Rumor Control
	Before passing on that e-mail message with the plea for e-mails or cards to a dying child, or the various ways to catch AIDS or other diseases from seemingly improbable sources, please take the time to check and verify the accuracy of the information. The Internet has become the superhighway for Urban Legends. The first site that I go to in verifying the accuracy of a story is at http://www.snopes.com. A second site is at About.com: Urban Legends

Korea Retirees Not Losing Mailboxes

11-10-09 Retirees in countries such as Thailand and the Philippines do not have access to U.S. military installations in those countries. A recent decision by the Department of State is that the cost of providing mail service to retirees through U.S. Embassies has become a burden. As a result, Embassy mail service for military retirees living in Thailand, the Philippines, and other affected countries is ending on Dec 31, 2009. This decision by the Department of State has no effect on mail service provided by the Department of Defense at APO and FPO mail service on military installations. The only retiree mail service affected is Embassy mail service provided by the Department of State.

TRICARE for Life Is Not Being Eliminated

07-22-09 My mailbox is filling again, this time with the rumor that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has recommended the elimination of TRICARE for Life. This is not true. The CBO was mandated to identify options for cutting costs and one of the options that was identified was adding a fee to provide TRICARE for Life coverage. There's a good article about this at the HomefrontOnline web site.

Korean Driver's License Requirement

06-09-08 A new rumor is going around that government employees are now required to have a Korean driver's license. This is NOT TRUE. Only civilian contractors with SOFA status are required to have a Korean driver's license. For all others without SOFA status, there is no change. You must have a Korean driver's license, although a valid International Driver's License is good for up to one year from entry into Korea, after which a Korean driver's license is required to continue driving.

In God We Trust (?)

04-02-08 The Treasury Department has started issuing new dollar coins, and the rabid urban legend afficionados were quick to jump on it with this e-mail: "Please help do this... refuse to accept these when they are handed back to you. I received one from the Post Office as change and I asked for a dollar bill instead. The lady just smiled and said, "Way to go," so she had read this e-mail. Please help out. Our world is in enough trouble without this too!!!!! U.S. Government to release new dollar coins. You guessed it - 'IN GOD WE TRUST' IS GONE!!! If ever there was a reason to boycott something, THIS IS IT!!!! DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW DOLLAR COINS AS CHANGE Together we can force them out of circulation."

As soon as I read it, I knew that it was wrong. And my knowledge was confirmed because another recipient of the e-mail had already responded with: "Please don't forward garbage like this. This is another untrue urban legend. The new coins do have "In God We Trust" inscribed on them as well as the motto "E Pluribus Unum". It is inscribed around the edge of the coin. You can go to the Urban Legends web site to view the actual details.

Bogus Microsoft E-Mail

4-12-06 The Osan AB RAO received this e-mail (PDF format) that's supposedly from the Microsoft Corporation. However, it's not really; it's another attempt at stealing your identity. If you look at the From line, the e-mail is from "@email.microsoft.com" rather than "@microsoft.com." At the bottom of the first page, the microsoft reference is not linked. On the second page, the web site is shown as www.microsoft.com, but when you roll the mouse pointer over the link in the original message, the actually web site that displays in the status line at the bottom of the display is different than what's shown. That's another good indication that the e-mail is not really from Microsoft. Be careful and don't be suckered into giving up your identity to someone, particularly when you receive unsolicited mail like this.