We work with Congress and the Pennsylvania legislature on issues affecting the career force, the retired community and veterans of the uniformed services.

As a 501(c)(19) non-profit veterans organization our council advocates issues but does not support any political party or the election or defeat of any political candidate.

Our mission is to foster fraternal relations among retired, active, reserve, and former officers of the uniformed services; to protect the rights and interests of personnel of the uniformed services and their dependents and survivors; to provide useful services for members and their dependents and survivors, and to serve our communities, our Commonwealth and the nation.

We’re on Facebook! – go to “PA Council of Chapters, MOAA”

WANTED FOR ROBBERY! Download and disseminate this poster that warns veterans to be on the lookout for predators who are breaking the law by charging veterans to file claims. Please click here for the poster.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
The council’s new general purpose flyer is now available for downloading by clicking here.
Chapters interested in producing a similar brochure for their chapter should contact Bill Harris at wthiii3@rcn.com for assistance.

MyHealtheVet Sign-In Process

As part of President Biden’s Executive Order to increase cyber security, the Department of Veterans Affairs is taking additional steps to protect Veterans’ online information. Multifactor authentication is being added to the sign-in process in order to verify a Veteran’s identity. Beginning March 21, 2022, a new VA sign-in page will appear when My HealtheVet users select the ‘Sign-In’ button. The new ‘Sign-In’ offers additional benefits and adds an extra layer of security for Veterans, but there will be some initial unfamiliarity.

Once they ‘Sign-In’, they will be redirected to the new VA sign-in page. My HealtheVet users will need to choose how they wish to sign into their account. 

• Login.gov
• ID.me
• DS Logon
• My HealtheVet

A couple of things to note:

• The ability to sign-in using My HealtheVet or DS Logon will be discontinued, but no end date has been established. However, beginning March 21, 2022, an email address will need to be connected to their My HealtheVet or DS Logon account.  If the user does not have an email address, one will need to be created and connected to the account. 
• ID.me has caused multiple issues among Veterans when creating accounts.
• Login.gov seems to be the method of choice (to be available on March 21, 2022)

Click here for a Fact Sheet that explains this new process and the steps an account user will need to take depending on which sign-in is selected.

Virtual Town Halls for Pennsylvania Veterans

The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is conducting a series of 5 Virtual Veteran Town Halls throughout 2022 via webex. The schedule is noted below. Presenters for this first event to be held on March 16 will be Brig. Gen. (PA) Maureen Weigl, DMVA deputy adjutant general for Veterans Affairs; and Rick Hamp of DMVA. You can visit DMVA’s website, Twitter or Facebook pages two weeks prior to each Town Hall for the WebEx link.  Attached is a press release with further details. Please share this information.

• March 16, 5-6:30 p.m. – Veteran Suicide Prevention
• May 18, 5-6:30 p.m. – Serving Older Veterans
• July 13, 5-6:30 p.m. – Resources for Homeless Veterans
• Sept. 14, 5-6:30 p.m. – Transportation Issues Facing Veterans
• Nov. 2, 5-6:30 p.m. – Honoring Veterans for Their Service and Sacrifice

VA Requesting Coverage for 9 Respiratory Cancers
For more info click here

WANTED: Council representative to the MOAA National Surviving Spouse Council. That individual would report to the state Council for quarterly meetings in Carlisle, which can be done by teleconference. The representative will be the conduit between the MOAA Surviving Spouse Council and the Council’s chapters to provide information, concerns, best practices and legislative goals to chapter representatives.If you have an interested candidate that can attend Council meetings or participate by phone please have them contact Bob Gray for more information. There is a need for this information as we have many surviving spouses in our chapters.