The White Falcon - 11.06.1999, Blaðsíða 8

Armed Forces News Briefs
MWR adjusts hours
during NV 699
MWR has announced the following clo-
sures and adjustments in its hours of opera-
tion June 19-28: (This schedule is subject
to change.)
Closures
• Auto Hoby Shop - Closed
• Wood Shop - Closed
• Youth Center - Friday and Saturday
night program closed, including June 18.
Adjusted Hours
• Bowling Alley - Sunday through
Saturday closed at 8 p.m.
• Pool - Saturday and Sunday open noon
- 6 p.m.
• Stage 3 - No delivery service and menu
limited to pizza.
• Coconut Alley - Wednesdays and
Thursdays open 7-11 p.m.
The Child Development Center, MWR
and the Family Service Center stand ready to
provide supplemental child care during
Northern Viking. Single or dual-military
parents need to call the Child Development
Center to coordinate their child care during
the exercise.
Shelton speaks with
enlisted personnel
Washington, D.C. (NWS) — Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Henry
Shelton talked to more than 300 enlisted
service members from all branches June 3
at the Pentagon.
He discussed OPTEMPO, readiness,
recruiting/retention and the military’s pres-
ence in Kosovo. The chairman also
answered questions from service members
during an “Enlisted Encounter with Senior
Leaders” program co-sponsored by the Air
Force Pentagon Enlisted Council and the
Washington Area Top III.
Shelton said the Joint Chiefs are reducing
OPTEMPO and exercise requirements by
either canceling or consolidating some
exercises. They are also increasing Guard
and Reserve contributions to exercises, and
have put into place a new personnel tempo
tracking system.
According to Shelton, there are 124,000
military members away from their homes
right now.
Shelton began his encounter by giving a
brief explanation of his role as chairman
and took questions from the crowd.
“I have three priorities, taking care of the
quality people we have throughout our mil-
itary, readiness and modernization. And, 1
will tell you that our day-to-day readiness,
as proven by our actions in Kosovo, has
never been higher. All the pieces are com-
ing together,” Shelton told the crowd of
military members.
The chairman gave some background
information on how the U.S. came to be
involved in the Kosovo crisis and said
because of crumbling negotiations and the
failure to comply with certain peace initia-
tives, NATO had a choice of either doing
nothing or bombing the area.
When asked about the possibility of
ground troops being deployed into the area
and how long a force may have to stay with-
in Kosovo as peacekeepers, Shelton replied
he wouldn’t say whether a force would be
needed for 1, 2, 5 or 10 years.
But, he said ultimately the only way out
of Kosovo is to ensure there is a way to
maintain a safe and secure environment
there.
“There are just so many pieces that will
have to be fixed, economically, democrati-
cally, a rebuilding of infrastructure and the
military cannot leave until those things are
in place.” Shelton said.
He said that is why our peacekeeping
force is still in Bosnia, because those pieces
have been hard to put into place.
Shelton concluded by saying that he and
the other joint chiefs have four top focus
areas right now: to improve the retirement
program, to put in place competitive pay
and allowances, to provide adequate hous-
ing to military members, and to provide
accessible quality medical care — not only
for active duty and family members, but
also for retirees.
Ice-Tales
By Mike C. Jones
GOVs continued from page 1
purposes, i.e., going to and from meetings, and going to and from the
base gym, (because of the military requirement that all service members
remain physically fit.) Personnel who are on an installation for tempo-
rary duty have wider latitude in how they may operate official vehicles.
TDY or TAD personnel may use official vehicles for travel to and from
their lodging, place of duty, eating establishments, drugstores, barber
shops, places of worship, cleaning establishments, the NEX, the
Commissary, and similar places required for the comfort or health of the
individual, and which foster the continued efficient performance of duty
government business. Use of government vehicles for transportation to
or from entertainment or recreational facilities, including places like the
Blue Lagoon, is strictly prohibited.
Finally, the spouse of a government employee may be transported in
a government vehicle only when accompanying his or her sponsor when
the use of the vehicle has already been arranged and determined to be for
official purposes.
The rules do permit some degree of discretion, however, they also
state that when in doubt as to whether a particular use of a government
vehicle is authorized, doubts will be resolved in favor of strict compli-
ance with statutory and regulatory limitations. This means if doubt
exists on a reason for using a government vehicle, the intended use is
probably not authorized.
The bottom line is that anyone using a government vehicle must ask
him or herself: Is my using this vehicle for official puiposes, or is it
solely for personal gain?
There will always be variations of interpretation answering this ques-
tion, and anyone having questions regarding the use of government vehi-
cles or similar issues should contact the Iceland Defense Force Staff
Judge Advocate at ext. 7014, NAS Legal at ext. 7900, or the 85th Group
Legal Office at ext. 4306.
Page 8
The White Falcon
June 11, 1999