Clutter
2-15-04  The Osan RAO recently received a printed newsletter from another retiree office.  On page one of the newsletter was an article entitled "Food for Thought."  It quoted a verse from the Quran (or Koran) that started out:  "Quran (9:11) for it is written that the son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome eagle."  As eager as some people are to believe this, it's not true and can easily be verified at either of the urban legend sites above.  Including this type of unverified information in a retiree newsletter takes up space that could be used for more important information that retirees can use.  It also reduces the overall credibility of the newsletter.  The same applies to e-mails that propagate this type of information.  It wastes time, it wastes money and -- in the case of e-mails -- it wastes bandwidth.

Non-SOFA Vehicle Registration for Retirees
9-27-03  A retiree at Camp Humphreys called to say that retirees with non-SOFA registered vehicles will be denied DD Form 2220 decals allowing them to drive their vehicles onto the installation.  A similar restriction was also to go into effect at Yongsan Army Garrison.  A check with the United States Forces Korea Provost Marshal Office (USFK PMO) reveals this to be a baseless rumor.  There is no change either in effect or planned regarding retiree non-SOFA vehicle registration and access, according to the PMO.

No Cold War Medal
01-26-02  Some medal manufacturers have started producing a Cold War Medal.  It appears this was prompted by the Cold War Certificate.  However, the U.S. government provides only the Cold War Certificate; it does not produce and has no plan to produce a Cold War Medal.  If you want to buy the medal, keep in mind that it is not official and would be inappropriate for display on the uniform with official medals.

Slavery Reparations Tax Refund Hoax
01-26-02  African-Americans are being scammed by companies and individuals who are peddling, for a fee, tax forms that are purported to allow the African-American tax filer to claim reparations for slavery.  The supposed refund to be received from the U.S. government is claimed to be as high as $80,000 per person.  The only money exchanging hands here is from the victim to the company or individual peddling the phony tax forms.  The IRS has said that individuals filing the phony tax return will be allowed to refile with the proper form without penalty.

VA Insurance Dividend, an Annual Hoax
01-26-02  As reported on 03-06-99 below, there is no VA insurance dividend except for valid USGLI and NSLI policies.  It's amazing how the greed factor keeps this story alive year after year.

VA Insurance Dividend
03-06-99  The annual rumor about a VA insurance dividend is being circulated. To clarify, there are only two government life insurance programs that offer dividends. United States Government Life Insurance (USGLI) was issued from October 6, 1917 to April 24, 1951. National Service Life Insurance (NSLI) was issued from October 8, 1940 to September 30, 1948. The only veterans receiving dividends are those who currently have either NSLI or USGLI in force, and the additional rumor that dividends are being paid on lapsed NSLI policies is not true.