European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 24, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 a the stars and stripes Friday january 24, 1992european stars and stripes departmental directory col Gene e. Townsend Usan commander publisher Christopher a. Eddings it. Col. Thomas e. Conrad Usa general manager Deputy commander Marla Kohl Nickl William healer production manager circulation director Dale Estes Chrit Ryan advertising manager comptroller business offices circulation for Home delivery service and inquiries Call the office nearest you listed below Germany Berlin civilian 8331846. Ets 33? 3548 Bremerhaven civilian 0471 85168, ets 342 8119 Rhein main a civilian 069 692050 or 692565 ets 330 6025 or 7103. Telex 412712. Cen Reg Tel fax 069 694087 Kaiserslautern civilian 0631 57070 or 57079 ets 489 7100, Tel fax 0631 50696 Munich ets 440 6209 Nurnberg civilian 0911 712558. Ets 460 7001 Stuttgart civilian 0711 546743. 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The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense or the stars and stripes of the products or services advertised everything advertised in this publication shall be made available Lor Purchase use or patronage without regard to race color religion sox National origin age. Marital status physical Handicap political affiliation or any other non Merit Laloi of the purchaser user or Patron letters to the editor High level foul up i find it absolutely incredible that Congress is going to entrust the Pentagon with the draw Down of . Armed forces personnel. This is the same Pentagon that paid $400 for a toilet seat and $150 for a Hammer. The same Pentagon that has the officer and enlisted promotion system so screwed up that even if you Are selected for promotion it takes you two to three years or More to actually get it. The intent of Congress according to sen. John Glenn was to fund initiatives that would attract mid career soldiers to leave the military voluntarily and with some sense of dignity. The problem lies in the fact that the Pentagon sees the congressionally sponsored draw Down As a Way to Correct decades of mismanagement of the Force by selecting Only certain categories of mid career soldiers for the Vii voluntary separation incentive and the sub special separation Benefit. The voluntary separation programs should be offered to All mid career cos and officers regardless of mos military occupational specially and rank. Othen Vise the programs Are not fair or equitable and do not meet the intent of Congress. A Good example of How Pentagon manpower officials Are bypassing congressional mandates is the exclusion of Many Moss from Vii and sub consideration. All administrative Moss Are excluded. The reasons Are obvious. The Pentagon knows it will need these people to process the thousands of service members who will be taking advantage of the separation programs. Is this fair to the soldiers who happen to hold administrative Moss i think not. What is going to happen to All the admin people after All the paperwork is processed is the Pentagon then going to Crank up the amp Quality management program boards i am going to work As hard As possible to make the draw Down work equally for All mid career soldiers. I urge All those affected by the draw Down to do likewise. This is the Only Way we can Force the Pentagon to do the right thing by All military personnel. If you Are unhappy with the draw Down then voice your concerns to your Chain of command and write letters to Congress. A Gerald Howard Bremerhaven Germany i i a Reea b i e agree me n i your Jan. 16 article Quot spouses working for germans May face hike in payroll taxes Quot indicates a an agreement signed in september 1989 Between the United states and Germany has now Quot double dipped into my pocket. Bottom line if my spouse works for any German employer who withholds taxes from her wages they will also tax mine. I he example in the article leads me to believe that if my wife makes 10,000 Marks per year and my income is $30,000 about 45,000 Mark the German tax liability 30 percent would be 16,500 Marks. I now owe the German government 6,500 Marks More than my wife earns. I am very curious As to what happened to the status of forces agreement and the rights of privacy since it appears Uncle Sam agreed the German government can request my w-2. Where Are my German social benefits such As health care retirement etc., since my income because of my wife a employment is now indirectly taxed through her income withholding this Quot agreement hits a lot of folks teachers who now Are employed with the City College of Chicago to teach in american schools Quot funded by Germany Quot. Retirees and any family Mem Ber who is subject to German taxes. It appears to be a Good Way to keep the coffers of the German Treasury pumped up even in this time of the . Forces draw Down. As april 15 nears and Uncle Sam wants to know where my Money went to pay him he May Check with the German finance ministry in Bonn or Larry be grand a finance expert with the . Embassy in Bonn or those who came up with this a agreement designed to ensure that families were not taxed twice on their total  i had to pay my wife a taxes. A Robert w. Johns. Heidelberg Germany editor s note letters from readers expressing their viewpoints or opinions Are published daily in this space. All letters must be signed. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. Letters should be addressed to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. A a a letters requesting information or assistance Are answered in a feature called readers action line which appears on Page 16 every Day except thursday and sunday. Such letters should be addressed to readers action line the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211.message to smokers this is a letter for All you smokers out there. When Are you people going to Wake up and realize that non smokers at least the ones i know def not take kindly to those of you who just Light up in a room in which there Are non smokers present to me As a non smoker it is nothing More than an insult to have to breathe in your senseless habit. The number of lung cancer deaths due to secondhand smoke is rising each year and it is All because of this inconsiderate disrespectful attitude that Many smokers have. Granted there Are a Tew who go outdoors or even ask if it would bother anyone in the room if they smoked. The majority still have no regard for other Peoples health. In Short it is very rude and a the biggest kick of All a when i ask them to take their habit outside the majority act As if it offends them and they get All upset. Think about it. Do other people Force you to take part in their dangerous habits i think not. A Chi. Jim Davis Pir Masens Germany solution to . Dob recently the irs mailed out More than 100 million tax forms booklets. If you equate those tax booklets with people and keep an open mind i have something that 1 think will interest you. I know that there Are thousands of people u to cannot find a Job but Bear with me. The National debt is in the trillions of dollars. In order to pay off the National Utt individuals must do their part and that includes members of the government. I he Bible talks about giving a l the of your income to the lord. Now i am not going to get religious but if you modify this and apply it in a logical was the National debt will decrease a i soon disappear. I lie a crag income Lor the United states is about $2,000 per month if you take 10 percent of that you come up with $200. Lower that to 5 percent or $100 per month. Now i know that a lot of people cannot afford to do this but those who can and those who Are financially secure can give More and make up the difference. Using simple math if 100 million people gave $100 a month to the National debt that would amount to $10 billion a month going toward the National debt. That equals $120 billion a year. I know some people could not even give $10 a year but others could give $1,000 a month. Everything considered it would All equal out. The secret would be that everyone who was Able to contribute gave what they could afford. The Money could not be claimed on your income tax returns. A lot of you May think in a crazy but it would work. The National debt would be reduced and eventually paid off. Combine the contributions with the cuts in Federal spending and the National debt would be reduced even More. With the National debt reduced the Dollar would become stronger and Worth More in foreign Trade. I have contributed what i could in the past two years have you your tax Booklet lists an address where contributions can be sent. Are you tired of the greatest nation on Earth also being the greatest debtor nation in the world if you Are you can do something about it. A Charles Burns Ansbach Germany sexual awareness As a High school student i feel that the Dodds curriculum is Quot skipping out on a very important subject. There Are no sexual awareness classes in our school curriculum. I am a Sophomore at London Central High school and i feel there should be education about All sexually transmitted diseases especially aids. It has always been important but in this Day and age More important because of the terribly fatal and As yet incurable disease aids. Except for a one semester health class in the Junior year Dodds has no education for this serious and demanding problem. Sexual education should Start no later than sixth Grade and should continue along with the students increasing awareness. Everyone needs to be educated so we can Stop these terrible diseases from spreading. A Kiersten Kurzanski High Wycombe England i am a 20-year-old Man and my hobbies Are soccer swimming movies music and travelling. A Vitalis k. Muri Yao co Anthony m. Nyamu vet labs . Kabete Nairobi my hobbies Are dancing swimming and listening to music and i would like to have pen pals. A Ebeth r. Blasco 26 branding Iron St Rancho state ii mar Kina metro Manila Philippines 1 am 21 years old. And my hobbies Are swimming Tennis keeping fit Reading music dining out travelling and cooking. I am looking Tor a pen pal who is sporty like my self and who is willing to try anything including my Cook ing. Mikala Ann Wright 2 Church walk House Walker Newcastle upon Tyne ne6 3dh England i am 27 years old and my hobbies include writing let ters listening to the radio and watching television a Cristina Villarico Realica Yum ii bldg. 10, phase 3 Southland townhouse Talon  Pinas metro Manila Philippines i am 24 years old and my hobbies Are Reading writing stories history watching television languages and win my letters i would like to have a pen pal who is Between 20 and 35 years old preferably in the air Force or  and stationed in the asian and Pacific regions Inge Huner Bem Leipziger sir 21 w 5110 Alsdorf 11 Germany