Good News 4 U

Health Fair Coming
March 13th from 1000-1400 at the Aberdeen Area Rec Center
See flyer for more details

Habitat Susquehanna is pleased to be participating in the Home Depot Foundation's Veteran Home Repair Program.
What types of repairs are covered under this program?
·  Roof repairs and replacement
·  Structural wall or floor damage
·  Repairs to reinstate insurance or satisfy code enforcement
·  Handicap accessibility renovations
·  Asbestos, mold or lead abatement/remediation
·  Electrical, plumbing and HVAC
We are grateful to all our veterans for their dedicated service.
Contact Deb Ciresi for more information or to see if you qualify.
dciresi@habitatsusq.org or 410-638-4434, ext. 2
Habitat Susquehanna also offers repair and build programs for non-veterans.
Please call 410-638-4434 for more information.
Any US veteran who received an honorable or general discharge.
Home Depot Foundation’s Veteran Home Repair Program web site
Program Flyer

Veterinary Services at APG
APG announces a new Veterinarian at the APG Veterinary Clinic.  Dr. Carol Bossone and the Vet Clinic can be reached for an appointment at 410-278-4604.  The Vet Clinic is located across the street from the Kirk US Army Health Clinic in Bldg. 2479.

Traffic Pattern from Route 40 to APG to Temporarily Change
Rt 715/Rt 40 plans - ramp from 40 East  to 715 toward APG will be closed beginning Jan 2012; this is a MD State Highway Admin (SHA) project, not an APG project. The attached shows the temporary traffic flow and the end-state in Summer 2013.
Traffic Plan (see page 2 for temporary fix)

Elimination of Vehicle Registration and Decal Requirements
Effective 12 Sep 2011, motor vehicle registration and the display of DD Form 2220, Vehicle Decal, is no longer required for access to Army installations. Senior commanders, based on a unique security environment, may require motor vehicle registration. If a senior commander elects to implement vehicle registration they must inform HQDA Office of the Provost Marshal General of this change. Effective immediately HQDA will no longer provide funding for vehicle registration.

Give Blood!
Flyer

Warning by the OPSEC Folks
A scam has been discovered and we want to warn you about a company who may be passing itself off as representing the US Department of Veterans Affairs. An organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS) is providing benefit and general information on VA and gathering personal information on veterans. VAS may be gaining access to military personnel through their close resemblance to the VA name and seal.

This organization is not affiliated with VA in any way. Websites with the name "VA services" immediately after the "www" ARE NOT part of the Department of Veterans Affairs; the real VA website ends in.gov. If approached or called, do not offer them any information concerning yourself or data on other veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not randomly call veterans, nor does it ask veterans for information which it does not already have. If you have not dealt with the VA previously and in person, then you receive a call from someone saying they are with the VA or something similar sounding, hang up the phone. Do not respond to emails which suggest that they are from the VA. The VA never conducts official business nor asks for personal information by email.

Department of Defense (DoD) Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR)
The Department of Defense (DoD) Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) - operated by Secretary of The Air Force has been in existence since Jan 2009, reviewing disability cases for Veterans (discharged between 9/11/01 and 12/31/09, with a 0, 10, or 20% combined disability) in order to determine if the individual should have been awarded a disability retirement (30% combined disability level or higher). For more information, see this document:  DOD PDBR

New Option for Marking Veterans’ Graves in Private Cemeteries

WASHINGTON (June 29, 2010) – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki announced today that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is offering bronze medallions to attach to existing, privately purchased headstones or markers, signifying a deceased's status as a Veteran. “For Veterans not buried in a national or state Veterans cemetery, or those without a government grave marker, VA is pleased to offer this option that highlights their service and sacrifices for our country,” said Secretary Shinseki. The new item can be furnished instead of a traditional government headstone or marker for Veterans whose death occurred on or after Nov. 1, 1990, and whose grave in a private cemetery is marked with a privately purchased headstone or marker. Under federal law, eligible Veterans buried in a private cemetery are entitled to either a government-furnished grave marker or the new medallion, but not both.  Veterans buried in a national or state Veterans cemetery will receive a government headstone or marker of the standard design authorized at that cemetery. The medallion is available in three sizes: 5 inches, 3 inches and 1 ½ inches in width.  Each bronze medallion features the image of a folded burial flag adorned with laurels and is inscribed with the word “Veteran” at the top and the branch of service at the bottom. Next of kin will receive the medallion, along with a kit that will allow the family or the staff of a private cemetery to affix the medallion to a headstone, grave marker, mausoleum or columbarium niche cover. More information about VA-furnished headstones, markers and medallions can be found at http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmtype.asp. VA is currently developing an application form for ordering the medallion.  Until it is available, applicants may use the form for ordering government headstones and markers, VA Form 40-1330.  Instructions on how to apply for a medallion are found on the VA Web site at www.cem.va.gov/hm_hm.asp. Veterans with a discharge issued under conditions other than dishonorable, their spouses and eligible dependent children can be buried in a VA national cemetery.  Other burial benefits available for all eligible Veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or grave marker. The new medallions will be available only to Veterans buried in private cemeteries without a government headstone or marker. Families of eligible decedents may also order a memorial headstone or marker when remains are not available for interment. VA operates 131 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico and 33 soldiers' lots and monument sites.  More than 3 million Americans, including Veterans of every war and conflict -- from the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan -- are buried in VA’s national cemeteries on more than 19,000 acres. Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the VA Web site on the Internet at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.