The White Falcon - 26.03.1993, Síða 3

Armed Forces News Briefs
VP 49 Change of Command
CDR Mark H. Anthony will relieve CDR Janies E. Droddy as
'Commanding Officer of Patrol Squadron (VP) FOURTY-NINE
at a Change of Command ceremony today.
CDR Anthony is a 1976 Naval Academy graduate and native of
Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He reported to VP 49 in March 1992 as the
executive officer.
CDR James E. Droddy’s next assignment will be with Com-
mander, Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force, U. S.
Sixth Fleet, Naples, Italy as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Opera-
tions, Plans and Intelligence.
DoD approves early retirement program
Washington, D. C. (NNS) — Secretary of Defense Les Aspin has
approved the use of early retirement for selected active duty members
with more than 15 but less than 20 years of service.
The program will help services accomplish the targeted drawdown
goals and help the Department of Defense (DoD) treat members fairly
while maintaining readiness, according to a statement released by the
DoD.
The early retirement program is not an entitlement, but a temporary
authority from Congress that expires in Oct. 1995. The Secretaries of
the Navy, Army and Air Force have the flexibility to prescribe regula-
tions and policies regarding eligibility for the program in their individ-
ual services.
Members approved for early retirement will receive the same benefits
idividuals with 20 or more years of service, however, retirement pay
be reduced to reflect the member’s service of less than 20 years. The
st actual retirements under the program would be in fiscal year 1994,
which begins on Oct. 1, 1993. Contact your career counselor for more
details.
M
Navy adjusts pay entry base dates
Washington, D. C. (NNS) — Some sailors could have their pay entry
base date (PEBD) adjusted in coming months, correcting administrative
errors made when they entered the Navy.
Affected sailors may be those who started active duty after Decem-
ber, 1984, and whose PEBDs are based on the date they enlisted in the
Inactive Naval Reserve as part of the Delayed Entry Program (DEP)
administered by the Navy Recruiting Command.
A law that became effective on January 1, 1985, changed the way
some inactive duty time is counted for pay purposes. Apparently some
military enlistment processing center or recruit training command
personnel did not account for this change when assigning PEBDs. As
a result, some sailors have received credit for too much time in the
service in base pay computations for longevity increases.
Some naval reserve sailors will be affected in a similar way by a
related change in law pertaining to reserve personnel, effective Novem-
ber 29, 1989. With this change, time spent in the reserves prior to
reporting for active duty and active duty for training does not count for
PEBD purposes unless the person was drilling as a reservist. This means
that DEP cannot be counted for pay longevity purposes after November
28, 1989, for reserve sailors.
After a one-time correction to erroneous PEBDs, some sailors will see
orary reductions in their pay based on a recomputed, lower number
rears of service. They will regain the pay when they make up the
Ifference, which would equate to the amount of time spent in DEP or
VP
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Scarlatina blues
The U. S. Naval Hospital, Keflavik, has reported an increase in
the number of children with scarlatina.
Scarlatina is a fine, sandpaper-like rash which is not contagious,
but a strep infection can be spread through respiratory secretions.
Close contact with someone who has scarlatina increases transmis-
sion. This illness can occur at any age, but is most often seen in
school-age children. It is uncommon in children under three years
of age. Once the child has been on antibiotics for 24 hours, he or
she is no longer contagious.
Children who develop a sandpaper-like rash should be scheduled
for an appointment to be evaluated. This is not an emergency, but
suspected cases should be seen and treated if necessary. For any
further questions, contact LCDR Smith at ext. 6585.
MPH to KPH conversion tips
In the instance that your vehicle fails the Icelandic car inspection
due to an incorrectly marked speedometer, there are certain money-
saving tips which you can use to pass the inspection.
The inspection station requires that both miles-per-hour(mph)
and kilometers-per-hour(kph) be marked on the face of the instru-
ment cluster. Some cars, even newly U.S. manufactured ones,
come with just the mph marking. If this happens to you, remove
the faceplate covering the instrument cluster and afix the correct
kph markings to the dial. There are various ways to do this, the best
one is to use pressure-sensitive decals or vinyl numbers. Even a
steady hand with a permanent white marker will suffice.
The following speeds are minimum recommended additions to
your dial: 35 kph, 60 kph and 90 kph. These are the more common
speed limits that can be found while traveling around Iceland. To
convert mph to kph, multiply the mph figure by 1.6.
Air Force Assistance Fund
The Air Force Assistance Fund is into its third week
and the campaign has been a great success. Headquar-
ters Air Combat Command set a goal for Air Forces
Iceland personnel to raise $10,800. To date the person-
nel at Air Forces Iceland have raised almost $17,000,
equating to over 150% of the goal set for the command.
IstLt. Patrick Clements, Project Officer, Air Forces
Iceland, attributes the success of the program to two
factors. First, the hard work of the unit project officers
getting the Air Force Assistance Fund message to
everyone stationed at Keflavik. Secondly, the person-
nel stationed here have opened their hearts for this
worthy cause.
Last year the Air Force Assistance Fund distributed
over $22,000 in benefits to Air Force families assigned
to Keflavik. “This program is helping a lot of people
here at Keflavik and throughout the Air Force. This
program is making a difference in peoples lives,” said
Clements.
If you want to contribute to the Air Force Assistance
Fund contact your unit representative or call IstLt.
Patrick Clements at ext. 2699.
March 26,1993
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