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Photos from May 15th
Luncheon with
"Frank sings Frank"
The Hampton Roads Chapter of the Military
Officers Association of America (HRCMOAA) hosted a heartwarming May luncheon
dedicated to honoring and thanking our incredible surviving spouses and
spouses in celebration of Military Spouse Appreciation Month. The afternoon
was filled with gratitude, camaraderie, and exceptional entertainment by
local favorite Frank Cubillo, who captivated the audience with his spectacular
"Frank sings Frank" performances. It was a wonderful opportunity to recognize
the enduring strength, resilience, and vital contributions of our military
spouses who serve as the backbone of our community.
Click
Here For More Photos...
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The Portsmouth Area Chapter (PAC),
Peninsula Chapter (VIP), and the Hampton Roads Chapter (HRC) of MOAA are
hosting a brunch buffet in the Magnolia Room at Atlantic Shores Retirement
Community, Virginia Beach.
Sunday, July 19, 2026 from 1000–1300.
Atlantic Shores’ address is
1200 Atlantic Shores Drive, Virginia Beach,
VA 23454
Brunch Buffet includes:
Scrambled Eggs
Savory Breakfast Casserole
Bacon and Sausage
Hash Browns
Omelet Station
Waffle Station with Whipped Cream, Cherry
Pie Filling, Syrup, Butter
Fresh Fruit Platter (Strawberries, Grapes,
Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Pineapple)
Blueberry muffins
Caesar Salad
Chicken Salad Croissants
Pasta Salad
Coffee, Tea, Orange Juice, Apple Juice
Cash Bar will be available for additional
beverages.
Casual Attire
Cost of brunch is $40.00 per person.
Payment at the door with cash or check
made out to HRCMOAA.
Reservations are required NLT noon on
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
(include number coming, names, phone #
and your parent chapter)
via email to HRCMOAA@gmail.com
or via phone to Loren Heckelman at 757-646-6448.
HRCMOAA must pay for the number of people
registered.
A RESERVATION MADE IS A RESERVATION
PAID!
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Click
here for a poster you can share with a friend
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Photo by Winifred Brown/Army
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Your ID Card Questions
Answered
From Military Officer magazine,
March 2026
Do you have a Uniformed Services ID card
with an “indefinite” expiration date? Are you worried you may need to update
or replace it?
Recent messages have led to confusion among
some cardholders. Below are some answers to frequently asked questions;
for more details on other types of ID cards, including eligibility and
renewal guidelines, visit MOAA’s
ID Card page.
Q. I have an older, paper-based, “INDEF”
identification card. Do I need to renew/replace it?
A. No. Per official guidance, these cards
“will all remain valid until DoD determines when those legacy paper-based
cards will be terminated.”
Q. Should I renew/replace it anyway?
A. Cardholders may replace the legacy card
with a plastic-based card “at their convenience,” per official guidance.
Doing so in advance of any expiration announcement may be a smoother process,
although officials say any termination of the older cards will be announced
“well in advance of the actual termination date.”
Q. How do I renew/replace it?
A. Cardholders have two options:
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Online: Go to the ID
Card Office Online website and click “Continue” under the “Family ID
Cards” box. Follow the prompts to request a new card.
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In Person: Go to the ID
Card Office Online website and click “Continue” under the “ID Card
Office Locator & Appointments” box. Follow the prompts to set up an
in-person appointment. You may renew/replace your card at any of the offices
listed; consider widening the search area if those nearby have limited
spaces available.
Q. I have questions about the renewal/replacement
process.
A. Visit CAC.mil
for more information, or call the Defense Manpower Data Center customer
service line at (800) 538-9552.
Q. I was told/I read the deadline to
get a plastic card is Dec. 31, 2025. Is this true?
A. No. As one
Army webpage explains, “The Department of Defense (DoD) has not set
a termination date for legacy paper-based Uniformed Services ID (USID)
cards with ‘INDEF’ (indefinite) expiration dates. Despite earlier reports,
including a now-corrected DFAS newsletter citing a December 31, 2025 deadline,
no such cutoff currently exists.”
Many of the reports were later cited in
social media messaging and other platforms, leading to confusion among
some cardholders.
Q. How can I be sure I don’t miss an
update on the termination date?
A. MOAA will continue to provide updates
as we receive them regarding any changes to ID card policy. Officials recommend
visiting the ID
Card Office Online website and clicking “Continue” under the “My Profile”
box, then following the prompts to check (and update, if necessary) your
contact information, so you will receive such updates as they are issued.
Q. Are military IDs with "INDEF" expirations
accepted at airports?
A. Yes. All military IDs are accepted in
this instance, but MOAA members have reported problems or delays at airports,
up to and including rejected IDs. a spokesman for the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) told MOAA that military ID holders who experience
any such issues should ask for a Supervisory Transportation Security Officer
(STSO). Learn
more about REAL ID rules.
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March
Luncheon featured a presentation on the Armed Services YMCA of Hampton
Roads
First, is the link to the presentation
which is the one they gave at the luncheon.
Second is the group of links shown
below:
Third, the link to the ASYMCAHR
website where you can donate to support their efforts.
Lastly, this attachment is a flyer
regarding support for their annual Five-Star
Military Family Recognition Luncheon in December.
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Support
JLC Initiative 2026-01 to stop
"Claim
Sharks" from preying on veterans
This information is from your HRCMOAA Legislative
Committee chair, Colonel Stan Remer, USA (Retired). Please read and
consider taking action as suggested.
| I would support this initiative to have
the Governor veto these bills and "Stop Unscrupulous Firms from Exploiting
Veterans"
The Joint Legislative Council last year
(2025) had 6 initiatives and one of these was JLC Initiative 2026-01.
This JLC initiative was to prohibit "Claim Sharks" companies from
preying on veterans seeking to obtain or modify their VA entitlements.
A number of organizations such as the American
Legion, VFW and DAV provide these services at no cost to our veterans.
The request to veto these bills is consistent with the goal of JLC Initiative
2026-01 and the effort of JLC to hold down the efforts of these companies
which promote and support the exploitation of veterans.
This initiative is time sensitive as the
Governor has 30 days to sign or veto bills from the end of session which
was March 14, 2026.
Here is a link to JLC
Initiative 2026-01 for your review.
These are several ways you can contact
the Governor to help support a veto for the bills.
Please call or email me if you have any
questions.
Stan Remer, Colonel, USA (Retired)
Chair, HRCMOAA Legislative Committee
202-329-6742
stanleyremer@gmail.com |
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Join MOAA Leadership and your fellow
MOAA members on hosted cruises and land tours
Click
here to learn about MOAA Signature Group Travel...
Posted above is a flyer for MOAA Vacations,
a travel benefit offered through MOAA’s partnership with Brennco Travel
Services. The flyer highlights the partnership’s Signature Groups,
the most popular trips hosted by MOAA leadership and staff. Each
year, MOAA Vacations returns 1% of the commission earned from trips booked
by our chapter members, families and friends to our chapter. If your
plans this year or next include a vacation to one of the locations offered,
please consider using MOAA Vacations and designating your Hampton Roads
Chapter as your local chapter to benefit from using their services. |
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DO NOT PAY FOR VA OR COMMUNITY CARE APPOINTMENTS UP FRONT
Protect yourself from a recent scam targeting
Veterans.
A Veteran recently received a fake letter
claiming he had a VA appointment and was asked to pay for the visit.
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VA later confirmed he was not enrolled in
VA health care and no appointment had been scheduled.
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The letter and payment request were fraudulent.
Remember:
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Veterans should never pay for any VA or Community
Care appointment before or at the time of the appointment.
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VA does not charge upfront fees for appointments.
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VA does not send payment requests by email,
text message or phone.
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Community Care appointments are authorized
by VA and are free to Veterans except standard VA co-pays when applicable.
If you receive a suspicious letter, call,
or message:
-
Do not send money or share personal or financial
information.
-
Contact your local VA medical center directly
to verify any appointment.
-
Report suspicious activity to your facility's
Integrity and Compliance Officer, Integrity and Compliance Helpline at
(866) 842-4357 or VHAOICHelpline@va.gov,
VSAFE at 1-833-388-7233 or the VA
OIG Hotline at 1-800-488-8244.
Your VA team is here to ensure your care is
safe and legitimate.
SEE SOMETHING. SAY SOMETHING.
General instances of non-compliance,
including potential fraud, waste and abuse: Office of Integrity and Compliance
Helpline
VHAOICHelpline@va.gov
or 866-842-4357 (VHA-HELP)
Veterans who suspect they have experienced
fraud:
VSAFE Fraud Hotline
https://vsafe.qov/
or 833-38V-SAFE
Reports made to VA OIC or VSAFE may be referred
to the independent Office of Inspector General (OIG) for investigation
into fraud or other wrongdoing or for its oversight of VA programs and
operations. |
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Subject: Call to Action
from VMSDEP Friends
posted on Facebook Monday afternoon (3/10/26)
“Please contact Governor Spanberger,
the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs, the Secretary of Education,
and your members of the General Assembly today and respectfully ask them
to protect the legislative process and preserve the House budget language
requiring data transparency and reporting for VMSDEP.
Veteran families and survivors deserve
policies that are shaped through open debate, accurate data, and meaningful
stakeholder input — not last-minute changes in the budget.(Note from MAJ
Ferki – This is what happened 2 years ago ).
Ask state leaders to maintain transparency,
protect the legislative process, and ensure that Veteran families and survivors
have a seat at the table.”
Emails:
Governor
Abigail.spanberger@governor.virginia.gov
Office of Veterans and Defense Affairs
vada@governor.virginia.gov
Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs
– Timothy P. Williams
Tim.williams@governor.virginia.gov
Secretary of Education Dr Jeffery O. Smith
Jeffery.smith@governor.va.gov
From the VMSDEP website:
The Virginia Department of Veterans
Services (VDVS) is responsible for certifying eligibility for benefits
under the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program.
The State Council of Higher Education
for Virginia (SCHEV) and Virginia’s public colleges and universities are
responsible for applying the financial aid benefits (tuition/fee waiver,
stipend) available under VMSDEP.
One member of group suggested adding
the following to email to Gov Spanberger:
On Veterans Day 2025, you issued the
following statement, which we expect you to follow through on. You said
you would protect Veteran benefits. Please show this is a promise and not
just campaign messaging.
“Veterans Day is also an opportunity
to recommit ourselves to a fundamental promise: in America, we leave no
Veteran behind. That promise calls on all of us — as Virginians and as
Americans — to make sure that every patriot who has borne the battle receives
our strongest possible support. And it means recognizing that when one
Virginian serves our country, their loved ones sacrifice alongside them.
“All along the campaign trail, I heard
personal stories from Veterans and their families about the challenges
facing our bravest neighbors — and their hopes for the future. Come January,
I will work to honor the sacrifice of our Commonwealth’s Veterans by protecting
the healthcare, benefits, and job opportunities they’ve earned through
their service. As Virginia’s 75th Governor, I will always stand up for
the brave men and women who answered the call.”
https://abigailspanberger.com/governor-elect-spanberger
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DD
Form 214 Use & History
Info
about a DD Form 214
All separated service members have a form
with details about their active duty, years of service, type of separation,
awards, training and other details for after-service jobs, veteran's benefits
and entitlements after death. Do you know where your's is? |
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Scholarship
Fund Status as of March 1, 2026
We just completed our third year of the
five-year campaign that will cover 2023 – 2027. Thank you to
all who contributed and helped us exceed the annual goal. We are
ahead of plan to meet the five-year goal of $25,000. |
2023-2027 GOALS
HRCMOAA
Scholarship Drive
Status
as of
5/1/2025
|
Goal |
Amount
Contributed |
%
of Goal |
Need
by
Date |
$
Still
Needed |
Total
5-Year Goal
$25,000 |
$17,620.10 |
70.5% |
12/31/2027 |
$7,379.90 |
Annual
Goal for 2026
$5,000
(Year
4of
5) |
$1,830.00 |
36.6% |
12/31/2026 |
$3,170.00 |
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| Year Four of our Five-Year Campaign from
January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2027 |
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| The following is a breakdown of the chapter
members who have contributed to the scholarship fund this year. |
|
| 2026 Contributions |
| PLATINUM
- $500 and above |
|
Elaine
Tzavaras
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| GOLD - $250 to $499 |
Carl Carrell
Loren Hecklelman
Roger Blood
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| SILVER - $100 to
$249 |
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| Bronze Under $100 |
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Victoria
Agbenu
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| The MOAA Scholarship Fund Board gives
preference in awarding scholarships and grants to children with HRCMOAA
member parents. While not guaranteed to go to the child of a chapter
member, those children applying for MOAA scholarships with a parent who
is a chapter member will receive favorable consideration and the review
board will give preference in awarding scholarships to those children.
Regardless of whether the student’s parent
is a chapter member or not, students selected for the MOAA scholarships
in the chapter’s name will always be from the area represented by our Hampton
Roads Chapter. |
How
You Can Contribute to the
Hampton
Roads Chapter Scholarship Fund
The Hampton Roads Chapter has been very
successful and fortunate in its previous two five-year scholarship fund
campaigns thanks to the generosity of the chapter members and their commitment
to helping young men and women attend college through scholarships and
grants from MOAA. As a result of the success in the previous two
campaigns, the board decided to commission another five-year scholarship
fund campaign to run from 2023 through 2027 with an annual goal in each
year of $5,000.00 and an overall five-year goal of $25,000.00.
There are several ways you can donate to
the HRCMOAA scholarship fund. All donations are tax deductible as
the MOAA Scholarship Fund is a qualified IRS 501(c)(3) entity.
The first way is for members to
submit their donations online by using the following website URL:
https://charities.moaa.org/HamptonRoadsDonates
The second way is to submit a check,
made out to the MOAA Scholarship Fund and mail it to:
MOAA Scholarship Fund
PO Box 1824
Merrifield, VA 22116-9917
Important: Be sure to note on your
check in the memo line that it is for the Hampton Roads Chapter Scholarship
Fund. MOAA will continue to send receipts to all contributors.
A third way is to make a Qualified
Charitable Distribution. The fund tax identification number is 54-1659039.
By contributing from the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) of a qualified
IRA, the taxable IRA income can be reduced by the amount of the contribution.
The contribution check must be marked as a charitable contribution.
With the recent changes in the tax laws, some of our members have found
this method to be beneficial.
You can make qualified charitable distributions
(QCDs) of varying amounts to more than one charitable organization each
year. IRA owners age 70 ½ or older can give up to $100,000
a year directly from their IRA to qualified charities. But you can
split that amount among multiple charities. Say you want to give
a total of $50,000 through the QCD move. You could give five charities
$10,000 each, for instance, or two charities $25,000 each. Just tell
your custodian which charities you want to support and how much to transfer
directly from your IRA.
Not only will the charity benefit from
the QCDs, but you will too. The QCD amount is excluded from your
taxable income and can also count toward your annual required minimum distribution.
It’s a win-win-win. For additional details, it would be best to contact
your IRA fund manager, personal financial planner or tax accountant for
specifics.
You also may contribute directly from bequests,
wills, or trusts. You can find suggested language here:
Scholarship
Fund Planned Giving |
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