10 JAX AIR NEWS, NAS JACKSONVILLE, Thursday, October 15, 2009 Courageous leaders in demand By Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Atticus Taylor Renowned novelist C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia wrote, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." The act of replenishing oth- ers through words of encour- agement can often seem eas- ier than the work required toward the replenishment of our own souls. Being real with ourselves as leaders is usually a more daunting task which is why many people prefer to focus on the perceived needs of other people. Each day pres- ents countless individuals that occupy various levels of pro- fessional responsibility with Cha the challenge to both public- (Lt. Cmdr.) ly and privately confront the fears and doubts robbing them of their unique leadership contribution. This situation exists on the home front, at work, and in interpersonal relationships where many seem to have no problem showing positional courage but fall dread- fully short when it comes to a consistency of character. This phenomenon is not new. Mark Twain addressed the issue in his day, stat- ing, "It is curious that physical courage should be so common and moral courage so rare." A contributing factor to this prevailing societal dilemma is an unwillingness to apply the judgment to live as we know we should, and not as we want. Additionally, many leaders, whether in the public or business sector, lack the backbone to practice those principles that they fully understand and know to be morally sound. Among them is the right attitude in our daily conduct to keep our vision untainted by ambition lest we perish in mediocrity, plain Atticus Tayl CHAPLAIN'S CORNER and our firm devotion to qual- ity lest we drown in our own failures. Such letdowns in courage come at a perilous price, grad- ually deteriorating the trust placed in us from those, and I might add even our own chil- dren, who view us as a life compass. The times that we are living in have changed what many of us understood "privacy" to mean in the past century. New guideline: if lor you won't say it in front of a TV camera, don't whisper it either. Rarely do I quote Albert Brooks, but his words fit well here, "It's better to be known by six people for something you're proud of than by 60 million for something you're not." Finally, the privilege we've been afforded to serve others is a humbling experience and reveals what a great honor it is to occupy the position as a leader, regardless of the rank we hold or number of subordi- nates. Courageous leaders understand that rec- ognition of one's many individual assets and involvement is typically slow to arrive and appreciate that the larger impact of their guidance may be publicized as a total group effort. The preceding thought is cap- tured in these timeless words from Joshua 1:7; "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions.... Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do." (New Living Bible Translation) For military retirees and families, planning can save heartache From the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Life can find ways to catch us unprepared. Falling in love, unanticipated fortune or finding the perfect secret fishing hole. Sometimes, it's the pleasant surprises that add the spice to make life interesting and worth- while. But it's the surprises that bring the anxious moments and unforeseen heartache, especially to those close to us, that are best avoided. For some, the idea of death is an unpleas- ant one best avoided. Unfortunately, death itself cannot be so easily avoided and the failure to plan can cause additional stress for spouses and families when they are least able to cope with it. "Families can get over- whelmed when tragedy strikes," said Capt. Karl Bernhardt, director of Retired and Annuitant Pay for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). "Many of the retirees we sup- port have wives, husbands and families who are left with unfinished business when the retiree passes away. Unfortunately, many have no idea that action is required to notify DFAS of the death in order to avoid overpayments of retired pay." In addition to maintain- ing the pay accounts of active and reserve mili- tary members, DFAS administers the Military Retirement Fund and pays approximately 2 million retirees each month. "We make every effort to strike a balance," Bernhardt said. "On one hand, we need to make sure each retiree is paid the right amount on time. On the other, we have a responsibility to safeguard the fund on behalf of the American taxpayers. When a retiree dies, his or her entitlement to retired pay ends and any payments made after that must be recovered." DFAS is required to recover all overpayments. In many cases, this means simply transferring funds from the retiree's bank account back to DFAS. However, if the funds have been spent or distributed, debt collection efforts can be initiated to reclaim the money. This can be espe- cially difficult for elderly spouses. When a military retiree dies, a number of fed- eral, state and local agen- cies have procedures for notifying DFAS. These include the Social Security Administration, Veteran's Administration, military service casualty assistance offices, and state and local veteran affairs offices. Overpayments occur when spouses and families fail to contact these agencies, or DFAS itself, and notify them that the deceased was a military retiree. "It falls to the spouse, children or close friends to take care of many things," Bernhardt said, "including the termination of retired pay. In many cases, the survivors don't know the requirements or proce- dures. Months later, they are burdened with collec- tion efforts. It's a situa- tion that can be lessened or eliminated with a bit of planning." The casualty assistance offices of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps encourage retirees to develop a checklist for their spouse and families to help them navigate the dif- ficult transition when the retiree dies. Most military base casualty assistance or retired affairs offices can help in completing this list, or lists can be downloaded from the Internet from ser- vice and veteran organiza- tion Web sites. According to Bernhardt, a few hours spent gathering the information for the list will save months of aggra- vation and grief later on. "The checklist can be kept with a retiree's will and other legal documents. When the time comes and those documents are need- ed, the checklist is ready to guide the survivors through the legal and governmental processes. I would recom- mend putting the notifica- tion of DFAS near the top of the list." DFAS Retired and Annuitant Pay Services maintains a customer con- tact center staffed with experts in all aspects of retired pay. The center can be contacted at (800) 321- 1080. Callers who select the menu option for death notifications receive a high- er priority and are routed to staff members who can assist them in terminating retired pay and initiating the process for survivor's benefits. A survivor's checklist can help eliminate the unwel- come surprises in life, allowing more time to enjoy the benefits the military retirement. Where to go for help: Get more information on developing a survivor's checklist by visiting a retired affairs or casualty assistance office at most military installations, or by visiting the following Internet sites: Military Officers Association of America (http://www.moaa. org/Publications/ SurvivorChecklist. asp) Navy Casualty Assistance (Pers-62) (http://www.npc. navy. mil/CommandSupport/ CasualtyAssistance/) Navy Retired Activities Branch (http:// www.npc.navy.mil/ CommandSupport/ RetiredActivities/) Air Force Retiree Services Branch (http:// www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/ afretire/) Army Retiree Services Office (http://www.armygl. army.mil/rso/mission. asp) Marine Corps Community Services (http://www.usmc-mccs.org/ retiree/index.cfm) Retired and annuitant pay information is available from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service at www.dod.mil/dfas/ money/retired/. Retiree pay account service is available by calling (800) 321-1080. The customer contact cen- ter is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Eastern time). CHAPEL CENTER CALENDAR Regular Sunday Services 8:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist Episcopal 9:30 a.m. Catholic Mass 9:45 Protestant Sunday School 10:45 a.m. Catholic CCD 11 a.m. Protestant Worship Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. "It's All About Me!" Explore your personality and understand why others act the way they do. Call 542-3052. Adopt-A-Sailor Local organizations wishing to express their gratitude for the service of single Sailors during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays may call 542-3440. Weekly Bible Study Building 749, every Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. Bring non-perishable donations Chapel Food Locker at Building 749 in the Chapel Center. Women of Faith First Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m. for fellowship, study and support. Bring a potluck dish to share. Officer Christian Fellowship and Bible study Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. Contact Chaplain Williams at 542-0024 for info. Tae Kwon Do with Chaplain Felder Every Monday and Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. Weekly barracks Bible study every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the barracks conference room. Monthly men's prayer breakfast every second Saturday at 9 a.m. at the chapel. Help wanted Volunteer as a lay communion assistant, acolyte, prayer petitioner and multimedia operator. NAS Jacksonville Chapel Center 542-3051 Corner of Birmingham Avenue and Mustin Road Kenny Ma:t y Disco Licensed & Insured MV#53803 '