The White Falcon - 19.03.1965, Blaðsíða 5

Friday, March 19, 1965
WHITE FALCON
5
HOLY NAME LUNCHEON—Guests appearing at the Holy Name Society’s Luncheon held Sunday at the
CPO Club are (from left to right) Father Alfonse Mertens, Admiral and Mrs. Ralph Weymouth, Iceland
Defense Force commander, Bishop Johannes Gunnarsson, Catholic Bishop of Iceland and <niest speaker,
Cdr R. Downey, officer-in-charge of Fleet Weather and president of the Holy Name Sbciety, Chaplain
T. F. Lehr, Lt, and Capt R. R. Sparks, commanding officer of U.S. Naval Station, Keflavik. Also, Chaplain
N. A. Ricard, LCdr, not included in the picture, attended the event.
Your Personal Affairs —
F.I.T. Problems Arise
For U.S. Servicemen
(Editor’s Note: Many members of the armed forces find military
status simplifies some problems they may encounter concerning per-
sonal affairs. But there are many personal matters which remain
constant or become even more complex when military service enters
the picture. The “Your Personal Affairs” series will cover some areas
in which servicemen commonly encounter difficulties.)
Federal income tax is one of'?--------------------------------------
isn’t enough in many cases. All
outside income, including, but not
limited to, interest on savings ac-
counts and U.S. savings bonds, di-
vidends, profits from hobbies and
sale of property, is taxable.
A recent tax decision holds
that dislocation allowances paid
many servicemen upon transfer is
taxable—and that amount wasn’t
listed on the military W-2 form!
Servicemen who have received
such an allowance are advised to
find out how much it was and
include it in their tax return, to
avoid paying an additional tax—
and possible a penalty—later.
as one
the things which stays pretty
much the same, in uniform or
out. If gross income for the tax
year is $600 or more, a federal
tax return must be filed, even
though the amount withheld by
employers or the payments made
on estimated tax exceed the
amount due.
Report Taxable Incomes
The first thing servicemen
must keep in mind is that all
taxable income must be reported.
Just reporting the amount on the
W-2 form the paymaster issues
Rivers Seeks
Military Raise
The Defense Department defer-
red comment on House Armed
Services Committee Chairman L.
Mendel Rivers’ $1 billion military
pay raise bill which has been in-
troduced in the House.
The DOD decision to withhold
comment was made pending a re-
port by a special committee ap-
pointed by President Johnson to
study militai*y and civilian pay
increases this year.
The committee is chaired by
former Secretary of Health, Edu-
cation and Welfare Marion B.
Folsom and is made up of distin-
guished private citizens and cabi-
net members. A contingency fund
has been set aside in the Presi-
dent’s FY66 budget to cover the
cost of possible proposals by the
committee.
The President’s action in nam-
ing the committee is a continua-
tion of steps begun in 1961. Since
then, Presidents Kennedy and
Johnson have proposed a series
of increases in military pay to
keep it in step with the civilian
economy. Several pay raise actions
have resulted, among them the
October 1963 raise in military
compensation, which included an
average basic pay raise of 14.4
percent.
At the signing of the 1963 bill,
(President Kennedy pledged and
President Johnson has since af-
firmed an annual review of mili-
tary compensation. After its first
annual review, another military
pay raise of over $200 million
per year was enacted by Congress
effective Sept. 1, 1964. (AFPS)
Where To File
Another important question
many servicemen face is “where
to file?”. Tax instruction books
and pamphlets issued by the In-
ternal Revenue Service (IRS) list
many addresses. Servicemen can
usually choose between two of
them—the one closest to duty sta-
tion location or the one closest
to permanent home of record.
Members of armed forces serv-
ing in the Republic of Viet-Nam
may ask if a portion of their
pay is deductible as a result of
service in a ‘combat zone’. IRS laws
allow deductions for combat zone
pay, but Viet-Nam has not yet
been officially designated as a
combat zone. Until this happens,
servicemen are advised not to
claim any special deduction. An
amended return may be filed
within three years should any sub-
sequent action give Viet-Nam vet-
erans a retroactive tax benefit.
Increased Taxes
“Why was the amount withheld
from my pay less than the amount
I owe?” many servicemen ask. In
many cases the cause is extra in-
come which raises the tax rate.
If a serviceman’s wife is employed
and a joint return is filed, it may
be that the combined amount with-
held is far short of the amount
owed. In 1964 the problem was
compounded by new tax laws. Al-
though tax cuts were to be accom-
plished over two years—1964 and
1965—the withholding rates wei-e
adjusted to the second-year rate
during the first year, thereby
creating a shortage. Servicemen
who habitually encounter such
shortages are advised to have
their finance offices make adjust-
ments in the withholding rate
(either in dollar increments or in
(Continued on Page 6.)
Airmail Home
Local Stamps
For Souvenirs
For a little under two dollars
it is possible to send ten airmail
letters to the United States
through the Icelandic Post Office
and in the process give someone a
collection of 24 Icelandic stamps
in 22 different varieties.
For relatives or friends who
collect stamps this would represent
almost all Icelandic stamps cur-
rently being used in denominations
under 8 kronur.
Expending a total of 80.20
kronur, a possible combination to
get these stamps home might be
as follows:
1st Letter: 7.50, .50
2nd Letter: 7.00, 1.00
3rd Letter:- 6.50, 1.50
4th Letter: 6.00, 2.00
5th Letter: 6.00, 1.00, .90, .10
6th Letter: 5.00, 3.00
7th Letter: 4.50, 3.50
8th Letter: 4.00, 2.50, 1.40, .10
9th Letter: 4.50, 3.50
10th Letter: 7.00, 1.20
This would require one each of
the following stamps: 7.50, 6.50,
5.00, 4.00, 3.00, 2.50, 2.00, 1.50,
1.40, 1.20, .90, and .50; also two
each of: 7.00, 6.00, 4.50, 3.50, 1.00,
and .10.
The stamp denominations of
6.00, 4.50, 3.50, and 1.00 have two
separate issues which can be pur-
chased so the only duplication will
be of the 7.00 kronur and .10
aurar stamps.
The above postage, 8.00 kronur,
is based on a letter weighing
about % ounce, and represents
the single issues available at the
Terminal Post Office at the pre-
sent time.
In placing these stamps on enve-
lopes, remember they will arrive
in better condition if not placed
too near the edge or corner of
the envelope.
During the summer months, air-
craft depart daily, for the States,
insuring rapid delivery of airmail
letters.
Hail & Bless
Personnel who have arrived
(Hail) and left (Bless) U.S.
Naval Station, Keflavik for
duty as of March 17:
HAIL
Singer, H. J., AA
McCarthy, C. J., SN
James, T. H., YN2
Clasen, K. S., AOAN
Young, D. G., ABFAA
Sutton, J. C., TM2
Johnson, H. T., AOAA
Clay, G. L„ AMSAA
McCormick, J., AOAA
Harris, R. K„ AMSAA
Martino, A. J., CT3
(Continued on page 6.)_
Street Sign Named
After i'olonal Truxal
Lt. Col. William H. Truxal,
commander of the 932d AC&W
Sq. at Rockville, was given a “sur-
prise birthday and DEROS party”
last week at the radar station’s
NCO Club.
More than 100 men assigned
to the squadi'on, and a number
of guests and dependents, includ-
ing his wife Colleen, attended the
party given in celebration of his
50th birthday.
Col. Alan G. Long, commander
of Air Forces Iceland, praised
Colonel Truxal for his work at
the radar station and presented
him a squadron “gift”, a street
sign bearing his name which now
has been put in place on the last
access road to the site.
SSgt. William E. Degrafft was
project officer for the party, and
also master of ceremonies.
Colonel Trnxal will have served
two years as commander of the
932d in July, when he is scheduled
to leave Rockville for a special
assignment with the Federal Avi-
ation Agency in Washington, D.C.
He has been on active military
duty for 23 yeai*s.
CUTS BIRTHDAY CAKE—Lt. Col. William H. Truxal, commander of
the 932d AC&W Squadron at Rockville, cuts a piece of birthday cake
for his wife, Colleen, as AFI Commander Col. Alan G. Long holds his
gift, a street sign bearing his name which now marks a short access
road to the radar station. (Photo by A1C Victor Huey)
Military Suggestion Program
Offers Cash For New Ideas
by A1C W.R. Keener
The Air Force is full of fleeting ideas that seem to pop
up when a problem exists, but disappear when an im-
mediate solution is found.
If all these ideas could somehow find their way into
the Military Suggestion Program, there could be more
cash in airman pockets and in the Air Forces exchequer
too.
Under the MSP, the Air Force1
tries to gain time saving proce-
dui’es, eliminate waste, and im-
pi-ove safety and health among its
personnel by asking them to search
their minds and work areas for
appropriate suggestions.
With a better use of manpower,
materials and methods, the Air
Force can save money in its vari-
ous divisions, thus making its bud-
get stretch as far as possible.
Of all the possible ideas a man
can suggest, says the Air Force,
some may be silly, expensive,
problem makers, or just all-around
bad ideas. But one or more may
make an operation easier, shorter
or less costly, or even eliminate it
entirely.
These are the ideas the Air
Force is looking for.
The Air Force doesn’t derive
all the benefits from an accepted
suggestion since the ainnan’s job
could be made easier and faster.
He could also be given cash
awards ranging from $5 to $600
depending upon how high his sug •
gestion is approved, and how much
the annual savings are to the
Air Force. Other incentives he
might get in lieu of, or in addi-
tion to cash awards, are letters of
favorable communication, letters
of appreciation, the Legion of
Merit decoration, or the Air Force
Commendation Medal, all of which
could be very important to an
AER or APR.
By Air Force definition, a sug-
gestion is any constructive idea
which will improve operations
within the Air Force, the Depart-
ment of Defense, or the Federal
Government. It can be new or
original, or a new application of
an old idea, and may concern a
work procedure, piece of equip-
ment or the health, safety, wel-
fare, or morale of personnel.
Taking it just a bit farther,
the suggestion should either eli-
minate waste or duplication, speed
a process, simplify handling, con-
sei-ve time and energy, put pre-
sent equipment to new uses, re-
duce errors, combine or simplify
forms, increase production, im-
prove machinery, eliminate un-
necessary records, or a combi-
nation of any of the above.
How to think of a suggestion is
easier than believed by many, if
one applies the “Three M” check
to his everyday job. He can watch
his “Methods” of getting things
done around his work section;
keep an eye on his supplies and
“Materials” for unnecessary
waste; and look for health and
safety hazards in “Maintenance”
procedures and areas.
All the information and forms
(Continued on page 6.)