All officers who have served, or are serving, in the United States armed forces are invited to come hear Maj. Gen. Richard C. “Buck” Marr, USAF retired, speak to the Olympic Peninsula chapter of the Military Officers Association of America.

 

He will be addressing a general membership luncheon meeting at noon Saturday, Feb. 18, at The Crab House in Port Angeles.

 

Gen. Marr is a national MOAA board member holding positions on the Government Relations Committee and the Finance and Audit Committee. He will give us an update on MOAA’s legislative agenda and answer questions. RSVPs are required; call me at 683-6419. Roast chicken lunch is $15.

 

With the recent nice weather, let’s look ahead a bit and see if that will get us focused and going! The USO hot dog program still is going and always can use a $60 donation for a month’s worth of hot dogs and buns. This gives our service families something to eat while they wait in the airport. If you are interested in sponsoring a month, e-mail Jerry Rettela at eletteor@msn.com.

 

Sarge’s Place needs landscaping and would like to have plants ready to go when the weather improves. If you can help, e-mail Cheri Fleck at cherif@forkshospital.org.

 

Voices For Veterans will hold the first Stand-Down of 2012 in Forks on May 3. We need money to purchase items for homeless veterans. Donations of pet food, personal hygiene items, gently used camping gear, etc., also are needed. Call me at 683-6419.

 

If you are going through closets and come across puzzles, games, paperback books or stationery, I can take them to the Veterans Home at Retsil for the residents to use and enjoy! Just give me a call. Always remember, when you see veterans, please thank them for their service. It means so much!

 

Veterans who were medically separated from military service between Sept. 11, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2009, have some recourse if they feel they have unfairly received a too-low disability rating from the military.

The Physical Disability Board of Review will reassess the accuracy and fairness of the combined disability ratings assigned to service members who were discharged as unfit for continued military service with a combined disability rating of 20 percent or less. Only 3,000 of the roughly 75,000 eligible veterans have applied. Find out more info on how to apply at: www.health.mil/pdbr.

The Fleet Reserve Association has two Veterans Service Officers in Clallam County to better serve veterans. If you have questions or need help, call Tom Flanik for the Sequim area at 477-4077 or Jake Fish at 460-2602 for the Port Angeles area.
 
Contributors: DAR, Regent, Patricia Graham, pattyg@wavecable.com; American Legion and MOAA, Lorri Gilchrist, cdrlgilchrist@gmail.com; VFW Commander Roger Padie, commander@
vfwpost4760.com; Marine Corps League, Terry Roth, mroth@olypen.com; Korean War Veterans, Jerry Rettela, eletteor@msn.com; Fleet Reserve Association, Tom Flanik, gunny@sos.net.