About Christian County, KY

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., June 24 2011 - The Army's top officer, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey visited with Fort Campbell Soldiers and Families June 23, taking the time to thank them for the sacrifices they have born in service to their country.

The 37th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army toured the installation and some of its facilities, met with senior leadership and held a Family Forum, which gave Soldiers and their Families an opportunity to voice some of their concerns with everything ranging from housing, behavioral health and recreation.

"Fort Campbell, the 101st, the 5th Special Forces Group and all the other folks here - they've been carrying a fairly significant share of the load," said Dempsey. "They've deployed, I think, more than any other [major] unit in the Army. They've had some incredible successes in both Iraq and Afghanistan and frankly I wanted to come down and tell them thank you and to also give them some thoughts on where we might be headed in the future."

He said he appreciated that many Families brought their children to the forum that he co-hosted with his wife, Deanie and the frank assessment that Soldier's spouses can provide.
"I love visiting with Soldiers and Families," said Dempsey. "No one is as candid with you as a Soldier and a Soldier's spouse."

Dempsey stressed the importance of the Army Family and the Fort Campbell community of excellence.
"That's the image we want," he said. "Soldiers, Families and children united in a common purpose, part of a profession where we have to trust each other if we are going to move ahead."
Dempsey explained he appreciates what the 101st has done, especially since his first tour to Iraq in 2003, when he served with the 1st Armor Division and worked with Gen. Raymond Odierno, who will replace Dempsey as the next Chief of Staff of the Army.

Dempsey has been tapped to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - the military's highest ranking officer and the president's primary military advisor.

The Army's senior leader repeatedly thanked Fort Campbell Soldiers and their Families for what they have done during the past 10 years and encouraged them to press on, despite global uncertainties.

"My message to them is thanks for what you've done, continue to be ready for that uncertain future," said Dempsey. "Be proud of yourselves and your Families and your children for the role that they've played. [Don't] be distracted by the discretions about the budget; I'll take care of that. We will preserve our commitment to their training and to their Family programs, our Wounded Warriors and our Gold Star Families. It is really a commitment that as we go forward that despite the uncertainty, we are going to be OK."

He said that he enjoyed his visit to Fort Campbell and gave a nod to the Screaming Eagles for continuing their rendezvous with destiny and continuously adding to their heritage and esprit de corps.

"I've held a deep appreciation for what this division provides not only in terms of its capabilities, but also the spirit," said Dempsey. "What you want is an Army that can not only deliver, but also is proud of its self, is aware of its history and believes it can make a difference. It is actually a sense of trust and I sense that those assigned to this division have a great deal of trust in each other. That's the kind of foundation of the Army I want to be a part of," he said. "It is an inspirational place," Dempsey said. "They have really written another page in their extensive history and I think it's one of those places you come to remember, why we do what we do."

Homes for Heroes is proud to welcome our new Affiliate, Robin McCormick!

Introducing a recent addition to the Homes for Heroes family!

A valuable benefit that is still available to our Nation's Armed Forces that simply is not communicated enough. As the Soldiers of the famed 101st Airborne Division redeploy from yet another Rendezvous with Destiny, I was reminded by Rod Hawkins of F&M Bank of the Military Tax Credit Extension Information.

• Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase. Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individuals spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

• In many cases, the credit repayment (recapture) requirement is waived for members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community. This relief applies where a home is sold or stops being the taxpayer's principal residence after Dec. 31, 2008, in connection with government orders received by the individual (or the individual's spouse) for qualified official extended duty service. The credit is still allowable even if this happens during the year of purchase. Qualified official extended duty is any period of extended duty while serving at a place of duty at least 50 miles away from the taxpayer's principal residence (whether inside or outside the U.S.) or while residing under government orders in government quarters. Extended duty is defined as any period of duty pursuant to a call or order to such duty for a period in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period.

Thanks to all our our Service Men and Women who have answered the call and continue to keep our Nation and our Families free of tryany. I ask that all take the time to thank not only our Heroes but also their Families who equally sacrifice each and every day.

God Bless America!

Protect your privacy and that of your Family!

1. Introduction. Facebook have recently launched a new application called "PLACES I CHECKED INTO", which is automatically active on all Facebook accounts until disabled. This application utilises the IP address, to identify where the user logs onto their Facebook profile from. The application then posts the status on the wall of the user’s profile, as shown below in Figure 1. A more detailed description, including a map of the location, as at Figure 2, is then provided by clicking on the location (highlighted within the red circle).

Figure 1 – Wall Post.

2. Aim. The aim of this document is to give guidance to Military users who wish to know how to disable the Facebook "PLACES I CHECKED INTO" application.

3. Concerns. The main concern relating to the use of the application, is that it may inadvertently compromise the locality of a military user. Of significant note, users on operations or in Northern Ireland, are potentially putting themselves at risk by drawing attention to their exact whereabouts.

4. Social network sites already provide an extensive open source intelligence gathering tool. This application is almost creating a one stop shop targeting pack, which could potentially be used to target, military personnel, family and friends.

5. Summary. Any users of Facebook therefore, should be made aware of the increased risk of using social networking sites and the potential risks associated with leaving the ‘PLACES I CHECKED INTO’ applications active.

6. It is requested that this document is distributed as widely as possible, on the proviso that it is advising and not instructing personnel to disable the application.

1. A new software application has been introduced in to Facebook called "PLACES I CHECKED INTO" This is an automatic service which will post your current location which depending on the privacy settings of your account, which display this information to all users. The following steps enable this function to be disabled:

Step 1. Click Account then Privacy Setting. On the first page that appears click Customise settings.

Step 2. Under Things I share Heading, disable "Include me in "People Here Now" after I check in" box by un-ticking the box. Then change the "Places I check in to" tab to only me by clicking on the drop down menu on the right, choosing Custom, then Only Me, then Save Settings.

Step 2

Step 3. To stop other users from posting your location on Facebook, under the "Things others share" section click the Edit Settings tab to the right of "Friends can check me in to Places". Click the drop down menu, and choose "disabled".

Step 4. The final stage is to stop the application itself from automatically posting your location. You do this by going back to the first page entitled "Privacy Setting". At the bottom of the page is a section entitled "Applications and Websites". Click "edit settings" which is highlighted blue. Click the Edit Settings tab next to "Info accessible through your friends".

Step 5. Then untick the boxes as indicated below, once completed click on Save Changes, then Okay on the confirmation screen.