Military Officer - May 2007 - (Page 24)

rapidfire Want to Lower Your Taxable Income? In Review The Few: The American “Knights of the Air” Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain By Alex Kershaw. Da Capo Press, 2006. $25. ISBN 0-306-81303-3. Of the eight pilots proﬁled, only one survived the war. To Dare and to Conquer: Special Operations and the Destiny of Nations from Achilles to Al Qaeda By Derek Leebaert. Little, Brown, and Co., 2006. $29.95. ISBN 0-316-14384-7. T o reduce your taxable income, consider contributing part of your IRA to fund the undergraduate education of servicemembers’ children. Under the Pension Protection Act, you can transfer IRA assets directly to The Scholarship Fund of MOAA and not count the IRA distribution as income on your income taxes. This opportunity is open to people 70½ years old and older and ends Dec. 31. You may transfer any amount up to $100,000. If you can write checks on your IRA, your check (made payable to The Scholarship Fund of MOAA) counts as a direct transfer and meets the legal requirements. To learn more, call Capt. Shelley Marshall, USN-Ret., at (800) 234-MOAA (6622), or e-mail shelleym@moaa.org. combined active duty (AD) and reserve service (four in the reserve and 16 on AD) before I was disabled while serving in Iraq. I was awarded an Army disability retirement and a VA disability rating. Am I eligible for CRSC or CRDP? ASKBUD Q:I had more than 20 years of sation (CRSC) or concurrent retirement and disability pay (CRDP), you must be eligible for retirement for a reason other than disability. Because you don’t have 20 years on AD, you don’t qualify for an AD retirement. Because you were disabled while on AD and could not serve your last six years in the reserve, you will not qualify for a reserve retirement at age 60 either. However, MOAA fully supports Rep. Jim Marshall’s (D-Ga.) bill H.R. 333, which would extend CRSC or CRDP to disabled retirees with fewer than 20 years of service. You can receive military retired pay and qualify for retiree benefits, but your VA disability compensation — which is tax-free — will reduce your retired pay dollar for dollar. — Capt. Bud Schneeweis, USCG-Ret., is director of MOAA’s Benefits Information and Financial Education Department. 24 MILITARY OFFICER M AY 2 0 0 7 A:No. To qualify for combat-related special compen- In 1940, it was a violation of the U.S. neutrality law for Americans to ﬂy in Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF), but several hundred adventurers did it anyway. Best-selling author Alex Kershaw tells the exciting stories of eight American pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain in August and September of 1940 — “the greatest air battle in history.” Kershaw’s signature style is evident in his real and personal portrayal of these men in combat and the effect on those who were close to them. He relates tales of these American RAF pilots ﬂying Hurricanes and Spitﬁres in terrifying and deadly aerial dogﬁghts against veteran German pilots ﬂying Messerschmitts and Heinkels over the English Channel and the British countryside. This was a desperate battle of attrition for both sides, with high casualty rates. Commandos, special operators, and “picked men” always have been used militarily “to achieve as much as possible with as little as possible.” Derek Leebaert examines commando-style operations from the Trojan War to the present day in this intriguing but verbose history of the successes and failures of unconventional warfare. From Alexander’s “Three Hundred” and “Rogers’ Rangers” to T.E. Lawrence and the Delta Force, Leebaert tells tales of these special troops raiding and sabotaging their enemies. Leebaert explains the strange cult of Islamic Assassins; Lord Thomas Cochrane, Britain’s most effective seagoing commando; Australia’s amazing Z Special Unit during World War II; and America’s mysterious “Mister Nichols” in Korea in 1950. — William D. Bushnell PHOTOS: STEVE BARRETT

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - May 2007

Military Officer - May 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: Back Home Capt. David Porter, Pirate Hunter Where Valor Rests Emblems of Courage MOAA Member Services Pages of History Information Exchange Advertising Index Member Books MOAA Calendar MOAA Scholarship Donors Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - May 2007

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