By Debbie Gregory.

Santa Claus is about to making his sleigh ride delivering toys for good boys and girls. In addition to his trusty reindeer led by Rudolph, Santa will have back up from NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command with United States military satellites and sensors watching over him and monitoring the flight as well as providing Santa jet fighter escorts including F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-22 Raptors and even Canadian CF-18s.

NORAD is well-known for its ability to track Santa,” said Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, NORAD’s commander. NORAD has been tracking and helping Santa for 60 years. Did you know that NORAD’s integrated ground & space systems are so powerful, they can even detect the red glow from Rudolph’s nose and the metal that makes up Santa’s sleigh.

This year, more than 1,250 volunteers in the NORAD Tracks Santa call center will serve two-hour shifts and provide updates on social media and by telephone in as many as eight languages, the service said.

While tons of help will boost Santa’s trip from below, it was not immediately clear if Santa will receive a prolonged fighter jet escort on Christmas Eve. Still, the “operational feel” was meant to give U.S. adversaries — most notably, Russia — a clear message: Don’t mess with Santa.

NORAD will be posting to social media, tweeting, answering the phones and responding to emails. The call center will be open for 24 hours, starting at 5 a.m. Eastern Time on December 24.

Santa’s preparations and journey will be followed in real time starting Christmas Eve on a special holiday website. It’s already up and running with a holiday countdown clock, games, movies, daily activities, and music. Children of all ages can dial the toll-free number, 1-877-446-6723, to get a moment-by-moment update.

By Debbie Gregory.

Can you believe this? A sextortion ring that was run by South Carolina inmates, aided by outside civilian associates, extorted more than $560,000 from over 400 servicemembers.

Agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) executed arrest warrants on perpetrators that have victimized hundreds of service members since 2015.The warrants are Phase One of “Operation Surprise Party,” a collaboration of military and civilian law enforcement agencies aiming to stop the prisoner-led extortion, money laundering and wire fraud scheme

The prisoners used social media and online dating websites to identify and target the servicemembers, and then pose as women (in the same age bracket as the targeted soldier) duping the targeted soldier into wiring cash following nude photo text message exchanges.

After several hours to several days of texting, the subject will either send unsolicited nude images of a female to the victim and/or agree to trade sexually explicit images with the victim. But shortly after swapping photos with the inmate, the unsuspecting soldier would receive a text from another phone number, one belonging to a completely different prisoner, who would then pose as the fictional girl’s father or law enforcement official. The ‘father’ tells the victim that the female is a minor, but will not take legal action if the victim agrees to pay for various things like cell phone replacement, counseling, hospital treatments, etc.

“This despicable targeting of our brave service members will never be tolerated,” NCIS Director Andrew Traver said in the release. “We will not allow criminal networks to degrade the readiness of our military force.”

The South Carolina Department of Corrections has petitioned to end inmates’ ability to use mobile communication devices inside prisons

“This enforcement operation sends a clear message about our unwavering commitment to protect our nation’s service members so they can focus on their mission of winning wars and defending the American way of life,” said Daniel Andrews, director of the Computer Crime Investigative Unit of the Army Criminal Investigation Command.

Any service members who have identified suspicious activity or are being targeted by sextortion should contact a local NCIS, Army CID or Air Force OSI office, the release states.

By Debbie Gregory.

The 2019 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for VA benefits is set for a 2.8% increase. This is the largest COLA increase since 2011 when it was 3.6%. Last year’s increase was 2%.

COLA increases are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index inflation measurement period of the 3rd quarter (July, August, and September) compared to the previous 3rd quarter.

Military retirement, other VA disability benefits, Social Security and federal civilian retirement will see that same 2.8 percent increase. Retired military veterans, VA rates for compensation and pension for disabled veterans and surviving families will be effective December 1, 2018 and will be reflected on the first check to be paid on December 31, 2018. Social Security benefits will be effective beginning with the December 2018 benefits, which are payable in January 2019. Federal SSI & SSDI payment levels will be effective for payments made for January 2019. All disability benefits are tax-free.

For veterans with a 10 percent disability rating, the bump in compensation is just under four dollars/month, while a veteran with a 100 percent disability will go from $2,973.86 to $3,057.13 monthly.

Veterans with a 30 percent disability ranking or higher are entitled to greater amounts if they have dependents. A 100 percent-disabled veteran with spouse and two children will see their monthly payment increase to $3,437.10. Veterans can also get increased payments if they have a child over 18 attending school, or if they have a disabled spouse.

Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) will also see a 2.8 percent raise in 2019. SMC is paid in addition to regular disability compensation to a veteran who suffered the loss of use of specific organs or extremities as a result of their service.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) recipients will also get a 2019 increase in their benefits.

The Veterans and Military Business Owners Association, VAMBOA, has continued its proud sponsorship role of the America Salutes You, a nationally televised concert series, “Guitar Legends II”, benefiting those who currently serve in our military, veterans and first responders.

“We, as a nation, must recognize the sacrifices made by all those who serve, past and present, first responders and their loved ones,” said Debbie Gregory, VAMBOA CEO. “These men and women write a blank check up to and including their lives so that we can be safe. America Salutes You is a positive way to raise awareness for these heroes and support some extraordinary non-profits that provide mental and brain health services to them. I am proud to continue to be part of the America Salutes You team.”

The benefit concert played to a full house on Sunday, December 2, 2018 at The Novo, an intimate theater known for its acoustics. The Novo is part of the L.A. Live event space, and was an ideal venue for the show.

Performances featured a great and eclectic collection of guitarists covering many different genres with guitar legends including Billy Gibbons, Dave Narvarro, Don Felder, Stephen Stills, Sammy Hagar, Robby Kreiger, just to name a few.

“We had some of the great guitar legends playing,” said executive producer, Bob Okun, of the third America Salutes You benefit concert line-up. “They all donate their time.”

“This is the third annual America Salutes You benefit concert honoring our veterans and first responders, ” said Okun. “We sincerely hope it will become an annual holiday tradition.”

Funds raised through donations benefit the great non-profits that support mental wellness and brain health for veterans and first responders.

The concert was taped for broadcast. If you would like to find out when and where to tune in to watch in your area, go to https://americasalutesyou.org/view-listen/

You can show your support by making a donation in any amount on on the America Salutes You website. You may also text a $10 donation, text the word “FREEDOM” to 80077.

For more information on the benefit concert, please go to these links:

• KTLA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L64Vkg5cuz8&feature=youtu.be)
• Bionic Buzz (http://www.bionicbuzz.com/red-carpets/america-salutes-you-presents-guitar-legends-ii/)
• The Los Angeles Beat (https://thelosangelesbeat.com/2018/12/guitar-legends-at-the-novo-salute-veterans-and-first-responders/)

About America Salutes You
America Salutes You is a 501c3 organization created to express our national gratitude to our service members, veterans and their families through an annual nationally broadcasted benefit concert that raises funds for a range of highly rated charities. One hundred percent of all money raised are granted to nonprofit organizations with programs that provide services to our troops, veterans and their families.

About VAMBOA
With over 7,200 members and more than a quarter-million fans and followers on social media, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association (VAMBOA) a 501(c) 6 non-profit trade association, has been serving veteran military entrepreneurs (VMEs) since 2011. Connecting member VMEs with large corporations and government agencies looking to diversify their supply chain is an integral part of VAMBOA’s mission. Additionally, providing members with knowledge of government provisions assists service-disabled veteran business owners, Veteran business owners and military business owners, and drives the success of these VMEs. Membership in VAMBOA is free. VAMBOA is becoming the “Go To” Association for VMEs.

By Debbie Gregory.

If a biometric sensor is accurate enough, combined with suitable activity context, the device can provide deep insight and tracking that can provide a much broader picture of someone’s overall personal health.

A few years ago, the Air Force Research Laboratory tested the BioStampRC Wearable Sensing Platform, a flexible and wearable patch used to measure and monitor biomedical data. Now the Marine Corps Rapid Capabilities Office (MCRCO) wants to develop a similar product that will utilize biometric sensor technology to monitor the mental and physical health of Marines on the battlefield.

A request for information (RFI) went out to the defense industry “seeking input to identify potential sources for a Biometric Sensor capable of aiding in warfighting functions through physiological metrics such as mental and physical fatigue, hydration levels, heart rate, temperature, nutrition level, impact forces, etc.,” according to the solicitation.

MCRCO plans to conduct a limited Rapid Capability Assessment using sensor prototypes to inform concepts of employment and capability requirements.

Biometrics-enabled monitoring systems will recognize and evaluate the level of awareness of military personnel through detection of drowsiness and other distractions. With alerting integrated, the monitoring system will help reduce missteps resulting from fatigue
and inadvertent mistakes.

The requirements for the sensor prototypes include the ability to be worn with or integrated into individual equipment loads; the ability to accept/integrate with government-owned command-and-control systems and architectures and be managed from a common tablet; and be capable of collecting and exporting real-time or near real-time data.

MCRCO plans to conduct limited assessments of prototypes to guide how the technology could be used in the future, as well as inform future requirements