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President, VA Secretary pledge support for veterans
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Still reaching out of his comfort zone
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Women veterans convene at National Harbor BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
Women Veterans Interactive hosted a three-day conference on issues impacting female service members and veterans Nov. 9 - 11 at National Harbor, Md. The event presented information on support services available to women veterans and tools to help them transition smoothly to life beyond military service. This was WVI’s second annual Veterans Day Celebration, and included presentations from the U.S. Department of Labor, VA, organizations dedicated to helping female veterans pursue entrepreneurship and social justice and a keynote speech by financial adviser Suze Orman. Priscilla Eddy of Bethesda, Md., a retired Navy hospital corpsman, praised the event for the opportunity to connect with and support other women veterans, many of whom she first met in conjunction with a University of Maryland focus group. “There’s a connection when you meet other women vets, and we have kept in touch,” Eddy said. “Male service members have that bond, all the time. Even those who are seriously wounded and part of a wounded warrior unit, they all say, ‘I just want to get back to my unit.’ But as women we don’t have that. The day they land, they’re Mom again.” The weekend also included a job fair, relaxed networking and a river cruise. For Eddy and many other women at the conference, it was an opportunity to think back on the care they were able to provide other service members, as medical professionals. Dana Blake, who retired after 26 years as a medic just this past February, said that her work at Malcolm Grow’s Coumadin clinic was an opportunity to build rapport with patients. She now teaches pharmacology students, sharing the lessons she learned in the military as well as medical techniques. Women shared their war stories and talked about their experiences beyond the military, finding work, adjusting to the professional atmosphere of the private sector, caring for family members and building futures for themselves, on a military foundation that has not always taken women’s needs into account. “A lot of us are medical (professionals) and as women we help ourselves, last,” Eddy said. “We
Goats deployed in Hyattsville to help environment, educate
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2013 | VOL. 2 NO. 44
Book reunites families linked by World War II Author tracked families of survivors of a crash in Nazi-controlled Albania for “The Secret Rescue” BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
Akhil Gena traveled from his native Albania to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to honor his father. In Nov. 1943, Hassan Gena was among a group of Albanians who witnessed the crash of an American Army plane, and risked his own safety to help care for and hide 30 service members until they could be rescued. “My father said, ‘We almost shot those guys, and I said, stop, wait. those aren’t Nazis. They are Americans,’” Gena recounted. “Now, we have no communists, we have no fascists. We have democracy, thank God. And I just want to say God bless America, and God bless Albania.” Akhil Gena was at the memorial accompanied by family and friends and dozens of people he came to know because of that plane crash, and the effort near-
PHOTOS/CHRIS BASHAM
Women Veterans Interactive founder and CEO Ginger Miller, left, and Mrs. Maryland America 2010 Raquel Riley Thomas pledge allegiance to the American flag.
have wounded warriors who are women, and women veterans who are homeless. You always think of men, but there are women, too. The military is trying hard to help people transition.” Laurice Lucas of Clinton, Md., a retired Air Force nurse, said that many women veterans “get out of the military and are angry, and don’t want to be bothered, but there are so many resources out there, if they look for them.” Mrs. Maryland America 2010 Raquel Riley Thomas spoke of her experience both as a member of the armed forces and as the daughter of a service member. Encouraged as an E4 to pursue ROTC options, Riley Thomas said that she went on to earn a degree in psychology because of what she saw her mother experience due to untreated post-traumatic stress disorder. She works to help women within the military and in the private sector to achieve their goals.
“I have become a vigilante to ensure we take care of us,” Riley Thomas said. “We can go out and kill everybody to the left and the right of us, and that’s OK, and sometimes we can do it in pumps, too.”
see BOOK, page 8
New Wal-Mart proposal hopes to get Prince George’s County, community approval BY CHASE COOK
THE PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
Lorree K. Slye performs the national anthem.
ly 70 years later to document the crash and subsequent escape. For many children and grandchildren of the crash survivors, the facts of what Craig Lebo, son of a service member who had been on the plane in 1943, said his father always euphemistically called, “an incident in Albania,” were never known until author Cate Lineberry researched the events and their aftermath for her book, “The Secret Rescue: An Untold Story of American Nurses and Medics Behind Nazi Lines (Little, Brown and Company, May 2013). The Secret Rescue recounts the events leading up to the crash and the efforts, over several months in 1943 and 1944, to protect a crew of Army medics and nurses from the Nazis until they could be rescued. Lineberry said she wrote the book after learning of the “ordinary men and women who were involved
Wal-Mart has updated its pitch for a proposed Oxon Hill store near John Hanson Montessori School in an effort to appease nearby residents and Prince George’s County officials. The new proposal moves the store closer to Oxon Hill Road and increases the number of parking spaces from 486 to the county required 507, as WalMart aims to get approval, according to the proposal. “It is a pretty major move to flip-flop the building and parking that way,” said Nina Albert, Wal-Mart community affairs director. “The feedback we have gotten from the community has been positive.” Albert said the changes to the building were made to satisfy community concerns about parking coming right off of Oxon Hill Road and having a parking lot placed right next
to the John Hanson Montessori School, which will be one of the store’s neighbors if it is approved. Now traffic will travel down Clipper Way to get into the parking lot while a landscape buffer of about 50 feet has been placed between the store and the John Hanson Montessori School next door. The store, if approved, will create about 300 jobs, Albert said. Nicole Nelson, vice president of the John Hanson Montessori School Parent Teacher Student Association, said the changes weren’t enough to warrant her support because she fears there won’t be enough security at the location. Nelson participated in a protest on Oct. 24 with other parents of John Hanson Montessori School students and Oxon Hill High School students, another school less than a mile south of the proposed Wal-Mart. The
see WAL-MART, page 8
My Haiku hangs a laundry line of feminine conversation in Brentwood BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
As a child growing up in an Italian neighborhood in Connecticut, Cianne Fragione was accustomed to lively family discussions, robust gardens and bilingual conversation. “I didn’t know there was another world (where people did not speak Italian at home). I lived 10 years in my grandparents’ home, so we always heard it,” Fragione said. After a career as a dancer in Connecticut, Vermont and California, she started to back away from the performing arts and focus on choreography on paper and canvas. A selection of Fragione’s latest paintings, drawings and mixed media art are on display through
Dec. 28 at the Brentwood Arts Exchange in the Gateway Arts Center in Brentwood, Md. My Haiku presents works inspired by Pennsylvania’s Soaring Gardens and by a recent residency for Americans of southern Italian descent, held in a small village in Calabria, Italy. “It was like being home. Italy has always felt more my home. I have been back and forth. It’s just an amazing experience,” Fragione said. “The first time I was able to go across the straights, it was very intense. These are the straights my parents left their family from.” While in Italy, Fragione drew, photographed and painted, leaving her larger works at the resi-
see HAIKU, page 4
PHOTO/CHRIS BASHAM
Fragione’s Soaring Gardens, (walnuts) is made using oil, walnut ink and pastels on paper.
Cianne Fragione discusses her paintings and mixed-media work at a Nov. 9 opening reception for her installation, My Haiku, at Brentwood Arts Exchange in the Gateway Arts Center, Brentwood, Md.
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Andrews Gazette
HOT TICKETS
Commentary
Help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan
Around Town November 15
World Blues featuring Taj Mahal, Vusi Mahlasela and Deva Mahal with Fredericks Brown George Mason University’s Center for the Arts, intersection of Braddock Road and Route 123, Fairfax, Va. 8 p.m. Hear soulful, blues-based world music in a familyfriendly performance. For information visit www.cfa.gmu. edu.
Through December 1
Needleart Exhibit: A Walk Down Memory Lane Montpelier Mansion Historic Site, 9650 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, Md. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily, closed Thanksgiving Day See demonstrations of needle art techniques, visit supply and jewelry vendors and enjoy a juried show in its 18th year. Reserve your spot at the Needleart Tea 1:30 p.m. Nov. 16. For information visit http://history.pgparks.com.
November 16
MST3K Movie Night at the Planetarium 1426 North Quincy Street, Arlington, Va. Doors open 6:15 p.m. Snark away at a 1970s comet-themed B movie. For ages 14 and up. For information visit www.mst3k.com.
November 17
Show Boat in Concert Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, 7719 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Md. 7:30 p.m. Young Artists of America Youth Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble performs Jerome Kern’s classic. For information visit www.youngartistsamerica.org.
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Andrews Gazette is published by Comprint Military Publications, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force or any branch of the United States military. The appearance of advertising in these publications, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or the products and services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, martial status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non merit factor of the purchases, user or patron.
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jrives@dcmilitary.com
Friday, November 15, 2013
Chris Basham, editor cbasham@dcmilitary.com Deirdre Parry, page design dparry@gazette.net Bobby Jones, photographer bjones@dcmilitary.com
BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
The reports are grim: Entire towns swept away, families decimated, survivors struggling to find food and water and a safe place to stay. The people of the Philippines are recovering from last Friday’s storm, one of the strongest in recorded history, and as Americans it is natural for us to look across the sea and want to help. Fortunately, it is possible to make a difference in these lives experiencing horrific trauma and loss. Many aid organizations were already in place at the time Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, in response to an earthquake that shook parts of the country on Oct. 15. Though those organizations are well placed to be of service, the food, water and other supplies they are working to distribute have largely run out. More is needed.
The Philippine Red Cross is accepting monetary donations at http:// www.redcross.org.ph/donate. They will also accept some other donations. Sadly, their site includes a notice to potential donors asking them not to send “rotten, damaged, expired or decayed goods,” or old clothes. What the people on the ground need is real help, not someone’s unwanted discards. A cash or credit donation can help local organizations purchase food and other needed supplies efficiently. The American Red Cross is partnering with the Philippine Red Cross and international organizations and can accept targeted donations through its site, www.redcross. org. Though transportation is a challenge along washed out roads, the Salvation Army is providing food, clothing and shelter to those in need. Want to make a donation? Visit https://donate.salvationarmyusa.org/
TyphoonHaiyan. Catholic Relief Services is providing emergency shelter, hygiene and clean water supplies. Sometimes it’s as simple as a sturdy tarp to provide temporary shelter from the continuing heavy weather of additional storms battering the islands. To make a donation, visit http://emergencies.crs.org/typhoon-haiyan-helpphilippines-survive-and-recover/. Habitat for Humanity is known for helping families build homes. In the Philippines today, they are distributing home repair kits to help families rebuild. To make a donation, call 1-800-HABITAT. Even in our own economically challenged times, Americans are known to help, because we can, and because we will. Many other organizations are working together to help the people of the Philippines recover. If you can, be part of that effort, wherever you are.
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Retiree Corner COURTESY OF THE RETIREE ACTIVITIES OFFICE
Account Statements are available
Your Retiree Account Statement is a two-page document issued by the Defense Accounting and Finance Service that summarizes your pay, benefits and deductions. It is a description of what you can expect on the next pay date. A monthly electronic account statement is available to those receiving retirement payments. The eRAS is only available on myPay, the online account management system for military members and DoD employees. Statements are available each month and you can access up to 12 statements. In addition to the eRAS, retirees receive a RAS whenever there is a change to their account and each December. If you cannot access myPay or you need a RAS that is no longer in your myPay account, send a detailed written request to: DFAS Retired Pay, P.O. Box
DMV comes to Ft. Belvoir
Virginia area military retirees and others doing business at Fort Belvoir will get a break from long lines and interminable waits at motor vehicle offices starting next spring. The Virginia DMV will open an office on post offering full services, including titling, registration and driver licensing. DMV is funding the renovation of a building provided by the Army. Space was made available in the former Military Clothing store, next to the old Home and Garden store, following consolidation of exchange facilities under one roof. Response to visits by DMV mobile units to the post since 2012 prompted the decision. The mobile units averaged
Scanning starts at commissaries
Commissaries are scanning customers’ Department of Defense ID cards at checkouts. Scanning began at some installations Nov. 10 and will be in practice agencywide by mid-January. Commissary shoppers are used to showing their ID cards to establish their eligibility to use the commissary. Scanning will eliminate the need for DeCA to maintain personal information on customers who write checks. “In addition to verifying customers as authorized commissary patrons, we’ll gain information that will give us a better understanding of our patrons, allowing the agency to provide the commissary benefit more effectively and efficiently,” a DeCA spokesman said. The demographic information is limited to ID
see RETIREE, page 4
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Andrews Gazette
Friday, November 15, 2013
TRASH TO TREASURE SETS GREEN SHOPPING TO MUSIC For the fifth year in a row, Watkins Nature Center in Upper Marlboro, Md. hosted the Trash to Treasure Green Craft Fair Nov. 9. Watkins Nature Facility and Program Manager Nichole Patterson said that this year’s fair attracted approximately 1,000 visitors who came to shop for homemade items, view a nature presentation, try their hands at arts and crafts, learn about local nonprofit and environmental organizations or dance to live music. “We’ve had a lot of kids come out with their parents. The parents shop while the kids are entertained,” Patterson said.
PHOTOS/CHRIS BASHAM
Jaden DeLoatch-Tyson, 2, and Derrick Riley, 3, both of Landover, Md., learn about the life cycle of frogs inside the Watkins Nature Center.
Jalyn Ruffin, 7, of Landover, Md., blows soap bubbles while dancing to the music of Delaware-based Nature Jams.
Josiah Travis, 4, of Capitol Heights, Md., paints.
JBA Buzz
Understand Urgent Care before you go
Are you living your dream?
Senior Airman Thomas Bui, 779th Dental Squadron dental technician
Capt. Golden Hartley, 779th Dental Squadron dentist
“I am living my dream because since joining the military, my window of opportunity has opened immensely in my career of choice. The Air Force is helping me to achieve my goal of becoming an Air Force dentist, loan free.”
“I knew I wanted to be in the military since I was the second grade and I wanted to be a dentist since I was five years old. California was my first choice of duty stations, but living in the nation’s capitol has turned out to be really good. I’m truly living my dream.”
Karen Konrad of Tacoma Park, Md. makes a bird-shaped ornament from a felted sweater. Her company, Zelma, offers handmade, up-cycled clothing, accessories and decorative items created from recycled materials.
BY KATHY CANFIELD
“Yes, I think so, because I’m supporting the mission, but most of all I’m helping others.”
779TH MEDICAL GROUP SUPPORT SQUADRON
At Malcolm Grow Medical Clinics and Surgery Center, Joint Base Andrews, we have a fully staffed, 24 hour a day Emergent Care Center, available for urgent and emergency medical care needs. Patients who become ill after hours with an “urgent” condition--one that requires treatment within 24 hours--use the ECC. For emergencies--a danger of losing life, limb, or eyesight due to injury or illness--call 911 when off base or call 522 on the installation. Always go to the nearest military or civilian hospital emergency room. “Our ECC strives to provide the highest quality urgent and emergency medical care for you and your family. By working hand-in-hand with your Primary Care Manager, we are better able to coordinate follow-up treatment in a timely manner and improve overall continuity of care,”
Airman 1st Class Jessica Feihl, 779th Aerospace Medicine Squadron aerospace physiology apprentice
“Yes, because I’m supporting my family, I have no issues with my job and I like what I do.”
said Maj. Clinton Wahl, ECC Flight Commander. In this time of austere fiscal constraints it is critical to use health care resources wisely. Choosing MGMCSC for urgent care needs can help control health care costs for families and the DoD. If you prefer to use a civilian provider, please note that TRICARE requires prior authorization; you could risk incurring the cost of the visit. The TRICARE health benefit does not authorize routine care when traveling out of the local area. For urgent medical concerns or emergencies while traveling, use a civilian provider if there are no military treatment facilities available. Call Health Net (1-877-874-2273) for assistance in locating a provider and then contact your PCM for a referral. At MGMCSC, patients are our top priority. We appreciate patient support and look forward to providing superior health care services to JBA families.
Correction
Cookies are staying closer to home
Senior Airman Daniel Phelps, 779th Medical Support Squadron medical laboratory technician
The home baked cookies for the annual Christmas Cookie Drive will not be shipped to service members abroad. They will be delivered to Airmen living in the dorms on Joint Base Andrews. Fire up those ovens, to share a taste of home with young Airmen right here on our own installation.
For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,
visit www.dcmilitary.com.
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Andrews Gazette
Friday, November 15, 2013
President, VA Secretary pledge support for veterans BY DONNA MILES
AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- President Barack Obama commemorated Veterans Day Nov. 11 at Arlington National Cemetery, calling the holiday a reminder of the nation’s “sacred obligation” to those who have “fought for our freedom and stood sentry for our security” throughout America’s history. The United States must never forget those who have stood apart, volunteering their service and putting their lives on the line “so the rest of us might live in a country and a world that is safer, freer and more just,” he said. “This is the gift they have given us,” the president said. “This is the debt that we owe them.” Speaking to hundreds of veterans from every U.S. campaign, including audience member 107-year-old World War II veteran Richard Overton, Obama said
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PHOTO BY EJ HERSOM
President Barack Obama pauses before a wreath he placed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Nov. 11. Vice President Joe Biden is behind the president at left.
this commitment is particularly important as forces in Afghanistan return home from the nation’s longest war. “On tour after tour after tour in Iraq and Afghanistan … the 9/11 generation has met every mission we have asked of them,”
Obama said. “And today, we can say that because of their heroic service, the core of Al-Qaida is on the path to defeat, our nation is more secure and our homeland is safer.” He emphasized the importance of ensuring the service and sacrifice that
made this possible isn’t forgotten after the mission is complete. “Even though this time of war is coming to a close, our time of service to our newest veterans has only just begun,” he said. Just as the U.S. must ensure its troops are the best-
led, -trained and –equipped, Obama said, “we have to devote just as much energy and passion to making sure we have the best-cared for, best-treated, best-respected veterans in the world.” “So when we talk about fulfilling our promises to our veterans, we don’t just mean for a few years,” he said. “We mean now, tomorrow and forever. And not just for generations past, but for this generation of veterans and all who will follow.” Obama promised to ensure the United States continues its “unprecedented support” for veterans, with measures to provide the services and benefits they have earned. He noted the Joining Forces campaign, which is helping veterans translate their experience into meaningful employment, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill program, which recently reached a milestone in awarding educational benefits to the 1 millionth recipient.
“That is our promise to you and all who’ve served, to be there, to support you when you come home every step of the way,” he said. “As a nation, we will strive to be worthy of the sacrifices you have made.” Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, who introduced the president at the ceremony, praised the “unwavering support” the nation provides its veterans, survivors and their families. “Veterans Day is about celebrating and honoring our veterans who have given so much for the rest of us,” he said. “It’s not just a one-day-a-year event. It an abiding commitment, every day of every year.” Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at 11 a.m. – the exact time the original armistice was declared on Nov. 11, 1918, marking the end of World War I -- before his comments in the Arlington National Cemetery amphitheater.
AFA/AFSA HOST VETERANS DAY WREATH-LAYING The Air Force Association and Air Force Sergeants Association sponsored a Veterans Day Wreath laying ceremony Nov. 11 at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. Keynote speaker, Lt. General Stephen L. Hoog, Air Force Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, addressed an audience of 140 service members, retirees and civilians. The event included a moment of silence for those who have lost their lives in war. Retired Air Force General John A. Shaud, Air Force Memorial Board of Trustees, Air Force Memorial Fund Foundation, was among the speakers.
PHOTOS/BOBBY JONES
A brother and sister pay tribute to the U.S. flag during the national anthem.
Retired Air Force General John A. Shaud, left, Air Force Memorial Board of Trustees, Air Force Memorial Fund Foundation, Lt. General Stephen L. Hoog, Air Force Assistant Vice Chief of Staff and Morgan Brown, Air Force Association Director, Military and Government Relations participate in a Veterans Day Wreath Laying ceremony.
Jim Hannam, Air Force Association, Vice President Leadership Development, renders a salute during the singing of the national anthem.
An inscription wall at the entrance of the Air Force Memorial reflects the Air Force monument and statues. The north wall bears the names of Air Force recipients of the Medal of Honor.
HAIKU, from page 1 dency and bringing inspiration home to her O Street, Washington, D.C. studio. Her art was influenced not only by the sights of Italy, but by the unexpected finds noticed there by her American eyes. “One thing the Italians don’t do is recycle. There was olive netting discarded down by the river. When they’re done with it, they just toss it. I started making dresses out of the netting, incorporating into them things that I’d pick up. Every day I’d hang out a new dress,” said Fragione, who had learned the skill from her grandmother, a seamstress and dress designer. Back in America, Fragione’s long, narrow art studio guided her as she started on a series of paintings hung together like a laundry line. The paintings include dresses and fabrics from Fragione’s own closet as well as vintage pieces found at friends’ shops. “They have a history. They are somebody’s. They talk about that history, of people’s lives from immigration, to the present day of living here,” said Fragione, who incorporated a wide range of clothing styles in her work, using pieces from as long ago as the 1800s, black dresses reminiscent of her Italian relatives’ wardrobes, and the imprints of other pieces simply pressed into paint and touched to the canvas only long enough to leave a shadow. The clothesline concept appealed to her as a sort of landscape where women gather and talk together, and where the most private things are quietly on display, waving in the breezes above the family garden. “Heaven and earth meet each other in the garden,” said Fragione.
RETIREE, from page 2 card number, rank, military status, branch of service, age, household size, and ZIP codes of residence and duty station.
01040079B
The Retiree Activities Office is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Visit the office in Building 1604 at California and Colorado Avenues or call us at 301-9812726. Our e-mail address is rao@andrews.af.mil. Call the office before your visit to ensure a volunteer is on duty. The RAO has a website at www.andrews.af.mil; Under “Helpful Links” click on “Retirees Activity Office” for information on retiree subjects, including past copies of “Retiree Corner.”
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Andrews Gazette
Friday, November 15, 2013
Still reaching out of his comfort zone Author David Baldacci on writing, literacy, the NSA and military families just sit down and wing it. I might end up deleting it, or I might keep it. That’s all part of the creative process.
INTERVIEW BY CHRIS BASHAM STAFF WRITER
Gazette: Why did you shift from law to writing? Baldacci: When I was a little kid, my mom gave me a blank-paged book. I was one of those kids who never stopped talking, and she said ‘Write it down.’ Years later, she said she had just wanted a little peace and quiet in her life. Writing takes a long time and there’s no guarantee at all. I spent 20 years writing short stories. In America there’s no market for it. You’d sell and not even get a check: You’d get five copies of the magazine, as if you could eat that. I figured I’d write because I wanted to, and practice law to support my family. Gazette: What do you read? Baldacci: I’m a writer today because I was a reader as a kid. I read a wide variety of things. On my nightstand right now I have Jon Meacham on Jefferson; “The Hamlet” by Faulkner, and I took some motivation from that story in writing “King and Maxwell”; “The Monuments Men.” Sue Grafton’s a friend of mine, and I love her stuff. I read a lot of fiction, nonfiction and biographies. Gazette: For “King and Maxwell,” did you do onsite research in Afghanistan? Baldacci: “No it was all from a distance. One good thing: I have a number of friends in the military who have served quite a few tours over there and was able to cull their brains for interesting details. My job is to take a lot of facts, and leave most of them out. I’m not writing a textbook. You have to get the reader into the story immediately and one way to do that is with the atmosphere, those details. Gazette: “King and Maxwell” tells the story of 16-year-old Tyler Wingo and his parents. Did you base the Wingos on any actual military families?
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Baldacci’s latest book, “King and Maxwell,” is the sixth in a series featuring private investigators Sean Maxwell and Michelle King. The former Secret Service agents are called in to help Tyler Wingo, a 16-year-old whose father was erroneously reported killed in action in Afghanistan.
PHOTO BY ALEXANDER JAMES
David Baldacci has written 26 bestselling novels for adults and three novels for children--so far.
Baldacci: There are a lot of military families in this area and a lot have been my close friends for a long time. Certainly over the last 10, 12 years of war there has been a lot of stress and strain on families. To a person, they would all say this is what they volunteered for, but you can’t ignore the difficulties. I researched how the military responds to extraordinary events like these—families left adrift. The military does have policies and protocols in place to address that. Gazette: What inspired you to write about an error within the DoD? Baldacci: I’ve been in the Washington area for 25 years: In law, I’ve worked with people on Capitol Hill. I have friends in the DoD and the Pentagon. It’s a huge labyrinth of people, rules and vast amounts of money. I read accounts of large amounts of money being loaded into trucks and driven into the desert and no one knows what happens to it. Tribal chief-
tans being paid off. You try to build your fiction on a basis of fact. What could that amount of money be used to pay for? Gazette: With the controversy about the NSA, what do you think about the access our government has to personal communications and social media activity? Baldacci: Law school presents the problems of the “slippery slope.” It is indeed slippery. It’s a balance between safety and privacy. It probably changes day to day. If it seems invasive people will react against that, but if something happens people will say the government didn’t do anything (to protect from terrorists). It’s important to have a strong media so that if government officials overstep egregiously they’ll be called to task. I’m not sure that a Snowden is the right way to go about it. Right now it seems there’s more positive than negative coming out of what Snowden’s released, but that could quickly change
CAPTION THIS
as well. If we can’t trust our own government, we can’t trust the Russians or the Chinese to not abuse the information he gives them. It’s a quagmire: As human beings we have to trudge through it every day. It’s going to be an ongoing thing in the information age. There’s so much out there and so much being collected. Down the road we’ll probably look on this as the quaint old days. And it’s not just the government. It’s private companies that collect this data, to sell it to other companies, to target us for specialized advertising. They’re not just selling ads: They’re selling data for profit. Gazette: You’ve written several books featuring Michelle Maxwell and Sean King. Do you have a future planned for more books featuring those characters? Baldacci: I sit down and write and see what happens. It’s really difficult to outline things like that in advance. I didn’t know how it would end when I started. I always thought it would be a drudge to adhere to a rigid outline. As you’re actually writing the novel, things happen--characters turn out to be important, other characters less so. I
Gazette: Do you watch the films and television programs based on your books? Are you happy with them? Baldacci: Sure, I do. For the most part I am. It’s apples and oranges. For Wish You Well I wrote the screenplay and was involved in that. It was probably the hardest I ever worked: a 24-hour day. Lots of issues and problems come up. The book is an entity unto itself. I understand it’s going to be different from the book. You can’t film the entire book, or else it will be an eight-hour movie. Some things have to go, and other things get put in. I learned a long time ago that if a very attractive couple is falling in love and a really big ship is sinking for a very long time, people will watch. Otherwise, people won’t sit still for four hours. Gazette: Tell me about your work with the Wish You Well Foundation. Baldacci: My wife Michelle and I founded that. We fund programs in all 50 states. It’s all about literacy: It’s a cornerstone for democracy. If people can’t read, they can’t think for themselves..they’re just lemmings. Nature abhors a vacuum, and if you can’t form your own opinions there are people out there who who will gladly provide them for you. We’re an information society but people know less and less every year. Go back to the 1860s and people could tell you more about the candidates and what they stand for, and they all knew who the president and vice president were. The best way to be come well-rounded is to become well read. It’s very easy to stay within your own box. It all starts with literacy. It’s the one skill that if you teach people how to do it, most of our social problems go away. Gazette: Your
next
book, “The Finisher,” is a fantasy for children. Do you tend to alternate between adult fiction and youth fiction? Baldacci: I wrote a couple books for very young kids years ago as a lark that started out of stories I told my own kids. “The Finisher” is a change. It took me about five years to write. No one knew I was writing it. My agent, my publisher didn’t know. I grew up reading fantasy. It was quite a joy to write it. When I first sold “The Finisher,” I sent it out under a pseudonym. When they bought it they had no idea it was me. Sometimes a writer will write a story because they want to. Gazette: Is writing different for you, with 26 bestsellers under your belt, than it was when you were working on your first novel? Baldacci: I’d like to say it’s easier, and in some respects it is, but writing is one of the few occupations that you don’t get better at after practicing over and over again you get worse. I wouldn’t want to be a patient for a surgeon who says, “I did it the same way for 30 years, so today I want to do something different,” but as a writer you don’t want to write the same book over and over again with different names. I try to reach out of my comfort zone, write about different characters in different settings, so I won’t drop into a formula. Writing a formula would not be fun to read or to write. David Baldacci will appear at Barnes & Noble at Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. for a talk and book signing at 7 p.m. Nov. 21. He will also answer questions and sign books at Politics and Prose, 5015 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington D.C. at 6 p.m. Nov. 23. His latest book, “King and Maxwell,” is the sixth in a series that features a pair of former Secret Service agents working as private investigators.
OORAH!
PHOTO/BOBBY JONES
Send your silly captions for this week’s photo to cbasham@dcmilitary.com. The funniest ones will be used in a future edition of The Andrews Gazette.
Joint Base Andrews’ Freedom Hall Dining facility hosted a birthday celebration with a cake to commemorate the 238th Marine Corps birthday Nov. 8. Marine Private 1st Class Katherine Hallstrom, VR ANDREWS, the youngest Marine, enjoys the second slice of birthday cake commemorating the 238th Marine Corps birthday, as retired Master Gunnery Sergeant Johnny Martin, center, the oldest Marine, and Lt. Col. Michael Johnson, VR ANDREWS VIP flight pilot, observe.
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SECURITY FORCES SQUADRON FREEZES OUT CIVIL ENGINEER SQUADRON The 11 SFS dominated the turf with a convincing 37 to 0 win against the 11th Civil Engineer Squadron Nov. 12 in an Intramural Flag Football Playoff game plagued by breezy, 40-degree temperatures.
Josh Jewell, 11th Security Forces Squadron quarterback and speed demon, scrambles for critical yardage to set his team up for a touchdown against 11th Civil Engineer Squadron players.
“Doc” Jones, 11th Civil Engineer Squadron quarterback, received constant pressure from the 11th Security Forces Squadron team members throughout the game.
PHOTOS/BOBBY JONES
Joe Osborne, 11th Civil Engineer Squadron wide receiver, tries to navigate through a couple of 11 SFS team members after a five-yard reception.
Josh Jewell, 11th Security Forces Squadron quarterback, top center, lobs a tenyard pass to his wide receiver, bottom center, for a touchdown during the last half of the game freeze-out.
Fun Run kicks off Native American Heritage Month BY AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOSHUA R. M. DEWBERRY
Goats deployed in Hyattsville to help environment, educate BY JAMIE ANFENSONCOMEAU THE PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
A group of students and parents on their way home from Rosa Parks Elementary School in Hyattsville stopped Nov. 7 to watch about 30 goats as they ate vines or romped in the sun behind a fence at Kirkwood Park as part of an environmental project. “I think this is awesome,” said Diego Chicas, 12. “They’re just eating and eating. My favorite part is that the goats are helping the environment.” The goats are part of a project by the environmental nonprofit Anacostia Watershed Society, in collaboration with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, to remove kudzu, an invasive vine native to Asia that has infested the area, said Mary Abe, AWS stewardship manager. The kudzu has killed off native plant life that serves as a natural filter to help protect the stream from overland stormwater runoff before it flows into the stream and functions as a critical wildlife corridor buffer, Abe said. “When [kudzu] takes hold, it basically swallows up the existing native vegetation,” Abe said, adding that kudzu can grow up to a foot a day. “It’s called ‘the plant that ate the South,’ and now it’s here.” Fortunately, Abe said, the goats are not picky eaters, and will happily munch on kudzu in the acre where they were penned. Nearby, another 20-plus goats finished off the kudzu in a half-acre plot. The goats, 60 in all, arrived Nov. 1. In one week, they had eaten up to 12,000 pounds of kudzu, Abe said. The goats are provided through Donaldson-based Eco-Goats, a business that rents goats for just this purpose, and was paid through a grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Abe said the goats are just the first step in the stream restoration project. “By clearing the kudzu away, it allows a really
BILL RYAN/THE PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
A goat eats invasive kudzu vines along the Northwest branch of the Anacostia River in Hyattsville as part of an effort to remove the plant and educate the public. The nonprofit environmental group Anacostia Watershed Society and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission are using 60 goats to clear out the kudzu.
good look at the land,” Abe said. “Also, by reducing the overall biomass of the kudzu, we remove the [kudzu] root system in a more efficient and complete manner to facilitate for the future planting and re-vegetation of this stream segment with native plants.” Abe said there are other ways the kudzu could be removed, but the goats offer a way to reach out and inform the community. “It has allowed us to engage the community in a meaningful way. If we were out here with a mower, they wouldn’t care. But goats? People are slamming on their brakes to look,” Abe said. Abe and other members of AWS were on hand to explain to children and their parents what the goats were doing and why. A sign, posted in both English and Spanish, also explained about the project. Maria Villarta, 9, who lives nearby, said her
mother was driving past and pulled over the first time they noticed the goats. Now they’ve gotten used to seeing them. “We really like the goats. They don’t make any noise in the night,” her sister, Brenda Villarta, 10, said. Daniel Ventura, 11, came because a friend had told him about the goats. He said the goats are great and has picked out a large brown goat as his favorite. “He’s pretty smart, because if he cannot find any leaves on the ground, he stands up on his back legs to get them,” Ventura said. Although the goats finished their work Friday, Abe said they will be back in March for a longer visit to devour any recurring kudzu before native vegetation is planted. This story originally appeared in the Nov. 11 edition of The Prince George’s Gazette.
Capitol Heights nonprofit hosts holiday toy and food drive
11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Team Andrews kicked off Native American Heritage Month with a fun run Nov. 7 at the West Fitness Center. “We take this time to honor Native American culture, heritage and influences on American society,” said Navy 1st Class Petty Officer Paul Lanchantin, Washington Training Department aviation electronics technician (AW) and Naval Air Facility multicultural committee vice president. “It’s important we recognize the impact and significance the Native American people have had on our society and we want to do it through the several events we’ll be holding throughout the month.” Also scheduled are a book reading for elemen-
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BY ERIC GOLDWEIN
THE PRINCE GEORGE’S GAZETTE
U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JOSHUA DEWBERRY
Service members participate in the 2013 National American Indian and Alaskan Heritage Month fun run at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Nov 7.
tary school children today at Imagine Andrews and a food sampling with artifact display Nov. 22 at building 3086. The food sampling will serve a menu (subject to
change) consisting of deer jerky, acai/blueberry tea, wild rice, pumpkin candy and corn bread. For more information or questions on these events, call 240-857-4499.
Community members are invited to participate in a food and toy drive hosted by Mission of Love Charities Inc., a Capitol Heights-based nonprofit dedicated to serving underprivileged and impoverished residents across the Washington, D.C., region.
Residents are asked to bring unwrapped toys and nonperishable food to the building located at 6180 Old Central Ave., Capitol Heights. Willie Parker, warehouse supervisor for Mission of Love Charities, said the program is important to families in need. “We just wanted to make sure that the youngsters have winter stuff and
toys to play with,” Parker said. Mission of Love Charities is also hosting a Business Mitten Mixer 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at FedEx Field at 1600 Fedex Way in Landover. Residents are asked to bring winter gear, nonperishable food and unwrapped toys for distribution to families in need. For more information, call 301-333-4440.
For more news from other bases around the Washington, D.C. area,
visit www.dcmilitary.com.
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Understand the ‘Kiddie Tax’ BY JASON ALDERMAN
For something that sounds so innocent, the “kiddie tax” certainly can wreak havoc on unprepared taxpayers’ yearly returns. Congress first introduced the kiddie tax as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to discourage wealthy parents from sheltering their investment income in accounts under their children’s names, thereby avoiding paying taxes. The rules have been tweaked periodically ever since. Although the kiddie tax once applied only to the unearned income of children under 14 (hence the nickname), it now impacts all children under age 19 (as well as full-time students under 24), provided their earned income does not exceed half of the annual expenses for their support. Moreover, the kiddie tax is not just a wealthy person’s problem: Any outright gifts parents or grandparents bestow on young children, whether to avoid triggering the gift tax or simply out of generosity, could generate investment earnings that would be subject to the kiddie tax if they exceed a threshold amount. Here’s how the kiddie tax works: As it does with adults, the IRS differentiates between
income children earn through paper routes, summer jobs, etc. and unearned investment income they receive such as interest, dividends and capital gains ? usually by way of accounts opened in their names by parents. Taxation of the first $1,000 of a child’s unearned income is generally offset by the $1,000 standard tax deduction for dependents and won’t be taxed; the next $1,000 is taxed at the child’s own income tax rate: For example, the tax rate is 10 percent for taxable income up to $8,925. However, all unearned income over $2,000 is taxed at the parent’s marginal tax rate, which can be as high as 39.6 percent for married couples with taxable income over $450,000. There are two ways to report your child’s investment income to the IRS: File a separate return for your child using IRS Form 8615; or include it on your own tax return, using IRS Form 8814 ? the latter only works if they had no earned income to report. The tax owed will be the same either way. Although including your children’s investment income on your return may be more convenient, doing so could increase your adjusted gross income so much that you become subject to the alternative minimum tax or ineligible for certain income-based deductions and credits. For example, eligibility for the American Op-
portunity Tax Credit begins phasing out for individuals whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $80,000 ($160,000 for married couples). Other kiddie tax rules: • To be considered full-time students, children must attend school full time during at least five months of the year. • The kiddie tax does not apply to children who: are 19 to 23 and not full-time students; provide more than half of their own support from earned income; are over 24 and still dependents of their parents; or are under 24 but married and file a joint tax return. These children are all taxed adults at their own tax rate. Remember, gifts themselves are never taxable to the recipient. If a gift generates unearned investment income, however, that’s when taxation comes into play. Also, any gifts over $14,000 per individual, per year, will trigger the gift tax ? although most of us will never come close to the $5.25 million lifetime gift exemption. For more details on tax filing requirements for children, see IRS Publication 929, “Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.”
Editor’s note: Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs.
Security Forces Police Blotter The Security Forces Blotter is intended to keep members of the Joint Base Andrews Community informed and aware of the crimes and offenses that occur thorough out the base each week. If you have any information that may help the Security Forces solve a crime or prevent a criminal act, please contact BDOC (Base Defense Operations Center) at 301-981-2001, CRIME STOP LINE 981-2677 (COPS), or the investigations section at 301-981-5656. 3:23 p.m. Nov. 1, 2013: SF personnel activated the barriers at the North Gate due to a vehicle attempting to enter through the outbound lane. The vehicle was stopped before entering the installation. 2:10 a.m. Nov. 3, 2013: A individual was detained for a traffic violation. During the interaction phase, a strong odor resembling marijuana was detected. Upon further investigation a glass pipe was discovered, with leafy substance. Individual was charged accordingly. 5:21 p.m. Nov. 6, 2013: SF responded to a theft at the BX. Individual was detained by the Loss Prevention office. The individual was charged accordingly. The price of the amount stolen was $12.95.
Ask the Lawyer Can I get in trouble for slacking, if my work is done on time? BY MATHEW B. TULLY
Q. Can a service member get in trouble for dawdling while on duty even if he gets his work done and on time? A. There is a distinction between a job done and a job well done the right way. Think of when you were in school: Acing a test and getting a perfect score by cheating are two very different things. It’s no different in the military: The way a service member performs is as important as the duty itself. A service member can perform a duty and still be charged with dereliction of duty in violation of Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Manual for Courts-Martial states a service member is “derelict” when, “in the performance of duties…that person willfully or negligently fails to perform that person’s duties or when that person performs them in a culpably inefficient manner.” “Culpably inefficient” means “inefficiency for which there is no reasonable or just excuse.” Here, the emphasis on efficiency, or the lack of it, shows the military’s interest in how a duty is performed, regardless of any failure to perform it. The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals drove this point home in U.S. v. Ricky D. Craion (2006) when it said, “Willful departures from standards of conduct established in nonpunitive regulations can constitute willful derelictions of duty.” Craion involved an Army specialist who was convicted of, among other things, two specifications of dereliction of duty, stemming from his sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student intern while he was supposed to be inventorying and moving medical equipment. He was charged with willfully failing to conduct an inventory and move supplies “in a timely manner” in accordance to his duty and instead engaging in sexual activity with the 16-year-old girl while on duty, in uniform and on a military facility. At court-martial, the specialist claimed he was not willfully derelict, noting that he ultimately completed his duties. The Army Court of Criminal Appeals rejected this theory. It said that “[e]ven in cases where an order arguably authorizes delay, one should consider the reasonableness or unreasonableness of the delay when determining whether appellant complied with the order. It found the specialist’s departure from his military duties to commit a crime to be “inherently unreasonable.” The court, however, did mention that “[h]ad the specifications omitted reference to the timeliness of appellant’s accomplishing his tasks, appellant’s position would be stronger.” Service member’s charged with dereliction of duty should immediately contact a military law attorney. Depending on the circumstances, an attorney could show that the service member’s departure from duty was reasonable, that he or she satisfied his or her duties, or the duty of which he or she was accused of being derelict was not his or her duty in the first place. Mathew B. Tully is an Iraq war veteran and founding partner of the law firm Tully Rinckey PLLC. E-mail questions to askthelawyer@fedattorney.com. The information in this column is not intended as legal advice.
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BOOK, from page 1 in such a harrowing ordeal.” Brigadier General Wilma L. Vaught, president of the Board of Directors of the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc., praised the book for spotlighting the female nurses who served in World War II, and its author for sparking a long-overdue reunion. “The nurses, particularly the nurses in World War II, have never gotten the credit they deserved,” Vaught said. “After their rescue, only a handful of those 30 crew members ever got together, and now Cate has gathered their relatives in one room after 70 years.” Lineberry’s research for the book included a series of interviews with the last living survivor of the crash, former 807th medic Harold Hayes, as well as travel to Albania, to see the places where the crash occurred, where the medics and nurses were hidden, and where they traveled through the mountains on their way to rescue. “I met men who were just boys at the time, who remembered the Americans,” Lineberry said of her trip to Albania. Visit www.dcmilitary.com to see World
WAL-MART, from page 1 protestors had concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety. “Our children’s safety is paramount,” Nelson said. Henneberg said the company will work with the community to ensure the store is safe. “It is in our shared interest with the community to ensure the safety of our customers and associates, and so [we] will work with the neighborhood to ensure that the location is safe,” Henneberg wrote in an email to The Gazette. Wal-Mart’s new proposal was submitted on Oct. 8, after the Prince George’s County Council required the company to submit a new special exception proposal, said Tom Lockard, Prince George’s County Planning Department planner coordinator. The new proposal was required due to legislation for buildings larger than 85,000 square feet and with 10 percent food and beverage component, Lockard said. Wal-Mart, along with The Peterson Cos., which operates National Harbor 01040992B
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PHOTO/CHRIS BASHAM
Master of Ceremonies Craig Lebo recounts his father’s stories about the “good Soldiers” he knew while serving in the Army in World War II. Lebo’s father was among 30 service members on a plane which crashed in Nazi-controlled Albania in 1943, leading to a daring escape documented in Cate Lineberry’s new book, “The Secret Rescue.”
War II veteran Harold Hayes recount his escape from Nazi-controlled Albania and his work with author Cate Lineberry to document the escape in her new book, “The Secret Rescue.”
and owns the proposed site’s land, has been trying to build the store since May 2011, said Amanda Henneberg, Wal-Mart spokeswoman. Fort Washington resident Don Bates Sr. said he supports Wal-Mart’s bid to build the store because it will bring jobs to the area. He dismissed concerns from residents that the store would be unsafe for the children. “Who is going to go there?” Bates said. “It is not like it is bringing anybody that’s not from the community. It will be welllit, it is not like we are bringing a pool hall.” The Wal-Mart proposal is still in the beginning stages and a final decision on the site by the County Council is anticipated to happen in eight to 10 months, Lockard said. However, that time frame may be longer depending on when the council decides to make a decision on the site, so it is hard to give an exact time the proposal would be approved or denied, he said. This story originally appeared in the Nov. 13 edition of The Prince George’s Gazette.
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