E Coosh EEWA: The way it is
Letters to the editor
SSA COLA
The new Social Security
Administration cost of living
(COLA) letter is being mailed
out. If you would like to
stop by the Family
Resource Center, we can
photo-copy your new benefit
letter for the 2023 year.
We will then store your
letter, so when you need to
show proof of income we
will have your copy. This
would save time of having
to call the Bend SSA for a
replacement proof of in-
come.
The letter could take three
to 10 days or more to receive;
however, if we have a copy
of your letter stored, that
would be easier for all.
Some programs that re-
quire proof of income are
the Heap and wood, Neigh-
borhood Impact, Home-
owners programs and other
programs just to name a few.
Thank you.
Rosemar y
‘Musy’
Alarcon, Social Services
SSA/APD Aged Persons
with Disabilities.
Kyra joins sister LaRae
Holliday, 4.
Grandmother on the
father’s side is Alvarez of
Portland.
Grandparents on the
mother’s side are Kevin and
Leana Blueback of Warm
Springs.
Dwayne Ray Estrada
Adan R. Estrada and
Desirae Redshirt of Madras
are pleased to announce the
birth of their son Dwayne
Ray Estrada, born on De-
cember 3, 2022.
Grandfather on the
father’s side is Adan Estrada
of Madras.
Grandparent on the
mother’s side is Tonia Locke
of Pineridge, South Dakota.
A reminder
The Early Childhood Edu-
cation Center would like to
give a friendly reminder that
the first Monday of each
month is Teacher In-Training
Day. If you have questions
call 541-553-3241.
Indigenous Bowl
in Minnesota
Birth
Juddson Grady Henderson
Jesse Henderson and
Teagan Kerr of Madras are
pleased to announce the birth
of their son Juddson Grady
Henderson, born on Novem-
ber 26, 2022.
Juddson joins sister Brylie.
Parent on the mother’s
side is Tim Kerr.
Kyra Ivy Alvarez
Rico Alvarez and Treauna
Blueback of Warm Springs
are pleased to announce the
birth of their daughter Kyra
Ivy Alvarez, born on Decem-
ber 6, 2022.
An athlete and Yakama
tribal member from Wapato
was one of 75 indigenous
athletes from around the
country chosen to play in
this year’s Indigenous Bowl
in Minneapolis. Matthew
McConville III, or as he’s
known by his friends as Tre,
is a senior at Wapato High
School. The Indigenous
Bowl is the premiere event
for the 7G Foundation to
further the goal of molding
the next seven generations of
native leaders through edu-
cation, athletics, culture, and
real-world support.
Page 4 Spilyay Tymoo December 14, 2022
A message from your Veterans Service Officer
Hello again Warm Springs!
Your Tribal Veterans Ser-
vice Officer—TVSO—here
to help the Veterans, cur-
rently serving members and
those thinking about joining
the military.
A little advice to pass on
to our currently serving
members of our military be-
cause they will be knocking
on my door someday and
there is no reason we
shouldn’t start that relation-
ship now.
There are openly known
secrets that never make their
rounds like, “Get a copy of
your medical records before
you get out!” They are
harder to get after discharge
because they are U.S. gov-
ernment property and don’t
actually belong to the service
member… even though it is
the service member’s medi-
cal history.
Another is, “A service
member doesn’t need to
wait for discharge to join the
Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, if you have proof off
service, I.D. card, enlistment
paperwork, etc.…” You can
join the VA: I did that be-
fore I retired in 2017.
Now, the one thing I can’t
stress enough is Never
Never Never throw away
documents the U.S. Depart-
ment of Defense gives you!
And pay attention to your
veteran after discharge.
A little knowledge for
families that are confused by
our military vernacular,
speak, code: Lingo.
Every soldier, sailor, air-
man, marine has an ‘MOS’
or Military Occupational
Specialty in ‘civvies speak’—
meaning their job.
A MOS determines what
training the service member
receives and determines how
their slice of the puzzle fits
into the pie piece, and it is
Rain Circle, Veterans
Service Officer of the
Confederated Tribes.
just as confusing as that anal-
ogy.
My MOS was ‘19D10B3’
and the Late Erland Suppah
was an ‘11D10’. Exact same
job: Armored Reconnais-
sance Specialist just decades
apart with a slight difference.
The 19 series is the ‘Armor
Branch’ category—tanks and
other armored fighting vehicles.
The 11 series is the Infan-
try Branch category. These
soldiers walk everywhere with
their whole life in their be-
loved rucksack. Useless note
for you: Rucksack is the Ger-
man word for backpack i.e.
Ruck (pronounced ‘rook’),
meaning back. Sack (pro-
nounced ‘sock’) meaning
sack. So when said in Ger-
man, it sounds like ‘rook-
sock’.
Anyway, ‘D’ is the specialty
under that branch, Armored
Recon Specialist (there are
multiple) or Cavalry Scout.
Lastly the ‘10’ denotes
rank. From the first rank of
Private to the fourth level
Specialist/Corporal, a soldier
is known as ‘10 level’ on pa-
perwork. As the soldier is
promoted the level goes up
10, 20, 30, 40. So he was a
Cav Scout in the Infantry a
and I was a Cav Scout in the
Cavalry, it makes sense in the
Army.
So, the two of us worked
in reconnaissance for ar-
mored tank units, him in the
‘60s and me in the ‘90s. A
tank is best used ‘buttoned-
up’ which means all closed up
and the crew locked inside.
But since they can only see
straight forward or through
periscopes, their view of the
world is limited and that is
where the Cav Scout comes
in.
As Scouts we would move
ahead of the tanks and lo-
cate, fix and report on all en-
emy activity the tanks would
encounter. We would find
the enemy, report on where
they were, what they were
doing, how many there were,
what unit they were part of,
what kind of equipment they
had, where their fuel, med-
ics and artillery were, or
whatever information our
commanders wanted us to
find or confirm or deny.
It is kind of like being a
government-paid nosey ex
tattle-tale snitch stalker with
heavy artillery to kill with at
any and every chance we
were allowed to. Now, when
tanks are in direct combat
with each other, there are
many other weapons out
there being used, what is
called a ‘three-dimensional
battlefield.’
This means that just be-
cause we see their tanks and
we are fighting their tanks,
we still have a need to make
sure something else doesn’t
kill our tanks. One way to
destroy a tank unit is to ‘tie
them down’ or halt their move-
ment, i.e. shoot at them and
get them to stop, ‘fix ‘em’.
When a tank is fixed
(stopped), this is a great time
to fire huge explosive bullets
over hills (artillery), from ar-
eas they can’t see, to blow
them up from above; and the
best part is that the Cav
Scout is hidden in the terrain
doing this unseen with a ra-
dio and Yes, it is as badass
as it sounds.
Back to the point: The
MOS tells you what your
fighter does or did, and that
list can be found online.
Try searching for: ‘Mili-
tary MOS’ with the specific
military branch your veteran
or service member is in—
Ar my, Navy, Marines,
Airforce, etc. The reason
you want to be specific is that
not all MOS’s are written the
same way.
The U.S. Army MOS for
Infantry is 11B. In the Ma-
rine Corps it is: 0311. It is
just how each branch keeps
track of their people.
It is also important to re-
member that the MOS can
change in classification.
While I was in, there was an
MOS shift in some jobs but
not in others.
I know the frustration
and confusion of military pa-
perwork very well. Please
bring in your DD-214.
Don’t have it? I can help
you get it. If you haven’t
brought your DD-214 in
for archiving, please do so.
I would hate for you to
have that ‘inked’ copy lost
or destroyed without a
back-up copy. I can be that
archive.
Also, if you have your 2-
A/2-1/201 file on disk (or
other storage device) and
want it in hard copy form?
Too easy, bring it in.
I hope these articles in
our newspaper help you and
your veteran(s). My contact
information is below, feel
free to call me with your
questions, Thank you!
Rain Circle, Confeder-
ated Tribes of War m
Springs TVSO. 1144 Warm
Springs St., Warm Springs,
OR 97761. Cell (541) 460-
8971. Office: 541-553-2234.
New regulations to improve Indian gaming processes
The Department of the
Interior has published pro-
posed revisions to two regu-
lations, one regarding the
fee-to-trust process and one
regarding Class III gaming
compacts.
The updated regulations
will provide clearer and more
efficient processes for tribes
that are applying to place
land into trust or enter into
gaming compacts.
The proposed rules reflect
input and recommendations
provided by tribes during
consultations held earlier this
year. The department will
Spilyay Tymoo
(Coyote News, Est. 1976)
Publisher Emeritus in Memorium: Sid Miller
Editor: Dave McMechan
Spilyay Tymoo is published bi-weekly by the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Our of-
fices are located at 4174 Highway 3 in Warm
Springs.
Any written materials submitted to Spilyay Tymoo
should be addressed to:
Spilyay Tymoo, P.O. Box 489, Warm Springs, OR
97761.
Phone: 541-553-2210 or 541-771-7521
E-Mail: david.mcmechan@wstribes.org.
Annual Subscription rates: Within U.S.: $20.00
conduct further tribal con-
sultation before the regula-
tions are finalized.
Fee-to-trust land acquisi-
tions, also called ‘land-into-
trust,’ transfer a land title to
the federal government to
be held in trust for the ben-
efit of an individual or tribe.
Acquisition of land in trust
is essential to tribal self-de-
termination and will help
maximize the tribe’s eligibil-
ity for federal services and
programs.
Federal policies dating
back more than a century
have eroded the land base
of Indian tribes across the
United States. By placing
lands into trust status
through the department,
tribes can reacquire lands
within or near their reserva-
tions, establish a land base
for tribal communities and
clarify jurisdiction over their
lands.
Tribes have faced delays
and increasing costs in ef-
forts to develop housing
projects, manage law en-
forcement agencies, and de-
velop local economies as a
result of unnecessary
hurdles in the land-into-trust
process.
The changes being con-
sidered to 25 C.F.R. Part
151 would lead to a more
efficient, less cumbersome,
and less expensive fee-to-
trust process by clarifying
the Secretary of the
Interior’s authority to take
land in trust for tribes, re-
ducing processing time, and
establishing clear decision-
making criteria.
The proposed amend-
ments also place an express
focus on taking land into
trust for conservation pur-
poses.