European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 18, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 the stars and stripes Friday october 18, 1985gis Don t need private firm for tax Relief by Berrr him an  Bureau a firm has approached military Mem Bers claiming to offer Relief from the 14 percent Wisl German value added tax for a fee but military officials warn that scr inc members need join no organizations to get the service.  and department of defense employees can get Relief from the Tan on purchases of More than 50 Marks about s20 through local morale support offices. The service is free for soldiers the air f orc charges $3. The warning follows the appearance of a firm known As american consumer service which Sells memberships to West German merchants for 360 Marks about $135 annually and service members for a one time fee of 90 Marks $35. Borndt of Slicius the Mainz Kastic firm s acc Utvic director said it can Issue refunds to americans for All taxes paid on purchases from acs members not just purchases of More than 50 Marks. Some army officials arc concerned be cause the firm has the same initials As army Community services and uses the initials on its store window stickers. Mit May be misleading to a Young sol Dier said Linda Howard morale sup port fund custodian at Parma sons. He May think this is army Community serv  of Slicius said he was unaware of army Community services when he picked the name for the company. The firm began operating in july. American consumer service has signed up 700 to 800 West German merchants and expects 1,000 by the end of the month of Slicius said. Only a few military personnel have bought memberships be cause it does t make sense to sell cards to americans without shops of Slicius said. The firm expects to publish a list of its merchant members by the end of october or Early november and then begin a sales push in american communities he said. American consumer service makes its profit by charging merchants up to a 5 percent commission on each Sale. Of Slicius said the commission is similar to charges by credit card companies. However of each 5 percent commission acs returns a discount of 3 percent to the Soldier he said. If a commission is less than 5 per cent acs returns half of it to the Soldier. A number of merchants from Parma sons that Deal frequently with american customers called me. To ask what we knew about the organization acs american consumer service said War Ren j. Field Public affairs officer in Pir masons. After i had it acs explained to me i advised them it was not necessary for them As a merchant nor for a Servi Cemcem bar or family member to belong to any organization. Or have any kind of membership in order to participate in the 14 percent tax Relief  Field said. Elicius said american consumer serv ice also offers other benefits such As free translation Over the Telephone if a member has trouble communicating with a Mer chant landlord or repairman. American consumer service also will put its Mem Bers in touch with acs merchants Selling particular items and help obtain train schedules lie said. Services Nof working As Feam Nunn says Washington up sen. Sam Nunn d-ga., said thursday defense department reorganization is necessary be cause the armed forces Are composed of four All stars who Don t operate As a team. Nunn the ranking Democrat on the sen ate armed services committee made the comments in support of a committee staff report released wednesday that cited inefficiencies infighting duplication of Effort and poor command Structure. The report recommended vast organizational changes. Interviewed on the lbs morning news Nunn said the problem is not that the us. Military establishment has fallen into disarray but that so much More can be done with resources available. We be got a group of All stars out there Nunn said. We be got a Good Navy. We be got a Good air Force a Good army and a Good Marine corps. But when you try to put them All on the same team which we must do in any kind of modern War then that team is simply not prepared because they arc not working to Gether training together every o a. And they re no planning together. They arc not making resource decisions  the key word said Nunn is  we be got to emphasize the word joint the word joint to the Pentagon is always relegated .3 the last place on the list. We Nave to have everybody on one  the committee staff report which outlined 91 potential remedies recommended replacing the joint chiefs of staff with a joint Mili tary advisory Council. Unlike inc joint chiefs of staff the advisory Council members would not also head their individual services and presumably would advise the president and defense Secretary without a service Bias. Committee chairman sen. Barry Gold water r-ariz., said the staff study the first major look at the military system since 1958 will serve As the starting Point for fall hearings on defense reforms and for legislation next year. The suggestion that the joint chiefs of staff be replaced by the joint military advisory Council brought a Sharp rejoinder from committee member sen. John warn or r-va., a former Navy Secretary. The chief of naval operations would have been reduced to the role of honorary chair Man of the Board Warner said. You re literally stripping his Epa lets in front of Hii troops making him a  and with the merged staff he said you really have stripped the chief Down to his Sivvy drawers the Pentagon withheld immediate com ment. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberg or has formed a task group to Analyse the study spokesman Robert Sims said. Other major recommendations included reforms in the Way Congress oversees the Pentagon shifting the emphasis from med aging in military minutiae to a broader oversight role and the creation of three in de secretaries of defense responsible for nuclear deterrence nato defense and regional defense and Force projection. Hijackers from Page 1 for 24 hours after the United states Learned of the hijacking . Intelligence was unable to locate the liner in the Eastern Mediterranean. I Don t know Why we could t do find it but we could to an unidentified . Official told the Globe which said the ship finally was located by israeli intelligence. Pentagon and White House spokesmen told inc Globe they could not confirm or deny the claim saying they do not comment on intelligence operations. Djerejian thurs Day declined comment on the report. In another development six senators want Secretary of state George p. Shultz to put a $500,000 Bounty on the head of Abbas. The lawmakers members of the Senate anti terrorism caucus told Shultz in a Tetter wednesday he should pay for information leading to the arrest of Abbas under a 1984 Law known As the act to combat International terrorism. In another development the Achille Lauro was getting ready to set sail again thursday on another cruise. The . Consul in Genoa Richard Hig gins told the associated press there will be nine Fri agents aboard the ship to do both physical on site crime scene investigations As Well As interview witnesses and Crew  he said the agents would remain on Board when the ship left Genoa on a new 12-Day cruise thursday evening following almost the same Mediterranean route As during the ill fated cruise. The shipping line said it was considering dropping the egyptian stops from the new cruise. The same Captain and most of the same 330-member Crew were scheduled to be aboard but Only 450 passengers of the 800 who originally booked were confirmed said spokesman Giorgio Saba. The Captain of the ship said he did not know for sure that Leon Klinghoffer had been murdered until after the hijackers sur rendered. Four men who claim to be palestinians Are charged with hijacking the ship oct. 7 and with murdering the 69-year-old american when Israel failed to meet their demands for the release of 50 imprisoned palestinians. The cruise liner docked late wednesday to cheers tears and song from hundreds of relatives and friends on the Cement pier of the Northern port City s Porto Vecchio. Israel released transcripts wednesday of radio conversations it said proved Plo offi Cial Mohammed Abbas knew in Advance the names and plans of the hijackers of an italian cruise ship. Israel s military intelligence chief announced on National television wednesday night that it had Learned the details of Kling Hoffer s death. He said it was the youngest of the four palestinian hijackers who fired two shots into the 69-year-old invalid. Authorities have said the hijackers were travelling on false documents and have not identified them. But italian news agencies have said the four Are Hallah Abdullah Al san 19 Abdel Atif Ibrahim 20 Majed Yussuf Al Molly 23 and Hammad Ali Abdullah 23. Israel said it monitored an oct. 9 conversation Between the hijackers aboard the ship and Abbas n member of the Plo executive Council. In the transcript released by the israeli army wednesday. Abbas is item As telling the hijackers not to harm passengers and to explain to them our  Abbas Heads the Palestine liberation front the Plo faction to which the Hijack ers claimed they belonged. Maj. Gen. Ehud Barak chief of israeli military intelligence played a tape record ing on israeli television of a conversation in arabic that he said was conducted oct. 9 Between Abbas and the four hijackers the same Day they surrendered. A transcript translated and released by the israeli army quoted Abbas As telling a Hijacker called maj cd listen to me Well. First of All the Pas sengers should be treated very Well. In Addi Tion you must apologize to them and the ship s Crew and to the Captain and Tell them our objective was not to take control of the ship. Tell them what your main objective is. Palestine liberation organization chief Yasser Arafat appointed Abbas to negotiate the hijackers surrender and the re lease of the ship and More than 500 people aboard. Barak said Abbas was at Egypt s port said ship to Shore radio station when the conversation took place. Italian Legal sources israeli officials and Abbas Palestine liberation front have said the initial plan was for a terror attack when the ship reached the israeli port of Ashdod. The four hijackers claim to Belf members. Praxi from Page 1 government. He claimed that two Ameri can warplanes without authorization from italian authorities followed an egyptian Airliner flying from Sicily to Ciampino Mili tary Airport in Rome with Abbas aboard Friday night. The egyptian air plane which among it passengers had the four palestinian hijackers had been intercepted by . 6th Fleet jct giblets and forced to Landin Sicily. Praxi said four italian warplanes escorted the Egypt air Boeing 737 to Rome. Spa Dohm told reporters later that Praxi s account was accurate in every  the italian government has decided to open an investigation and a protest was in temperatures l h 41 59 Albany 56 a of Luquer ii a 37 47 anchorage67 81 Atlanta 58 77 Atlantic Colv 53 75 Ball mors 76 Billing 66 07 birmingham45 69 Boise 55 70 Boston 44 51 buffalo46 s3 Burl Nolon 68 8? Charleston . 56 75 Charleston w.va34 55 Choc too 43 77 cincinnati45 54 Cleveland 54 77 Dallaj-fi.worlh37 77 Denver 39 76 Des molne42 55 Del Roll it 37 fairbanks21 50 Fargo 45 71 Hartford 68 85 honolulu43 77 Houston 44 66 indianapolis71 89 Jacksonville 45 75 Kansas city49 60 Las Venuat 53 75 Little Rock l h67 b4 l01 Angton 74 loulivlllt54 78 Memphis 79 85 Miami Saadi r 51 Nurmi is. Pad50 76 Nail veto a 90 newoneara56 n new York 62 73 nor Tofu 71 Oklahoma City 43 75 Omaha 71 97 Orlando a 74 philadelphia61 78 Phoenix 45 61 pm Huron 50 67 Portland mama m Portland. On. 57 77 pro Vioenca 63 77 Rowh 77 75 rno59 79  73 88 sl.peunlxn39 67 san Laka it of 64 73 san diego54 70 san few Cuoq 73 88 san juan49 is Seattle 44 51 Syrona 61 69 tucvx60 76 Wathington 44 71 Kmla 1 european weather f or nit Tor Friday Cloudy with morning Loe Gnu own Virtu and Benelux. Interim iolent tight rain  in Northern and Central areas Sou Ifni Wal Mill to partly it oud in rough the Al Lernora a turn Vertum Tram Tow to mid so Tow from my 40�lo Tow we m xxx la and irom 30� to Tow 40i exec Wiwel sur a i or Dor 576 Sunrise saturday 6 55. Out ooh