European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 11, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 11 a question about Sha cola this letter is about How Well the army takes care of its people. I have been told about How the army tries to help the Young enlisted personnel with their Money problems. I am a specialist four with two years and six month service in Germany and i have been mar ried since i arrived  be been told by my finance and Battal Ion that in order to receive station housing allowance Sha or Cost of living allow Ance cola i would have to extend until january 1981.from what i have heard from newspaper articles and such sources the army has changed their regulations to include the Young enlisted in the Sha cola pro Gram. I am leaving Germany soon and without receiving any monies that some of my younger subordinates Are receiving. I would Welcome any response to this ques Tion As i have not been Able to get any thing out of my Chain of  Young and bankrupt Soldier Nurnberg Germany editor s note a Usa eur Bigfoot s above me Bigfoot an endangered species noway. He is not the half human of lower intelligence. He has outwitted and eluded his perplexed pursuers. He has confused his enemies and has somehow managed to enlist in the air Force. He and his wife Are Here in Ger Many what better place to blend into the Basic fabric of american society a govern ment housing area. I believe i am the Only one who has detected his new cover. His body hair is gone but he still has the unalterable characteristic big feet. Sasquatch lives on the floor above me. I you Don t believe that you should try lying in my bed and hear the comp of those size22 eee s when they Are dropped  seven foot Frame or try sitting in the living room relaxing while this big Fella and his wife practice running through the Wilder Ness while in the confines of their apart ment. So attention National geographic sen your surveillance and eavesdropping equipment across the Atlantic and set it Upin my apartment. I can guarantee you proof that the big boy thought to Rove the redwoods now resides in Gateway Gar Dens. Name withheld Rhein main a Germany spokesperson replies the station allowance system is no merely a matter of army policy but is established by Law. There Are numerous ifs ands or buts however what it basically Conie Down to is that members who have or acquire dependents and who Are eligible to elect command sponsorship but do no choose to do so Are not entitled to Sha or cola. And although you did not address your Bachelor friends single members Liv ing in Bachelor Type government quarters who Are not authorized separate rations Are also not entitled to Sha or cola. On the other band members who had dependents when they received overseas orders but were ineligible to elect com Mand sponsorship merely because of longevity or Grade and who brought their de Pendents Over at their own expense do receive full station  subject has been addressed by this Headquarters under the year of the Soldier action plan and recommendations Are now pending congressional action. If approved the program would establish three separate rates for payment of cola with dependents without dependents and All others. Additionally All service member would be eligible to elect command sponsorship of their dependents without regard to rank or time in service. To receive cola with dependents the service member must elect command sponsorship. Cola without dependents is payable to members who Are authorized separate rations because of Nonava labile to of Bachelor quarters mess or specific Mission requirements. Everyone else would draw cola All others that would amount to approximately one half of the amount your younger subordinates Are receiving " european edition col. Billy e. Spangler Usa editor in chief u. Col. . Taylor Usan Deputy editor let 6901504, Mil 6556 Nuernberg Civ 712558, Mil 7256 Morth German Region Rhein Maln Mil 7103 or 6025 Stutt Gart Civ 814596, Mil 6030. Greece Athens Civ 9923390 and telex 216892. Italy Vincenza Civ 559346. Spain Madrid Civ 2057546 or Torrejon air base Mil 7546. Turkey Istanbul Civ 664372. United kingdom Greenham common Civ 44768, military 46263ext. 209. Letters to the editor tale of the wayward bus Drivers i Don t know who is responsible for contracting the German tour buses which pro vide group travel for people going to an from the armed forces recreation Cen ters arc but after a recent experience i feel no future contracts should be awarded to h. Gotten Kirkel Saa Bruck in. Let me relate my  unit the 6th in 56th air defense arty Ada took advantage of a trip Toch Emsee arc. The buses arrived for us at our Headquarters Battery in Span Dah Lem. Slightly below Trier on the autobahn to Saar Bricken i noticed the Driver was Only driving at a Speed of about 25 Miles per hour. In addition he was straying from one Lane to another and across the Lane lines into the shoulder. Several times his head bobbed up an Down As if he could t keep his head up. Soon he pulled off at a rest Stop saying he was tired and must sleep. We All were thankful that he had pulled Over. More than once he had almost run off the Road and we were All afraid we would have a Accident. Luckily we changed Drivers at  this Driver was wide awake and Alert he provided us with new thrills and dread on the return  in City traffic he constantly Cut off other Drivers and More than once he came dangerously close to hitting other  not Rod Derby shenanigans More than once jerked us around in our seats makings All wonder what was wrong with him. Art Buchwald Washington i must admit i was a critical As most people when i heard that the Senate s new ornate office building originally budgeted for $45 million would now Cost an estimated $122 million and that the Way things were going might Well climb to $200 million by the time it was completed in 1981. But then i talked to a lobbyist who persuaded me that the building was absolutely essential no matter what it Cost. It s impossible he told me for lobbyists to do their work in the two Senate buildings now in existence. We have no place to sit while waiting to see senators. I be been in offices where there have been so Many lobbyists that half of us had to sit on the  about the Halls i said. I thought that s where you people Button holed most of the senators and  the Halls used to be Okay for lobby ing he replied. But you Don t realize How the lobbyist population has exploded in the last few years. We have lobbyists lobbying lobbyists. The Halls of the two buildings Are mob scenes. You la Start working on a senator and another lobbyist will suddenly Elbow you out of the Way and without so much As an excuse me Star making his pitch for some other Bill. Government can t operate under these conditions. That s Why it s essential that we have this new Senate building no matter what it  t you lobby away from the Capitol at a Nice restaurant or club no Way. You have to be where the action is. When a Bill is being debated on the floor you have to move in right away and warn the senator about the Pitfalls in it. I you can t get to him immediately he might not realize How dangerous an amendments to a lobby s  you re in a Tough business i  course i m in a Tough business. But that s what i m being paid for. At the same time we re being impeded at every turn. Fit was just the lobbyists clogging up the Halls i would t mind. But now you have amateurs coming in every Day wanting to see their senators and the television an press people keep getting in your Way. It s a Jungle up there in those old Senate office Sand the Only thing that is going to save us is a new  everyone feels that with the Cost of government skyrocketing the Senate should be More careful about overruns on its own offices. Some taxpayers worry that if the senators get More office space they la hire larger  staffs mean More efficient legislation. The extra space will make every body s work easier. For example it in t generally known but a great Deal of the legislation in this country is originally drawn up by lobbyists. If we could have a place to work in a senator s office it would Speed up things  you mean to say you re hoping to get desk space in the new Senate office building not really desk space. But it would Benice if a desk and typewriter were Avail Able so we could Type an amendment As a Bill is being proposed on the  imagine the private restaurant on the top of the new Senate office building will be very helpful for you people too i  was my idea. I lobbied it through at the time he said. I pointed out that along As they were spending so much Money on a new office building the least the Sena tors could do would be to have a restaurant with a View. It s one thing to vote Money for the departments of government but i brings the reality much closer to Home when you can actually see  make a Strong Case for spending so much of the taxpayers Money for an other Senate  if i could t make a Strong Case he replied i would t be  c los Angeles times i m glad we got to Chi Emsee safely Ansback in one piece. But this Soldier is think ing twice about a trip to arc especially wondering whether free group travel is Worth that Type of experience. Spec. 5 Ronald w. Secoy Span Dahlem Germany editor s note capt. Dennis , director Industrial operations he arc Garmisch Berchtesgaden re plies the armed forces recreation Cente has the responsibility for the group travel program including financial administration of the contract that provides free travel. This is accomplished for the most part with two major bus firms. This sup port from these firms is normally of the highest Caliper. However the High season demands for their services require these firms to subcontract. This happened with the trip of the 6th in 56th Ada when the firm. Gotten was utilized. The subcontracting of arc s require ments is by no Means authorization for less than satisfactory service to our guests. Corrective actions have been taken to pre vent a recurrence. Hopefully this unfortunate experience shall not be a deterrent to future use of the arc  property disposal i would like to set the record straight concerning the alleged involvement of de sense property disposal office dido personnel As stated in a recent letter titled kudos for furniture throwers that appeared in the stars and stripes. The dido at ludwigs Burg is responsible for providing disposal service for the Nellinger Barracks. A Survey of employees at the dido failed to disclose anyone who declared the furniture in Salvage ble while it was still in Nellinger bar  is Standard disposal policy and prac Tice to classify excess property As to it serviceability Only after it is physically received in the dido. If the furniture was infant handled As described by the Niece or by lieutenant Swartwout it was in Al probability unserviceable by the time it arrived at the  in the defense property disposal re Gion Europe Are very much concerned Aswan Uncle Sam s Niece with the apparent deliberate and wilful destruction of som excess items arriving at our disposal a Cilitti Ethis Type of action constitutes an unlawful act destruction of government property plus destroys any possible Reutilio Ationo sales potential. When excess property is delivered to Theddo and it is obvious that it was Dama ged destroyed through Means other than fair Wear and tear the disposal officers have been instructed to refuse acceptance of such property and return same to the Generator for appropriate Supply action such As a statement of charges or report of  e. Hollaway Lindsey As Germany pen pals i am a German National and gourmet Cook for a hotel. My hobbies include psychology sociology Fine arts sports and music. I would like pen pals to Exchange Opin ions and compare philosophies and establish a Concrete Friendship. Hans e. Bruehl Sinclair 36 Hans Holbein Strasse co family i. Olschewski 3410northeim/harz West Germany i am 24 years old and i would like pen pals to correspond with. All letters will be answered. Normans. Robinson austere Passaver Strasse 90 b440straubing West Germany