European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 23, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday september 23, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 9 weekend warriors1 geared to nato by mikes Eastaff writer Gile risen a Netherlands is there s a military operation under Way in this part of the Netherlands that s differ ent. Planes take off Here each Day and head out on close air support missions that you just Don t normally see on this Side of the Atlantic that is unless you re some where near an aircraft Carrier. For right Here in the Southern area of the Netherlands hard by the Belgium Border where the land is As Flat As an air Craft Carrier s flight deck a7s take off daily. Although it looks very much like the car Rier version this plane is the one the air Force Calls the a7d. And sitting in the cockpit of each is not a Navy Pilot or even a regular air Force Pilot but a member of that group known in America As weekend  they Are pilots who three weeks ago were in Colorado or new Mexico wearing civilian clothes and maybe worrying about afternoon Rush hour traffic or the baseball standings or How Sally was doing in the sixth Grade. But this week and last week and the week before they be been working on prob lems and procedures that go with making one facet of the autumn forge series of nato exercises a smooth and efficient operation. And smooth it has been. Said one regular air Force member when we heard they were coming everybody sort of sighed and said of no weekend warriors but listen it has t been that Way. There s no hand holding at All. This is a highly professional outfit. They came in Here and it was evident right away that knew what they were doing. They be been  they refers to More than 300 men and 18 a7ds of the air National guard representing two units signed to the 140th tac fighter Wing at Buckley air National guard base Colo. Some of the planes and men came from a Colorado Squadron and some came from a new Mexico Squadron. They Are the first air National guard units to be deployed to Europe this year and Are Here taking part in nato exercises cold fire and Blue Fox. While doing so they Are demonstrating their ability to work effectively from a nato base. We re flying interdiction seek and de stroy and close air support missions said col. Bill Neuens director of operations for the 140th. Who in civilian life is an airline Pilot. And we re flying the Best bomber in the  the men of the 140th Are flying joint mis Congress votes lean by John Hart Washington Bureau chief Washington is Congress appears to be coming around and rec  that a Strong peacetime de sense depends on a viable Volunteer army according to sen. Ted Stevens a Alaska. Stevens said recent votes in the Senate represent an encouraging trend in the erosion of ant defense Mili tary  Stevens said that he did not deny the discouraging trend in the erosion of Mil itary benefits. In peacetime. It s easy to forget past priorities and debts. The need to balance the budget takes precedent Over All Otner considerations he said. Easy and obvious Stevens said All departmental Bud gets of the government come under scrutiny and military benefits represent the easy and obvious place to Start  in a keynote address before the 30th annual american logistics association convention Stevens discussed Senate action on the fiscal year 1978 defense appropriations Bill to phase out the commissary subsidy limit Dod Blue Collar wages and to prohibit dual com  Stevens the assistant minority Leader in the Senate sponsored Amend ments to Block those actions. In All three cases we won by major Ity vote of the Senate he said. It shows common sense and common decency can prevail Stevens said adding that the majority supported his amendments because they recognized the proposed actions were unconscionable unfair shortsighted and  looking to what the future May be like for the military Stevens said the administration s position is open to question. On the minus Side the administration s decisions on defense programs reflected a tendency to opt for the cheapest not necessarily the Wisest  on the plus Side Stevens pointed out that for 13 years the president was a career military Man. Stevens said that revisions in compensation and benefits Are inevitable. However any realignment must re Spond to the unique situation of the Mili  Stevens said that maintenance of an All Volunteer army requires dealing with the issues of comparability and competitiveness in the Job  there is a legitimate concern about the unfunded portions of military and other government retirement systems according to Stevens. This must be corrected. To protect future generations he said. Ste Vens said that if dual compensation is to be phased out it must be replaced by a system which permits retirees to continue to work and increase ultimate cumulative benefits. Stevens As a member of Senate sub committees on defense and Interior appropriations said that he has a perspective on the conflicting claims upon  we Are going to have to make realignments revise Domestic priorities and get a handle on inflation but not Compromise National Security Ste Vens said. All of us Are going to have to live with change and make some sacrifices he added. Stevens called for a spirit of cooperation and  no other Way for Stevens Candor Means clearly explaining to the american people that they have three options so far As Mili tary compensation is concerned to Bear the Cost no matter How High of the All Volunteer forces to return to the draft or to live in constant jeopardy due to a physically depleted  Stevens said that there is no other Way around this Issue. Americans will have to pay or serve or sacrifice nation Al  Stevens is confident that the Public will opt to Bear the Cost for a Strong peacetime All Volunteer army. He said that Public opinion polls show that americans feelings fluctuate on a wide Range of issues " but never wavered in our commitment to National Security. We have never wanted to be second on National  Sions with dutch pilots of the 316 so who Fly the nos. They say the experience has been beneficial to both sides. Said dutch officer it. Col. Jeff Boudens working with the a7s is a new experience for us. Instead of our planes working with each other we Are working with the americans and that gives us broader exp  and if learning to work effectively with nato allies is one of the main Points of the exercise then the people to people inter change was a Bonus for the americans for the people in the surrounding area made it a new kind of dutch treat. It was More than integration of military forces it was integration of people too. Before the first week was out More than 60 dutch families invited air National guardsmen to their Homes and some Lent them bicycles. The americans were Quick to respond. They held a Steak and mexican food night for these families and for dutch servicemen and their families from this base. Then with the mayor of Gile and local citizens present an a7 was dedicated to the dutch people and dubbed the Speed Well after the original ship in which the pilgrims left for America. The pilgrims later switched to the Mayflower when the Speedwell developed leaks and turned Back. The Speedwell left from near Here the first week Here the guardsmen flew missions in support of dutch German. Belgian French and British ground troops. Neuens said. This week in double dutch the americans and dutch Are integrating logistics maintain Ance and operations facilities while carrying out exercise support missions Neuens said. The deployment of the guardsmen Here represents a whole Cycle of deployments to Europe this year by stateside units to in crease their effectiveness in operating from nato bases in Europe said it. Gen John w. Pauly vice commander Safe. We know we can operate stateside units from  or Pitburg. Bul in this we Are learning to improve our capability from nato bases. It s the Best training you can get actually doing said Pauly. Pauly stopped Here on a two base swing to find out How Force integration was work ing and what problems needed to be ironed out. Earlier he visited the Canadian forces base at Lahr Germany where members of the 335th tac fighter so of the 4th Tow Seymour Johnson fab ., Are Tempo rarity deployed and Are flying close air support missions for the Carbon Edge exercise in Southern Germany. Visit to Canadian base it. Gen. John w. Pauly Safe vice commander talks with it. Stan Cassidy right of the 2nd combat communications gp., Patrick fab fla., during a swing through the Canadian forces base at Lahr Germany. The communications outfit is working with the canadians and members of the 335th tactical fighter sq., deployed to Europe from Seymour Johnson fab . Col. Charles Homer Cente Deputy commander for operations 4th Tow also from Seymour Johnson looks on. Is photo Spear