 Branch BOD
Saturday 20 Sept 1400 Branch Birthday Dinner at Golden Corral
Shipmate C. B. Stilwell Tolled the Bell in honor of our departed Shipmates and Ladies during the Branch 126 Memorial Day Service on 29 May 2011. Sixty years of FRA Membership and still an active member!
The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA): A local TREA Chapter meets at the Branch Hall at 1300 on the 4th Wed. of each month. POC is Shipmate E. W. Sawley at (904) 772-8622.
FRA BRANCH 126 NEWS FOR JULY and AUGUST 2011
THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER
JAMES J. THOMAS (904) 291-1575
1. Welcome Aboard to our new Shipmates:
Jermiah J. Fitzgerald of Jacksonville, FL
Herbert R. Pearce, MD of Jackonville, FL
2. We Thank Budget Committee Chairman Don Rodely along with committee members Bill Kulier, Dave Pippin and Donald Walsh for providing a balanced budget for 2011 – 2012.
3. We had a turn out of 33 Shipmates, Ladies and significant others for the Branch Installation Dinner at Golden Corral. We apprecite the efforts of Veralyn and James J. Thomas for setting up this event.
4. Please note this will be the last newsletter until the September edition to be published at the end of August 2011.
If you have any questions with regard to FRA stuff, give me a phone call or send an E mail. If I don’t have an answer I will try and find one for you.
To All Shipmates - Loyalty, Protection and Service. James J. Thomas
Branch 126 Membership Report
Edward Gribbin …….…….269-3845
Branch 126 Membership
Membership on 31 May 2011 is 517
New Members…………………………2
Reinstated Members…………………..0
Transferred Members………………...0
Terminated Members…………………5
Deceased Members………………….3
Non payment of dues………………..2
Shipmates due to renew membership…23
New Shipmates:
1. Jermiah J. Fitzgerald, AKC, USNR
2. Herbert R. Pearce, MD., Veteran
Deceased Shipmates: (All Retired)
1. 1STSGT John H. Bates, Jr., USMC
2. AMSC Russell B. Kelly, USN
3. CSC Rupert P. Stalvey, USN
THE EDITORS COLUMN
Bill Kulier ……………… (904) 771-5237
Retired pay earned, but not paid in the final month of your life goes to whoever is listed as your Arrears of Pay (AOP) beneficiary. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) will also contact this person for help with closing your account.
You can choose anyone, from family members to friends to associates, to be your AOP beneficiary. But if you don't designate someone, it could cause undue stress and financial hardship for your survivors during an already difficult time. It can take many months to locate your survivors, identify who is legally entitled to your pay, and then make the payment.
Fortunately, this situation is easy to prevent. You can establish or change your beneficiary at any time.
HOW TO DESIGNATE OR CHANGE A BENEFICIARY
To designate or change your Arrears of Pay (AOP) beneficiary, all you have to do is follow these simple steps:
1. Complete a Designation of Beneficiary Info form (DD 2894). You can find this form at www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd2894.pdf.
2. Sign and date the form. (Unsigned and undated forms will not be processed.)
3. Mail or fax the form to:
DFAS U.S. Military Retired Pay
P.O. Box 7130
London, KY 40742-7130
Fax: 800-469-6559
It is vital to notify DFAS of any changes in your AOP beneficiary's contact information. Otherwise all correspondence will be sent to the wrong address, further delaying closure of your account. Please use the steps above to notify DFAS if your beneficiaries name or contact info changes.
For more information about AOP, please visit http://www.dfas.mil/dfas/retiredmilitary/provide/aop.html.
Customer Service Representative
DFAS Retired and Annuitant Pay
http://www.dfas.mil/dfas/retiredmilitary.html
800-321-1080
Editors Note:
5
FRA BRANCH 126 NEWS FOR JULY and AUGUST 2011
BRANCH ACTIVITIES
AL Roby …………………264-6270 James J. Thomas …………... 291-1575
1. FRA Southeast Regional Convention – Chattanooga, TN 7 to 11 September 2011
The convention will be held in the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel. The room rate is $85.00 plus a tax of 9.25% There is plenty of free parking. All rooms have a coffee pot, irons & ironing boards. Refrigerators are available for $15.00 per stay; not per night! Railroad car rate is $169.00 per night plus tax for railroad buffs with money to spare. To make reservations call (800) 872-2529 or (423) 266-5000. The cut off date is 16 August 2011.
The (much larger than last time) Hospitality Room will open at noon on Wednesday, 7 September and will be open at all times except when business sessions or other major events are taking place. The Welcome Aboard will be on Thursday, 8 Sept.
The Branch 126 Hospitality Room will be open on 9 and 10 September. We will have our traditional luncheon For Branch and Unit 126 Shipmates, Ladies and significant others at noon on Saturday.
2. The FRA National Convention will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, MO from Monday 24 October through Sunday 30 October 2011. The hotel is located within the Crown Center Complex at 2345 McGee. The room rate is $107.00 plus tax, plus parking. Make reservation at 888-421-1442 toll free.
Pictured L-R are FRA Southeast Regional President Bobby Smith, newly inducted Branch 126 Shipmates Henry Moreland and Herbert Pearce along with Branch President James J. Thomas at the Branch meeting of 16 June 2011.
5
FRA BRANCH 126 NEWS FOR JULY and AUGUST 2011
FLAG SALES
Von R. Mitchell…………….. 291-7885
All Nylon and the Cotton Bulldog flags have sewn stars & stripes while the other Cotton flags have printed stars & stripes. We have the following flags in stock.
3x5’ Nylon Flag---$22.00
4x6’ Nylon Flag----- $30.00
5x8’ Nylon Flag------$40.00
3x5’ Cotton Flag Set------$15.00
3x5’ Nylon POW/MIA Flag---- $ 25.00
8x12’ Nylon Flag ---special order --- $125.00
We now have the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard 3x5 Flags in stock for $22.00
Contact Shipmate Johnny Johnson at 771-1736, Bill Kulier at 771-5237 or Al Peter at 777-0781 to purchase a Flag.
IN MEMORY OF OUR DEPARTED SHIPMATES
Senior Shipmate AMSC Russell B. Kelly, USN, Retired, age 94, an FRA member since May 1961, reported to the Staff of the Supreme Commander on 19 May 2011.
He served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam and retired with 20 years of service. This was followed with 10 years of Civil Service.
Shipmate Kelly was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Ada Kelly. He is survived by 3 daughters, a brother, 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
Chief Petty Officer Kelly will be laid to in the Holly Hill Memorial Park in Middleburg, Florida.
Shipmate 1STSGT JOHN H BATES Jr, USMC, Retired, age 90, an FRA member since May 1973, reported to the Staff of the Supreme Commander on 26 February 2011.
Shipmate Bates is survived by 2 daughters and a grandson. He was a resident of Green Cove Springs, Florida.
The Medical Equipment locker: We have many wheel chairs loaned out with a few available for check out at this time. These are high demand items so please be sure to bring them back as soon as you are done with them. We also have a good supply of canes, crutches, potty chairs & assorted equipment to loan out.
Contact Shipmate Johnny Johnson at 771-1736 to check out wheel chairs or other medical equipment.
Camp Lejeune Illness Survey
The Federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry is sending a detailed health questionnaire to people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune Marine Base, N.C., and Camp Pendleton Marine Base, Calif., before 1986. Information from the questionnaire will be used to determine what, if any, diseases are linked to polluted drinking water at Camp Lejeune that may have contaminated as many as one million people. (Responses from Camp Pendleton will be used for comparison.)
This survey is the largest ever carried out by the agency and is intended to determine the impact exposure may have had on birth defects, childhood cancers, and mortality rates for Camp Lejeune personnel and families. The first batches of questionnaires were mailed last week and more will be sent through November.Statistical analysis is expected to be available in early 2014.
Manure:
In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large shipments of manure were quite common.
It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, not only did it become heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas of course.
As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening.
After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the instruction ' Stow high in transit ' on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Thus evolved the term ' S.H.I.T ', (Stow High In Transit) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.
You probably did not know the true history of this word. Neither did I. I had always thought it was a golf term.
Retroactive Stop Loss Deadline Extended Again
Service members who were involuntarily extended between September 11, 2001, and September 30, 2009, due to Stop Loss authority may be entitled to Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP). The deadline for filing a RSLSP claim has been extended to October 21, 2011, and those eligible can receive $500 for each full or partial month served in Stop-Loss status. The military services estimate thousands are eligible, but haven't yet filed claims.
To apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay or for more information, including submission requirements and service-specific links, go to http://www.defense.gov/stoploss.
The Ship’s Store
Al Peter ……………. (904) 777-0781
Branch 126 Apparel
Ball Hat ………..… $6.00
Polo Shirt (Blue) … $27.00, size S, M, L, XL
Bowling Shirt ……. $41.00, sizes, M thru 3XL
Fore n Aft Cap ….. $45.00 & Up (special order)
5
FRA BRANCH 126 NEWS FOR JULY and AUGUST 2011
Death of a Retired Member
Date Interviewed______
1. Name______Rate/Rank______SSN______
2. Address______
______Telephone #______
3. Date of Death______Place______
4. Funeral Home ______
5. Burial Cemetery ______Date______
6. Date of Birth ______Place ______Age at death ______
7. Retired USN/USMC/USA/USAF/USCG/USPUS/NOAA Date______
8. Disability or Service Retirement ? ______
9. If Disability, was member receiving VA Compensation ? ______
10. Employed/ Retired Civil Service?______
11. If Retired Civil Service, was military civil service time combined for Civil Service Retirement ? ______
12. Civilian (Private Sector) Employment: ______
13. Drawing Social Security? ______Age at which applied for annuity? ______
14. Insurance: Govt.: ______Commercial: ______
15. SBP/RSFPP: ______
16. Was retiree a member of FRA, MOA, TREA, AMLEG, VFW, DAV or ______?
17. Will - Safety Deposit Box ______
18. Next of Kin (Spouse or Other) ______
Date of Birth: ______Place: ______
SSN ______Telephone # ______
19. Address (if different than above) ______
20. Date and Place of Marriage: ______
Spouse, Next of Kin or significant other:
1. Contact the NAS Jax Retired Affairs Office (RAO) at 542-5790 to report the death. This is a volunteer operation so if you get a recording leave a message and they will call you back. They will need you to tell them the items in bold face type on this form.
2. They will notify the Defense Finance & Accounting Service (DFAS). You will be advised to call back and make an appointment to come in and have them assist you in filling out the pile of forms you will get from DFAS – normally within 10 working days.
3. If the deceased was receiving Social Security benefits notify Social Security at 1-800- 772-1213. Also call and notify Insurance Companies, financial institutions and veteran groups.
4. Contact any Branch 126 Officer or leave a message at (904) 771-2126 for notification or to request an FRA Ceremony. We can also answer questions and steer you to appropriate help.