Looking for Information
I am conducting
an archival search for areas used to conduct explosive operations or
other areas that may fall into an MMRP category on Galena, AS
(deactivated) and Eielson AFB (active). I would like to contact any EOD personnel who were stationed at either location
during the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Please contact me at: eugene@uxopro.com.
Eugene M. Mikell III, Project Manager
UXO Pro, Inc.
1613 Silver Oak Ln
Lenoir City, TN 37772
Phone: (865) 816-3796
Company Cell: (865) 466-9480
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Agent Orange Exposure
(Webmaster Note: The following information was provided from several sources, and is listed at the VA web address: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/thailand.asp.)
Agent Orange: Thailand Military Bases:
Vietnam-era Veterans whose service involved duty on or near the perimeters of military bases in Thailand anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975 may have been exposed to herbicides and may qualify for VA benefits.
The following Veterans may have been exposed to herbicides:
- U.S. Air Force Veterans who served on Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) bases at U-Tapao, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, Udorn, Takhli, Korat, and Don Muang, near the air base perimeter anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975.
- U.S. Army Veterans who provided perimeter security on RTAF bases in Thailand anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975.
- U.S. Army Veterans who were stationed on some small Army installations in Thailand anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975. However, the Army Veteran must have been a member of a military police (MP) unit or was assigned an MP military
occupational specialty whose duty placed him/her
at or near the base perimeter.
To receive benefits for diseases associated with herbicide exposure, these Veterans must show on a factual basis that they were exposed to herbicides during their service as shown by evidence of daily work duties, performance evaluation reports, or other credible evidence.
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Looking for World War II Bomb Disposal Officer
I'm looking for any information regarding CPT Fredrick
H. Dillon, Commander of the 235th Bomb Disposal Company who
disappeared in Italy on 14 October 1943. I was doing some business with a
fellow the other day who is his nephew (a retired F111 pilot). When he
learned that I was retired EOD he asked if I could put a feeler out.
He's working on his family genealogy and any information or contacts
would be appreciated.
Thanks,
CSM
Steven J. Lair USA (EOD) (Ret)
285
Pucket Circle
Colorado
Springs, CO 80911
(719)
391-1298
sjlair@comcast.net
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Military ID Card Changes
(Posted: 26 Dec. 2009)
(From US Army Retiree Bulletin,
courtesy of the Navy-Marine Corps EOD Assn.)
Removal of SSNs From DOD ID Cards
SSNs will no longer be printed on ID cards and should not be relied on as a unique ID number. This change is being made by the DOD to protect the identify information of cardholders. Changes to ID cards will occur when the cardholder's expired cards are renewed. The removal of SSNs will occur in three phrases, all of which will occur on ID-card renewal.
Phase One: Remove dependent SSNs (beginning end of 2008).
Phase Two: Remove printed SSNs from all cards (beginning end of 2009).
Phase Three: Remove SSNs embedded in barcodes (beginning end of 2012).
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who is affected? All DOD ID cardholders.
Should I go now? No. Go when you need to renew your card.
If you are a retiree who has a card with an indefinite expiration date and wish to replace your card with one without an SSN, the earliest you may do so is January 2010.
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Stop Loss
(Posted: 22 Oct. 2009)
This just in from from the good folks at the HQ AFCESA EOD Team:
Please help get the word out. If you know of anyone effected by Stop Loss from 11 Sep. 2001 to 30 Sep. 2009, they may be eligible for a $500/month retroactive Stop Loss pay.
http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/stoploss/index.asp
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Vietnam War Memorial Wall Photos
(Posted: 18 Oct. 2009)
Below is an announcement from The Education Center at the Wall, calling for photos of the servicemen and servicewomen enshrined on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Our records show the following Air Force EOD personnel gave full measure during this war.
Ralph T. Berry
Claude M. Bunch
James T. Farmer
Aaron G. Fidiam Jr.
David L. Hubbard Jr.
Ernest McFeron
Richard D. Milton
If anyone has photos of these honored heroes please send copies per the instructions contained in the below document. In addition, we would appreciate it if you could also send copies to the association headquarters by either sending digital copies of the photos to afeodmbi@msn.com or hard copies to: EOD MasterBlasters, Inc., P.O. Box 87, Crawfordville, FL 32326-0087.
Thank you,
The MBI Management Team
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From Air Force Retiree Service
Release No. 10-01-09
13 Oct. 2009
(Posted: 13 Oct. 2009)
(Also courtesy of Don Sykes)
VA extends "Agent Orange" benefits to more veterans
WASHINGTON (AFRNS) - Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to as Agent Orange.
The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson's disease; and ischemic heart disease.
Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues today. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.
In practical terms, veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness do not have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits, according to VA officials.
The secretary's decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will," Secretary Shinseki added. "Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."
Other illnesses previously recognized under VA's "presumption" rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are:
-- Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
-- AL Amyloidosis
-- Chloracne
-- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
-- Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
-- Hodgkin's Disease
-- Multiple Myeloma
-- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
-- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
-- Prostate Cancer
-- Respiratory Cancers
-- Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services and programs for veterans exposed to the chemical are available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange, or call the toll-free helpline at 800-749-8387. (Courtesy of VA)
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Hot Item
(Posted: 5 Feb. 2009)
The following from Tommy Ishmael, EOD Program Manager, HQ AMC, 5 Feb. 2009:
AF EOD OPEN TO PRIOR SERVICE:
Did you know that prior service EOD techs under the rank of TSgt may
come back into EOD? And years of service is not a disqualifying factor.
The member must still meet quality standards, of course. All they have
to do is contact a local recruiter to begin the process. If necessary,
the individual can contact any of the MAJCOM EOD Staffs for more
information if they run into a problem. Pass this on to your separated
EOD buds who might be sorry they left the service. With the
re-enlistment bonus and special duty assignment pay, it's a good time to
be EOD!
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Lost Sheep Listing
(Posted: 18 Nov. 2008-Permanent)
A listing of our Lost Sheep members is located on the Membership Info
page. If you haven't received a mailing from the association recently
please go to this page, then scroll down to the Lost Sheep Listing. If
your name appears please contact us at either of the email addresses
provided and send us your updated contact information. We miss you.
Thank you,
Your secretary
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Ramstein EOD Flight Conducts Fund Raiser
(Posted: 22 Jul. 2008)
Ramstein
EOD is conducting a fundraiser for the EOD Memorial and EOD Wounded
Warrior Foundation. Any help passing on the websites or getting
sponsors would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
www.firstgiving.com/eodmemorial
www.firstgiving.com/eodwoundedwarrior
TSgt Seth Martin
Ramstein EOD
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EOD Memorial Foundation
If you would like to make a contribution to the EOD Memorial and Scholarship Foundation, please click on
the below web site address.
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National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF)
(Posted: 11 Apr. 2008)
All
AF EODer's we have a unique opportunity to have an AF EOD exhibit at
the NMUSAF and preserve the history of AF EOD. Capt Mark Fogle, SMSgt
Trent Topolski and I met with retired Maj Gen Metcalf and his staff
about setting up the exhibit. They are very excited and want to tell
our story. Per Gen Metcalf, "they want to capture the human side of EOD
and the culture."
To
tell the story they need articles to set up the exhibit, robots, bomb
suits, tools, photos, unit patches, uniforms, diaries, documents,
videos, maps, gag gifts, cartoons, EOD crabs, EOD coins anything that
depicts AF EOD. They want to tell the story from the beginning to the
present. I know their active duty members and many, many retirees from
years past that will want to contribute, so please get the word out.
Also consider contacting the families of those deceased, they are also
apart of this story
In
the CC block are NMUSAF POCs. Krista Strider (937) 255-2597 ext 720
and Scott Bradley ext 746 are contacts for donations of three
dimensional items such as uniforms, equipment, etc. For paper items
(diaries, photographs, documents etc) please contact Jeff Underwood
(937) 255-4644, ext 740. He will be writing the EOD exhibit text. If
there are items that fall into both categories call Jeff first.
If you have any suggestions, ideas or questions please e-mail Capt Fogle, SMSgt Topolski and me.
Greg C. Earley
AFMC EOD Program Manager
Office: (937) 257-6181
Cell: (937) 684-6293
Fax: (937) 257-5633
email: greg.earley@wpafb.af.mil (unclass)
POCs: "Earley,
Greg C CIV USAF HQ AFMC/A7COX" ,
"Strider, Krista E Civ NMUSAF/MUC" ,
"Bradley, Scott J Civ NMUSAF/MUC" ,
"Underwood, Jeffery S Civ NMUSAF/MUA"
, "Fogle, Mark L Capt USAF HQ
AFMC/CS" , "Henry, Wesley B Civ
NMUSAF/MUA" , "Topolski, Trent R SMSgt
USAF HQ AFMC/A7COX"
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Looking for Vietnam EOD Veterans
(Posted: 22 Apr. 2008)
The Vietnam EOD Veterans Association (VEODA) wants to let the Service
EOD Community know of it formation and that it's now an "official
section of the National EOD Association." If you are a Vietnam War EOD
veteran please contact Stu Steinberg at jackdiamondback@msn.com.
Mr. Steinberg goes on to say, "We are trying to collect as much
historical information about EOD in Vietnam as we can, and getting all
the names and units is an important part of this. We are also beginning
to catalogue and store all sorts of historical information about EOD in
Vietnam, so we are looking for things like Daily Incident Journals,
Unusual Incident Reports, Annual Reports, After Action Reports, and so
on. At least these are what we called them in the Army and I'm sure all
branches had similar reports. Our new web site, still under
construction, is at www.vietnameodvets.org."
Note from EODMBI historian:
We encourage your support of the VEODA, but please don't forget that
EODMBI serves as the historical repository for Air Force EOD history.
We are painfully short on World War Two and Korean War EOD history.
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VA News Release
(Posted: 17 Apr. 2008)
"Military
veterans who served in combat since Nov. 11, 1998, including veterans
of Iraq and Afghanistan, are now eligible for five years of free
medical care for most conditions from the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA). This measure increases a two-year limit that has been in
effect nearly a decade."
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