Kauai Veterans Corner – News you can use
Military Exchanges Open Online PX Shopping to all Honorably Discharged Veterans
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Navy Exchange Service Command currently provides online shopping privileges to military ID Card holders including Active Duty, Retired, Reserve component, VA Rated 100 percent Totally Disabled Veterans and their authorized dependents. That will change on Nov. 11 when exchanges open online shopping benefits to all honorably discharged veterans.
Eligible veterans will be permitted to buy products and goods (except for uniforms, alcohol or tobacco products) online from all over the United States while simultaneously supporting the DOD Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs and saving taxpayer dollars.
The new shopping privileges will apply only to online shopping, not to brick-and-mortar stores. DOD estimates this change will enable 15 million more veterans to make on-line purchases. (NOTE: There are no plans to expand this benefit to veterans’ dependents.)
These newly authorized veterans will not receive a DOD identification card through the program and will not be permitted access to DOD installations and other DOD property where exchanges are located. The exchanges will use data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center to verify veteran eligibility for online shopping privileges. The exchange services will provide registration information on their online sites, and the AAFES call center will help veterans navigate the process.
Women Veterans Workshop
Kauai’s second women veterans informational workshop is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 18 at the Kauai Veterans Center on Kapule Highway. Information about available community services including veteran’s benefits and healthcare, self-defense, wellness/yoga, commercial healthcare, domestic violence, suicide awareness and more will be provided.
Free morning refreshments and lunch are included. Active Duty, Retired and Reserve component veterans of all military branches are welcome to participate. Register via email by sending name and phone number to kauaiveteranscenter@gmail.com. Questions? Call Charlene Dorsey (346-2422) or Johnette Chun (651-0404)
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act
The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act (S.422) was reintroduced on Feb. 17 which, if approved, would clarify the existing law and make it easier for those Navy personnel who served within “territorial seas,” or approximately 12 miles offshore of Vietnam to file VA disability claims for health conditions presumed to have been caused by Agent Orange exposure.
SBP DIC Offset – Eliminate Widow’s Tax
Current law requires a mandated offset between the Survivor’s Benefits Program (SBP) and Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits for thousands of surviving spouses of military retired veterans. Reintroduced on Feb. 3, the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act (H.R. 846) would repeal the requirement for this unfair reduction of survivor annuities by allowing these survivors to receive the full amount of both benefits as was originally intended.
Security Job Positions Open on Kauai
Veterans preferred. Must be able to obtain “Guard Card” from the State of Hawaii. Call Roger Jensen at (808) 284-1543.
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Tony Elliott is with the Kauai Office of Veterans’ Services.
