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The Voice for Chaplaincy - Chartered by Congress - Serving Since 1925
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Weekly Newsgram - January 11th
, 2017
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When Congress passed
H.R.6416-18 (the "Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016") in December of 2016 it contained as section 305 the following:
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Any person who is entitled under chapter 1223 of title 10, United States Code, to retired pay for nonregular service or, but for age, would be entitled under such chapter to retired pay for nonregular service shall be honored as a veteran but shall not be entitled to any benefit by reason of this honor."
With the signing of this bill into law on the 16th of December it permitted an unknown number of men and women who have retired from the National Guard or the Reserve forces of our nation but had never been called to federal service to become "Veterans." Up until now, these individuals were entitled to a reserve pension, TRICARE, and other earned veterans' benefits but did not have the legal status of "Veteran".
Even though these fifty-five words do not take up much space and cost the government virtually nothing, they did not arrive in a piece of legislation without considerable effort. The Military Coalition (of which MCA is a member) had held this action as a goal for inclusion in legislative action for a number of years. Despite the fact it makes sense, honors those who served, and was cheap - it never made it into legislation till now.
The Miller Bill contained many more positive benefits for veterans. A summary, courtesy of MOAA, is included below.
The MCA serves alongside other Military and Veterans Service Organizations as an advocate for action which make sense for our uniformed services and the veterans who have served our nation with distinction and honor. My thanks to all of you in our membership for making this ministry possible. We could not achieve even these small (in terms of words and cost) but significant victories without your support.
And thanks to all who have served faithfully and are now recognized with the honorable title of "Veteran".
Lyman Smith
Executive Director
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Life Members
Chaplain Everett L. Gregory
MAJ, USARNG
American Methodist Episcopal
MCA member since 2011
Blue Ash, OH
Chaplain Charles Thompson III
CAPT, USN, Retired
United Methodist Church
MCA member since 2016
Rutherfordton, NC
Chaplain David R. Van Horn
COL, CAP
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Member of the National Executive Committee
Former Chief of Chaplains, CAP
MCA member since 1983
Marshall, MO
Chaplain Thomas R. Decker
COL, USA, Retired
Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod
MCA member since 1999
Signal Hill, CA
Chaplain James T. Oldham
Col, USAF, Retired
American Baptist Church
MCA member since 1981
Sioux Falls, SD
Chaplain David Kahler
Cpt, USAR
Reformed Church in America
MCA member since 2016
Branchburg, NJ
Annual Member
Chaplain Mario E. Ceballos
Director of the World Service Organization and Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries
Seventh-day Adventist
Port Orange, FL
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Select provisions of the Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016 (courtesy of MOAA)
Survivor Benefits - Streamlines the delivery of survivor benefits from the VA, making it unnecessary for a survivor to apply separately to DoD and the VA.
Veterans Court Judges - Extends the temporary increase in the number of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Absent this extension, the Court would have only seven judges to hear veterans' appeals. The extension adds two more judges for another four years to handle the appeal workload, which already has an extreme backlog.
GySgt Fry Scholarship -Expands the eligibility for Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarships to include members of the military who died beginning on Sept. 11, 2001. The previous eligibility date was for deaths that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2006.
Immunizations-Aligns the VA's definition of preventive health services with the current adult immunization schedule used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The VA would be required to establish quality measures and metrics to ensure veterans receiving medical care in the VA are notified on a regular schedule for immunizations should they choose to use the preventive service.
Mental Health Counselors- Expands the qualification requirements for individuals the VA hires as licensed professional mental health counselors to include providers with doctoral degrees in mental health counseling.
Physician Work Hours-Allows greater work hour flexibility by allowing physicians to work more or less than 80 hours in a biweekly period as is currently done in the private sector. VA leaders say this is essential to attract new hires.
Graduate Medical Education-Increases the number of graduate medical education residency positions at VA medical facilities to 1,500 over the next 10 years.
Toxic Exposure Research-Requires the VA to conduct an assessment on scientific research related to descendants of veterans with toxic exposure and recommend to Congress the feasibility of conducting further research regarding health conditions of descendants of exposed veterans. If further research is deemed feasible, the VA would establish an advisory board to help the Secretary of VA in carrying out further research going forward.
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Our friends at
MoneyGeek have prepared a helpful guide for individuals and families navigating the difficult journey making arrangements after the death of a loved one. Easy to read and comprehensive in approach, the guide even includes a section on military funerals and benefits. The resource links are by themselves well worth saving. You may want to save this site and also explore other important topics on this informative website.
Survivor's Guide
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The Military Chaplain 2017
Your Comments Please
Last year we began a new approach to our quarterly magazine, The Military Chaplain. Each issue was formed around a theme which has an impact on our ministry. In 2016 we explored Moral Injury, Free Speech, Suicide Prevention, and Ethical Challenges to Service. As we now plan for 2017 several topics have been considered - among them Faith and Fear; Peer Support; The Chaplain's Role; The Language of Ministry; Spirituality versus Religion; and Civil Military Relations and the chaplaincy.
Please consider these and let me know your thoughts on what might be helpful to you in your personal and professional setting and if you have suggestions for content for any of these. You may send your comments to us at
[email protected]. Thank you.
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MCA National Institute 2017
October 23 - 26, 2017
Newport News, Virginia
Please plan to join us!
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If you missed the December 21st
edition of the Newsgram
click here
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SUPPORTING CHAPLAINCY IN AND OUT OF UNIFORM: Active, Retired and Former Chaplains of the
United States Army,
United States Navy,
United States Air Force, Department of
Veterans Affairs, and
Civil Air Patrol
AND THOSE THEY SERVE: military members, veterans, and their families
at home and around the world
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The Military Chaplains Association of the USA
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