European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 21, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday december 21, 1993no tax the stars and stripes Page 3 by Kevin Robinson staff writer american service members who have served in Soma Lia in the past year do not qualify for an income tax break on their 1993 Federal returns because the East african nation has not been designated a combat zone a tax official said. However service members who served at some time during 1993 in saudi Arabia and Kuwait As Well As in Turkey and Iraq in support of operation provide com fort do qualify for the tax exemption on pay they earned while in a combat zone military officials said. Thus far in Somalia 25 . Service members have been killed and 136 wounded in action during their deployment As . Peacekeepers. Also missing from the tax exclusion list of combat zones Are . Missions to the former Yugoslavia where . Forces Are deployed in Croatia and Macedonia. A the persian Gulf is Stilt considered a combat action and also in Many cases those flying for provide Comfort a a said Barbara Gehrmann a spokeswoman for the internal Revenue service at the us. Embassy in Bonn Germany. A the department of defense makes the recommendations of what areas Are considered combat zones Gehrmann said. A and they Are in a better position to know if a deployment is hazardous duty. We the third officer with tax break for combat zones combat zones Aro designated by executive order. Areas of deployment that qualify for tax exclusion a saudi Arabia a Kuwait a Turkey a Iraq areas of deployment that do not qualify for tax exclusion a Somalia. A Croatia a Macedonia a amps irs have nothing to do with  y a location can be declared a combat zone by executive order Only from the president. This is How the tax exclusion works enlisted service members and warrant officers who served in any country designated As a combat zone do not have to pay income taxes on any pay they received while deployed military officials said. Officers can exclude the first $500 of their monthly pay from taxes. As the Federal income tax filing season approaches finance officials at the . Army Europe Are telling soldiers to verify the dates they May have been deployed to a designated combat zone during 1993, according to a Usa eur statement sent to the stars vets irs says and  the dates of their deployment arc wrong in their records soldiers must notify their local finance office before dec. 30, said maj. Carolyn Beale of the 266th theater finance come in Heidelberg Germany. Otherwise a your w-2 form for Calendar year 93 will be wrong and you la have to have another one issued a she said. About 2,000 soldiers in Usa eur qualify for the combat zone tax exclusion said Millie Waters a spokeswoman for the command. The . Air forces in Europe does riot track the number of airmen who May qualify for the exclusion said capt. Felecia Tavares a Safe spokeswoman. A there is no system set up to Tell airmen to verify formally their deployment dates she explained. However that information is reflected on an airman a pay statement throughout the year she said. Naval officials in Europe did not know How Many sailors qualified for the combat zone tax exclusion said Navy it. David Lee a spokesman for Fleet air Mediterranean in Naples Italy. However about 150 sailors qualified for the tax cd delusion from the Naples Region be said. Sailors have until today to update any errors on their w-2s before the forms arc issued Jan. 15, Lee said. Crimes in Petawawa Ontario a amps a another Canadian army officer has been charged with serious criminal offences stemming from actions during his county a a deploy me it of troops to Somalia. Capt. Michel Rai Riville of Petawawa was charged last week with causing bodily harm and negligent performance of duty in connection with the March 4 shooting death of a somalian Man and the wounding of another by gunfire the Canadian forces said. Rainville who commanded the Canadian airborne regt a reconnaissance platoon in. Somalia also is charged with Possession of a prohibited weapon and with an act prejudicial to Good order and discipline. Those charges Stem from an aug. 5 incident in Canada. The shootings occurred when troops tried to prevent two somalian men from fleeing after the pair entered the Canadian compound at Bele Thuen Somalia. The defense ministry has ordered a court martial of army it. Col. Carol Mathieu the Canadian airborne regt Battle group commander in Somalia. He is charged with negligent performance of duty based on the March 4 incident and on the March 16 beating death of Scidane Abukar Arone a somalian Man in Canadian custody. Army maj. Anthony g. Seward former commanding officer of 2 commando Canadian airborne regt is charged with causing bodily harm and negligent performance of duty based on Arones death. Canada also has charged five enlisted soldiers with offences in Somalia. Span Dahlem housing office honoured by of Span Dahlem a Germany the 52nd civil engr Sqq a housing office at Span Dahlem a has been named As the Best in . Air forces in Europe for fiscal 1993. The office was cited for its creative handling of housing needs of people newly assigned to the Wing during the most dramatic buildup in the 52nd fighter Wing s history. This included finding temporary and permanent housing for 300 service members who arrived in december 1992 during the buildup of an a-10  a. The office s furnishings flight was cited for saving the air Force Money through fixing numerous pieces of furniture with self help projects. The office s housing relocation program of assisting service members m finding a place to live in the states upon their return has been recognized As the commands Best. The office serves More than 5,000 people assigned to the Wing and a Community of approximately 13,000 people. It will now compete for honors at the air Force level. A amps Dave Melancon command sgt. Maj. Gariy Kendrick gets some help As he cases the colors of the 3rd in 64th Armor regt. Inactivating rampage battalion marked by unflagging Devotion by Dave Melancon Wurzburg Bureau schwe1nfurt, Germany those most involved in the. Ceremony said the Flag knew what was coming and was t about to cooperate. Once the Flag was in its Canvas cover the 3rd in 64th Armor regt would cease to exist. And the Flag they said was having no part of that. The recalcitrant colors representing the Quot rampage battalion put up the fight last week at an indoor inactivation ceremony at Conn Barracks. Command sgt. Maj. Garry Kendrick and his commander it col. Fred d. Robinson jr., were caught up in the fight. The two struggled As the units Battle streamers from world War ii and the Korea and persian Gulf wars found temporary Refuge in a chandelier. However after a two minute tussle Kendrick a with the help of at least one Soldier a managed to Man Euver the Flag and its streamers into a Canvas casing. Robinson and Kendrick said they rehearsed the ceremony several times earlier in the Day without a hitch. But once the actual ceremony began the Flag seemed intent on flying free. If history is a guide however the Flag May yet reappear since the battalion has inactivated before. The battalion was born during world War ii As co a 758th tank in the first a Black armoured unit. It served in Italy where it was inactivated after the  battalion was predesignated the 64th tank in As part of the 3rd inf div during the korean War when it was integrated. The battalion inactivated following the armistice that ended the War. The unit resurfaced in Europe and was one of the first to receive my Abrams tanks. Four of its tank platoons deployed to saudi Arabia during operations desert shield and desert storm. After receiving inactivation orders in july the battalions 515 soldiers have spent the last few months saying Farewell to each other and to their tanks Kendrick said. The majority of soldiers were reassigned to other Schweinfurt based units. The battalions my tanks left Schweinfurt for the have been turned Over to German authorities. A the soldiers left with their Heads held High and Are going to represent our battalion in other units a Robinson said. A every Soldier will take a part of 364 with him. How they perform and How they act Are the reflection of the battalion s