Military Officers Association of America Northeast Florida Chapter Monthly Membership Newsletter

“The NOR’EASTER” January 2019 edition

P.O. Box 442022,

Jacksonville, FL 32222-2022

“Chapter website”

http://moaafl.org/Chapters/NEFLMOAA/

“Chapter FB Page”

https://www.facebook.com/NEFLMOAA/

NOR’EASTER (acting) Editor

David Mosley

dlynnmosley@gmail.com

This publication is intended for the bene-fit of our membership and to provide a form of communications to the members by the Officers and Board of Directors of

the chapter.

The “Nor’easter” a newsletter of MOAA Northeast Florida Chapter (FL-18); pub-lished by the Northeast Florida Chapter , which is an affiliate of the Military Offic-ers Association of America (MOAA). MOAA and its affiliated chapters and councils are non-partisan. The adver-tisements that appear in this publication also do not reflect an endorsement by

MOAA or this affiliate.

The President’s Corner COL William M. Bransford, USA (Ret)

As we head into

2019, it is time to

make our New

Year’s resolutions.

For most of us, the

annual list includes

things like getting

more exercise,

eating smarter,

maybe dropping a

few pounds . . ..

Sadly, we often

forget all about

them or find our-

selves slipping into the comfortable routine of last year. In thinking about my

own list or resolutions, I hit on the idea of including things I will really do, and I

offer these for your consideration.

Take time to read up on defense issues. The MOAA.org website is a good

place to start, and I resolve to actually read my copy of Military Officer maga-

zine instead of moving it directly from the mailbox to the bookcase where I file

them. I resolve to write, call or e-mail my congressional delegation at least

once per quarter to share my concerns about defense matters and thank them

for voting in favor of defense issues. I will recruit at least one of my veteran

neighbors to join me at a MOAA luncheon meeting. I resolve to participate in at

least one activity that directly supports active duty service members and their

families through service or a financial donation.

The point is that there are many small things we can do, individually and

through the MOAA, to support America’s defense and the forces that underwrite

it. I encourage you to include in your list a resolution to get involved and stay

involved in supporting the forces that man the ramparts and outposts of Ameri-

ca’s freedoms.

And getting to the gym a little more often is still a noble goal, too.

CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION & RENEWAL

If you would like to join our chapter or renew your current membership go to https://chapterdues.moaa.org/ by doing so you will be able to pay online using your credit/debit card. Annual member-ship is ONLY $25.00 or $12.50 if you are a surviving spouse. If you have any questions please contact our chapter Secretary/Membership Chair, David Mosley by email at

dlynnmosley@gmail.com .

Happy New Year 2019

MOAA Northeast Florida Chapter

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CHAPTER HOLIDAY LUNCHEON

Please join us for our "Membership Meeting & Luncheon" at the NAS Jacksonville Officer's Club, On

Mustin Rd across from Golf Course, on January 23, 2019; social hour is 1100 to 1130, lunch served 1130

sharp. Dress is appropriate casual.

“Please Note” Our luncheon meeting for January 2019 has been moved to the fourth Wednesday

instead of the third, due to a scheduling conflict at the NAS Jax Officers Club. Sorry for any incon-

venience this may cause.

Our Lunch Menu will be homemade meatloaf, with garlic mashed potatoes, garden veggies, salad, coffee, iced tea and dessert.

The cost is $14.00 per plate. The Club is not set up to accommodate take out however if you need a to-go box we will have some at the check in table. Thank you.

Make your reservations online via our website at http://moaafl.org/Chapters/NEFLMOAA/Calendar.aspx .

To provide an accurate head count to the caterer it is requested that your reservations are made by 1400

on the Friday prior to the luncheon. You must have a reservation to eat. The cutoff date and when reserva-

tions can no longer be accepted is COB on the Monday prior to the luncheon. Reservations may also be

made by calling David Mosley at 252-469-1824 or by email at dlynnmosley@gmail.com or contact Rob

Scinicariello by phone at 904-866-7060 or by email at robscin9@ymail.com .

Cancellation Policy: All reservations are binding financially unless they are cancelled no later than

the Cutoff Date for making reservations unless there is a last-minute hardship that is accepted by

the Board of Directors.

LUNCHEON PROGRAM

While all details of our January luncheon program have not been finalized, the chapter will be installing the

elected officers and the directors that were recently elected and the existing officers and directors will con-

firm their oath of office as part of the ceremony. Please come out and meet the leadership of your chapter.

3

From Your Chaplain

In December we lost one of our long time Surviving Spouse members of our chapter. Mrs. Virginia A.

Jones passed away on December 5th, 2018.

Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers. The following obituary is provided for infor-

mational purposes.

Virginia A. Jones, 83, passed away on December 5, 2018, at Haven

Hospice in Orange Park, FL, following a brief illness. Virginia is preced-

ed in death by her husband of 60 years, Alfred L. Jones Jr., and her

parents, Gertrude (Graf) and Ivo Brewer of Ann Arbor, MI.

Virginia is survived by her two daughters, Deborah McCarragher

(Thomas) of Fleming Island, FL, and Valerie Jones of Tallahassee, FL;

three sisters, Gertrude D’Agostino of Ypsilanti, MI, Delores Neff of Me-

sa, AZ and Barb Baker of Umatilla, FL. She is also survived by one

grandson, Sean McCarragher (Beatriz); great-granddaughter, Sydney

McCarragher; great-grandson, Liam McCarragher and numerous niec-

es and nephews.

Virginia graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1953 and married a

young Naval officer and aviator (Alfred) later that year. The next 20

years were spent as a military wife traveling the world before settling in

Orange Park, FL, for their retirement. She worked as an administrative

assistant at Canada Dry in Jacksonville, and at Orange Park High

School in the Guidance Office and the Vo-Tech Program for several years. She later purchased a unique

card and gift shop “Via the Grapevine” in Orange Park. In addition, she was an active member of the Re-

tired Officers’ Wives Club (ROWC) in Jacksonville. Virginia enjoyed gardening, antiquing, decorating, and

spending time with her family and great-grandchildren.

A memorial service and life celebration will be held on Saturday, December 29, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. at Aaron

and Burney Bivens Funeral Home, 529 Kingsley Avenue, Orange Park, Florida 32073, (904) 264-1233. A

reception will follow at the Holiday Inn & Suites, 620 Wells Road in Orange Park.

A private interment will be held at the Jacksonville National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the

family requests donations be made in her honor to Haven Hospice or the USO.

Please follow this link to read Virginia’s actual obituary: https://www.bivensfuneralhome.com/notices/

Virginia-Jones

4

News for You

MOAA’s 2019 Key Goals: Keep Pace with Private-Sector Pay

By: MOAA Staff

MOAA's top legislative goals for 2019 will be featured in an upcoming edition of Military Officer magazine, which is available to MOAA Life and Premium members. Here's a preview of one key issue; see the links below for the rest, including ways you can make your voice heard.

The Goal: Sustain military pay comparability with the private sector.

Background: A residual 2.6-percent pay-raise gap still exists between servicemembers and private-sector

civilians, attributable to three years of pay-raise caps. Political pressure to reduce costs might lead Con-

gress to again cap military pay raises, widening the pay-raise gap between military and civilians.

MOAA's Stance: As the cost of labor increases across the nation, so too should the paychecks of our uni-

formed servicemembers. Adequate pay and allowances - including competitive raises - are key to recruit-

ing and retaining an effective all-volunteer force. This issue affects all currently serving uniformed person-

nel and their families, and succeeding on this issue has a positive, far-reaching impact. Any pay raise set

by the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) must match the Employment Cost Index (ECI)

increase of 3.1 percent -- anything lower will make the pay gap wider.

Actions: Maintain continuous, unified messaging to legislators and service leadership, advising annual

military pay raises approved by Congress correlate with ECI to help overcome damage done by the three

recent pay caps (2014-2016). Coordinate with The Military Coalition to address this wide-reaching impera-

tive of support to those in uniform, and seek closure of the 2.6-percent gap as soon as feasible.

More key goals:

Ensure any TRICARE reform sustains access to top-quality care. Prevent disproportional TRICARE fee increases

Stop erosion of compensation and non-pay quality-of-life benefits.

End financial penalties for military survivors.

End concurrent receipt penalties for military retirees.

Achieve equity of benefits for Guard and Reserve members with their active duty counterparts.

Strengthen DoD-VA collaboration and services to support wounded warriors and an expanding population of women veterans.

Ensure timely access to service-earned VA benefits.

Protect military and veteran family support programs and policies.

5

More News for You

The following information was provided by the FCOC, Northeast Area Vice President, CDR Pat Kluever.

He obtained it from MOAA.

Unsure what the partial government shutdown means for your service-connected pay or benefits? Here's

what you need to know about key issues:

Pay: The Defense Department is fully funded for the next fiscal year, so servicemembers in the Army, Na-

vy, Air Force, and Marine Corps will remain on the job and will get their checks as scheduled during the

partial shutdown. U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps members are in a similar situation, with

funding already in place for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Members of the Coast Guard aren't as fortunate: Because the Department of Homeland Security is not ful-

ly funded, Coast Guardsmen will continue their duties but won't be paid during the shutdown. Members of

the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps face a similar situation, with the National Oceanic and Atmospher-

ic Administration operating under the Department of Commerce. Those seeking information on NOAA be-

yond weather updates likely will see this website in the coming days.

Retirement pay: A Defense Finance and Accounting Services spokesman confirmed to MOAA that this

statement on DFAS's retired-military websiteremains operative: "Retiree payments will be made as sched-

uled on December 31, 2018. Annuitant payments will be made as scheduled on January 2, 2019."

Coast Guard, NOAA and USPHS retirees also are covered, according to this Dec. 26 news update from

the Coast Guard's Pay and Personnel Center: "In spite of the government shutdown, the U.S. Coast Guard

has identified essential personnel who shall continue to report to work; they will be responsible for ensuring

the retiree and annuitant payroll for USCG, NOAA and PHS is run and distributed on time. As such, you

may expect timely delivery of your pay on 31 December, 2018."

Other benefits: Like DoD, the VA is fully funded entering the new year. This means, per a recent state-

ment from VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, that "all VA operations will continue unimpeded." This would in-

clude disability and survivor benefits, as well as any other VA-processed payments.

Also, all TRICARE Prime, Select, and TRICARE for Life claims will continue uninterrupted and with timely

processing.

6

From Your Legislative Affairs Chair

Mrs. Kathy Spain

“Danger and Uncertainty Up Ahead”

FIGHT OVER BORDER WALL RESULTS IN PARTIAL GOVT SHUTDOWN: The U.S. government went into a partial shutdown at midnight, on Friday, Dec. 21, after the White House and Congress failed to agree on funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. This is the third government shutdown of 2018.

Two days before, on Wednesday, the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would have fund-ed the government through Feb. 8, but it did not include any funding for the border wall. The next day, ig-noring the Senate’s CR, the House passed a spending bill that included $5.7 billion for President Trump’s border wall, largely along party lines. Immediately thereafter, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declared that Senate Democrats would not support any bill containing funding for a border wall. All spending measures need 60 votes in the Senate, which gives the Democrats leverage because of the Re-publicans’ slim 51-49 majority.

On Saturday, just hours into the shutdown, the White House reportedly offered the Democrats a deal that included $2.5 billion for border security, but the Democrats declined the offer. On Tuesday, Christmas Day, speaking in the Oval Office, President Trump showed no sign of relenting—as he declared that the partial U.S. government shutdown would not end until Congress funded a wall along the border with Mexi-co. “I can’t tell you when the government is going to open,” he said. “I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall, or a fence.” Mr. Trump insisted to reporters gathered in his office that a border wall was the only effective way to stop drug trafficking and human smuggling into the U.S.

TRUMP AND MATTIS PART COMPANY: On Wednesday, Dec. 19, President Trump announced the withdrawl of all 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. The next day, officials revealed that Mr. Trump had also or-dered the start of a reduction in American forces in Afghanistan, where the U.S. has been at war for 17 years. Over a period of months, there will be a slow drawdown of 7,000 of the 14,000 U.S. military troops deployed in Afghanistan.

These two actions represent a dramatic shift in the administration’s approach to U.S. military engagements in global hot spots. Observers say that the move to reduce military involvement in the Middle East and Af-rica is the consequence of a new national security strategy that sees geopolitical competitors—such as China and Russia—as greater threats than terrorists or failed states.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who was not in agreement with the President on either of these two moves, tendered his resignation on Thursday, Dec. 20, but agreed to stay on until Feb. 28. Friday even-ing, Brett McGurk, the senior U.S. envoy to the international coalition fighting Islamic State, resigned as well. On Sunday morning, Dec. 23, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Gen. Mattis to tell him that the White House had decided he should leave by Dec. 31

st, rather than wait until Feb. 28. Soon after, Presi-

dent Trump announced that Patrick Shanahan, the current Deputy Secretary of Defense, would become the new Acting Defense Secretary on Jan. 1, 2019.

PRESIDENT PICKS NEXT CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS: Early in December, before leaving Washington for the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, President Trump announced that four-star General Mark Milley will replace Gen. Joseph Dunford as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs next year on Oct. 1, when Dunford’s term ends. The 60-year old Milley is currently the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, a position he assumed in August, 2015. Milley is a battle-hardened commander who oversaw troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a charismatic leader, known for his candor and blunt assessments. Last year, Mil-ley told the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) that the inability of Congress to pass an adequate defense budget on time amounted to “professional malpractice.”

U.S. TO EXIT INF TREATY: In October, President Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Intermedi-ate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty because of repeated Russian violations extending over many years. The INF Treaty was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, in 1987, and it has long been regarded as one of the landmark agreements that ended the Cold War.The treaty bars the two signa-tories from developing or using ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (310 – 3,400 miles).

(continued on next page)

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(continued from previous page)

Just recently, according to the U.S. Intelligence community, Russia has flight-tested, produced and de-ployed the 9M729 cruise missile, which has a range capability prohibited by the treaty. Moscow has de-nied breaching the accord.

On Dec. 5, in a statement delivered at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told NATO members that the U.S. would exit the INF Treaty in 60 days unless Russia took steps to return to compliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Pompeo that all NATO allies support the U.S. move. Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted to the announcement by threatening an arms race with the U.S.

President Trump has said that since the U.S. is the only one currently complying with the INF Treaty, the U.S. is at a disadvantage against Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. China and Iran, for instance, have been freely developing and deploying missiles which are forbidden to the U.S. and Russia by the treaty for years. By suspending its obligations to the 1987 INF Treaty, Mr. Trump maintains, the U.S. would once again be free to develop and test a new range of missiles to deter our adversaries.

PRESIDENT WANTS TO TRIM DEFENSE SPENDING IN FY 2020: When President Trump was sworn into office in January 2017, he became commander-in-chief of a military in crisis. With a shrinking force, aging equipment, declining budgets, and 16 years of war in the Middle East, the U.S. military was deep in the throes of a readiness crisis. In addition, U.S. advantage had eroded in the key areas of power projec-tion, cyber defense, space, electronic warfare, air and missile defense, and anti-submarine warfare. Over the last two years, however, things have greatly improved for the military. In March 2017, President Trump requested $30 billion more in defense spending to begin repairing readiness. And in 2018, Congress ap-proved $730 billion for FY 2019—funding defense in full and on time for the first time in at least a decade. Now there are reports that the White House is telling the Pentagon to plan for a budget of $700 billion for FY 2020, which is $33 billion less than the $733 billion President Trump originally proposed for 2020. This proposed $33 billion cut was prompted, reportedly, by concern about the growing national debt. The presi-dent’s budget is due Feb. 4.

U.S. NAVY TESTS MOSCOW WITH PATROL IN SEA OF JAPAN: On Dec. 6, the U.S. Navy sent a war-ship through international waters in the Sea of Japan as a challenge to Russia. The U.S.S. McCampbell, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed through Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan. The patrol was a free-dom-of-navigation operation and came after Russia’s detention of three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews for allegedly violating Russian territorial waters near the Black Sea in late November. The U.S. Pa-cific Fleet Command in Hawaii said the patrol was a challenge to “Russia’s excessive maritime claims” and upheld “the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea for the U.S. and other nations.”

CSIS REPORT SAYS EUROPE FACES MORE TERROR THREATS: Although the U.S. National De-fense Strategy has shifted away from counterterrorism and toward competition with state competitors like China and Russia, U.S. allies in Europe continue to face a “significant threat” of terrorist attacks from Is-lamic extremists—according to a recent report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The report, published Dec. 19, is a compilation of new data on the threat to Europe and an exami-nation of the counterterrorism response by European governments to date. The report concludes that the threat of attacks—from groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda, to U.S. allies like the United Kingdom and France—is at one of the “highest levels” since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

BILATERAL TALKS WITH NORTH KOREA HAVE STALLED: Denuclearization talks between Washing-ton and Pyongyang stalled in early November when North Korea suddenly called off a planned meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Negotiations have faltered amid disagreements over North Ko-rea’s human rights record, U.S.-led sanctions, and the pace of North Korean nuclear disarmament.

According to a report released by a think-tank in Monterey, Calif., North Korea is expanding military facili-ties believed to house long-range missiles that can hit the U.S. After studying recent satellite imagery, the Middleburg Institute of International Studies concluded that Pyongyang is still producing nuclear weapons and appears to be upgrading a missile base near the Chinese border known as Yeongjeo-dong.

On Dec. 20, North Korea raised their rhetoric—and tensions—another notch, when state media announced that Pyongyang would not give up its nuclear arsenal until the U.S. removed its nuclear threat to the Kore-an peninsula.

8

From Your Transition Liaison CWO5 Wayne Elliott, USN (Ret)

Three (3) Major Tips for Transition: (1) Connect, Connect, Connect. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Connect with people who have already done it and include those that may be interested in hiring you. Don’t allow yourself to be stereotyped; connect with other people. (2) Translate experience into civilian lan-guage. Companies need leadership, therefore, explain your skillset in civilian terms. ‘Research key words’ for the position you’re targeting and include them throughout your resume. (3) Don’t undervalue education. Exploit your education. Once you figure what field you wish to pursue, obtain a Masters Degree or PHD to go along with your BS. Please pass this on to any of your family members, neighbors, friends, who may know of Active Duty Military Officers and those Officers that are separating or retiring in the next twelve months. Also, invite them to our monthly meeting. Obtain a short BIO so you can properly introduce them to our membership.

From Your Secretary/Membership Chair LT David Mosley, USN (Ret)

“Chapter dues notices have been sent out to all members who need to remit dues for 2019”. To

date the response has been excellent. Thank you!

At the January membership meeting the following list of the elected chapter officers and directors will be

installed/confirm their oath of office.

1. Chapter President, COL William (Wally) Bransford, (Term runs to 12/31/2019)

2. Chapter 1st

Vice President, CDR David Kennett, (Term runs to 12/31/2019)

3. Chapter 2nd

Vice President, CDR Rob Scinicariello, (Term runs to 12/31/2019)

4. Chapter Secretary, LT David Mosley, (Term runs to 12/31/2019)

5. Chapter Treasurer, CWO4 William Walsh, (Term runs to 12/31/2020)

6. Director Chapter BOD, CWO5 Wayne Elliott, (Term runs to 12/31/2019)

7. Director Chapter BOD, Mrs. Kathy Spain, (Term runs to 12/31/2019)

8. Director Chapter BOD, CDR Bruce Carawon, (Term runs to 12/31/2020)

9. Director Chapter BOD, CWO2 Richard (Dick) Chadwell, (Term runs to 12/31/2020)

As membership chair I am pleased to say that our chapter is growing and welcome aboard the following

new members:

CAPT Kathryn Marko, CDR Mark Dobbertien, Mrs. Patricia Cheyne, CAPT Duane Mallicoat and CAPT

Jack Burgess.

Make sure that they feel welcome and say hello them the next time you see them.

As always, if you have positive suggestions for the administration of your MOAA Chapter, please feel free

to contact me and I will make sure that it gets to the right person to review or act on it. Please see this sec-

tion in future newsletters and I will try to keep you informed on the administration concerns and activities of

your chapter. Sincerely your chapter secretary/membership chair LT David Mosley, USN (Ret) Cell#: (252)

469-1824, email: dlynnmosley@gmail.com

9

Northeast Florida Chapter, FL-18

Elected Officers/Board Members, Appointed Committee Chairs and Sup-

port Staff

“Chapter Officers/Directors”

President: COL William Bransford, USA (Ret), 904-297-4829, bransfordwm52@gmail.com

1st Vice President: CDR David Kennett, USN (Ret), 904-790-1630, ddkennett@yahoo.com

2nd Vice President: CDR Rob Scinicariello, USN, 904-866-7060, robscin9@ymail.com

Treasurer: CWO4 William Walsh, USN, (Ret), william_25733@msn.com

Secretary: LT David Mosley, USN, (Ret), 252-469-1824, dlynnmosley@gmail.com

Immediate

Past President: CAPT Frank Brough, USN, (Ret), 904-291-0584, babrufff@hotmail.com

Director: CDR Don Walsh, USN (Ret), 904-282-4650, donwalsh@att.net

Director: CWO5 Wayne Elliott, USN (Ret), 904-282-9604, elliottwf@att.net

Director: Vacant

Director: Mrs. Kathy Spain, SS, twin_oaks@comcast.net

“Appointed Committee Chairs”

Legislative Affairs: Mrs. Kathy Spain, SS, twin_oaks@comcast.net

Membership: LT David Mosley, USN, (Ret), 252-469-1824, dlynnmosley@gmail.com

Transition Liaison: CWO5 Wayne Elliott, USN (Ret), 904-282-9604, elliottwf@att.net

ROTC/JROTC: CDR Bruce Carawon, USN, (Ret), 904-276-9025 brcar1@bellsouth.net

Scholarship: Co-Chair CDR Rob Scinicariello, USN, 904-866-7060, robscin9@ymail.com

Co-Chair Mrs. Rita Sharpe, SS, 904-262-3728, rsharpe112@att.net

Personal Affairs: Mrs. Pat Sundt, SS, 904-384-6316

Public Affairs: Vacant

Surviving

Spouse Liaison: Mrs. Mary Lee Trayner, SS, 904-662-7425, mltrayner@gmail.com

“Chapter Support Staff”

Chaplain: CAPT Frank Brough, USN, (Ret), 904-291-0584, babrufff@hotmail.com

Newsletter Editor: Vacant

Webmaster: LT David Mosley, USN, (Ret), 252-469-1824, dlynnmosley@gmail.com

Official Greeter: Mrs. Pat Sundt, SS, 904-384-6316

10

To place your ad in the NOR’EASTER contact our (acting) editor David

Mosley by email at dlynnmosley@gmail.com

Thank you for reading and supporting our monthly membership newsletter

“The NOR’EASTER”

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