The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 41, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 13, 1979 Page: 4 of 36
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4 A
THE FT. HOOD SENTINEL Thursday December 13 1979
Public awareness
urged fo military
By WILLIAM E. TAYLOR
“Every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free
government owes not only a proportion of his proper-
ty but even of his personal service to the defense of it.”
THESE ARE THE words of our “Founding Father”
and first President of the United States George
Washington.
The need for service to country is no less today than it
was when Washington was President. Because of this
basic need of society military service is vital to the lives
of all Americans.
As General George S. Patton Jr. said: “No Army is
better than its soldiers. The soldier is also a citizen. In
fact the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship
is that of bearing arms for one’s country. Hence it is a
proud privilege to be a soldier a good soldier.”
In recognition of the need and value of service to
country Army Chief of Staff Gen. E. C. Meyer has
asked Army people everywhere to dedicate December
to making the American people aware of the contribu-
tion made by the military services. “I envision all com-
ponents of the Army participating in this program”
Meyer said.
“Army personnel military and civilian active re-
serve component and retired are encouraged to seek
forums where they can express to the American public
the need and value of service to our country” Meyer
added.
1 As Army people take time to visit friends and rela-
tives over this holiday season there will be many oppor-
tunities to let people know more about military ser-
vice.
1 AS FRENCH PHILOSOPHER Jean Jacques Rous-
seau said just before the United States became a coun-
try: “As soon as public service ceases to be the chief
business of the citizens and they would rather serve
with their money than with their persons the state is
not far from its fall.”
LLet us do all we can to insure that the United States
does not fall into this condition.
Right phone reply
aids com unication
By DAVID SCOTT
The reason people go to school to become clerks is
mainly for them to learn how to answer the telephone.
Although their duties are varied the answering of the
phone is an art which must be learned then adapted to
each individual’s personality.
JUST THE OTHER day I called an office to ask a
simple question. Upon dialing I had no idea what was
in store for me. The person on the other end picked up
the receiver and ^aid “197th cotton picken’ company
orderly room Private First Classs Alfonzo Garbonzo
speaking this line is not secure. May I help you
sir?”
-Well by the time PFC Garbonzo finished I had forgot-
ten what I wanted to ask and even who I wanted to ask
it of.
On another occasion upon calling the answer came
so quickly and so garbled I hardly understood it. As a
matter of fact I still don’t know to whom or what I was
speaking. But I did remember why I called.
Other types of answers include the “Brooklyn
Dodger.” “Yea he works here. No he’s not in. No I
don’t know when he’ll be back. No I don’t know
where he is.”
And of course who could forget Miss Figettt.
(Quickly) “Hello hello Oh Oh Oh I really don’t
know but I’d be glad to try to find him. Or would
you rather leave a message. He’ll be back in 45 mi-
nutes if you’d like to hold.”
Just remember the next time you call somewhere
you may not hear exactly what you expect to hear. The
personality working on the other end may be one
you’ve never encounted. In such cases you should rep-
ly “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand you. If it won’t take
till lunch time would you please start over.”
But be careful. When they have finished you may not
remember why you called.
etters to th E ditor
Flicks should be
6sans interruption9
I think the problem with. AAFES’s movies is not the
lack of variety (SFC Willie White Nov. 29). I think the
selection is pretty good.
Maybe they do bring movies back a couple of times
but they only keep them a day or two. The civilian
theaters keep their films for weeks. And you can’t beat
the price one dollar compared to the civilian’s $3.50.
I HAVE ONLY one complaint concerning post movie
theaters. I’ve hardly been to one movie where a sen-
timental poignant moment a song or a humerous line
hasn’t been ruined by a baby with a wet diaper or who
is hungry or who is simply exercising his lungs.
Just because post theaters are cheaper a dollar is still
a dollar.And I know when I pay to see a movie I want to
see it. When a kid isn’t old enough to be quiet and the
parents are too cheap for a baby sitter then they
shouldn’t even come. If these post theaters didn’t
sound like nurseries they’d be nice places to spend an
enjoyable evening.
PFC. P. HUTCHISSON
Fort Hood Texas
FT. HOOD SENTINEL
ublished in thin te rest of ilita ry and civilian personnel a t. Hood Tex. every rsd ay by Beil Publishing om pany em le
olicies an state ts reflected in th new anded ito rial columns rep re se view of th individual rite rs an er no
JJim sta are to be co sid ered those of th ep artm en of the A rm y. A ertisem en ts in this publication do not stitu te an
“TrP .em ent by th a rtm of th efense of th ro cts services a ertised All new a tte for publication should be
j*he lic A ffairs O ffice t. Hood S E N IN E t. Hood Tex. 76544 elephone 685-2436. This is not an official A rm
A N Jr ow ever this publication receives A rm N ew S ervice ate ria an a rs are au th rized to re rin nonco rig
-. ate ria ith perm issio from ARNEW S.
Lt. Fern
By DAVE MOONEY
There was a comedy routine done
several years ago by a budding new
comedian whose name escapes me. It
had to do with how many times a day we
say “Thank you.” His point was that we
say it about every five minutes for ev-
erything often without thinking.
“THANKS FOR CALLING” is a
great way of ending a phone call.
Speakers invariably end speeches
with “Thank you” (for a lack of better
ending) although the audience is the
one who should be thanking them.
Informal em os often end with
“Thanx” or “Tnx” in the place of a
more formal complimentary closing.
In letters advance gratitude even for
adverse actions has become standard.
“If payment is not received within 10
days we will be forced to repossess
your automobile^ “Thank you very
much.”
And the reply: “If you repossess my
automobile I will be unable to get to
work and will starve. Thank you very
much for your understanding in this
matter.”
The greeting card industry is all the
richer for the practice of sending thank
you notes for just about everything. Go
to dinner receive some flowers buy a
painting and you invariably get one of
those innocuous little printed notes
with averse saying things you would
By GERRY DEVLIN
Many government employees seem
to be coming down with a case of gal-
loping paranoia they think that no-
body likes them.
On the other hand feeling that every-
body is against you is not paranoia if in
fact everybody is.
THE DISLIKE THAT the public in
general has for “bureaucrats” and
which ironically many government
workers share tends to rub off on all
civil service employees. This is true in
spite of surveys that say that specific
individuals who have dealt with speci-
fic government employees generally
found them to be competent and
helpful.
But nobody can be liked by every-
body so federal workers have for years
merely shrugged off the criticism and
kept on doing their jobs.
Recently however the negative atti-
tude has been affecting employees’ wal-
lets and that is an entirely different
ballgame.
The recent wrangling over govern-
ment pay abortion and congressional
payhikes comes to mind. What abortion
and congressmembers’ salaries have to
do with whether government workers
FORUM
note— Forum is dedicated to personal viewpoints expressed in editorials and coinnientanes. Free lance writers are invited to participate in the Forum.
All com ents should be addressed to: Editor Ft. ood SENTINEL and ust be signed.)
V_
LIKE THE
1
LT I WOULD Nor
HOLE
O COtA£
It is how He does it that sometimes
escapes us. And if you think back I be-
lieve you’ll find He does it through
other people.
The specialist who just happened to
be on duty at the hospital the day your
child broke a bone the secretary who
worked a lot of overtime to get an im-
portant piece of work finished for you
the fellow worker who took some time
out from a project he was working on to
OPM promotes pay reform
get a full day’s pay for a full day’s work
is not clear.
It’s even harder to understand how
such a situation could be permitted to
occur for two years in a row.
WHEN ONE REFLECTS that civil
service workers are forbidden by law
from taking any kind of job action in
retaliation that they are in fact bound
to work whether they’re paid or not
su lain in fed era
paychecks is unconscionable.
And finally when one realizes that
many workers especially the vast ma-
jority that occupy the lower end of the
salary scale live from paycheck to
paycheck the mess is downright im-
moral. “Defrauding the laborer of his
just wage” was traditionally labeled one
of the “sins that cry to heaven for
vengeance.”
Federal workers are now nervous
even about the Executive branch. For
two years in a row government em-
ployees have been asked to lead the way
in the battle against inflation by taking
less than a comparability cost of living
increase an effective pay cut.
Now the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment is on Capitol Hill and touring the
country promoting “pay reform.” Prop-
onents say the old comparability sys
A ertisin should be se to usiness O ffice P.O. Box 868 em ple Tex 76501 usiness Office P.O Box 27 111 N worth Second
illeen ex 76541 S ubscription off post $7.00 er ear $2.00 forth re onths. istribution on post free.
nless th erw ise cre ite all ictu res are nited S tates A rm photographs. nless th erw ise noted th publication of th se is not
re tric te ex ep in a se involving republication for ad ertisin urposes a which tim erm issio of th a rtm of th
EvTrvtW na’a 'rtlse ln this publication st be ada a ila le for rch ase use atro a without re a rd to th ra cre
colon natio al rig in sex of th rch a se r ser atro A confirmed violation reflection of this policy of eq al rtu ity
8 A 4L IO
IN W ffie
SIMC- a A
The meaning 4thank you9
never say yourself. The handwritten
ones are different. And then there’s the
yayhoo on TV who slaps himself and
says “Thanks I needed that!”
OF ALL THE tirpes we say thank you
how often is it a ‘conscious thought?
How many times do we really take time
out to consider what other people have
done for us solicited or not and say a
genuine “Thank you?”
Next week we get our annual chance.
Christmas by tradition is the time we
thank God for the blessings he has bes-
towed upon us and our families during
the past year. We sit down to a rather
sumptuous feast at home in the dining
facility at a restaurant or at the home of
a family member or good friend. There
we reflect on the good and bad things of
the past year thankful for the good and
thankful that the bad were not worse. It
is a fine tradition recognizing that our
good fortune is not all man-made and
that the good Lord in his infinite wis-
dom takes care of us in many ways.
frtiO
lA
JJ/
provide you with some much needed
input without which you would have
missed a suspense date the boss who
understood when you had to take last
Tuesday off and your family by just
being there.
WE ARE SURROUNDED by people
like that all year and fortunate to be. We
acknowledge what they do for us by
saying “Thank you” at the time— some-
times peripherally sometimes profuse-
ly. And I’m sure we meant it.
But next eeek why not say it
again? Take a few minutes to recall
the people on post on in the neighbor-
hood who deserve your thanks for
something they’ve done for you or
for jrour post or neighborhood or your
country this past year. And then
take a few extra minutes and call
them or drop over and say thanks
again. It might sound a bit corny but
there is still room in this world for
such corniness. It’ll do you both good.
I’ll start. To all those readers who
have come up to me and said “I liked
your column” or “Why not write ab-
out this next week?” or those who
write in expressing whatever feelings
and opinions and to the rest who just
read the column and think a bit about
what it says Thank you.
And that’s my opinion.
(C ourtesy the Sentinel Fort
McPherson Ga.)
tem has lost credibility with the public
that in order to save the idea of compa-
rability at all we need to change it.
THE ADMINISTRATION plan
would include federal workers’ benefits
(mainly retirement and life insurance)
and look at the (traditionally low) salar-
ies of county municipal and state em-
ployees when determining compara-
bility.
The proposal is endorsed by the City
and County Administrators of the
Washington Metropolitan Area county
state and municipal administrators
personnel groups and the Chamber of
Commerce of the United States. It is
opposed by many government em-
ployee unions.
Hearings on the legislation the Fed-
eral Employees Compensation Reform
Bill (S. 1340 H.R. 4477) began recently
in the House Post Office and Civil Ser-
vice Committee.
What exactly pay reform will mean is
not completely clear but the bottom
line is that advocates say it will save the
taxpayers $3 billion per year. One
might without too much paranoia
wonder out of whose pockets those sav-
wings will come.
(Courtesy of Soundoff Fort Meade
Md.)
Bob ath is 778-4444.............
W a lte M. illey 526-5141..
S andi Bishop 526-5141 .........
etters to th E ditor
Military wife socks
recruit’s image
“Hard-core old fogie graduates of the old Army.” In-
deed. “Today’s young people continue to get bad raps
placed upon them.” Good grief.
WE WPO HAVE been associated with the military for
a lifetime sincerely regret your disenchantment with
the Army. (My dad and husband should have had it so
good.)
You say Vietnam was in the closet? You must be
joking! My husband spent two years in that jungle
knowing his younger counterparts were marching in
the streets at home burning draft cards and turning
chicken. He was in his early 20s at the time. Consider-
ing it was my husband who was wounded and my chil-
dren who were deprived of a father and our friends who
were killed or missing in action I deeply apologize that
this resulted in your “negative attitude toward the
Army.”
You have been so protected by modem day philo-
sophies i.e. a kick in the rear may give the recipient a
complex with tendencies toward anxiety and frustra-
tion and could result in a feeling of not being loved
eating a “square” meal in a mess hall could cause chro-
nic indigestion which may result in a feeling of not
being wanted any action taking the form of discipline
may cause trauma resulting in the feeling of not being
understood.
I AGREE WITH one point and that is television re-
cruiting commercials do tend to be misleading. Since
you obviously put so much stock in commercials I’m
about to burst your bubble again. You know those
shaving commercials where the guy has a face full of
lather and is about to prove how good a certain razor
is well the truth is he’s already clean-shaven under-
neath and as that marvelous razor slides down that
rugged face ... there is no blade in it. You’re lucky I’m
not going any farther because I don’t want to destroy
your world completely.
Let me give you this advice Name Withheld. Clip out
your letter to the editor and save it. If you should follow
the natural course of evolution you will one day
grow up marry and produce a member of a younger
generation. Should that child resent your guidance
perhaps it would be best not to get upset. Just whip
out your anti-establishment letter and show him how
“all-knowing” you were at his age.
In the meanwhile I am going to hang out my Amer-
ican flag in support of my countrymen who are being
held hostage /n Iran and I’m going to pray to God*that
those “old fogie hard-cores” will not be forced to deal
with your negative the-world-owes-me-a-living atti-
tude in battle. I think it would be they who would curse
the recruiters.
ARLENE PAUCIELLO
Fort Hood Texas
ependents9 needs
ignored by Army?
“Behind every good and successful man there’s a
woman.” These are words not spoken only by this
writer but are words of wisdom come down
throughout the ages.
Approximately two years ago my husband came in
contact with Army recruiters. At that point we were*
told how family oriented the Army was and that it did
its best to maintain strong family ties.
NOW WE HAVE found this to be totally untrue espe-
cially considering our present situation.
I am a dependent wife and I’m pregnant. Not an un-
usual statement right? We also have two girls ages 6
and 2 the younger of whom has been hospitalized twice
within a year because of a chronic ear infection. The last
hospitalization stay lasted 12 days for interveneous
feeding of medication.
Our problem now is that my husband has come down
on levy for Korea. How is that a problem? Well I’ll be
left here in Texas as he departs less than one and a half
months before the birth of our third child with two
others one who is sickly and no friends or relatives
near since bdth my husband and I are originally from-
the Caribbean.
I HAVE BEEN an emotional wreck because of the
situation since the end of September at a time when a
woman is to be free from emotional stress.. I keep won-
dering how am I to make it? What’ll happen to my two
kids while I’m giving birth? Suppose complications
occur to whom do I turn? What if I’m sick and my child
needs to go to the hospital who’s to help?
The only answer we ever get is that if you don’t meet
Army regulations (either be hospitalized for physical
problems or on the other hand to be in for psychiatric
problems) there’s nothing that can be done to help.
Some alternative!
The issue behind this is one of morality. The Army
expects the dependent to stand behind the soldier but
what about the need of the dependent? Is it to be totally
ignored? The Army tells the soldiers “the Army comes
first” but in a case of health both physically and emo-
tionally the family situation should be taken into con-
sideration on an individual basis.
I’m hoping that in cases where our situation is the
same as others more soldiers will take a stand on what
they believe to be ill treatment and that someone
would do something about it. I also hope that others to
whom the situation may not pertain would get in-
volved for it could just as easily be you.
by an a rtis will result in th refusal to rin ad ertisin from th a source.
eadlines for editoral a tte are noon rid a forth following eek 's issue. SE N IN E ito rs re rv th rig toe it all copy
to conform ith SE N IN E jo rn alistic ta a rd s. The rre ircu latio of th SE N IN E is 23000.
LELIA HACKETT
Killeen Texas
...........................................A ertisin a ag
..............................K illeen S males re se ta tiv
..............................Killeen S males re se ta tiv
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The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 41, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 13, 1979, newspaper, December 13, 1979; Temple, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth309429/m1/4/: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.