DGMC set to host Travis Retiree Appreciation Day Published Oct. 3, 2012 By Jim Spellman 60th Medical Group Public Affairs TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A free, continental breakfast, special activities and lunch with entertainment by The Honeybee Trio headline Travis' annual Retiree Appreciation Day from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 13 at David Grant USAF Medical Center. The event, involving multiple organizations, is designed to honor and say thanks to the veterans who have served our nation and to make available to them services and programs on the base, said Joe Rowan, Travis Retiree Activities Office director. It has become an annual tradition for the men and women who live in the local community. Typically held at the Travis Conference Center in years past, the venue was changed in 2010 to DGMC after Travis leadership sought to increase the scope and depth of the event to bring in all age groups, covering the entire spectrum of retirees. "Our public affairs office has been fielding calls and queries from the local community for months now, all asking when we we're having the event," said Col. Joseph Weaver, 60th Diagnostics and Therapeutics Squadron pharmacy flight commander and lead coordinator for this year's event. "Our calendar had become a bit of a moving target due to mission and operational requirements pushing the date back a couple of times. However, we think the new October timeframe will now make this a regular fall classic. Having the event in the fall also allows us to provide influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations to our retired patriots and their beneficiaries during this event." Capt. Michele Suggs, 60th Inpatient Squadron intensive care nurse and Retiree Appreciation Day project officer, echoed Weaver's observation. "This event is extremely important to us at DGMC since our retirees are also our greatest generation of patients," Suggs said. "They are just as much a part of our Travis family as our active-duty members. We can't thank them enough and want our retired community to know how much we appreciate their service to our country. We're grateful to them as the legacies and heroes they are for laying down the foundation for future generations of warfighters in our Air Force." Sponsored by the Travis Retiree Activities Office, Friends of Family Services and DGMC staff, the event will kick off at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 13 for attendees. The formal portion of program begins at 8:30 a.m. with a series of mini-briefings from Travis leadership and subject-matter experts on topics pertaining to the retiree community. Keynote speaker for the event is retired Air Force Lt. Col. Shane Ostrum, deputy director of the Benefits Information Department for the Military Officers Association of America in Washington, D.C. He will discuss what agenda MOAA is pursuing on behalf of retirees and their families. As the briefings in the DGMC auditorium continue throughout the morning hours, retirees and family members can move about the first level of the medical center, stopping by the health fair and vendor displays to get information on TRICARE, Veterans Affairs benefits, social security, pharmacy and more. Representatives will provide details and answer questions regarding Space-Available travel, survivor benefits, the National Association for Uniformed Services and the Air Force Sergeants Association. New this year is DGMC's Office of the medical law consultant, who will be available to provide wills, advance directives, powers of attorney, and notary service. Rotating shuttle buses will take retirees to a flight line static display of a C-17 Globemaster III configured for aeromedical evacuation with members of the 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron's critical care air transportation teams, as well as a visit to the Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum before returning to DGMC. The Arthur J. Sachsel Dental Clinic will provide lunch outdoors to participating retirees and their families. The Honeybee Trio, performing classics from the 1930s, '40s and beyond in three-part harmony, will provide entertainment. For more information, call 424-3905 or visit www.travisafrc.com or www.travisfss.com.