European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11 r. A a a letters i \ ,l.v/ -1 d Uno choked on my Toast do Abe was worried about not paying taxes for seven years i can Tell you from experience that she has reason to be worked. I Hope she gets a Good tax lawyer when got married 12 years ago 1 quit my Job and Haven t worked since. At the end of every. I gathered All the information my husband would itty to file his tax returns. Since i had no income i did no to Cive it another thought. It never occurred to me that he would fail to file. Well he never did a Damn thing. Eventually the internal Revenue service caught up with him made a wild Ruess at what his income probably had been added interest and penalties and informed us that we owed $1,300,000 yes that is Correct. I did no to throw in and More zeros. My husband still ignored the irs. Several weeks later i got a notice saying several of our checks were bouncing. I ran to the Bank because i was sure there was plenty of Money in our account. Well the irs had put a Lien on the account and took every dime. Then they garnished my husbands paycheck and took half of it on a regular basis. We tried to get a new loan on our House and get it out of foreclosure but you guessed it they put a Lien on the property my husband is finally trying to work things out but it has been a horrifying exp Nence. Too bad he did no to pay those taxes when they were due. Its costing us a thousand times More now. Tell them again Annie. Whoever is ignoring irs notices is asking for trouble. Contact them before they Contact you. If you done to it will be a real Nightmare. Another Day another migraine in Southern Cal dear migraine. My advice cannot possibly match the Impact of advice that comes from a Reader who has lived through the experience. Thank you for a letter that deserves to be taken seriously. Dear Ann Landers. A while Back you printed a column about married children visiting parents without their spouses. I sent the clipping to my son and his wife and the results were just wonderful. The very next weekend my son put his wife on a plane to Nashville to visit her mom and dad. He then drove Down to spend the weekend with me and picked up his wife at the Airport sunday night. My son and i had a marvelous time together and her parents were delighted to have her alone. Although they seem to adore my son and i dearly love my daughter in Law we All enjoyed that private time with our children. My songs in Laws phoned to say that it was a great idea and we should do it again. One of my friends told me that she and her husband have never had an hour alone with their son since he was married years ago. Their daughter in Law goes to visit her parents when their son is on business trips but he has never visited them without his wife. She said they would love a Solo visit but  suggest it. Please continue to urge couples to visit their parents in this manner. My Friend says she Hopes you will print my letter so she can Send the clipping to her son and his wife. Will you a l.f., Greensboro . Dear Greensboro Here it is. Start snipping dear. Universal press Syndicate a a stripes for skills program discussed this is an open letter to All specialists and pc p who have been trying for years to reach cutoff scores of 998 for promotion to e-5, to no Avail. Are you aware that the army is recruiting civilian trained licensed practical nurses with the Promise of automatic promotion to e-5 once they have completed Basic training and arrive at their permanent duty stations they Are not required to do anything including standing before a promotion Board to receive their e-5.1 have seen pics promoted to sergeant solely on the basis of their civilian training. The army is promoting individuals on the basis of the knowledge they have in their particular mos without regard to the Type of Leader they will make. In every Case i have seen these soldiers know Little or nothing about All the other aspects of being a Good effective Leader. We recently went to the Field on a two Day training exercise. One of these a in Cost was in my squad. This individual did not even know How to properly Send a radio message. There was an e-2 in the squad who knew More about military related tasks than the e-5. That private was More qualified to Lead a squad than the no. As an e-2, that Soldier already demonstrated better potential to Lead than the e-5. If we Ever actually went to War there is no Way that i would follow an no who received his her rank due to civilian training. I cannot respect an no who is far less knowledgeable than his or her subordinates. I wonder if the army realizes How Many soldiers who would make excellent cos Are getting out because of this a stripes for skills program that so blatantly discriminates against those of us who have spent years learning All we can about not Only our Moss but about Good leadership As Well. I do not believe that anyone can possibly Hope to be an effective no solely on the basis of civilian training.  these soldiers be required at the least to attend Ploc and appear before a promotion Board before they receive their e-5? that Way they would still be guaranteed their e-5 and the rest of us could be assured that they at least know the basics of military leadership. There May be no doubt that they make Good lpns but a Good Len is not necessarily a Good Leader. A name and location withheld editors note pm a. Stan l. Warrick military personnel policy officer office of the Deputy chief of staff personnel he Usa eur replies thank you for giving us the Opportunity to address these comments concerning the army programs for accelerated promotion for education and the army civilian acquired skills program a Asp. The army accelerated promotion for education program allows an applicant to enter the army As a pv2 if they have earned 30-59 semester hours from an accredited College program or to enter the army As a pfc if they have earned 60 or More semester hours. The a Asp is an enlistment option available to army applicants with prior skill knowledge education and or experience depending on specific requirements of the selected mos. These applicants enter the army As a pv2 or pfc depending on experience. These soldiers Are authorized accelerated promotion up to pc and or sgt upon demonstrated ability and with their commanders recommendation once they have completed Basic training and have been observed by their unit commander at their initial assignment. The a Asp program is designed to encourage applicants to enlist in the army into critical skills which Are under strength. The commander at the individuals first unit makes the determination if they should be promoted to pc or sgt. Appearance before a promotion Board is not required under this enlistment option for promotion to sergeant. But for those soldiers who do not demonstrate the leadership skills expected of a sergeant attendance at Ploc is the commanders option. A Reader discusses weight is. Ability its about time finally we have a sergeant major of the army who Isnit afraid to Tell the truth. In a referring to a recent article in the stars and stripes titled a keep Only the very Best top no  just the other Day a Captain promotable and i were discussing that very subject. We also came to the same conclusion yet we did no to think the army would have the nerve to come right out and say so. But the sergeant major of the army proved us wrong. We were discussing who the army would want to keep in the present climate of cutbacks. Our scenario ran this Way two soldiers in a motor Pool both with the same time in service time in rank service schools age they were almost identical yet there were a few Small Subtle differences. One was a bom Mechanic could fix anything on wheels or tracks the Guy who generally kept the motor Pool going. Yet this Soldier was always just at his Al Wable weight or 1 or 2 pounds overweight. And on is last physical training test he passed comfortably jut scored around the lower half of the company. The other Soldier was an average motor Mechanic who could fix Small items alone but seemed to frequently be asking for help. Yet he was 25 pounds under his Max weight and he almost maxed his last it test. We both agreed that if we were going to War we would want the Soldier who could fix anything yet we also agreed that he would be the Soldier who would be let go. Well the sergeant major of the army just confirmed our suspicions. To quote the stars and stripes a a he described marginal or substandard soldiers As those who Are overweight or who have failed their physical fitness  nowhere in that statement did i see anything about someone who was marginal or substandard in their military occupational skill mos. Nowhere in there did i see anything about How a Soldier scored in his her skill qualification test set. This is where our army is headed a lot of Good looking not even a Little overweight athletes maybe the sergeant major of the army wants to enter the army in the pretty boy olympics let me put this another Way when you go in to have your automobile worked on at cafe do you look to see if the Mechanic is slim trim and physically fit or do you care More about his mechanical abilities . That he knows How to repair your car . Williams Darmstadt West German the a Raj filpes european edition col Gene e. Townsend Usan commander editor in chief it. 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