FAMOUS LAST WORDS: CAREER SUICIDE —
A recent issue of a Naval Air Stat
ion newspaper carries an open letter to
his shipmates from a former Navyman, It
was printed at the man*s request, the
letter is entitled "Career Suicide," &
outlines a pitfall any of us could fall
into*
The writer had come into the Navy at
the age of 17, and had spent 16 years in
the service# He said that he was being
discharged through no fault of the Navy >
nor of his s'quadron with an administrat
ive discharge for reasons of indebtedness#
Altho several officers and enlisted
men had tried their best to help him
and retain him in the Nayy, he was in
too deep* He compares indebtedness to
liquor—a good thing if used moderate- :
ly, but something which can ruin you
if used to excess#
Just after Christmas with it's gift
buying, celebrations, etc# an unusually
large percentage'of Americans are prob
ably in debt# The Consumer Credit Branch
of the Federal Reserve Board said that
in 1960, the "average family" in Amer
ica owed $1,000# This may or Bjay not
be "disastrous depending on a particul
ar family^ income and normal living ex
pense*
The letter of this unfortunate ex
Navyman who went off the deep end and
bought too much on credit and financing
brought to mind that many letters are
received from credit companies and in
some cases courts of law where persons
have not paid their just debts* What
some personnel don’t realize is that
their quarterly marks can be lowered,
they can be tried by courts-mart.ial
and the same thing could happen to them
that happened to the man that wrote his
shipmates a letter in the hope that may
be they would stop and think before go
ing off the deep end into debt*
With installment buying and credit
stores at a minimum (there are none) on
Adak everyone should be able to save
money for that rainy day* A good way
to save Is to increase a savings allot
ment or start one or start a Bond-A-Month»
plan right now. See your Disbursing
Officer* /
LIMITED DUTY OFFICER PROGRAM INVITES
. APPLICATIONS - DETAILS ANNOUNCED
BUPER’S Instruction 1120.18H has been
received by the Command and the Military
Personnel Office and the I&E Office have
copies. This instruction gives details
of the requirements of the Limited Duty
Officer Program' and the Integration Prog-*
ram. All persons who are unfami.lia.r with
these requirements should contact STATON
in MilPers Or PESCHL at the I&E Office.
BUPERS Instruction 1560.12 gives refer
ence to- study materials to be used for
review before the examination for LDO.
All nominations for this Program must
be in MilPers Office prior to 1 March
1962. This is to ensure that examinat
ions will be ordered in plenty of time.^^
The LDO program is for the procuremei^r
of personnel for appointment in the grade
of ensign or lieutenant (junior grade)
in the Line and Staff Corps of the Reg
ular Navy. . The Program is open to 1st
Class and Chief Petty Officers with a
minimum of 8 years active naval service.
1st Class P- tty Officers must have serv
ed at least one year in pay grade E-5.
The Integration Program is for the
selection of personnel for appointment
in the grade of ensign in the Unrestrict
ed Line and Staff Corps of the Regular
Navy and all personnel with a minimum
of three years active naval service are
eligible.
All Enlisted Personnel interested in^^
applying for commissions as- Naval Offic
ers under the LDO or Integration Prog
ram should attend a briefing at the I&E
Office Classroom, Bering Building at
1500, Wednesday, 7 February 1962. A
question and answer period will follow
the half hour briefing.
NEW YORK STATE INCOME TAX EXEMPTION
FOR SERVICEMEN - The New York State
Legislature has passed an amendment to
the stateb income tax law which will ben-r
efit servicemen from that state.It grants .
an exemption for military pay of up to '
$100 for each month or part thereof,that
an individual is on active duty on and
after Oct.l, 1961 and prior to June 30,
1963. New York servicemen should write
for forms from the New York State Income
Tax Bureau, Albany 1, New York.