From: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com (skunk-works-digest) To: skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Subject: skunk-works-digest V9 #49 Reply-To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com Sender: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Errors-To: owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Precedence: bulk skunk-works-digest Wednesday, July 12 2000 Volume 09 : Number 049 Index of this digest by subject: *************************************************** Firefighters Re:FWD (TLC-Mission) Reunion - Secret War in Laos B-52 jamming capabilities Re: Firefighters Re: B-52 jamming capabilities RE: Firefighters test message - ignore RE: Firefighters RE: test message - ignore Re: FWD (TLCB) Civilian use of military aircraft [was - Warbird F-22/JSF RE: Firefighters Filling the gap in EW (was Re: B-52 jamming capabilities) RE: Firefighters helium 3(never heard of it) FWD (UASR) Aurora and Chinook Aurora killed my Chinook... O/T(VA/purple heart/priority change) *************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2000 09:23:15 -0700 From: David Lednicer Subject: Firefighters Speaking of the warbirds now serving as waterbombers, I saw the two Martin Mars on Monday. We were driving back from sea kayaking near Tofino and stopped at Sproat Lake to see them. They were anchored out in the lake, looking like they were ready for action. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 21:15:38 -0700 From: Timothy Toth Subject: Re:FWD (TLC-Mission) Reunion - Secret War in Laos There was/is also a 3-4 page article about the USAF's secret war in Laos in the "USAF 2000 yearbook" Timothy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 21:21:10 -0700 From: Timothy Toth Subject: B-52 jamming capabilities I just learned that during operation Allied Storm a B-52 was fitted with an ALQ-99 pod (EA-6B jammer pod) apparently the operation ended before modifications where finished but the 'program' (or experiment) is ongoing. Timothy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 22:42:02 -0700 From: patrick Subject: Re: Firefighters At 07/05/2000 -0700, you wrote: > Speaking of the warbirds now serving as waterbombers, I saw the >two Martin Mars on Monday. We were driving back from sea kayaking near >Tofino and stopped at Sproat Lake to see them. They were anchored out in >the lake, looking like they were ready for action. > > > I posted four pictures at alt.binaries.pictures.aviation ("Martin Mars") of these airplanes. The local mill in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada caught on fire several summers ago and they lumbered up in the air to save the town. patrick cullumber ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 04:22:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Sam Kaltsidis Subject: Re: B-52 jamming capabilities > I just learned that during operation Allied Storm a B-52 was fitted with an ALQ-99 pod (EA-6B jammer pod) apparently the operation ended before modifications where finished but the > 'program' (or experiment) is ongoing. > > Timothy > The B-52 could obviously be a very powerful jammer aircraft, however what the USAF really needs is a dedicated EW aircraft capable of replacing it's EF-111A Raven (which was retired prematurely) and EA-6B Prowler (whose wings are falling off) predecesors. Naturally, the B-52 is one gigantic sitting duck with or without an insurance policy in the form of fighter escorts, therefore an effective, high performance, survivable EW/SEAD platform is required to replace the overextended EA-6B Prowlers (did I forget to mention their wings are falling off???). It would be nice if that platform had the ability to carry all EW sensors and jammers in internal electronics bays so that any internal weapons bays and or external hardpoints could be used for carrying weapons instead (air-to-air missiles for self-defense as well as anti-radiation missiles for SEAD). In addition to all this with the recent advances in ESA antennae it may even be possible to squeeze ELINT/SIGINT capabilities into the same package (if only the right software could be developed). The EA-6B Prowler though still surprisingly capable as an EW platform despite its age is rapidly becoming obsolete which is resulting in increased maintenance costs and reduced availability rates (oh yeah their wings are falling off). I just hope we don't get caught with our pants down, i.e. without any effective / state of the art EW aircraft, when some adversary decides to do something stupid, like start a war. Human nature being what it is, it is a matter of when it happens not if it happens. For the sake of the US and our allies, I sincerely hope the next administration is able to correct this and numerous other problems facing our armed forces so that we may celebrate many more 4th's of July in the future. For those of you who didn't get the joke about wings falling off, I was trying to express my disappointment at the Navy declining to re-wing the A-6 Intruder and EA-6B Prowler fleets due to budgetary constraints back when they were trying (in vain) to save the A-12 if I recall correctly. I have great respect for the armed forces but the premature retirement of the EF-111 Raven was a huge mistake as was the the Navy's failure to re-wing and or re-engine the EA-6B Prowlers. Furthermore, even though I am a big F-22 supporter, I believe that the F-22 will NOT be able to replace the Prowlers as an EW platform as well as the F-16CJs as a SEAD platform. Standard legal disclaimers apply. Concerned Sam CIO - Dark Entertainment LLC http://www.darkent.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 09:52:50 -0400 From: "Morris, Andrew" Subject: RE: Firefighters How does one access newsgroup? So sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don't frequent them (obviously). Please contact me off list. Thanks, Andy Morris morris@admissions.buffalo.edu - -----Original Message----- From: patrick [mailto:patrick@e-z.net] Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 1:42 AM To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com Subject: Re: Firefighters At 07/05/2000 -0700, you wrote: > Speaking of the warbirds now serving as waterbombers, I saw the >two Martin Mars on Monday. We were driving back from sea kayaking near >Tofino and stopped at Sproat Lake to see them. They were anchored out in >the lake, looking like they were ready for action. > > > I posted four pictures at alt.binaries.pictures.aviation ("Martin Mars") of these airplanes. The local mill in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada caught on fire several summers ago and they lumbered up in the air to save the town. patrick cullumber ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 10:32:56 -0400 From: "Weigold, Greg" Subject: test message - ignore This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. - ------_=_NextPart_001_01BFE757.375787BC Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Testing..... Please ignore this message Greg W - ------_=_NextPart_001_01BFE757.375787BC Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" test message - ignore

Testing.....   Please ignore this message

Greg W

- ------_=_NextPart_001_01BFE757.375787BC-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 09:04:25 PDT From: "wayne binkley" Subject: RE: Firefighters what is alt.binaries.pictures.aviation and how do you get there. wayne - ----Original Message Follows---- From: "Morris, Andrew" Reply-To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com Subject: RE: Firefighters Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 09:52:50 -0400 How does one access newsgroup? So sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don't frequent them (obviously). Please contact me off list. Thanks, Andy Morris morris@admissions.buffalo.edu - -----Original Message----- From: patrick [mailto:patrick@e-z.net] Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 1:42 AM To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com Subject: Re: Firefighters At 07/05/2000 -0700, you wrote: > Speaking of the warbirds now serving as waterbombers, I saw the >two Martin Mars on Monday. We were driving back from sea kayaking near >Tofino and stopped at Sproat Lake to see them. They were anchored out in >the lake, looking like they were ready for action. > > > I posted four pictures at alt.binaries.pictures.aviation ("Martin Mars") of these airplanes. The local mill in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada caught on fire several summers ago and they lumbered up in the air to save the town. patrick cullumber ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 12:05:23 -0400 From: "Weigold, Greg" Subject: RE: test message - ignore This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. - ------_=_NextPart_001_01BFE764.21439008 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Thanks George! - -----Original Message----- From: Weigold, Greg [mailto:GregWeigold@mynd.com] Sent: July 06, 2000 10:33 AM To: 'skunk-works@netwrx1.com' Subject: test message - ignore Testing..... Please ignore this message Greg W - ------_=_NextPart_001_01BFE764.21439008 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" test message - ignore
Thanks George!
-----Original Message-----
From: Weigold, Greg [mailto:GregWeigold@mynd.com]
Sent: July 06, 2000 10:33 AM
To: 'skunk-works@netwrx1.com'
Subject: test message - ignore

Testing.....   Please ignore this message

Greg W

- ------_=_NextPart_001_01BFE764.21439008-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 00 14:44:13 -0500 From: wings Subject: Re: FWD (TLCB) Civilian use of military aircraft [was - Warbird Hawkins and Powers aviation currently flies a number of former warbirds as "Firefighters". They also do restoration work on the side. Here's the URL for photos of some of their fleet: http://www.hawkinsandpowers.com/photo.html Wayne Busse wings@sky.net Zz zZ |\ z _,,,---,,_ /,`.-'`' _ ;-;;,_ |,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'_' '---''(_/--' `-'\_) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 15:17:13 -0500 From: "Tom C Robison" Subject: F-22/JSF I know I read somewhere that the power bus in the F-22 (or was it the JSF?) was 270 Volts DC. Of course now I can't find that statement anywhere. Can someone point me to the electrical system specifications for F-22 and JSF? Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 18:23:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Kathryn & Andreas Gehrs-Pahl Subject: RE: Firefighters Andy Morris wondered: >How does one access newsgroup? So sorry if this is a stupid question, I >just don't frequent them (obviously). Please contact me off list. And Wayne Binkley asked: >what is alt.binaries.pictures.aviation and how do you get there. The easiest way to get those pictures without using UseNet and a News Reader, is to point your Web Browser to: http://www.nailnews.com/ They carry all *.binaries.pictures.* news groups, and you can get the files displayed as nice little thumbnail images. They have apparently public (free) and subscription-only newsgroups, but alt.binaries.pictures.aviation is free. - -- Andreas - --- --- Andreas & Kathryn Gehrs-Pahl E-Mail: schnars@ais.org 1517 Michigan Avenue or: gpahl@wazoo.com Alamogordo, NM 88310 Tel: (505) 434-6276 WWW URL: http://www.ais.org/~schnars/ - --- --- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 15:53:11 -0700 From: Timothy Toth Subject: Filling the gap in EW (was Re: B-52 jamming capabilities) Sam Kaltsidis wrote: >The B-52 could obviously be a very powerful jammer aircraft, however what the USAF really needs is a dedicated EW >aircraft capable of replacing it's EF-111A Raven (which was retired prematurely) and EA-6B Prowler (whose wings are >falling off) predecesors. Naturally, the B-52 is one gigantic sitting duck with or without an insurance policy in the form of >fighter escorts, therefore an effective, high performance, survivable EW/SEAD platform is required to replace the >overextended EA-6B Prowlers (did I forget to mention their wings are falling off???). It would be nice if that platform had >the ability to carry all EW sensors and jammers in internal electronics bays so that any internal weapons bays and or >external hardpoints could be used for carrying weapons instead (air-to-air missiles for self-defense as well as >anti-radiation missiles for SEAD). In addition to all this with the recent advances in ESA antennae it may even be possible >to squeeze ELINT/SIGINT capabilities into the same package (if only the right software could be developed). The EA-6B >Prowler though still surprisingly capable as an EW platform despite its age is rapidly becoming obsolete which is resulting >in increased maintenance costs and reduced availability rates (oh yeah their wings are falling off). >I just hope we don't get caught with our pants down, i.e. without any effective/ state of the art EW aircraft, when some >adversary decides to do something stupid, like start a war. Human nature being what it is, it is a matter of when >it happens not if it happens. >For the sake of the US and our allies, I sincerely hope the next administration is able to correct this and numerous other >problems facing our armed forces so that we may celebrate many more 4th's of July in the future. >For those of you who didn't get the joke about wings falling off, I was trying to express my disappointment at the Navy >declining to re-wing the A-6 Intruder and EA-6B Prowler fleets due to budgetary constraints back when they were trying >(in vain) to save the A-12 if I recall correctly. >I have great respect for the armed forces but the premature retirement of the EF-111 Raven was a huge mistake as was the >the Navy's failure to re-wing and or re-engine the EA-6B Prowlers. Furthermore, even though I am a big F-22 supporter, I >believe that the F-22 will NOT be able to replace the Prowlers as an EW platform as well as the F-16CJs as a SEAD >platform. > > >Standard legal disclaimers apply. >Concerned Sam The need for a new dedicated EW platform has been widely recognised for quite sometime, and operation Allied Storm just highlighted the problem. As defenders become more and more tactfull (exchanges between Russia, China, Irak, and Serbia have helped) Planners have come to realise that greater emphasis has to be placed on DEAD rather than simply on SEAD. (this means moving from simply disturbing ennemy emission and/or destroying a few antennas, to completely obliterating the emitter, co-located equipement and AAA/SAM systems). As you mention one can only wonder as to the reasons for the retirement of the EF-111 and the lack of funds for keeping EW dedicated platforms up to date. (I think people in the EW buisness say that it's because the USAF prefers thing that go Bang) Talking of the EA-6B, about a year ago I was talking to an EA-6B crew whom didn't seem overconfident (to say the least) as to the capabilities of the aircraft to stay in the field for another 10-15 years (I don't remember seeing any tape or elastics to hold the wings though :-) ). I don't think the B-52 would be the way to go, if it is to be a replacement for a dedicated EW platform. However this program is taken as just an added capability to the B-52 and simply a supplement to a dedicated EW platform. Yes the B-52 would be very vulnerable (especially with those new chinese long range HOJ SAM missiles) but it would stay well behind the lines to act as a powerfull standoff jammer. A far as the F-16CJ's are concerned, the community is very proud of the aircraft and their job, they claim that not one aircraft that was acompanied by them was shot down (the F-117 and F-16CG shot down where not accompanied by them). However they have to work in connection with F-16CG for DEAD missions. Luckely this is greatly simplified by the IDM with which both aircraft are equipped (automatic exchange of target info). Concerning SEAD, DEAD and weapons; DEAD has become more and more of a neccessity, and this is done with big fat munitions and not with ARM missiles. It was reported that during the Kosovo operation one emitter was shot at, more than 120 times with HARM! (it is also reported that only 6 ALARM where needed, 4 of wich hit the emitter). This seems like incredible, but even if only partly true it only proves the necessity of DEAD missions.The Navy has just tested a combination millimeter-wave radar/RF-homing seeker for a follow-on to the current Harm radar-killing missile called the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile. And the USAF appears to have a black program working on its own smaller, "next-generation, Harm-like missile". So what is needed is a powerfull jamming platform, an escort jammer/quick reaction SEAD capability (just to keep the enemy busy and worried and occupied long enough for a good DEAD attack), and a good DEAD capability. Aircraft to fill these roles are being studied, they are the F/A-18G Growler, the JSF, the F-22 (JSF and F-22 are being Refocused On Electronic Warfare) and the B-52 ( both the F-15 and an americanised version of the Tornado have been dropped). The B-52 we have alreay talked about; could be a powerfull Standoff jammer, but would be severly limited by it's vulnerabilities, and could only be viewed as a supplement. It is said to have been chosen to supplement the EA-6B's stand-off jamming capabilities because of it's 'global reach, global power' capabilities. The new computer that are now being installed are much ligter and smaller than the ones they replace which leaves more room for electronics. A pod other than the ALQ-99 was also said to have been chosen, this is the lowband Spear pod (same as EC-130 Compass Call). These pods would be fitted instead of the fuel tanks. The F-22 is said to be nearing approval for the Wild Weasel role. The F-22's RCS is equivalent to F-117 and B-2 (0.005sqm range?), this is said to be enough to approach to within 15(-21)NM of the latest S-300 (SA-10/12) familly of systems without being detected (so about 44NM against the S-400). A reduced RCS is not important just because it delays the detection but also because it makes the aircraft much easier to hide behind jamming. The ability of its passive systems to locate and identify electronic signals makes it an ideal platform to search out and attack enemy radar. The problem is that 15 mi. is the extreme range of the F-22's standard air-to-ground weapon, the 1,000-lb. JDAM, when launched from about 40,000 ft and neither the JSOW or the Jassm fit inside the F-22's weapons bays.The F-22 already has the capability to jam radar and com from hostile aircraft with it's own radar, of course this is power and frequency limited. The solution would be the new ARM missile being developped which would fit in the F-22's bays. Still, unless specialised equipement is installed it's capabilities would be limited, and it doesn't have much room for specialised electronics AND weapons. The JSF: Aerospace industry officials are being asked to study the Joint Strike Fighter's suitability for the task of penetrating enemy air defenses to jam radar and critical communications from relatively close ranges.The JSF's stealth is rated as effective until 2025 and impervious even to the generation of antiaircraft weapons expected to follow the emerging S-400 family. JSF's low radar cross section (RCS) varies from version to version the USAF's CTOL version is said to overlap the lower end of the F-22 signature but other versions would be at around 0.01 sqm. (Stealth is said to have been limited to respect price constraints but requirement for JSF is 0.01sqm). Just like the F-22, the JSF has the capability to jam radar and com. from hostile aircraft with it's own radar(but the JSF's radar is less powerfull than the F-22's). Lockheed Martin proposes a JSF derivative that carries a second radar-jamming package, probably on pallets in the main weapons bay, that can jam a wider range of frequencies with much greater power including long-range early-warning radar and those that direct antiaircraft missiles and guns. Other targets are the communications that link aircraft, missile sites and command posts.This would need a second AESA antenna and would limit jamming to high power directive jamming in a FOV of 30 deg. (I wonder if smart skins could'nt do better). By the way directive jamming done with precise pencil beam emissions would prevent targetting of the jamming platform by HOJ missiles. Boeing is discreet on the matter but they do admit that they are studying Electronic Attack alternatives, with electronics in the weapons bay and towed decoys. The problem of having the weapons bay full of electronics instead of weapons could be (partly) compensated by having teams of aircraft (one armed, one electronics) work together exchanging info in realtime just like the F-16CG/CJ do now. The F/A-18G's RCS would only be marginally better than the F-16CJ, unless further stealth improvements are made. This RCS of approx. 1sqm would mean,( just for the sake of comparison) that detection range for SA-10/12 would be around 60-85NM and 170NM against S-400). Reportedly at the center of the Growler proposal is the adaptation of many of the Prowler’s Improved Capability III (ICAP-III) upgrades to fit the F/A-18, including modified AN/ALQ-99s (although with an eye towards replacing these systems with a single, multiband jammer) and the USQ-113 communications receiver. The Growler would possess integrated antenna systems and other electronics, as well as datalinks, sat. com., GPS and a MIDS, all of which would aid in the communication of jamming schemes, a capability found to be lacking in even the ICAP-III Prowlers. An AESA radar could also be incorporated (scheduled for fleet introduction in 2005). The AESA would allow the Growler to carry a high-powered jammer that operates in the AESA’s frequency without interfering with the radar. A number of cockpit modifications would also be needed. The advantage of the F/A-18G is in hard-kill capabilities, with nine hardpoints it could carry a wide array of armaments from AGM-88 HARM to PGMs (like the AGM-154 JSOW and GBU-29/30/31/32 JDAM). It seems to me it's going to be F-22 and B-52's for the USAF, and F/A-18G for the Navy. And so far only the F/A-18G seems to be designed with the full array of EW misions in mind (as EA-6B). What do you think? Timothy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 19:52:05 -0700 From: patrick Subject: RE: Firefighters At 07/06/2000 -0400, you wrote: >Andy Morris wondered: > > >How does one access newsgroup? So sorry if this is a stupid question, I > >just don't frequent them (obviously). Please contact me off list. > >And Wayne Binkley asked: > > >what is alt.binaries.pictures.aviation and how do you get there. > >The easiest way to get those pictures without using UseNet and a News Reader, >is to point your Web Browser to: http://www.nailnews.com/ > >They carry all *.binaries.pictures.* news groups, and you can get the files >displayed as nice little thumbnail images. They have apparently public (free) >and subscription-only newsgroups, but alt.binaries.pictures.aviation is free. > >-- Andreas =-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==--=-==--==-=-=-=- I used www.dogpile.com and searched the Usenet files for the subject. patrick ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2000 09:17:20 PDT From: "wayne binkley" Subject: helium 3(never heard of it) 12. Moon's Helium-3 Could Power Earth (Space.com) - Researchers andspace enthusiasts see helium 3 as the perfect fuel source: extremely potent, nonpolluting, with virtually no radioactive by-product. Proponents claim it’s the fuel of the 21st century. The trouble is, hardly any of it isfound on Earth. But there is plenty of it on the moon. Society is straining to keep pace with energy demands, expected to increase eightfold by 2050 asthe world population swells toward 12 billion. The moon just may be theanswer. "Helium 3 fusion energy may be the key to future space exploration and settlement," said Gerald Kulcinski, Director of the Fusion Technology Institute (FTI) at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Scientists estimate there are about 1 million tons of helium 3 on the moon, enoughto power the world for thousands of years. The equivalent of a single space shuttle load or roughly 25 tons could supply the entire United States' energy needs for a year, according to Apollo17 astronaut and FTIresearcher Harrison Schmitt. When the solar wind, the rapid stream of chargedparticles emitted by the sun, strikes the moon, helium 3 is deposited in thepowdery soil. Over billions of years that adds up. Meteorite bombardmentdisperses the particles throughout the top several meters of the lunar surface. "Helium 3 could be the cash crop for the moon," said Kulcinski, alongtime advocate and leading pioneer in the field, who envisions the moonbecoming "the Hudson Bay Store of Earth." Today helium 3 would have a cash valueof $4 billion a ton in terms of its energy equivalent in oil, he estimates. "When the moon becomes an independent country, it will have something totrade." - --------------- ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 23:05:19 -0700 From: "Terry W. Colvin" Subject: FWD (UASR) Aurora and Chinook A very interesting article about the RAF Chinook crash: < http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/11847.html > Dave - -- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@frontiernet.net > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: Fortean Times * Northwest Mysteries * Mystic's Cyberpage * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 15:35:49 +0100 From: Wayne Turnbull Subject: Aurora killed my Chinook... If anyone's interested, here's a link for an imaginative explanation for the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash a few years ago. www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/11847.html WT ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 08:50:52 PDT From: "wayne binkley" Subject: O/T(VA/purple heart/priority change) i know this is not the proper forum,but if it helps just one vet get better medical treatment,i think it is worth one email.if you don't have a purple heart,now is the time to use your "delete" button and like me,consider your self lucky.wayne xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxWASHINGTON, D.C. =97 Veterans awarded the Purple Heart for combat wounds will find it easier to get medical care from the Department ofVe=terans Affairs (VA). Under new VA rules, Purple Heart veterans now have a higher priorityfor health-care services than before. Also, they don=92t have to makeout-of=-pocket payments, technically known as "co-payments," for either inpatient orou= tpatient VA medical services. "VA has always recognized and appreciated the contributions of thosewho hold the Purple Heart," said Dr. Thomas L. Garthwaite, VA=92s ActingUnd=er Secretary for Health. "Now, we are according those veterans a priorityb= efitting their service to this nation." The new rules authorize VA to reimburse Purple Heart recipients for any medical co-payments made to VA for care given after November 29, 1999. Purple Heart recipients are still responsible for making co-payments of=$2 for each 30-day supply of prescription medicine given to outpatients forcon=ditions that are not related to military service. "We urge Purple Heart recipients who have medical conditions theybeliev=e are related to their military service to contact VA for help in filinga= claim," said Joe Thompson, VA=92s Under Secretary for Benefits.=20 By itself, the Purple Heart doesn=92t qualify veterans for VAdisability compensation. That requires a separate screening process. Nor does the Purple Heart affect eligibility for long-term nursing care. VA=92s new eligibility rules for Purple Heart recipients were approvedl= ast year by Congress in the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act. The change affects the seven-step priority system that Congress set up forV=A health care.=20 It moves Purple Heart recipients who were in VA=92s priority groups 4th=rough 7 into priority group 3. Purple Heart recipients who qualify for priority= groups 1 or 2 by virtue of service-connected disabilities will stay in those higher= groups.=20 Anyone claiming benefits as a Purple Heart recipient must prove that the=y have been awarded the decoration. VA will accept the following as proof: Defe=nse Department Form 214, discharge papers, military personnel records, order=s or award certificates. The Purple Heart is the nation=92s oldest military medal. GeorgeWashing=ton presented the first medals in 1783. Today, there are approximately600,0=00 living veterans who were wounded in combat and received the medal, according to the Military Order of the Purple Heart. - ------------------------------ End veterans@lists.militaryhub.com Digest (07/11/2000 21:01) ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ End of skunk-works-digest V9 #49 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe in the body of a message to "majordomo@netwrx1.com". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to georgek@netwrx1.com. A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "skunk-works-digest" in the commands above with "skunk-works". Back issues are available for viewing by a www interface located at: http://www.netwrx1.com/skunk-works/ If you have any questions or problems please contact me at: georgek@netwrx1.com Thanks, George R. Kasica Listowner