Thursday, January 31, 2008

Special Programs Help Servicemembers Save, Manage Money

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 30, 2008 - The Defense Department wants servicemembers and their families to be aware of in-house programs that can help them to better manage their money and stay out of debt. For example, the 2-year-old
Military Saves program is designed to teach servicemembers and families how to save and invest their hard-earned dollars and stay out of debt, Army Maj. John Johnson, director of the Defense Department's Armed Forces Tax Council, said today during an interview with Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.

"The whole idea behind it is to encourage people to save," Johnson said, noting this year's
Military Saves Week is Feb. 24 through March 2. Military Saves is part of the nationwide America Saves program, he noted.

During
Military Saves Week, installations across the country will offer money-management seminars and distribute information to encourage people to save money, Johnson explained.

On a related subject, Johnson noted that servicemembers this year can opt for a split disbursement of their tax refunds, with one portion going into a checking account and another into a savings account.

The military's Thrift Savings Plan program, he said, is another method servicemembers can employ to fatten their savings accounts.

TSP "is really an underutilized benefit," Johnson said. Non-deployed servicemembers can earmark up to $15,500 annually for tax-deferred TSP accounts, he explained, while servicemembers deployed in combat zones can contribute up to $46,000 into their TSP account.

"Everyone should be saving money, anyway. TSP is another option," Johnson said. Starting a TSP account, he said, also provides a lower-cost method of investing, compared to investing in a traditional mutual fund.

In an
Army pilot program for enlistees in critical military specialties, the government will match TSP contributions dollar for dollar, up to 3 percent, Johnson reported. The pilot program, he added, also will match 50 cents of each dollar for up to 2 percent of additional TSP contributions.

Enlistees who qualify for this special TSP program should do it, Johnson said. "Otherwise, you're just throwing money away," he added.

The department's financial-management programs assist servicemembers so that they don't have to worry about money issues when they deploy, the major said.

"It's all about readiness," Johnson said.

Troops, Families Can Access Free Tax-Filing Services

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 30, 2008 - Rather than paying a tax specialist, servicemembers and their families can obtain free assistance to prepare and file their annual tax returns through a special
military program, a Defense Department tax advisor said here today. The military's tax assistance program processes more than 200,000 returns each year, Army Maj. John Johnson, director of the Defense Department's Armed Forces Tax Council, said during an interview with Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.

"It is just one of the benefits
military people have," Johnson said of the program. Participants can visit their installation tax center for free assistance in filling out tax returns, he said, or access the Military OneSource Web site, www.militaryonesource.com.

"You can log on there, online, and also file for free," Johnson said of the Web site. The online tax-filing system on Military OneSource is closed to
military retirees, however.

Military members from all service branches sit on the Pentagon's tax council that coordinates the program, Johnson explained.

Free tax-filing assistance services are open to active-duty and reserve component servicemembers, as well as family members and military retirees, Johnson said.

Participants should bring their military-issued identification cards, W-2 Wage and Earnings statements and any other forms or documents required for tax filing, Johnson said. People who believe they may be eligible for tax refunds also should bring their bank account numbers if they'd like the refund direct-deposited into a specific account, Johnson pointed out.

More complicated tax-preparation work involving itemizing of returns for added tax deductions also can be processed for free, although these returns normally require more documentation, he said.

Military members receive many tax benefits, Johnson pointed out. For example, all allowances, including housing, meals, family separation and others, are tax-exempt, he said, as is all military pay for enlisted military members deployed in overseas combat zones. Officers deployed in combat zones, he added, can exclude about $7,000 of their monthly pay for federal taxes.

Servicemembers deployed to combat zones have six months to file their taxes after departing the area, Johnson noted.

Another tax-related benefit for servicemembers deployed to overseas combat zones is the Savings Deposit Program, Johnson said. Under SDP, eligible servicemembers can contribute up to $10,000 into their savings accounts while they're deployed and earn a government-guaranteed 10-percent return on their money, he explained.

"You're not going to beat that," Johnson said of the SDP program.

People with questions about the
military's tax filing assistance program can visit the Military OneSource Web site or their installation tax center, he said.

U.S. Commander in South Korea Wants to Examine Tour Lengths

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 30, 2008 - The U.S. commander in South Korea wants to re-examine the tour length for personnel assigned to the peninsula.
Army Gen. B.B. Bell said in an interview that he will speak with defense leaders this week about making more assignments to Korea accompanied tours.

"We contribute to a continuation of this separation of servicemembers from their families," he said. "Almost 90 percent of my force is still on a one-year unaccompanied tour." Only certain assignments in South Korea are two-year accompanied tours.

The U.S. assignment policy has not changed in South Korea for generations, yet the basis for making the decision for unaccompanied tours has changed tremendously. South Korea has made significant economic progress in the last 30 years and is now the 11th largest economy in the world.

South Korea is a first-world economy with first-world facilities. Thirty years ago, American families would have faced real hardships if they were assigned to Korea, but that is no longer the case, Bell said.

The general said deployments to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan are adding to the time servicemembers spend away from their families. He told of meeting a young
Army captain who had deployed to Iraq, went back to Fort Lewis, Wash., and then received orders for Korea. The officer, now assigned near the demilitarized zone, had a daughter who was 2-and-a-half years old. "He had only seen her for eight months," Bell said. "We can do better than that. We need to look at accompanied tours."

A number of aspects complicate any proposal changing the assignment policy, the general said, and he will discuss the whole situation with senior leaders on the Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. "I am arguing for a slow, but real movement to more accompanied tours over there," he said.

Under agreements with the Republic of Korea, U.S. forces are moving out of camps established at the end of the
Korean War in 1953. As the U.S. forces move from the DMZ and from the headquarters in Seoul, U.S. officials have the perfect opportunity to re-examine the short-tour approach to assignments, he said.

There are downsides, the general said. More infrastructure such as schools, clinics, day care centers and shopping facilities, would be needed. Defense
leaders would have to determine if troops in South Korea on long tours would be available for deployments out of the country. "The global force pool issue has to be a part of any decision," he said. All these issues would be subject to discussions with South Korean allies.

Families are indirectly telling defense
leaders they want the long tours. Spouses are free to travel to Korea already, Bell said.

"Over 2,000 families have traveled there to be with their servicemembers and to connect with servicemembers in spite of the fact that they are not authorized," he said. "They would rather be together as a family with some complexities than spend another year apart. They are speaking with their feet and their passports."

Any change would take years to accomplish, Bell said. It would be hand-in-hand with consolidation of U.S. forces in the country. That movement is proceeding, as South Korea takes on the major portion of the ground defense of the nation.

The stationing of American troops in South Korea was based on the theory that U.S. forces would block the traditional invasion corridors across the DMZ as a signal that the United States was "ready to fight tonight," Bell said.

The western corridor already has been turned over to the South Korean 1st Infantry Division, and the theory now is that American forces would consolidate at main operating bases. The biggest is scheduled to be built in Pyongtaek – out of artillery range, but not missile range, of North Korean forces on the DMZ.

More than 1,000 trucks a day are working at Pyongtaek, adjacent to Camp Humphries, to establish the base.

"This allows us to consolidate, while at the same time doing something that is desperately needed: changing the quality of life for American troops in South Korea," he said.

The move also takes American troops out of high-visibility areas, and places them in areas where training can take place. The move will cost $10 billion, with South Korea paying the lion's share of it.

Navy Secretary Names Three New Virginia Class Attack Submarines

Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced today the names of three Virginia class submarines -- the Missouri, California and Mississippi.

The selection of
Missouri honors the continuous support of the military by the people of the "Show Me State," and its leaders. Designated SSN 780, Missouri is the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state. The last Missouri (BB 63), a U.S. Navy battleship, saw action in World War II, Korean War, and the 1991 Gulf War. Missouri was also the site where Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and many other U.S. and Allied officers, accepted the unconditional surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II on Sept. 2, 1945.

The selection of
California, designated SSN 781, honors the thousands of men and women from California who serve in today's Armed Forces, and the millions of Californian veterans and their families. As home to major Naval and Marine Corps installations, the selection of California also reflects the tremendous support provided to the Navy and Marine Corps by countless communities across the Golden State. This will be the seventh ship to bear the name California.

The selection of
Mississippi, designated SSN 782, is dedicated to the state's long standing tradition of shipbuilding in support of our nation's defense. It also honors the indomitable spirit of the people of Mississippi who have made great strides in recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. This fighting spirit will be an inspiration to all sailors who embark aboard Mississippi. There have been four previous ships named Mississippi. The first Mississippi, a side wheeler, served as Commodore Matthew Perry's flagship for his historic voyage to Japan and fought with Admiral Farragut's forces on the Mississippi River during the Civil War.

These next-generation attack submarines will provide the
Navy with the capabilities it requires to maintain the nation's undersea supremacy well into the 21st century. They will have improved stealth, sophisticated surveillance capabilities and special warfare enhancements that will enable it to meet the Navy's multi-mission requirements.

Missouri, California and Mississippi will be able to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include anti-submarine and anti-ship warfare; Special Forces delivery and support; and mine delivery and minefield mapping. With enhanced communications connectivity, the submarines also will provide important battle group and joint task force support, with full integration into carrier battle group operations.

The
Virginia class is 7,800-tons and 377 feet in length, has a beam of 34 feet, and can operate at more than 25 knots submerged. It is designed with a reactor plant that will not require refueling during the planned life of the ship – reducing lifecycle costs while increasing underway time.

These new, nuclear powered submarines are being built by General Dynamics Electric Boat (Connecticut) and Northrop Grumman Newport News (
Virginia). For more information on Virginia class submarines visit: http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=100&ct=4.