European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 04, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes Friday october 4, 1985 Navy the of p/7ofs aboard fhe Nassau see More paper work than flight time by of. Mapo Tiik or coct Haven Bureau Hamburg the eight Niv helicopter pilots aboard the 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship Nas Sau have at least one thing in common they All used to Fly a lot More. Duty for a Halo Pilot on Board the Nassau Means saying Pix Bye to the hours spent in the air and hello to administrative responsibilities connected with flight line operations according to Navy its. Mark Anderson and Bob i tic. Hying disc the Nassau assignment was a Sacri fice Anderson said. But future Wise i m in charge now and i m going to be More in charge in the fun  Anderson is training Wilde to take Over his position As the ship s air department officer. Wilde is the flight line officer. Night line administration is the lop priority for All the Navy fliers aboard particularly when the marines put an 1,800-Man Landing Bat Talion aboard. We provide an Airport for the marines in the Ocean and we control that  said Anderson 32, of Mclean. A. For us flying is an incredible  Wilde 29. Of Walthart mass., said he also misses the flying. We re required to gel in 100 hours a year.,. We Don t get much More he said. Anderson and Wilde each have eight years experience flying Navy helicopters. That experience is what got them aboard the Nassau one of five amphibious assault ships in the Navy and the flagship of the 2nd Fleet in Norfolk. A. The  was in Hamburg recently after taking part in Ocean safari r5, a Convoy exercise in the North Atlantic involving 160 ships. Aboard the Nassau Only one Crew of Navy fliers is on standby each Day. Which Breaks Down to flight duty about once every four Days the two officers said. Worse than that from a flier s viewpoint both officers say administrative duties can take Prece Dence Over flight duty. The Navy is made of ships and it is important that we understand How ships  Anderson said. Wilde said he misses flying although it is not Al ways a pleasant experience like the first time he flew a vertical Takeoff Craft to a moving Landing site in 3 pitching sea. The first time was terrifying. The first time was anything but Graceful. It was thank god i made it " beyond sudden changes in the weather at sea. One Basic fact about Navy flying is that the Airport a Pilot leaves soon becomes a Black speck steaming off into the Hori on. Getting Back to that moving Black speck is not a foregone conclusion Anderson said. If your radio fails or if the ship s navigation fails there is basically no Way to navigate because the Waves All look the  Anderson said. Wilde once flew an sh3 that was Low on fuel and about 100 Miles away from the ship. Because of the exercise he was involved in the ship s Aid to Taviga lion system was turned off. Because of the poor visibility. Wilde said he found himself staring at a fast approaching Oil Rig. He cleared the Rig by about 100 feet. That s not at All unusual. Over Yong has those experiences Wilde said. World today German Cabinet oks extending military draft term to 18 months Bonn a the Cabinet moved wednesday to offset a projected drop in the country s armed forces by extending Active duty Tor draftees to 18 months. The measure will take effect july i 1989, if it is approved by parliament where Christian democratic Chan cellar Helmut Kohl s coalition has a majority spokesman Friedhelm Ost said. Currently All German men age 18 and Over who arc physically fit must serve 15 months. The Cabinet also voted to extend the period of alternative service or civilian jobs for conscientious objectors from 20 to 24 months Osl said. That provision was opposed by some in the Junior governing party the free democrats As late As tuesday evening but wednesday s Cabinet vote was unanimous Ost said. Defense minister Manfred worn or requested the Extension to overcome projected manpower gaps caused by Germany s birth Rale the lowest in the world. The government is determined to maintain the country s armed strength in peacetime at 495,000 men a defense ministry statement said. It warned that the country s military strength could drop dramatically sinking to under 300,000 by the end of the 1990s, if something is not done. But the military appears to have ruled out recruiting women for now. A defense ministry spokesman Ulrich Hundt said it is not a Point of Issue for this  a defense ministry proposal last year to recruit up to 15,000 women for the army sparked Sharp criticism from German pacifists and feminists. The Extension of Active duty to 18 months should pro Duce an additional 42,000 soldiers the ministry said. Until 1988, the government plans to take other measures to keep up troop strength such As reducing exemptions and lowering fitness qualifications the ministry said. These Mea sures arc expected to produce at least another 27,000 soldiers. In addition married men will no longer be exempt nor will germans who have their Legal residence abroad but actually arc in the country More than three months a year. The government also will attempt to make the service More attractive so More soldiers will stay by vend the 18 month minimum the defense ministry said. The German army s general inspector Wolfgang Altenburg said the measures taken wednesday were urgently  he who reduces the bund Sychr German army reduces nato in Central Europe Altenburg said. The opposition social democratic party opposes the Extension to 18 months according to Hurst Jungmann the Deputy chairman of the parly s foreign policy working group in parliament. The Extension will hardly be understandable to the affected Young people. It will interfere even More in their education Jungmann said. He charged that Woerner had not sufficiently consid ered other possibilities to maintain defense  but he did not elaborate. The anti nato Green party called for a dramatic reduction of the Active duty period. A Transfer of Power Pierre Marc Johnson left the new Leader of the parti quebecois in Canada confers wednesday with Quebec Premier Rene Levesque to arrange for the smooth Transfer of Power Waltr this week. Former Irish Leader 4 others rescued after yacht sinks Dublin a former Irish prime minister Charles haughty was rescued from a life raft after my yacht Sank off the Southern Shore of Ireland authorities said. Haughty 60. Was shaken but unhurt said Richard Tryston. A spokesman for the Marine Rescue coordination Center. Four other people on the yacht including one of Haughey s three sons also were uninjured Treston said. The yacht struck a Rock at Mien head the Southwest Ern tip of Ireland after experiencing difficulties with its radar system. Tryston said. Haughty was prime minister from 1979 to 1981, and for nine months in 1982. He is the strongest candidate to replace Garret Fitzgerald As prime minister if his Ranna fail party now in opposition wins the next election. English couple Heads for France to save pet German shepherds Portloe. England a an elderly couple who have been defying a court order to destroy their two Ger Man shepherds say they arc moving to France to save the dogs lives. Retired Royal Navy cmdr. Edmond Chapman 77, and his wife Sheila 74, said they will sell their luxury Clifftop Home at shag Rock near Portloe in Cornwall on eng land s Southwest coast and move to the Dordogne. A Cornish magistrates court ordered the dogs killed in May after they attacked a couple who had gone for a walk. It was the fifth incident involving the dogs since 1982, the court was told. When a policeman went to the Chapmans Home to investigate one of the dogs grabbed hold of his jacket and growled. Since May the Chapmans have built up 344 pounds s488 in fines for ignoring the destruction order. It is a bit of a nuisance to be continually hauled up before the court and paying court costs so we decided to emigrate said Chapman. We Don t consider either dog to be dangerous. They Are a bit noisy and they Don t Greet strangers who come to the House. I suppose it might be cheaper to carry on paying but we decided enough is  no injuries reported As fire hits British foreign office London a a fire described by the London fire brigade As a major conflagration swept through part of the foreign office before Dawn thursday but there were no initial reports of any injuries. The fire brigade said several cleaners were evacuated from the building As More than 100 firemen and 12 fire engines fought the flames. The fire was extinguished some two hours after flames and smoke were first spotted coming from the roof and  upper floor of the main part of the building. The fire sent smoke billowing Over other government buildings in the Central London Whitehall area. The fire brigade said the fire apparently started in an area where builders have been engaged in renovation. A foreign office press officer said there  no reports of any explosions before the fire. Crew of austrians wins Gordon Bennett balloon race Geneva Switzerland a an austrian Crew took first place in the 1985 Gordon Bennett balloon race with the shortest winning distance in the history of the classic according to results announced wednesday. The austrians including Joseph Starkbaum and Cert Scholz covered 212.1 Miles on a flight lasting 21 hours 9 minutes from Geneva to a Landing site near Toulon France. The idea is to go As far As you can. But Ernst Iselin director of the contest said a near Calm wind prevailing for some time had created unfavourable conditions for the race which got under Way at Geneva last saturday. Poland 1, piloted by Stefan make and Waldemar Ozga was second with a distance of 201.8 Miles. They were followed by Switzerland s Karl Spang or and Martin pcs scr the 1984 winners with 200.5 Miles and Usa i with David Levin and Frank rider 196.2 Miles. Verification of distances delayed compilation of the final results. The winning distance compared with a record 1,361-mile right from Stuttgart Germany to Riga now the capital of soviet Latvia Bya French Crew in 1912