European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                1981 the stars and stripes Page 11 Jeffers to the editor toy rates questioned i have several questions about the cola and Hola rates and try travel pay that i Hope you can your article on says that cola rates fluctuate up and Down depending on the Exchange rate Between the Dollar and the German that is fair and in april the cola rate was reduced by 19 percent be cause the Exchange rate had improved from its lowly level to a fairly constant rate in the fair and since the Dollar Exchange rate plummeted Back Down into the with no corresponding increase in the cola rate Back to its original Why not and with the recent improvement of the Dollar rate Back up to the the cola rate is being further unfair and not the Bottom line is How can the cola rate be Cut two separate times for the same and Why was the rate never increased when the Dollar Exchange rate went Back Down to its Origi Nal Levels next in october we were fortunate to receive an percent pay raise not enough to offset the past few but still a Good my question concerns the decrease in Hola that was equal to the increase in the purpose of As i understand is to give those of us overseas in High Cost areas an additional allowance so we can enjoy a comparable Standard of housing that conus military members can obtain with their bad the amount of Money my government says i must have to pay my and other costs of housing is not just but bad plus with the percent raise in and a corresponding drop in i still have the manager manager european edition Rose Usan Deputy  Mert editor Elmer Frank Henry Epstein this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for armed forces the stars and stripes is published in con unction with the armed forces information program of the department of contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official View of the the depart ment of defense or the european the appearance of displays in this newspaper concerning commercial publications does not constitute an endorse ment of the department of including the military military address the stars and Apo International mail the stars and Postrach 11 10 d6100 Darmstadt Tel Griesheim c prefix 06155 811 m Darmstadt Airstrip prefix 2376 telex new York office room 252 seventh new York Tel area code 212 second class postage paid at new news bureaus Rudl building Carl Schurz Bremerhaven military 8659 or Bremerhaven 88782 Ger Roy building Pulaski Vogel Weh military 2226 6585 or Kaiserslautern 0631 52104 John build ing William Darby Nuernberg military 7256 or Nuernberg 712563 John Patch Patch military 27298449 or Stuttgart 730826 Jim Arylne and Gary Raf Apo military Auto on extensions or civilian Mildenhall 0638 713882 telex 817885 Grace Oas spa the room Washington 202 circulation offices Germany civilian Mil 6187 Bremer Civ my 8119 Civ 692050 Civ Mil Vogel Weh 6050 Civ 6901503 or Mil 6556 Cir Mil 7256 North German Rhel main Mil 7103 or 6025 Civ Mil Greece Civ 9923390 Italy Vicenza Civ Spain Madrid Civ 2057546 or Torreon air base Mil Turkey Istanbul Civ telex 26174 sans United kingdom Greenham common Civ Newbury 0635 military Newbury 0635 46263 same amount of Money to pay my housing my conus now has percent More Money to improve his housing situation by moving to a better place if he or at least use the in crease to help offset the eve rising costs of i cannot do and guess what my electricity rate just went up another 15 per cent in the housing surveys that supposedly determine the Hola rate Are not the because they take at least six to 12 months to muddle through the process and any increases Are not ret Road this leads to another question As to Why any decreases in Hola cola rates Are always lightning fast and while when there Are Are slow As molasses and not or Are they in not sure since there have been no in creases since i arrived in november my question on the whole mat Ter How can the recent Hola Cut be justified As fair a raise to me Means an increase Over what was received but due to the manipulation of the Hola Only the conus folks got a True in their quarters pay at my final question is a Short Why is it that reimbursement for Pov use on try travel has remained at seven cents per mile for military members which does not even cover Gas while civilians try reimbursements for Pov use and Vicinity travel reimbursement have both in creased to cents per which is a much More acceptable level with the of military vehicles and the High Cost of commercial the government has a Good thing going with us using our pos for try we should All refuse to use our pos and see How far the line backs up at the motor Pool and How much try costs Rise with the increased use of commercial travel what worries me is that these types of or sometimes the papier mache answers there Are running Many of our Good people out of the personal 1 am in the military by Choice and 1m proud to be serving my but just i wonder if my government is proud of withheld Kapaun air Germany editors note col Robert director of personnel he replies concern for equitable entitle ments for military members overseas is and you Are complimented on your outstanding knowledge of entitle before going into the lets do a Little the department of defences travel and transportation allow Ance committee pm tatar in washing establishes and adjusts the amount of station allowances for All overseas locations using annual surveys and daily cur Rency Exchange the pm tatar and our military leaders have utmost concern for our welfare overseas and constantly take necessary actions to make sure we get every possible favourable Many of their actions go unnoticed and Are not fully your first question concerning fluctuating Cost of living allowance cola rates in april 1980 is a Good these adjustments made to station hous ing allowance Sha As it is known to air Force Hola and cola for Germany were based on information provided by military members in their annual housing and Cost of living surveys completed in december and not the higher Exchange rate existing at the time the rates although the Exchange rate was pegged at Marks to the Dollar on april the new station allowance rates were set on an Exchange rate of Marks to the As you can a much greater reduction could have been made based on the higher Exchange but the pm tatar Felt that the Marks to the Dollar was artificially their evaluation turned out to be accurate As the Exchange rate quickly returned to its previous lower most a Large reduction in based on the Marks rate would definitely have bad a much greater negative Impact on their financial situations and so you see the station allowances were not Cut two separate times for the same dont forget that there is another Side to this Coin if the Exchange rates had taken a turn for the worse and then your station allowances could have lets look at the question concerning the recent Hola con Gress established Hola in recognition that service members overseas May encounter housing expenses in excess of those in the Hola is intended to help defray the average the key word excess housing costs above the Basic Al Lowance for quarters in determining the need for the pm tatar compares the average actual Cost of local housing at each overseas duty location with the average bad paid at that Hola is authorized on a location location basis when it is deter mined that the average housing costs exceed the average bad by five percent or Between annual upward or downward adjustments to Hola rates Are made to meet fluctuations in currency Exchange when our annual pay raises include a provision to increase Hola rates Are reduced by an amount equal to the bad this adjust ment is made since by Law and is paid to offset the difference Between average bad and average housing unless the average housing costs have Hola will be on the other provides Over seas personnel compensation meant to help maintain the same relative purchasing Power As members serving in the pay raises increase the spendable income our stateside counterparts have cola is normally increased to ensure overseas personnel maintain their relative purchasing heres the Tricky if inflation in the states keeps going up like it has thus reducing the purchasing Power of stateside personnel and remains relatively Low overseas As it has Here in Germany then cola could be Why be cause the purchasing Power of our counterparts in the states the Baseline has been in no Case will a pay raise cause a decrease in the amount of the cola concerning try mileage reimburse ment this situation has Long been recognized As an irritant and in need of in Laws governing payment prevented remedy of the Situa with the passage of the nun warn or act on the seven cents per mile ceiling was the services have not received funding for additional try mileage legislation is still being pursued to fund higher reimbursement if you desire to get More information on the subjects we recommend contacting the Capo customer service Center and ask for the he Safe fact sheets or the entitlements he us Ramstein no caught in a tour snarl my husband is an no in the army due to ets in at which time he will have served 20 months he chose to come Here just for his remaining because we had to leave a handicapped son in the states due to Lack of facilities now that it is time for my husband to re they Are telling him he cant leave Here by they say we must stay until july to Complete a 24month since this May mean the difference be tween my husband staying in the army or getting i would like someone to explain Why we cant leave Germany by his ets Holiday closings the no Bowling Cen were or had reduced during the Christma Snew year this is the period when Field duty personnel Are these facilities personnel could be paid extra or Given extra comp a sur charge admission fee could be used on All the majority of military personnel who work at these facilities Seldom or never go to the they Luck out getting these they cry the loudest when told they will work at times conflicting with their second name withheld Germany Why do we have to Complete a 24 month tour withheld Germany editors note two 1st he replies tour lengths for Oversea areas Are established by the department of the Basic tour lengths which apply in Germany Are 36 months for bachelors and soldiers accompanied by family 24 months for soldiers with dependents who remain in conus or who travel and reside overseas at the soldiers at soldiers Are selected for Over seas assignment when they do not have enough remaining service to Complete the Tours these soldiers Are coun seed prior to departing conus and Art Given the Opportunity to extend their serv ice agreement or to those who do not extend or reenlist Are still assigned overseas if they can serve at least twelve months in the overseas these soldiers Are afforded 8 further option when they reach the May return to conus and be separated at ets if otherwise they May reenlist for present duty assignment and serve the remaining portion of the pre scribed additional information can be obtained by contacting the personnel management officer at the regional personnel