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Show tOMES February 11,2010 paxes 101 I for the ^deployed • Airman BY MARY LOU GORNY Hilltop Times editor U BY CAPT. ANDREW RICHEY Assistant Staff Judge Advocate A deployment can put your life on hold but it does not have to keep you from getting your tax refund. There are a number of tax filing options that allow deployed service members and their families to file their returns and get their refunds even when a service member is down range. Tax filing for a deployed service member or his or her family just takes a few extra steps. The first step required to file a tax return when separated from the person who needs to sign the return is to get either a Power of Attorney, or PoA, or a completed IRS Form 2848 from the absent person. A PoA can be created at any base that has a judge advocate general or paralegal. IRS Form 2848 can be downloaded from www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2848.pdf and does not need to be notarized, like a PoA. Just fill the form out, print it, sign it and mail it to the person signing the tax return. Your second step is to get all the documents necessary for filing the tax return together. This can seem daunting but fortunately most documents can now Be accessed and printed off the Web. A service member's W-2 can be accessed and printed, on the Internet, through their myPay account at https://mypay.dfas.mil. A special log on can be created so that family members can access W-2s and pay statements but not change any of the pay or allotment information. A good checklist of tax issues for which you will need documentation is located on the first two LEE ANNE HENSLEY/Hilltop Times Cris Crismon (left), of the Ogden Air Logistics Center Manpower division, and Airman 1st Class Robby Hedrick, 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs specialist, execute a five-step attack maneuver using a single stick weapon during the inaugural Utah Filipino Martial Arts Workshop held in West Haven, Feb. 4. Airman passes his martial arts title to Qqden Air Logistics Center civilian BY LEE ANNE HENSLEY Hilltop Times staff A irman 1st Class Robby Hedrick, 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs specialist, granted his title of Utah Director for Sadiq Warrior Arts to Cris Crismon, of the Ogden Air Logistics Center Manpower division, during the inaugural Utah Filipino Martial Arts Workshop held in West Haven, Feb. 4. The workshop was hosted by the Sadiq Warrior Arts Federation, and instructional sessions were taught by Guro Brandon Jordan, the founder of Mandala Mandiriga and director of the West Coast division of the Sadiq Warrior Arts Federation. Jordan worked with Hedrick to find a qualified individual to take over Hedrick's Utah directorship once the Airman leaves to attend the 2010 Air Force Wrestling Camp this month. Jordan and Hedrick agreed to hand See TESTING I page 8 % Learn, teach about aircraft by volunteering ITZ.COM SAVING HtSTOSY TO SAVE OUR FUTURE In their own voices "BY MARY LOU GORNY Hilltop Times editor L -.7. See VOLUNTEER I page 10 nder a directive issued by Air Force headquarters, the new physical training requirements go into effect July 1. The Air Force means to have healthier, better-prepared members at all levels, and the new emphasis brings into play aerobic conditioning, strength training and flexibility, and healthy eating "Health benefits from an active lifestyle will increase productivity, optimize health, and decrease absenteeism while maintaining a higher level of readiness," the Air Force Web site on the new standards explains. Under the new testing,. 1st Lt. Nathan Allred, 75th Force Support Squadron deputy sustainment flight chief, indicates that the percentage increase for fail rates from the old standards to the new standards is 10 percent; failures with the current standards are at 18 percent, and failures based on the new standards would be at 29 percent as of the last statistics available for a recent testing in January. Roger Braner, 75th T?SS sustainment flight chief, strongly recommends intense circuit training classes available at the Warrior Health and Wellness Center for those concerned about improving fitness levels for testing. Currently all testing is being conducted by Fitness Assessment Cell personnel at the fitness center under both criteria and demonstrates to those being tested where they fall under the new guidelines before they See SADIQ I page 9 See TAXES I page 8 ike planes? Got a little spare time on your hands? Well, if you're like Cliff Lawrence and Dick Van Allen, both war veterans and volunteers at the Hill Aerospace Museum, ypu could rub elbows with some interesting characters — not to mention that they . could tell you about some pretty interesting experiences of their own. While a conversation with either can start out fairly matter-of-fact, any visitor willing to listen and ask questions, can get a lot of colorful background and combat experiences from the volunteers who flew the planes or worked on them. . - .Lawrence served as a pilot during World War II, flying missions in B-25 Mitchells and A-20 Havocs in the South Pacific. Van Allen flew .helicopters in Vietnam, flying T-33 When measured against new physical training standards, fail rate increases BY MARY LOU GORNY Hilltop Times editor "hen Tech. Sgt. Paul Cocanour, 419th Maintenance Squadron Phase Dock coordinator, was attending Westminster College, he recalled the stories his grandfather told him about flying Search and Rescue missions over the "hump" in B-25s during World War II. As a wedding videographer earning extra money for school, he always intended to visit Seattle and capture his war experiences on video but before he could, the veteran died due to age-related causes. Not long ago as he was driving W! MARY LOU GORNY/Hilltop Times Volunteer Cliff Lawrence talks about his World War II experiences flying a B-52 similar to the one he stands in front of at the Hill Aerospace Museum on Jan. 8. There are opportunities to rub shoulders with some pretty experienced and knowledgable aircraft people at the museum. See WARBUTZ I page 9 |