European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 25, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 the stars and stripes Friday. October 25, 1985 Christmas deadlines earlier Tor Canadian forces b  oven Stuttgart Bureau 1.ai1r. In Many while germans think of october As the month for festivals and foliage Canadian forces personnel in Europe May consider in a last Chance to buy Christmas gifts for friends and relatives Back Home. Officials Are advising Canadian forces Post office customers to mail All parcel Post Christmas packages by oct. 2lburusc of recent changes in mail service. Canada Post began shipping All second class third class and fourth class overseas mail by sea Container on sept. 3. After a few cars of sending it on planes. The decision is consistent with postal service changes in Many other Western nations according to maj. John p. Kin Iii postal officer at the Canadian forces base at . A lot of countries were putting surface mail in the air to veep up with the times. But they changed their minds when the started to gel the Bills from the airlines Kimak said. He said while the parcel Post deadline has been advanced because of the service change Christmas mailing deadlines for other classes of mail arc the same As they were last year. For canadians first class parcel Post packages should be mailed by nov. 20. First class letters and Post Cauls and air mail parcel Post by dec. 2, and air mail letters and Post cards by dec. 6. Liach deadline is about a week earlier than corresponding deadlines for american military postal service. Kimak said postal rates can vary widely depending on the sic and Wpc ight of packages but he estimated that the charge for sending parcels by air mail parcel Post is six or seven times the non priority surface rate. While surface rate parcels arc the Only items most customers should plan to Send earlier this year the re cent postal service change affects a Broad variety of mail the customers receive including most publications it s an inconvenience for most people said maj. Omar Van Rooyen. Commanding officer of the Canadian forces element in Heidelberg where mail sent from Canada arrives a Day later than it does in . Van Rooyen said he tracks Canadian postal service to Heidel Berg regularly and he noted that he receives magazines about a month after they arc mailed in Canada. The delay has a More telling Impact on canadians who participate in Book clubs through the mail. There s not enough time to respond to the advertisement of the selection said Van Rooyen. The service change also May result in late Christmas mail he said because while canadians in Europe May be Well informed about the need to Init Early aunts and uncles in Canada Don t recognize that  Kimak said most periodicals now travel from Canada to fur pc by ship but in Many cases customers can pay More to receive them faster. He said one Toronto based business periodical charges $37 in Canadian funds for an annual subscription sent to a Canadian address As non priority mail. The Price increases to $102 when the publication is sent through the International mail to Cir Many via ship and to $200 if it travels As first class air mail to Germany. Kimak acknowledged that canadians have not received the news about downgraded mail service enthusiastically. There is concern among the customers but i think part of that is that they arc aware of the change and mail is a very personal topic Kimak said. I guess people will have to understand that surface mail will have to move As it s intended although air mail service is still  Reagan from Page 1 in pcs that put us into natural conflict. And yet. Reagan said we must begin somewhere so Lei a begin where there is great need and great Hope by trying to help the people in the five countries he listed choose their future More  me said Hal his proposal would give the soviet Union an extraordinary Opportunity to contribute to regional peace while promoting a dialogue with the United Stales. The  implied that curbing nuclear weapons through an Accord with mos cow might depend on the outcome of such peacemaking efforts. Explaining beforehand the apparent shift in . Summit priorities away from arms control a senior administration official said that unless soviet expansion is checked it will be difficult to make Progress in other  after the speech. Reagan was meeting with prime ministers he Lino Praxi of Italy. Margaret Thatcher of Britain. Brian Mulroney of Canada. Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Praxi whose government collapsed in a dispute with the United states Over the handling of the palestinians who hijacked the italian cruise ship Achille Lauro was getting special attention from the president. Helmets from Page 1 from go Tex have passed Protection tests so far and Are better than the old steel pots but arc not being made the Way the con tract requires. This is the Oldsmobile with the Chevrolet engine said maj. Phil Soucy an army spokesman. The vice chief of staff Gen. Maxwell Thurman is  flood called the gentes helmets sub Standard saying they were not As Whir at the Crown As the contract called for. The dispute centers on the Way the Hel met s 17 layers of Bullet resistant Kevlar Are applied. The contract administered by the defense logistics Agency because helmets were being made for other services too called for each layer to be Cut out of one piece. Gentes adopted a dressmaker s pattern approach cutting Many smaller pieces and joining them at the Crown. The method reduced waste by 75 percent according to government estimates. Under the construction method required by the contract the top. Or Crown should be the strongest part Soucy said. Under the gun Lex method we re not sure about the Crown he said. The single unit pieces have got to be stronger in the Long run Soucy said and since they Don t have to be joined at the top there s less room for error gun Lex had a 1983 contract to make about 252.000 of the helmets for about $21.5 million. Flood said. The firm also made the Pinwheel Preforms for two other firms producing the helmets. The steel pot was designed to Slop an object travelling at 1,300 fee per second Soucy said. The Kevlar helmets including the go Tex models Stop objects going 1 Sou to 2,000 feel per second. The helmets Are tested by placing them in a room where a charge that generates shrapnel is set off a defense department spokesman said. But another official said that during the test the helmets Are held at the Crown and thus not tested rigorously there. Defense officials believe the Crown is the weakest Point under the gun tax construction method because eight trapezoidal strips arc joined there. Technicians at the army Materiel come and defense logistics Agency estimate that single piece construction wastes 22 percent of the material. They estimate thai the gentes method wastes Only 5 percent. The army has paid $82.20 per helmet and the government has estimated gun Lex saves $42.19 per helmet with its method although that estimate u being double checked. The army Lias ordered 1.5 million of the helmets and received about 500,000, Soucy said. The marines were to receive 164,000 of the helmets the air Force 33,000 and the Navy about 700, flood said. About 800,000 of the helmets have been produced so far and 461,000 of them arc at Issue in the dispute. Two other manufacturers have been producing the helmets according to contract specifications. In january the logistics Agency sent some of the helmets to the army s Natick mass., test Laboratory where they were taken apart and the different construction method discovered. But neither flood nor John Goldsmith spokesman for the defense logistics Agency could say what led inspectors to question the construction. Soucy said Thurman wants the go Tex helmets replaced. They la slay put there for the time  Soucy said. They saved lives in Grenada. Bui we can identify the ones made the wrong Way and we want them replaced. We were buying expensive helmets. We knew there was waste involved in the construction. We did it deliberately. We wanted the Best we could gel Soucy said. New nato Deputy named Brussels up Marcollo Guidi italian ambassador in Tokyo has been named new Deputy Lonato Secretary general lord Carrington. Nato announced. Guidi replaces another italian Eric Darin. Who served As Deputy Secre tary general of the Western military Alli Ance for four years. Nato officials said Darin was expected to Transfer to Canberra As italian ambassador to Australia next year. Temperatures Survey from Page 1 cation expenses the Cost of providing lights Kitchen cabinets and other fixtures in econ omy housing costly rental fees and depos its. The hardship is compounded for families used to a second income the study said. Job opportunities for spouses and dependents often Are limited and it concerned those in pay grades Al to e-3 the most. More than half the service members said living conditions abroad affected their work and 41 percent said that affected their intention to re enlist. Of those who reported an effect 57 percent said it was negative and 43 percent positive. The responses ranged from Japan and Okinawa where Only 25 percent perceived a negative effect of living conditions to Italy and South Korea where 37 percent and 46 percent did. More than 30 percent of the people who returned the Survey s questionnaires ranked difficulties with permanent housing among their top three problems. Permanent housing not Only was cited most often As a problem it was rated the most serious problem. Only Navy personnel in Italy had a greater concern Security especially crime and vandalism around Naples. The second most frequently cited prob Lem was Start up living costs phone and Utility deposits first or last month s rent in Advance real estate fees. More than 80 percent of personnel in government quarters preferred it to econ omy housing especially in he far East. In West Germany Economy housing was preferred. The most dissatisfaction was reported with Economy housing in the far East and government leased housing in Italy. The main problem was size the Survey found. More than 40 percent of the respondents were unhappy with the wait for government quarters. The authors said that provided added evidence of a housing shortage abroad. Up to 80 percent of the respondents were dissatisfied with the number of Economy Home listings available at housing offices and the authors said the data suggested that May have coloured Jervice members perceptions of the rest of housing office services. Complaints about size of Economy rent als were greatest in the United kingdom Japan and South Korea. Concerns about Cost were greatest in the United kingdom and South Korea and lowest among air Force members in West Germany. Housing office staffs generally were rated High for helping to Bridge the Lan Guage Gap with landlords but most person Nel wished they d had More help in getting to see potential Homes and dealing with Utility companies. Vehicles shipping insurance inspection were air Force problems in the United kingdom West Germany and Japan. In Japan where shipping private vehicles from the United states is restricted the problem was cited by nearly 40 per cent of the personnel. Working conditions inadequate Park ing overcrowded work places and Dilapi dated buildings were gripes among army and air Force in the United King Dom and West Germany and the air Force in Italy. Other problems included the condition of temporary lodging and the length of stays there living expenses especially for enlisted personnel and occupants of Economy housing and convenience of medical an dental care. Child care schools recreation family adjustment to overseas living separations and Utility service except Cost were not serious problems for any of the respondent groups. L h w 68 40 71 53 7054 u 45 70 70 it m a 40 70 44 70 i u 65 u s2 75 Albany Atlanta Atlantic City Boston Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit Honolulu Houston Kansas ally l h 57 is 61 to 71 17 39 43m n 64 91 u 77 48 70 4s i a a 52 �7 57 72 Lai in lot Angeles Miami Beach Runn Capolli Orlando Hoenen Philadelphia Pittsburgh Portland Ore. Star take Chr san Francisco Washington european weather for Catl Tor Friday fair to partly Cloudy with Early Mornier g fog in Valley. Gully wind in oui no a of Germany Hloch Lemper Furet from mid 40l to Tow 50 u from upper Klo to 3