THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260489
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICHARD GRIMES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Why are the commissaries at Norfolk and Little Creek closed on Mondays? And, if they have to be closed, why can't you stagger the closing days so that at least one of them is open on Mondays?
According to commissary officials, budgetary and housekeeping constraints dictate how many days the commissaries can be open. Originally, the Norfolk commissary opened seven days a week. When it went to six days, officials looked at sales figures and determined that Monday was their slowest day.
My 71-year-old husband is a Marine veteran of World War II and hasn't worked in 15 years because of medical problems. His medication is costly. Can the Department of Veteran's Affairs help with his medication?
You didn't give us enough information to determine if you're husband is eligible for help with this medication, but we can point you in the right direction for information.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a toll-free hot line for questions about benefits. The number is (800) 827-100.
What conditions must exist for someone to get a hot ship transfer home?
We give up. You stumped us. What is a hot ship transfer, anyway?
Keep in mind that stumping us is no incredible feat. However, the people at AIRLANT haven't heard of a hot transfer either. They thought that you might be referring to emergency leave or a humanitarian transfer.
Emergency leave is permission for a service member to temporarily leave a duty station to take care of personal problems. If, for instance, a family member dies, the service member could be given emergency leave to attend the funeral.
Humanitarian transfers are permanent changes of duty stations given in cases where the crisis might be longer lasting. For instance, if a spouse dies and the children need to be cared for, a service member can request to be transferred permanently to a shore station.
Both emergency leave and humanitarian transfers require documentation from official sources like a doctor. Commanding officers then make the decisions on a case-by-case basis.
I'm interested in finding publications regarding retired military officers. Do you know where I can find some?
I called the Retired Activities office at the Norfolk Navy Family Services office. Unfortunately, they didn't know of any really helpful periodicals concerning retired military officers.
The Retired Activities office does, however, have pamphlets that might be helpful. Your best bet is to call your local Navy Family Services Center and ask to speak to the office. Volunteers staff the office at various times, so if you don't reach them the first time, try again. by CNB