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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 1959)
8 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. A Tuesday, Dee. 22, 195f Armed Forces Dmprove Attractiveness dDff Military Career for Capable Men Washington - (UPD - The U.S armed forces, competing with a booming civilian economy for skilled manpower, have notably improved the attrac tiveness of military careers. In an earnest effort to draw and hold the kind of men needed for space age defenses, the services today are offering the highest pay scales and the most extensive fringe benefits In their history Many servicemen feel that their pay and perquisites are still inadequate, compared to the rewards they .night obtain in civilian jobs of comparable importance. On the other hand, some civilians may be surprised and envious to learn what is included in the total compensation package laid before career soldiers sailors, airmen and marines, Purely Theoretical In an official pamphlet en titled "It Pays to Stay In," the Defense Department states that an enlisted man, who starts out at $78 a month, can be earning "as much as $8,000 to $10,000 a year" by the time he is ready to retire Veteran sergeants say, how ever, that the top figure is Hope to Confused, Discouraged Said Given by Christ By RICHARD CARDINAL CUSHING . Catholic Archbishop of Boston (Distributed by UPI) What makes the difference between a world in which men rush to their destruc tion, and a world in which God gives men hope and hap piness? Christ makes the dif ference because He - the Son of God - "was made flesh and dwelt among us." - It is Christ who lights up the way which is darkened by human selfishness and greed. It is Christ who remains the same while all else seems to change. It is He who gives hope to those who are con fused and discouraged. It is Christ who is the true joy of Christmas - joy that came from heaven to earth - the night He was born. Little in Common The shepherds who watch ed their flocks that first Christmas night had little in common with the throngs who then and now seek only to revel in selfish amuse ments. Yet it was the shep herds who found joy. For it was they who found the In fant King-God Himself. We cannot understand the meaning of Christmas unless we, too, withdraw from the glamor of lights and tinsel, from the exciting exchange of presents, the joyous thrill of renewed greetings from friends. All these things have their place. But too often they detract our minds from the great truth which orig inally prompted them - the mystery of God made man. Hard To Choose We like to think that we are genuinely religious, that we are moved by faith and love. Yet we often find it hard to make a choice be tween the rewards of time, which lie within our grasp, and the promises of eternity, so elusive in our everyday lives. Still, we do not belong com pletely to Christ unless we steadily follow the paths He marked for us in His obscure birth, in His dedicated life to self-sacrifice, and in His painful death by which He conquered sin and eternal death. Ask yourself, "Am I truly a follower of Christ accord ing to the pattern which He has designed for me?" This Is the question which all of us may well put to ourselves as we exchange the greet ings of Christ's . season. If we want to wish one another a Happy Christmas, we must restore Christmas to Christ. We must confess Christ to be God. We must open our souls to the saving power of God's grace which comes to us through Christ who was born on Christmas day. Ask Him To Help ' Fall on your knees today before your Infant God. Ask Him to revive in your mem ory the truths which He came to teach. Ask Him to help you once more to live, even in a sinful world, as the child of God which you be came through baptism. Then, truly, we may say Happy Christmas to one an other. For then we shall have found the only true source of happiness. May God strengthen our faith on this Christmas. "For to as many as received Him, He gave the power to be made the sons of God." purely theoretical at present, The current effective ceiling on enlisted pay-applicable to top sergeants who have served 25 years and who are eligible for special pay benefits-is $8,- 700 a year. To reach that figure, an en listed man would have to be drawing the top basic pay of $440 a month, plus a living quarters allowance of $97 month, subsistence pay of $33 a month, overseas pay of $23 a month, hazardous duty pay of $105 a month and proficien cy pay of $30 a month. Only about two-thirds of this would be subject to income tax, There are several indirect forms of compensation which are not reflected in the $8,700 figure. These include the (re tirement rights which the serviceman is accruing, plus other fringe benefits, such as medical care. Retirement Pay Servicemen can retire, re gardless of age, after 20 years in uniform. They then receive for the rest of their lives monthly paychecks equal to half of the highest base pay which they received in serv ice. If they elect to remain in service for 30 years instead of 20, they get three-quarters base pay for life. The fact that the retirement benefits are payable regard less of age-a feature almost exclusive to military service means that a man who enlist ed young can start drawing a pension when he is in middle age. He can then begin an other career - his retirement pay is not affected by any outside earnings. Pay Rates Higher The statements regarding enlisted men apply equally to commissioned officers, except that the pay rates are sub stantially higher. An officer whose career is an unblemish ed success can look forward to drawing about three times as much money as the most suc cessful enlisted man. The basic pay for officers ranges upward from $222.30 a month for second lieutenants and ensigns to $1,700 a month for generals and admirals. The officer's tax-free sub sistence pay is invariably $47.88 a month. Everything else varies with rank and years of service. The maxi mums are $176.90 . a month quarters allowance, $245 a month for hazardous duty and $250 a month as station al lowance if overseas. ' Here are some of the other fringe benefits available to officers and enlisted men of all the armed services: Medicare - This is a coined word that covers a wide range of medical care benefits pro vided for servicemen and members of their families. If his dependents are located near a military hospital, the service, including hospitaliza tion and dentistry, may be en tirely free. If non-military fa cilities are used, the family may pay only the first $25 of a hospital bill. Leave and liberty Military men are entitled to 30 days leave per year. Under present policies, they are encouraged to take full vacations "for the good of the service," but they can elect to draw cash pay ments lor about half of the leave. A payment for up to 60 days of unused leave is au thorized at expiration of an enlistment. Entertainment - Officers' and enlisted men's clubs, golf courses, swimming pools, hobby shops and other recrea tional facilities are available to military personnel if they are located where these are provided. Survivors' benefits - The widow of a man who dies in service receives six months basic pay, up to $3,000, and a benefit varying from $128 to $337 a month during her non married lifetime. Additional monthly payments include $70 for one child, $100 for two children and up to $205 for six children. Parents may also re ceive benefits, from $15 to $100 a month. Travel and transport An officer who travels on gov ernment business gets an ex pense allowance of $12 a day. If he goes to a major city this may not pay for much more than his hotel room. A man whose enlistment expires is entitled to transportation to his "home of record," and he can draw the cost of this even if he is planning to re-enlist. He can also draw re-enlist ment bonuses that would total $2,000 over a military life time. Post exchanges and commis saries -These are vital over seas, since American goods would not otherwise be avail able except at fantastic prices. In the United States, they may make possible some econo mies,, though in the Washing ton, D.C., area at least, mili tary men frequently find that prices at discount stores are considerably lower than those in the PX. The effort at mili tary stores is to price goods 10 to 20 per cent below the going retail rate. Profits of the stores can be used for rec reational purposes at the sta tion involved. Education - Regardless of the station, every effort is made to provide up-to-stand- ard education facilities for children in military families. Their main disadvantage is that, because of transfers. they may attend many differ ent schools. The military man himself has many opportuni ties to attend service schools. and may be sent, to non-service universities at government ex pense. Industry May Use Plastic Material Washington (Science Serv ice) A new rubbery plastic material used in the recent development of a plastic heart and heart valves is expected to find broad industrial use. Among possible applications are wire and cable jacketing, airplane de-icers, and coated fabrics for tarpulins and in flatable products. The material, Estane VC, was described to the Society of Plastic Engineers here by Dr. Charles S. Schollenberger of the B. F. Goodrich com pany's research center in Brecksville, Ohio. 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