Fort Benning MCoE Legal Assistance Office

Do you want the bad news first, or the good news? Okay - Bad news is that the Fort Benning Tax Center will not open this year. Good news? There are several online services that will provide free assistance and filing for active duty members. For active duty military members, you can file your taxes free online using TaxSlayer, TurboTax or Militaryonesource. (Links posted for all of the above at https://www.benning.army.mil/mcoe/sja/Legal-Questions.html and also our Tax page..., along with Tax fact sheets for your use. ) IRS will also provide tax assistance for limited numbers through Dobbins Air Force, more to follow! We do not endorse any particular tax preparation service but want to get the word out on tax filing options that are available. Choose the one that is best for you!

We are moving forward with the DoD vaccination plan. Soon people in the Phase 2 Category (High-risk beneficiaries) will have the option to receive the Pfizer CO...VID vaccine. More information on dates/times/locations to follow. For the most up-to-date information, follow us here and at: https://martin.tricare.mil See more

Looking for something to do this weekend? How about learning more about the Battle of the Bulge from re-enactors at our National Infantry Museum?

Are you a Veteran who doesn't have retiree status? Do you live in the Fort Benning, GA area? You can still have your legal questions answered, get assistance with a discharge upgrade, and/or powers of attorney and Will documents prepared! Click below for information about the Emory Law Volunteer Clinic for Veterans, 7 January. The Registration Deadline has been extended until 1600 hours Wednesday, so sign up now!!! (Here's another way to RSVP from the comments - If you live in or around the Columbus, GA area, and need assistance with basic estate planning, VA disability benefits or a discharge upgrade, please RSVP with Roxana for the JAN virtual clinic. Her email is: [email protected])

We are coming up on the start of the New Year, 2021! Here are some New Year's Eve words of wisdom from one of our Founding Fathers to get us started on the right foot. We hope to see you soon. Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

The front doors will be locked from December 21 until January 18 due to scheduled leaves and health concerns, but we are still working! You can make appointments or ask general questions by calling 706-545-3281 and we have posted our new Super Power of Attorney on our webpage - click Legal Assistance, then Samples and Forms - so that you can fill, print and take to your nearest notary. You can also message this page. Have a great holiday season and STAY HEALTHY! We will 'see' you again soon.

Important vehicle registration information for our Servicembers who live in Muscogee County. Beginning Wednesday, January 13th, 2021 the Muscogee County Tax Commissioner’s Office Motor Vehicle Operations will be closed through Monday, January 18th, 2021. They are upgrading their Georgia Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System. How will this impact Georgia customers and drivers? During the week of January 19th-22nd, walk-in customers may experience delays ...and longer than normal wait times. To avoid such delays, Georgia residents with January and February renewal dates are encouraged to renew prior to Wednesday, January 13. Customers and dealers seeking to conduct any title transactions should complete their business at a county tag office prior to Wednesday, January 13. All online motor vehicle related services including online tag renewal services will be offline January 13th January 18th. Please plan accordingly!

Are you traveling home for the holidays through multiple states? Here's a great primer from AARP on mask requirements for Alabama to Wyoming and everything in between. Nice to find it all in one place! (List updated 11 December 2020)

Some legal history for you today, and a tale of a great lawyer representing an unpopular client in the interest of obtaining justice. On December 12, 1770, a momentous day in American jurisprudence, British soldiers were acquitted of murder charges in the Boston Massacre of 1770. John Adams, future writer of the Declaration of Independence and President of the United States was their defense attorney. And a great quote by defense attorney John Adams that describes the tactical problems of Armies trying to keep the peace in urban areas. "Soldiers [when] quartered in a populous town will always occasion two mobs where they prevent one. They are wretched conservators of the peace. Read the facts at the link.

Thank you, Major General Donahoe, for keeping us informed! Here's General Order 6. Please also go to the Fort Benning Garrison Facebook page to watch our CG's explanation of the changes from GO 5.

For our Servicemembers applying for citizenship, we have good news! A recent court decision lowered the requirement of 180 days of honorable service to one day of honorable service for active duty members. You may now apply and ask for confirmation from your O-6 of honorable service without the 6 month time constraint. Expedited processing for military service is now even faster! See this article for a good description of the change.

SGT MAJOR Thomas Payne becomes the first living member of Delta Force to receive the Medal of Honor. Well done, SGM Payne! What a warrior.

Have you heard about the Social Security Deferment affecting your paycheck in the near future? Bottom line, you will see an automatic increase in your paycheck for a few months due to keeping your normal Social Security payment, you can't opt out - BUT you will repay this money from January to April 2021 - again, as an automatic deduction. Check out the Military FAQs from DFAS on this issue by clicking here - https://www.dfas.mil//Social-Security-Defer/Military-FAQs/ - g...reat information! So its not a gift, just a loan to help with possible COVID expenses or bills. Our advice? Save it if you don't need it so you will have some money budged to compensate during the repayment months in early 2021, when you will see LESS in your take home pay. See our webpage at www.benning.army.mil/mcoe/sja and click on Legal Assistance, then click COVID in the dropdown menu for additional links and information. See more

The Benning Road Access Control Point (ACP) will re-open Monday, August 31 at 6:00 a.m. with limited hours. The ACP will be open 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. The gate will be operational for inbound and outbound traffic during these times.

Legal (Military) Tip of the Day - I don't like my NCOER performance and potential rating. I can ask for a Commander's Inquiry, right? Well, you can ASK, but your Commander will more than likely not support your request if your only argument is that you don't like it. Check Army Regulation 623-3, paragraph 4-5 which says a commander's inquiry is inappropriate to document differences of opinion among rating officials. Absent an allegation that members of your rating chain were improperly designated, unqualified, or disqualified, that they made inaccurate or untrue statements, or lacked objectivity in evaluating you, your commander does not have a basis to investigate your evaluation. But don't give up, even if the Commander won't initiate a commander's inquiry, you can still appeal the evaluation using AR 623-3, Chapter 4, section III.

We've gotten many questions about General Order #5. Thanks to the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Benning Facebook page for posting all of it, along with the following message: "During the #COVID19 pandemic, it is important the Fort Benning workforce understand their responsibility in fighting the spread of this infectious disease. It is the duty of Army personnel and their dependents to observe and obey these restrictions. #InThisTogether #ArmyCOVIDFight #KillTheVirus #SafeSix #OneForceOneFightfrom

Well, you learn something new every day! Not only can Veterans and Active Duty use the Veterans Crisis Line services, so can family members! If you are overwhelmed, or struggling emotionally, you can reach out for help! And in addition to phone, chat, and text, you can go to the bottom of the page and put in your zip code for local services, or click on Army for Army resources. Great page, and help is available 24/7. https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get/military-crisis-line

More information on COVID scams from AARP. Wow, looks like there are even counterfeit CDC and WHO pages! And have you been contacted about antibody testing? Take care, some of those are false, as well. "The FBI says con artists are advertising fake COVID-19 antibody tests in hopes of harvesting personal information they can use in identity theft or health insurance scams." So - check everything closely, don't give out personal, medical or banking information over the phone and delete unsolicited e-mails. Stay safe!

With all the COVID testing, there are also a lot of COVID SCAMS!!! Please read below, and don't open any Excel documents from people you don't know. Unbelievable that these criminals use such tactics to steal from us. Legitimate links for COVID information are at the bottom of the post. "Attorney General Chris Carr is warning Georgians that scammers are using fraudulent websites, texts and emails to steal consumers’ personal or financial information and/or to install mal...Continue reading

The winners of the coveted Chief of Staff Award for Legal Assistance were announced today by our Judge Advocate General, LTG Pede - and your local legal office made the list! We'll have to set up a happy dance by Zoom. Fingers crossed we can celebrate together in person soon.

Lots of great information from the Army Legal Assistance Conference! Check this page regularly so we can pass some tips along. For example, IdentityTheft.gov is the federal government’s one-stop resource for identity theft victims. The site provides streamlined checklists and sample letters to guide you through the recovery process. Check https://www.identitytheft.gov/ or visit ftc.gov/idtheft for prevention tips and free resources to use and share in your community.