European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday july 24, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 11 dear Ann Landers in november 1988 my Mother suffered a massive coronary. She had a complicated heart operation and was Lucky to survive. My parents have been married 42 years and mom had always taken care of their financial matters. When she became critically ill dad was help less. He phoned me and said a hurry up and come out Here. To a  when i arrived in California my father was running around like a Chicken with its head Cut off. He knew absolutely nothing about their financial status. I spent 10 Days figuring out what Bills had to be paid and now to pay them finding out if Mother had disability coverage through her Job locating insurance policies and dealing with medicare and medical. After two weeks i returned Home emotionally drained wondering if i had protected my parents Well enough financially. Had i paid All the a writers offer ideas on military Early outs assets dad had Sencar Eomy y accounts or Otten to mention were there any Mother s disability coverage were there any accounts or i fora assets mom had neglected to Tell dad about Ann please Tell parents that at least one child needs to be informed of their financial setup in Case of an emergency. They should make a list of where the Bank books Are ditto the insurance policies and loan and mortgage papers. If the parents work someone needs to know the location of the documents with the coverage i.e., Short term disability Long term disability insurance Etc. Tell your readers that for Only a few dollars a month they can have disability coverage on credit cards car Loans mortgages Etc. Also it s Wise to put an adult child on your Home mortgage and car Loans so if Money is needed that child can make the arrangements. Too often when sudden illness disables a Parent the children Are left trying to figure out How to keep them from losing everything they have worked so hard for. Fortunately both my parents Are now alive and Well but we Leamead a valuable lesson. I will make sure that my children never have to go through what i went through. Please Ann Tell your readers to love their children enough to keep them informed. A worn out in Kansas City dear . You told them and in a Way that they will surely remember. Thanks for sounding an Alert that could save a lot of people a Load of grief. Dear Ann Landers May i confess a pet Peeve that is making me furious i am referring to those computer generated sales pitches with a Brand new twist. You cannot hang up yet another example of How Many a ingenuity has created a monster. The computer seizes your line and will not disconnect until the message plays All the Way through. You Are forced to listen to All of it. Actually you can hang up the receiver but the message ties up your line until the tape has run its course. I complained to the phone company which said this is perfectly Legal. Does it sound right to you that phone owners should be held hostage to an advertiser please print my letter and suggest a course of action. A burning in new Orleans dear burning no it does not seem fair to me. An advertiser should not be Able to tie up a line when a phone owner is not interested in his message. If anyone connected with the new Orleans Telephone company would like to offer an explanation for this outrageous imposition on customers i la be glad to print it. C creator Syndicate i was extremely impressed by the detailed outline for a reduction in forces which appeared in a recent letter. The author seemingly takes into consideration All the aspects of converting soldiers into functional and productive members of the civilian sector. I am a Strong advocate of this program. The present situation is causing Many problems. Currently anyone attempting to obtain an Early release is faced with a Mountain of paperwork and months of waiting. Surely a program could be initiated that would expedite matters a bit. Why not Transfer the Burden of the necessary paperwork to the individual Soldier i would gladly do my own. Soldiers in the army with any doubts As to the procedure and forms required could easily refer to a 635-200 for the necessary information. This would accomplish two important things a unit orderly rooms would be free to carry on with Day to Day functions. A the Long waiting period would be greatly reduced. With a reduced waiting period the military would save an enormous amount of Money by not being required to pay salaries for Many unnecessary months of waiting. A i believe that a sufficient number of soldiers myself included Are More than willing to void their contracts. The numbers would warrant the initiation of such a program. Another problem resulting from the current Situa. Tion is that Many soldiers wishing to remain on Active duty status Are scrambling to improve their chances to do so. This results in higher stress Levels and reduced morale among troops. A final problem facing soldiers wishing to exit the military As quietly As they came in is senior cos who refuse to let anyone go without a fight. The soldiers fortunate enough to be granted an Early release Are being saddled with discharges that invoke much prejudice in the civilian world. Why should a Soldier with a spotless military record be punished for simply wanting out of the service i feel very strongly that anyone with a Good record should not be stamped with a a Scarlet letter for wanting to exit the military. A Charles j. Garner bib Lingen West Germany this writer is gravely misinformed if he believes that the a Best and brightest a As he Calls them of the no and officer corps Are already submitting their resumes to Fortune 500 companies. While it would be naive to deny that the military is indeed losing Quality leaders to the civilian Market due to. Within the Calvary Squadron that i serve proudly in. We have just such a Cross Section of the a Best Ana brightest who have elected to continue service in the army out of purely selfless reasons Pride in serving their country sense of accomplishment training Young Soldier seven when their skills could easily double their salaries in the civilian  in this group Are master s degree holders from Harvard and Mit five officers who have successfully commanded As lieutenants and handfuls of assorted engineering degree holders. The cos with whom i have the privilege of serving Are Quality professionals Many or whom continue to re enlist for this specific unit out of a sense of spirit that is far from unique in our armed forces today. The troopers i serve with Are a for the most part a tankers scouts and artillerymen not a Cannon Cocker but their skills Are not limited to putting bullets Down Range or adjusting fire. They serve daily As career managers financial advisers and marriage Counselor to their soldiers in addition to their a a Normal duties. They do not require any additional special skills to make them competitive with their civilian counterparts. They truly Are among the a Best and  while i do not disagree with the writer s  of allowing any Soldier Sailor airman who desires to Ter Minate his or her service to do so immediately 1 do resent his postulation that if you elect to make the military a career you Are not among the Best society has to  capt. John c. Franchek Fulda West Germany a wrong Apos Are causing Magazine loss i work in the a official mail Center on Ramstein a. We constantly receive numerous magazines bulk second third class and sometimes first class for Many army units i.e., hic 7th Sig in Hhd 22nd p a in hic 54 eng 21st Talcom Hub 8 id m arty and the list goes on and on. Ail these have the Apo listed As 09012 or 09094. These Are the wrong Apos. Weekly we stack these magazines up and then Forward them to the 228 postal co Apo 09082, for them to locate. If you have a subscription for magazines such As a afield amp Stream Quot a Money Quot a american baby a a Vogue a Etc. And have been receiving them very late or not at All it is because you have the wrong Apo listed. It would be a great Relief if you Are Reading this pen pals / i am interested in having pan Pale. 1 am 26 years old and he Muiloc and playing Tenne. A Bour Aulba Mohammad bloc 23 no. 67 Douay ail de oud. Chaira a Agadir Morocco i am 31 Yawara old. A Catholic and originally from the Phipp Pinata. I am a and realize that you have not been receiving your favorite Magazine for a Long time. I urge you to fill out a change of address card and Correct the Apo. Hic 7th Sig in is Apo 09028, Hhd 22nd p a in is Apo 09079, hic 54th eng is Apo 09026, Hub 8 id m arty is Apo 09034. For information on units and their Apos please consult army Dod 4525.6-l-2, military Post office mail distribution scheme and air Force afr 4-16, air Force address directory. A sgt Donald Petty Ramstein a West Germany pharm eclat working in Bahrain. A Myma o. Sei Obre two pharmacy 1012 Budaya Road Duraz Bahrain i am 23 Yawara old. Please put my name m your hat of pan pal. A Peugnet 6. Kebrole 113 Colon Exa naion Dumaguet City 6200 Philllp Panei european edition cot. Gene e. Townsend Usan commander editor in chief it. Col. Suzanne l Phillips sap Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. 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