Colorado Springs Military Newspaper Group Vol. 1 No. 13 www.csmng.com Thursday, February 1, 2007 Base Briefs Homebrew fest The Club at Peterson is having a Homebrew Fest from 4:30 to 10 p.m. Feb. 23. Categories include: Stout, IPA, Fruit Beer, Light Lager and Winter Specialty. Admission is $7 for members and $10 for non-members. For informa- tion or to register, call Curtis at 556- 4181 or 574-4110. MSVA workshop The Peterson Airman and Family Readiness Center is hosting a two-day Military Spouse Virtual Assistant Workshop March 6-7. Military spouses will learn how business-support skills for a virtual, home-based career can continue to develop wherever their sponsor is as- Staff by Sgt. Bryan Bouchard Photo signed. These independent contractor positions range from bookkeeping to complex corporate consulting, all of which can be conducted by e-mail, telephone and fax. Class size is lim- ited. Senior Airman Jonathon Ray sits atop the lead vehicle of a convoy of Air Force Humvees waiting to roll during an Army and Air Force joint operation in support of a The application deadline is March 2. presidential security mission in Baghdad. To submit an application online, visit www.msvas.com/application_col- springs.htm. For more information, call Beverly Price at 556-6141. Airmen grounded for combat Vehicle registration The Pass and Registration office at SECAF: Ground-support missions a temporary change for AF culture the visitors’ center is currently out of “year” stickers and has suspended reg- By Staff Sgt. Shawn J. Jones “The Army needs our help,” Wynne said. that airmen bring to the joint fight, he istration until it has more stickers to 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs “We are here and we are providing it.” said. resume vehicle registration and re- SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE Wynne said the warrior spirit of the “We need to be careful as to how we newal. For information, call the visitor BASE, N.C. — It’s becoming more nearly 5,000 deployed airmen who perform stress that element of our force and how center at 556-6406. common for airmen to engage the enemy ground-support missions has been extraor- we lose the leverage of an airman because face-to-face on the battlefield — a role his- dinary, but their primary focus will return ‘Every airman, a rifleman’ does not work in More Briefs page 8 torically filled by soldiers. to flying and fighting in air, space and cy- the end,” Wynne said. These in-lieu-of taskings, as they are berspace. While performing ground operations is known, are part of the Air Force’s temporary Basic self-defense and force-protection not part of the Air Force’s long-term vision, Synthetic-fuel culture change to help meet the demands of skills are essential to protecting Air Force airmen must continue to train and prepare fighting the Global War on Terror, said resources, but ground-based battlefields for these roles based on the needs of de- testing Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. are not the domain of airmen. The Air A B-52 Stratofortress Wynne at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Force was created because of the leverage See Combat page 9 undergoes cold-weather testing. Page 3 New tax provisions benefit service members By Debbie Evert allows someone in the Reserves to take a military members some incentive to save Space Guardian withdrawal from an individual retirement money,” Benyak said. “You can make con- Benjamin Franklin had it right: “In this account or 401(k) without the normal 10 tributions to years already filed. You have world nothing can be said to be certain, percent penalty, he said. to amend the returns, but you can get up to except death and taxes.” “If someone was called into active duty a $200-300 refund. This is especially good But, a taxpayer today might change the after Sept. 11, 2001, to the present and with- for a young person whose only income adage to “death and new tax laws.” drew funds from an IRA or 401(k), that might have been while serving in a combat Two new provisions for military members person can amend filed returns and get the zone.” can make a difference in tax returns as far 10 percent back,” Benyak said. Benyak said some military members Inside the Guardian back as 2001. The provisions are based on The Heroes Earned Retirement might not know about the HERO Act or legislation passed in 2006. Another change Opportunities Act allows service members about a filing extension. applies to both military and civilian tax- to “treat tax-free combat pay as income to “There’s an automatic special extension NEWS 1-6 payers. put into an IRA,” he said. “You don’t have of time to file and pay if a military member CONGRATS 7 Bernie Benyak, tax manager at the to have earned income from a W-2.” is serving in a combat zone,” he said. “It in- Springs-based accounting firm Stockman Before the change, members of the mil- HAPPENINGS 11 cludes time in the combat zone plus 180 Kast Ryan and Co., said there are many itary whose earnings came from tax-free days after they return.” SPORTS 13 benefits for Reservists and service mem- combat pay were barred from using IRAs Benyak recommends visiting www.irs.gov SUPER BOWL PICKS 14 bers who have served in combat zones. to save for retirement. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 “The president and Congress have given See Taxes page 10 SPACE GUARDIAN www.csmng.com Thursday, February 1, 2007 3 Photo by Airman 1st Class Christopher Boitz Class Christopher Airman 1st by Photo A B-52 Stratofortress, like this one powered by a mix of syn- PUBLISHER thetic fuel arrived at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., on Jan. 17 Lon P. Matejczyk for cold weather testing. This is the last step in the testing [email protected] and certification process to help reduce Air Force depend- EDITORIAL ence on imported fuel. Editor Mike Boyd [email protected] Managing Editor Rob Larimer [email protected] Staff Reporter Debbie Evert [email protected] Sports Reporter Walt Johnson [email protected] ADVERTISING Advertising Director/GM Tex Stuart [email protected] Kathleen Gannon [email protected] Mike Keplinger [email protected] Tabitha Kidd [email protected] Linda Stuart [email protected] Classified Ad Manager Emily Frazee [email protected] ART DEPARTMENT Art Director Rowdy Tompkins Synthetic-fuel tested in the cold on B-52s [email protected] Graphic Designer MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. Tropsch fuel derived from natural gas, performs tensively — flying on some tests with synthetic Jeff Adcox [email protected] (AFNEWS) — A B-52 Stratofortress powered in extreme weather conditions. fuel in all eight engines. Ground testing in Colorado Publishing Company (719) 634-5905, Fax: (719) 634-5157 by a mix of synthetic fuel arrived here Jan. 17 Fischer-Tropsch fuel is derived from a mix- North Dakota will occur with synthetic fuel in 31 E. Platte Avenue, Suite 300, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903-1246. for cold-weather testing, the last step in the ture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. all engines. The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Colorado Publishing Company. Reproduction or use of content in any manner is prohibited without prior written consent. testing and certification process to help reduce “The B-52 is leading the way in carrying out After testing is done, the cold-weather data Colorado Publishing Company is owned by Dolan Media Company. Air Force dependence on imported fuel. the Air Force’s vision for conservation,” said will be analyzed along with the data from James P. Dolan, Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer. The aircraft, permanently assigned to the 5th Col. Eldon Woodie, the 5th Bomb Wing com- Edwards AFB and a complete test report is Samuel B. Spencer, Executive Vice President. Scott J. Pollei, Executive Vice President and Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, began air mander. “Hopefully, the weather will allow us scheduled to be issued in June. Chief Financial Officer. Mark Stodder, Executive Vice President, Newspapers testing Jan. 22 that will continue through the be- to complete cold-weather testing.” “The maintenance and aircraft support here Lon Matejczyk, Publisher and Vice President ginning of February to determine how well the The first B-52 flight using Fischer-Tropsch fuel at Minot have been outstanding,” said Robert synthetic fuel, made from a 50-50 blend of tra- was Sept. 19 at Edwards AFB, Calif. Aguilar, the project manager for cold-weather ditional crude oil-based fuel and a Fischer- Since then, the aircraft has been tested ex- testing. ASK ABOUT OUR MILITARY OFFER! 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