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Volume 28 No. 09 September 2016
Chapter Officers PRESIDENT CAPT Mark Leary, USN (Ret.) 236-8098 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT CWO2 Pierre Louis, USMC (Ret.) 631-6411 SECOND VICE PRESIDENT CAPT George Telesh, M.D. USN (Ret.) 405-7788 TREASURER Roger Grubic, (CPT, USA) 441-8958 SECRETARY/ PUBLIC AFFAIRS Louise Redner, USA (Aux) 441-4191 CHAPLAIN Maj Calvin Gittner, USAF (Ret.) 451-1008 DIRECTOR Maj Don Amiotte, USMC (Ret.) 677-8001 RADM Steven Maas, USN (Ret.) 847-1356 Col Ronald Giampietro, USAF (Ret.) 235-6317 IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT COL Victoria Leignadier, USA (Ret.) 236-9300 MEDICAL LIAISON CAPT George Telesh, M.D. USN (Ret.) 405-7788 LEGISLATIVE LIAISON LTC John Stovall, USA (Ret.) 760-4867 VCVC REPRESENTATIVE COL Victoria Leignadier, USA (Ret.) 236-9300 ROTC LIAISON COL Skip Keating, USA (Ret.) 672-4536 CAPT Mark Leary, USN (Ret.) 236-8098 Col Ronald Giampietro, USAF (Ret.) 235-6317 TRANSITION LIAISON COL John McClellan, USA (Ret.) 781-686-0660 AWARDS COMMITTEE CHAIR CAPT Randy Lynch, USN 443-370-1312 MEMBERSHIP CHAIR CWO2 Pierre Louis, USMC (Ret.) 631-6411 PERSONAL AFFAIRS/BENEFITS CAPT Mary McLendon, USN (Ret.) 427-5931
President’s Message CAPT Mark Leary, USN (Ret.)
Welcome back from the Halifax Chapter of MOAA’s summer break. If you did not flee the Florida heat, you know that it has been a hot and a dry summer, so all that relaxing around the pool or in air conditioned comfort should have you ready to get out of the house and re-engaged with your Halifax MOAA compatriots. As you know our last luncheon meeting in May featured Dr. Nichole E. Robinson, Chief Medical
Officer, William V. Chappell Jr. VA Outpatient Clinic of Dayto-na Beach discussing the state of our local VA clinic and the plans for improvements in the future. See a photo of the May luncheon as well as additional photos of our ROTC Apprecia-tion Dinner in April, Embry-Riddle ROTC Commissionings in May, and Mainland High JROTC Awards Ceremony in May inside. This month’s meeting includes a change of venue to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s (ERAU) Henderson Welcome Center (see map on luncheon reservation page for details). Colonel Kimberley Ramos, Commander of the Air Force ROTC (AFROTC) Unit offered to host us once again at the ERAU Campus and she will be our speaker discussing Cyber Security, a topic which has been front and center in the news of late. It should be a great event and superb venue for which
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Important Web Addresses MOAA Website
http://www.moaa.org Florida Council of Chapters Website
http://www.moaafl.org Halifax MOAA Website
http://www.moaafl.org/Chapters/Halifax Halifax MOAA Email Address
Halifax Area Chapter is an affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America. Our mission is to maintain a strong national defense and preserve the earned benefits of the uniformed services and their
families. Our membership is committed to camaraderie with a purpose among retired, active, and former officers, and their surviving spouses,
by supporting veterans, active duty military, Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets/midshipmen, and our community with the promise to
“Never Stop Serving”.
OFFICERS CALL
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we owe our appreciation to Col Ramos, Ms. Marie Rohlfs, Administrative Assistant, AFROTC Detach-ment 157 at ERAU, and the AFROTC Cadets. Over the summer break, your Chapter Officers have enjoyed some well-earned off-time, but, we have continued our efforts to retain our member-ship, recruit new members, and make our organiza-tion more relevant to you. The Nominating Commit-tee (Leignadier/Louis/Giampietro/Leary) has been actively searching over the summer for new Chap-ter Officers to fill our ranks in 2017 and quite frankly the response (especially from our newer members) has been incredible. Pierre Louis, CWO2, USMC has agreed to serve as President in 2017, Drew Hoffman, Capt, USAF as 1st Vice President, Garret Messner, LTC, USA as 2nd Vice President, Mike Davall, LTC, USA as Membership Chair, Vicki Leignadier, COL, USA as Director, John McClellan, COL, USA as Transition Liaison, Don Amiotte, Maj, USMC as “Officers Call” Editor, and Randy Lynch, CAPT, USN has agreed to assume the additional responsibility as NROTC Liaison while retaining the Awards Committee Chair responsibility. You all will have a chance to vote on these nominations (and thank these folks for stepping up) at our November General Membership Meeting. This new blood, along with the Officers who have agreed to contin-ue to serve, should make a superb team for the fu-ture. If we missed you during the search for new Chapter Officers and you think you might like to serve in 2017, drop me an e-mail and we will see if we can find you a spot on this varsity team. We have also made a concerted effort during the break to retain our existing members and get every-one caught up on their dues, so that we can contin-ue the outreach to our veterans, ROTC, and JROTC friends that we are chartered to do. So if you haven’t checked your membership expiration date (located on line 2 of your “Officers Call” mail-ing label for those who receive the paper copy or sent as an e-mail reminder by those pioneers who have gone electronic only) recently please do so and renew your membership and your commitment to MOAA at the local level. Also, recruiting new membership is an “all hands” effort, so if you have a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance who is a national MOAA member, but, as of yet not a Chapter mem-ber, please talk to them about our Chapter, bring them to a luncheon or provide Pierre (our current Membership Chair) or myself a contact e-mail or phone number for them so that we can follow up on your efforts and build our membership.
During the summer break we were also notified by national MOAA that our Chapter has broken the code and will be awarded the 2016 Five Star Level of Excellence Award for our accomplishments dur-ing calendar year 2015. The award will be present-ed at the 2016 MOAA Annual Meeting, October 24-25th at the Pentagon City Sheraton in Arlington, VA. (details on the Annual MOAA Meeting to follow in subsequent Officers Calls). Our Chapter had not received the Five Star Level of Excellence (LOE) since 2012 (for accomplishments during calendar year 2011), but, not for lack of effort. The criteria for LOE selection changes a little bit each year, but, recruitment and retention of Chapter Membership is always a big part of the scoring. Additionally, the number of Chapter Members who are also National MOAA members, weighs heavily in the LOE selec-tion, so if you are a Chapter Member, but not a na-tional MOAA member, we would ask you to serious-ly consider joining national MOAA (http://www.moaa.org/Content/Join-Moaa/Why-join-Moaa.aspx), where all of the heavy lifting on main-taining earned benefits for your service is done. Finally, to you national MOAA members who are not currently Halifax Area Chapter members, but, are receiving this edition of “Officers Call”, we are reaching out to you as Prospective Chapter Mem-bers. Please come join us at our monthly Chapter meetings, which are generally held on the fourth Thursday of the month. Please call or e-mail our Membership Chair Pierre Louis at 631-6411 ([email protected]) or me at 236-8098 ([email protected]) for details about future meetings and membership or sign up at our website (http://www.moaafl.org/Chapters/Halifax/JoinUs.aspx) and become part of the Halifax MOAA Team. O.K. that is more than enough from me. See you at the luncheon and for those of you still returning from points north or other summer destinations across the country or around the world, fly and drive safe and we will see you soon. As always, thanks for listening, for your membership and con-tribution to our MOAA Chapter and national MOAA’s “One Powerful Voice”, for your past com-mitment to our country’s long line of service, for your continued commitment to “Never Stop Serv-ing”, and for all you do and have done for our great nation.
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HALIFAX CHAPTER MOAA Board of Directors Meeting
May 3rd 2016 The Regular Board Meeting of the Halifax Chapter of MOAA met in the Ward Room of the Halifax Riv-er Yacht Club Thursday, May 3rd. Attending were: President Mark Leary, 1st VP Pierre Louis, 2nd VP George Telesh, and Secretary Louise Redner. Al-so present were Director Ron Giampietro, and USA ROTC Liaison Skip Keating and immediate Past President Victoria Leignadier. A quorum was pre-sent. President Leary called the meeting to order at 1005 hours. The Minutes of the 5 April meeting were ap-proved as published. The Treasurer’s report was distributed; total deposits 1 April to 30 April 2016 $1,825.00, total disbursements $3,900.48 leaving balance on hand of $10,898.99. The report will be filed subject to audit. The Treasurer submitted the necessary paperwork to the State 14 April for re-newal of our Chapter’s tax exempt status. Skip Keating moved that the PNC financial report be ap-proved as distributed. The motion was seconded and the motion carried. Unfinished Business: 1st VP Louis moved the acceptance of two new Chapter members: Capt, USAF Fred Costello and Lt Col USAF (retired) Daniel Eddy. Both new mem-bers were approved and it was noted that both men are members of National MOAA. Speakers for 2016 were reviewed and new ones were suggested. The May speaker is Dr. Lisa Zacher, COL USA and Chief of Staff Orlando VA Medical Center. 1st VP Louis reported that recruitment was moving along and that 60 paper copies of “Officers Call” were mailed out to prospective members. President Leary reminded the board of the upcom-ing FCOC convention to be held in Lakeland 13-15 May by the Imperial/Polk County Chapter. He also reported that Personal Affairs/Benefits Chair Mary McLendon’s Call (checklist) for Surviving Spouses will be sent to electronic membership list with the May “Officers Call.” New Business: A short discussion was held regarding the nominat-ing committee for 2017 Chapter officers. The Com-mittee members are President Leary, IPP Vicki
Leignadier, 1st VP Louis, and Director Giampietro. The President again is encouraging all Chapter members to become members of National MOAA. He reported that our Chapter has received a new (2016) Halifax Area “Potentials List” from National. Our Chapter was notified by FCOC Area VP Ernie Joy that our newsletter “Officers Call” was one of the several area Chapters to win the Communica-tions Award, the majority of the winners are from the FL East coast Region. Our “Five Star” Commu-nications Award will be presented at the FCOC Convention in Lakeland mid-May. President Leary thanked those who presented the awards to date to the Army, and Air Force ROTC cadets and the Army JROTC at Spruce Creek high school. Director Giampietro and IPP Leignadier will be presenting the upcoming JROTC awards at area high schools. Two BOD members will be part of two area upcom-ing Memorial Day Services: IPP Viki Leignadier will be present at the Casements and Skip Keating will be mediator at the Lohman Cemetery close to ERAU. The President adjourned the meeting at 1045 hours.
Bagels and BINGO At The Emory L. Bennett Veterans Nursing Home
COL Skip Keating, USA (Ret.) June 6th, 2016
There were four (4) MOAA members, who volun-teered to serve the 25 Emory L Bennett Veterans in attendance. Volunteers included, Skip Keating, Don Amiotte, and Isabelle and Bill King. The Viet Nam Veterans were represented by Rod Phillips, Pete and Marlene Koreniuk, and Terry and Diane Schaack. Special recognition for the Viet Nam Veterans who donated $100.00 in Wal Mart Gift Cards. Daughters of the American Revolution were rep-resented by Betsy Russell. Special Guest Volunteers were Edith Shelley and J.B Duke. The veterans were served Bagels, Juice and Coffee
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by the volunteers. Special thanks again to the Viet Nam Veterans, Vice Commander Rod Phillips who donated $100.00 in five dollar Wal Mart gift Cards. Don Amiotte who called Bingo for the Veterans. The veterans who won at Bingo received merchan-dise, hats, or Wal Mart gift cards for $5.00 to be used for gifts or small items the Veterans chose to buy from the local stores. The next scheduled date for the Team to entertain the Veterans will be on September 5th, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. and the first Monday of each month. Please come and join us. PS We can always use new donated baseball caps, t-shirts and Wal Mart Gift cards for $5.00 each.
Legislative Report LTC John Stovall, USA (Ret.)
Among the numerous jobs The Con-gress left unfinished when they went on the traditional election year sum-mer recess was the 2017 FY De-fense Authorization Bill. Unlike the annual Appropriation Bill, which pro-vides the actual dollar amounts for defense activities, the authorizing
legislation specifies how the money is to be spent, including such things as force levels, activities that
money can or cannot be spent for and any condi-tions the congress wants to specify. The House and the Senate each managed to pass a version of the Authorization Bill before going on recess but several very significant differences must be resolved in a Conference Committee when the Congress returns. Further complicating matters, the White House has threatened to veto the bill be-cause of objections to a number of provisions, alt-hough this threat has not always been carried out in the past. Over the summer MOAA headquarters, with the help of member volunteers have been working hard to get our voice heard through per-sonal visits with members of Congress while home in their district or state. In general, the Senate Bill contains more provisions that are objectionable to MOAA and other veteran’s organizations. Some of the most important differ-ences between the two bills that have to be re-solved include: Military Pay Senate bill caps pay raise at 1.6% and House bill caps the increase at 2.1%, matching the private sector. MOAA supports the House bill’s more gen-erous cap.
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Basic Housing Allowance Senate caps monthly allowance at the lower of (1) the rate for grade and (2) actual housing cost. For dual military couples the allowance for each is one-half the basic rate. The House bill makes no change in current law. MOAA supports the House bill because Senate bill would penalize thousands of dual military couples as well a junior and senior enlisted roommates. Force Levels Each bill specifies the force levels for each armed service plus the National Guard and Reserve. The House bill increases all categories, ranging from 285 for the Air Force to 8,000 for the National Guard while the Senate bill reduces force levels for all categories, hitting the Army hardest with a 15,000 person reduction. Obviously MOAA sup-ports the House version since the Senate bill would cut total force level by 37,000 at a time when threats around the world are increasing. Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance You may recall this column recently highlighted the unfair “Widow Tax”, a quirk in the law that results in a surviving spouse who is eligible for both the VA’s Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC) pro-gram and the DoD’s Survivors Benefit Program (SBP), loses most of the latter because of a dollar for dollar offset against the DIC. Instead of elimi-nating the offset altogether (which would require finding the estimated $7 billion over the next dec-ade to fund it) the Congress “found” enough for $310 per month, a partial reduction in the “Widow Tax”. The House bill extends the $310 payment for one year and the Senate makes it permanent. The problem with making it permanent, according to MOAA, is that the offset should eventually be fully restored, not made permanent at a fraction of what it should be. Tricare Both the House and Senate rejected DoD proposed enrollment fees for Tricare for Life but increased fees for Tricare Prime and Standard. MOAA likes the House provision better because its enrollment fees for Prime and Standard are lower. Selective Service The Senate bill requires both males and females to register for the draft but the House only calls for DoD to report on the utility of continuing registra-tion. MOAA supports the House position but if DoD concludes there still is a need for registration, MOAA would go with the service chiefs’ position on universal service.
We are told that congressional staff is working out some of the differences in the two bills while mem-bers are away but the major issues will have to await the return of the Congress. There are im-portant decisions to be made and it is not too late to influence the outcome. MOAA encourages all of us to make our views known to our elected official. So if you have an opportunity to speak to a Congress-man or Senator, put in a plug for the House position on the 2017 Defense Authorization.
Scholarship Contributors Roger Grubic, (CPT, USA) May 2016 thru 28 Aug 2016
Hal Butts Fred Costello Herbert Fix Lee Gittner Jim Goetcheus Roger Grubic Wolfgang Hertweck William King Genevieve Larsen Mark Leary Pierre Louis Michael Marnane David Patton Blanche Voetberg Stan Escudero Roger Bower
Happy Birthday U.S. Air Force! CAPT Mary B McLendon, USN (Ret)
Personal Affairs / Benefits From www.AF.mil and www.Military.com
On September 18, 1947, what was once known as the Army Air Corps officially became the United States Air Force. Happy Birthday to active duty, reserve and civilian men and women who have served in our great Air Force!
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Concerned about the issues addressed in the column above as well as other legislation being considered by Congress? Take Action by learning more about the is-sues and utilizing MOAA's proposed letters and e-mails to your Congressman and Senators at http://capwiz.com/moaa/home What is happening in the Florida State House on legisla-tion effecting active duty, retired and former military members? Follow the MOAA Florida Council of Chap-ters (FCOC) link at http://moaafl.org/Legislative.aspx and select "Florida" and "Hot Issues".
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Mail Check to: Roger Grubic (CPT, USA) 4142 Salina Ln. Ormond Beach, FL. 32174 Call: 386-441-8958 or E-Mail: [email protected]
September Luncheon Meeting September 22, 2016
Henderson Welcome Center, ERAU 11:00 a.m. Social / 11:30 a.m. Luncheon
Name: ____________________________________________________ Please indicate the number of your choice of the following Entrees: #1 LITTLE ITALY BUFFET: Antipasto Platter, Caesar Salad, Rolls, Fresh Mixed Vegetables, Cheese Tortellini Pasta, Penne Pasta, Marinara Sauce & Pesto Cream Sauce, Chicken Cacciatore, Tiramisu, Coffee, Ice tea (Sorry no alcohol). #_______ Total Food @ $20.00 per person $______________ Scholarship Donation $______________ Total $______________ Deadline for Reservations: September 19th, 2016. Make Checks Payable to: Halifax Chapter of MOAA.
September Luncheon Halifax Chapter of MOAA Off-Site at the Henderson Welcome Center,
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Thursday September 22nd, 2016 What we will do: We will meet at the Henderson Welcome Center (see photo below) of ERAU at 11:00 AM for a social, lunch at 11:30 AM and guest speaker during desert. Please arrive by 11:00 AM to facilitate parking. When: Thursday September 22nd 2016 11:00 AM-1:30 PM Where: 600 South Clyde Morris Blvd. (Henderson Welcome Center is southernmost circle in map below). 30 Parking spaces are available (and will be marked by cones) northwest of the Henderson Welcome Cen-ter. Carpooling is highly encouraged. Additional overflow parking will be available at the ROTC Building (northernmost circle – turn east on Richard Petty Drive). For overflow parking, you will be met by ERAU Air Force ROTC Cadets at the ROTC Building and transported via van or golf cart to the Henderson Welcome Center. Cost: $20 per person (single buffet meal choice). Sorry no alcohol. Speaker: Col Kimberley A. Ramos (Biography shown at right).
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In 1947, the U.S. Air Force thus entered a new era in which airpower became firmly established as a major element of our Nation's defense. As of 2015, the service operates more than 5,000 military aircraft; 450 ICBMs and 63 military satel-lites. It has a $161B budget with 307,000 active duty personnel; 177,221 civilian personnel; 69,200 Reserve personnel and 105,500 Air Na-tional Guard personnel – over 650,000 total per-sonnel. Today’s Air Force mission is global, networked and interlinked with our Reserve, National Guard, Joint land and sea forces, and coalition partners centered on five core mission areas: air and space superiority; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; rapid global mobility; global strike; and command control. Whether on the front lines imbedded with a special operations unit to call in close air support for U.S. or coalition ground forces under enemy attack, or providing accurate and reliable navigation timing signals for citizens’ “on the go” smart navigation devices, or flying medical evacuation missions for people rav-aged by natural disasters, our Airmen stand ready to fly, fight and win against worldwide threats and contingencies.
Sept. Luncheon Speaker’s Biography
Col Kimberley A. Ramos (AFROTC) Col Kimberley A. Ramos is the commander of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detach-ment 157 located on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aer-onautical University in Dayto-na Beach, Florida. AFROTC Detachment 157 administers and provides a college-level officer training program for
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona State College, and the University of Central Florida-Daytona Beach. She is responsible to the Universities and AFROTC for recruiting, training, motivating, and educating Air Force officer candidates. She in-structs courses in leadership, national security, and airpower history. Colonel Ramos is responsi-ble for who is accepted, trained, and ultimately commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force.
Prior to her assignment as the AFROTC Com-mander at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, she served as the Director of Communications and Chief Information Officer, Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. She was responsible for opera-tional policy, strategic guidance, planning and programming, and information management sup-porting more than 684 Reserve units, which in-cluded 43 flying wings and approximately 70,000 personnel. She was commissioned in 1988 following gradua-tion from Syracuse University. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of assignments and leadership positions in the space, missile, and in-formation fields. Col Ramos has commanded Bravo Company, Joint Communications Support Element, MacDill AFB, Tampa, Florida; the 65th Communications Squadron, Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal; the 336th Training Squadron at Keesler AFB, Mississippi; and the 82nd Mission Support Group at Sheppard AFB, TX. Colonel Ramos is married to Michael Miller of Lawton, Oklahoma. EDUCATION 1988 Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, Syracuse University, NY 1989 Undergraduate Missile Training, Vanden-berg AFB, CA 1991 Master of Science, Space Studies, Universi-ty of North Dakota, ND 1993 Distinguished Graduate, Basic C4 Officer Training, Keesler AFB, MS 1994 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL 1995 Advanced C4 Officer Training, Keesler AFB, MS 2000 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL 2000 Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA 2006 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, AL ASSIGNMENTS 1. April 89 - August 91, ICBM Deputy Crew Com-mander, then Crew Commander, Grand Forks AFB, ND 2. August 91 - March 93, ICBM Instructor Crew Commander, Grand Forks AFB, ND 3. March 93 - August 94, Joint Systems Instructor, Keesler AFB, MS 4. August 94 - March 95, Joint Systems Instructor Supervisor, Keesler AFB, MS
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5. March 95 - June 96, Commander, Computer Maintenance Training Flight, Keesler AFB, MS 6. June 96 - January 98, Communications Acquisi-tion Manager, Joint Communications Support Ele-ment, MacDill AFB, FL 7. January 98 - June 99, Commander, Bravo Com-pany, Joint Communications Support Element, MacDill AFB, FL 8. June 99 - June 00, Student, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL 9. June 00 - February 02, Joint Strategic C4I Pro-grams Analyst, Defense Information Systems Agen-cy, Arlington, VA 10. February 02 - June 03, Chief, Director's Group, Defense Information Systems Agency, Arlington, VA 11. June 2003 - 2005, Commander, 65th communi-cations Squadron, United States Air Forces Europe, Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal 12. June 2005 – July 2006, Student, Air War Col-lege, Maxwell AFB, AL 13. July 06 – July 08, Commander, 336th Training Squadron, Keesler Air Force Base, MS 14. July 08 – June 09, C4 Systems/J6 Special Op-erations Command Africa 15. June 09 – July 11, Commander, 82d Mission Support Group, Sheppard AFB, TX 16. July 11 – Jun 14, Director of Communication and Chief Information Officer, Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, Robins AFB, GA. 17. Jun 14 – Present, Commander and Professor of Aerospace Studies, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 157, Embry-Riddle Aer-onautical University, Daytona Beach, FL MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commen-dation Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Combat Readiness Medal (Current as of July 2014)
Zika: What You Need to Know CAPT Mary B McLendon, USN (Ret)
Personal Affairs / Benefits From MOAA article by
RADM Joyce Johnson, USPHS (Ret), D.O., M.A. 17 Aug 2016
As of early August, over 1,800 cases of Zika virus have been reported in the U.S., including 16 cases with documented sexual transmission. Of the total reported U.S. cases, almost all were travel-
associated cases, which means they were linked to travel to areas with local mosquito transmis-
sion; 6 cases were acquired from mosquito bites in the U.S. (all in Florida); and 1 case was a laborato-ry worker. Additional cases have been reported from U.S. territories. All of these are reported cas-es do not include the larger number of asymptomat-ic unrecognized cases. The routes of transmission of the virus include mos-quito bites, blood transfusions (though not docu-mented in the U.S.), from mother to unborn child, sexual transmission, and laboratory exposure. Di-agnosis remains a challenge because no commer-cially available diagnostic tests have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Zika virus. However, the FDA has used its Emergency Use Authorization authorities to make several tests available for clinical diagnosis. These are used on a regular basis. Symptoms, complications, and treatment About 80% of those infected have no symptoms. Most of the 20% who have symptoms have a very mild disease that might include some combination of fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. Treatment is supportive care, basically just managing the symptoms. The primary threat of disease is to pregnant women because Zika is associated with the serious birth defect microcephaly in which the infant's brain does not develop fully, with resulting lifelong intellectual and neurological problems. This necessitates pre-vention in women who are pregnant or plan to be-come pregnant. Preventing mosquito bites is key, as is preventing sexual transmission. Zika virus can be sexually transmitted by males or females who never get symptoms from the infection; it also can be transmitted before symptoms begin and af-ter symptoms resolve. A complication of Zika infection, though rare, is Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurologic disease in which the body's own immune system attacks nerve cells and causes muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis and can affect the muscles necessary for breathing. Of U.S. cases, 5 also have had Guillain-Barre syndrome. Treatment requires aggressive supportive care, often in an intensive care unit with a respirator to assist with breathing. With appropri-ate care, the disease generally resolves over a few
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weeks to months, though there might be some residual neurologic problems. Prevention Much is being done in the U.S. to protect the blood supply from Zika virus contamination. Do-nations from those at risk of infection are being deferred. In the U.S., no cases of Zika virus in-fection have been associated with blood transfu-sions. There are no FDA-approved vaccines to prevent Zika virus infections, but several vaccines are un-der development. This makes other prevention methods critical. Various public health recom-mendations also are focused on preventing Zika infection. Many communities are initiating ag-gressive programs to reduce mosquito popula-tions. Travel advisories are continuing in areas where mosquito-borne Zika transmission is wide-spread. Individuals should continue to take pre-cautions to reduce mosquito bites, such as: avoiding mosquito-infested areas; eliminating stagnant water where mosquitoes
breed; using FDA-registered insect repellents on skin
as directed (but not under clothing) or wear clothing impregnated with repellents;
wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and hats;
tucking pants into boots and avoiding sandals; staying in air-conditioned buildings and using
window screens; and using a mosquito net when camping.
Bagels & BINGO Photos
Bagels & BINGO (Cont.)
ERAU Air Force ROTC Commissioning Ceremony
Detachment Commander, Col Kimberley Ramos, Comissionee, Cadet Derek Dennis, and guest speaker, Major General Dwyer Dennis
Mainland High AFJROTC Mainland High AFJROTC Scholarship recipient Ca-det Michelle Lecza (Picture on left)
MOAA Medal recipient Mainland High AFJROTC Cadet Dil-lon Cleveland (Picture on Right)
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Welcome Aboard Joe and Irene Eddy!
Enlisted in the Air Force in 1973 and had assignments at Lack-land AFB, Kessler AFB and Maxwell AFB as a personnel tech. 1980 - Graduated from Officer Training School and commissioned as
2Lt. 1980-1984 - Combat Crew Deputy and Com-mander in the Minute Man III Intercontinental Bal-listic Missile (ICBM) system at Grand Forks AFB, ND. 1984-1986 - AFROTC Instructor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL. 1986-1990 - AFROTC Regional Director of Re-cruiting for the state of FL. Based out of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. 1990-1993 - HQ AFROTC - Program Director of the 4-year scholarship program. 1993-2001 - Air Force Academy Admissions Liai-son Officer, central Florida. 2001-2008 - HQ AFROTC Program Director for Secretary of the Air Force Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiative. Devel-oped and oversaw nationwide summer camp pro-grams for the top 1/2 of one percent of high school seniors in Air Force Junior ROTC. These camps were based out of Kirtland AFB, NM, Luke AFB, AZ, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, Tinker AFB, OK, Dobbins AFB, GA. This program resulted in recruiting 25 percent of all participants into the Army, Air Force and Naval academies. 2008 - Retired from Air Force 2008-2010 - Air Force JROTC, Senior Aerospace Instructor, Commander, at the Department of De-fense, Alconbury American High School, Alcon-bury RAF, England. 2010-2013 - Consultant for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Center For Executive Man-agement (CMEL) based out of Palm Coast, FL.
2013 - Present - Enjoy extensive travel with our RV 5th Wheel throughout the country. We also love cruising and visiting family in England. Married 46 years to Irene. We have four wonder-ful children, Dr. Matthew Eddy, on faculty and Phi-losophy Department Head at Durham University in Durham, England...they have two children. Joy Eddy Scott, married to Matthew Scott...they have three children and reside in Montgomery, AL, Luke Eddy, Registered Critical Nurse in CA, and Marianne Schwab, married to SSgt Damian Schwab presently on an Army remote assignment in Korea...they have one child. We have six grandchildren.
Welcome aboard Fred and Linda Costello!
Fred was born in Or-lando, Florida. After graduating from the University of Iowa Col-lege of Dentistry in 1974 and serving as a Captain in the USAF, he moved to Ormond Beach in 1977. He and his wife Linda have been married 42 years and are blessed with three children and six grandchildren.
Dr. Costello practices Comprehensive and Cos-metic Dentistry in Ormond Beach with Dr. Dan Drake. Dr. Costello graduated from the University of Florida Comprehensive Dentistry Program in 1991, earned both a Fellowship and Mastership in the Academy of General Dentistry, earned Ac-creditation in the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and was honored to become a Fellow in the American College of Dentists. He has served his profession as a Dental Examiner for the Flori-da Board of Dentistry, Past President of the Volu-sia-Flagler Dental Association and Past President of the Florida Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Dr. Costello is a Past President of Ortona Kiwanis and Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County. He serves on the Boards of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volu-sia and Flagler Counties, Food Brings Hope and the Ormond Beach Community Foundation. He served his community as an Ormond Beach City
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Commissioner from 1999-2002, Mayor of Ormond Beach from 2002-2010 and as Florida State Rep-resentative from 2010-2012 and 2014-current. He is a recipient of the Marvin Samuels Leadership Award from the Daytona Regional Chamber in 2005, he was honored as VCARD “Citizen of the Year” in 2006, Volusia League of Cities “Elected Official of the Year” in 2007, the Florida League of Cities named him “Defender of Home Rule” and he received the Ormond Beach “Mayor's Award for Civic Engagement” in 2012, the “John C. Al-len, Jr. Humanitarian Service Award” from Halifax Urban Ministries in 2013 and was named “Champion of Economic Freedom” by Americans For Prosperity in 2016.
Photos from May 2016 We were unable to print the following ROTC Ap-preciation Dinner photos from our April meeting in our May "Officers Call" because of limited space. The photos depict Embry-Riddle AFROTC Cadet Andres Martinez discussing his Air Force ROTC experiences and aspirations for service as well Army ROTC Commander LTC Todd Mitchell, USA discussing the state of the Army ROTC Unit and Army ROTC Cadets Olivia Lynch and Dominique Allen discussing their Army ROTC experiences and aspirations for service.
Also the attached Commissioning photos. (1) Hal-ifax MOAA Director Steven Maas, RADM, USN (Ret.) serves as Guest Speaker at the NROTC Embry-Riddle Commissioning where 21 Midship-men are commissioned Ensigns and Second Lieutenants in the Navy and Marine Corps. Also pictured are Halifax MOAA Awards Chair and NROTC Commander CAPT Randall Lynch, USN and ERAU Chaplain Father Tim Daly. (2) Second
Lieutenant Mark Brunelle, USMC (back toward camera) waits to receive his first salute as an of-ficer from his grandfather Sergeant Brunelle, USMC.
Attached two photos of Florida Council of Chapter Convention in Lakeland Florida. Captions (1) Flor-ida Council of Chapters President Marc Oliveri, USAR (Ret.) speaks at the convention in Lake-land's Tiger Town baseball facility dinning hall. (2) National MOAA Council and Chapter Affairs rep-resentative Brian Anderson, Col, USAF (Ret.) presents Mark Leary with Halifax MOAA Chapters 5 Star Communications Award for the Chapter's newsletter "Officers Call".
Dr. Nichole E. Robinson, Chief Medical Officer, William V. Chappell Jr. VA Outpatient Clinic of Daytona Beach makes a point during her presen-tation at the May Chapter meeting.
First Tuesday Of October MOAA Board meeting
Halifax River Yacht Club, 1000
Fourth Wednesday Of Each Month Coffee & Doughnuts
VA Clinic, 0800 Call: Ron Giampietro 235-6317
First Monday Of Each Month Bagels & Bingo
Bennett VA Nursing Home, 1000 Call: Skip Keating 672-4536
Halifax Area Chapter Military Officers Association of America P.O. Box 2093 Daytona Beach, Florida, 32115-2093
NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE
Daytona Beach, FL PERMIT NO. 169
Please check your membership expiration date on the mailing label above. To renew your membership mail a check for $15 for one year, $28 for 2 years or $39 for 3 years for the Electronic Chapter Membership (no mailed paper copy of "Officers Call") to Halifax Area Chapter of MOAA, P.O. Box 2093, Daytona Beach, FL. 32115-2093. [Electronic membership requires that you provide a functional e-mail address]. For Paper Chapter Membership (with a mailed paper copy of "Officers Call") mail a check for $20 for one year, $38 for 2 years or $54 for 3 years to Halifax Area Chapter of MOAA, P.O. Box 2093, Daytona Beach, FL. 32115-2093. [Paper membership does not require that you provide a functional e-mail address]. You can also pay for the Electronic Chapter Membership online by credit card at http://www.moaa.org/OnlineChapterDuesPayment. Please send any address or e-mail address corrections /updates to [email protected].
Looking Ahead
October Luncheon October 22nd, 2016
Social @ 1100 / Lunch @ 1200 At Halifax River Yacht Club
Officers Call is published by the Halifax Area Chapter of MOAA, which is an affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). MOAA and its affiliated chapters and councils are non-partisan. The advertisements that appear in this publication do not reflect an endorsement by MOAA or this affiliate.
