USCGCPOA.ORG                                                                  December 2018

In This Issue


Member Benefits:


Use code MEMBERPERK to log in












Government Vacation Rewards



The Best prices on tactical, outdoor gear, athletic gear, eyewear and more.



Partner with Bellevue University and receive a $1,000 Military Tuition Waiver.

See more including degree list.




Use Discount Code Y653390 when
 making your reservation.
 


Use Discount Code Z802846 when
 making your reservation.



Our Sponsors:

USAA 
 

Our Partners:














Resources:


  Whether you want to apply your GI Bill benefits to college classes or an on-the-job training program, this tool will help you make the most of them.



  
 
  Say goodbye to reply-all emails and paper sign up sheets. Coordinate events and people in minutes with online sign ups.

  
  
   


 

 
Register for our April Convention and
50th Anniversary Gala 

  Our next Convention has been moved up to April 2019 to facilitate celebrating our 50th birthday and has been scaled down to 3 days, Wednesday through Friday (3-5 April). 

  Our Gala Dinner  will be held on Saturday evening 6 April @5:30 at the same hotel.  There are 2 separate registration links.  



  Note: If attending Convention, upon registering and checking out, you will receive an email with the hotel booking link.  If you plan to attend the anniversary Gala Dinner as well, be sure to register for that event as well and reserve your room accordingly. 


 
Countdown to the End of 
Open Season

  Please note: The Federal Benefits Open Season ends at 11:59pm Eastern Time on Monday December 10, 2018 for the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) and the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS). Open Season for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) ends at 11:59pm, in the location of your electronic enrollment system, on Monday December 10, 2018.

    

  

 
Join Us: Wreaths Across America

Join us on National Wreaths Across America Day

December 15, 2018

Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, our mission to Remember, Honor and Teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 1,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad.

Join us by sponsoring a veterans' wreath at a cemetery near you, volunteering or donating to a local fundraising group.


    

  

 
For Military Families  at No Cost 

  Tutor.com for U.S. Military Families, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, is a program that provides on-demand, online tutoring and homework help at no cost to eligible service members and their dependents. With live, expert tutors available 24/7, military-connected students can receive academic help at their moment of need-anywhere they have an internet connection.

    

  

 
Veterans Affairs Delays GI Bill Housing Allowance Changes 
VA logo

  The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Wednesday that it would be more than a year before it will be able to correctly calculate veterans' housing allowance under the Forever GI Bill.

    

  

 
New CGEA Membership Recruiting Booklets Available
  
  Our brand new CGEA membership booklets are now available.  Please send us an email if you'd like for us to send you some to help in recruiting new members.  
    


  

 
Together We Served: 
BMC Christopher Collins (ret)
  
  I always enjoyed the water and boats. After studying the Coast Guard brochure, over and over again, I decided if I wanted to drive boats, I had to become a Boatswains Mate. I drove 41 ft UTB's at Station Grand Isle, Louisiana and a 44ft at Station Portage, Michigan. I was a good boat driver, and probably should have stuck with that line of work, but I moved on to different units, such as a Duty Officer at a Group (Sector), worked at a Marine Safety Office. All good experiences for a career in the Coast Guard.

Getting later on in my career, I realized I needed sea time to make Chief, so I headed to the CGC Courageous as BM1. Took me a while but finally made BMC and headed for my twilight tour of duty onboard the CGC Polar Sea. What a great way to end my career. What an experience!!






  

 Book of the Month
  
  Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled with sex, violence, and amazing adventure. Now in Over the Edge of the World, prize-winning biographer and journalist Laurence Bergreen entwines a variety of candid, firsthand accounts, bringing to life this groundbreaking and majestic tale of discovery that changed both the way explorers would henceforth navigate the oceans and history itself.

 



Find Your Boot Camp Friends
   Interested to find old friends you went to Boot Camp with? If so, Together We Served has made it even easier.

   They have extended their unique "Also There" feature to find more members who were in Boot Camp at the same time as you. Even if they could not remember their training company or platoon, we can match you based on location and start month.
 
   All you need to do is enter whatever boot camp details you can recall and we will find other members who trained alongside you!
 
To obtain your Free Full Membership, please go to this   special link only for CPOA/CGEA members. 
 
 Family of deceased Coast Guard members who wish to join CGTWS to create a Remembrance Profile for their loved one should email [email protected] .
 
  For more information on TogetherWeServed.com, please view their short informational video at: www.youtube.com/twsmilitarywebsites

  
 

Recently Retired?

 

  If you've recently retired and were using an allotment to pay your dues, there's a good chance you are no longer an active member. Please read these procedures for starting, changing, and stopping an allotment in Direct Access II/Retired Global Pay Self-Service.  
               
       
       
         

  

   Or just call the U. S. Coast Guard Pay & Personnel Center 
 
1(800)772-8724
to talk to a pay technician 
  
Not receiving your magazine? 
  
  At most CG units, personal mail will not be delivered to the member...If you've been using a Coast Guard address to receive The Chief , please send us an  email  to ensure we get it changed and that you continue to get your magazine.  

  

 

 
Admin Notes: 
 

                   

  • Although our e-newsletter conforms to Coast Guard directives, we request that newsletter recipients provide their home email address to alleviate any concerns. Please click the "Update Profile/Email Address" link at the bottom of this newsletter to make the change.     
  • If, for some reason, you are no longer receiving The Chief, send an email to: [email protected] 
  • Coast Guard National Retiree Website can be found here.