European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 22, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes Friday november 22, 1985 plan for 11 separation centers rejected european facilities unnecessary army says by nil Jck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington army Secretary John o. Marsh has rejected u proposal to establish 11 separation centers under the direction of the i is personnel come in Europe. Soldiers in Europe must return to the United states to be discharged Ai fort Dix . Or fort Jackson s.c., said David Hidy. A military personnel management specialist in the office of he Deputy chief of staff for personnel. Hidy said the idea of establishing the european Sepa ration centers was first floated in october 1983, when Gen. Maxwell r. Thurman army vice chief of staff asked personnel officials what was being done to improve separation processing for soldiers and their families. Hidy said that in researching the initiative he had visited fort Jackson. At the separation Transfer Point there the people Are very Good but the buildings and the facilities Are very bad he said. The Way the system is structured soldiers leave their units in Europe and Fly to the United states where they arc bused to the separation Center he said. Usually they stay overnight and continue out processing the next Day sometimes late into the afternoon. Then they must get Home. I wrote a report that said this was atrocious and that there was no need for it Hidy said. Parallel to that action Hidy said guidance from Thurman indicated that he wanted to increase unit Cohe Sion and that one Way to do it would be to have the individual commands handle the processing of their sol Diers As much As possible. So if a Guy was getting ready to leave the army he would leave from his unit from the people that he served with and they would shake his hand and say goodbye rather than having it done at a centralized non command facility Hidy said. If we could process soldiers in their units before they left eur Peall they would have to do is just get Home he said. He said there would have been slight monetary Sav Ings from the plan due to  things As the elimination of contract bus service from stateside airports to the separation centers and from the fact that soldiers would probably have stayed with their units o few Days longer. But Hidy said. Marsh believes that it s important that soldiers not be stranded in Europe. In other words we brought them into the army in the United slates and we should separate them in the United states he said. Huv said Marsh decided to keep the current system after Fie visited fort Dix and was impressed with the separation facility  do have an excellent operation and they do separate most of our people there about 60 percent Hidy said. Hidy said soldiers still have the option of being Dis charged in Europe. The plan Marsh rejected worm have made that a requirement. He said the army s personnel policy staff does t plan to pursue the Issue. House oks $8.5 billion for military projects Washington api the House approved wednesday a Bill appropriating $8.5 billion for Pentagon construction projects including a new Home port for the battleship Iowa in new York. But the $55 million in the Bill for the Staten Island n.y., port to berth the Iowa and six other ships cannot be spent until the Navy sends Congress a new report justify ing plans to disperse some of the . Feletto ports around the country. A similar prohibition was contained in separate Bill approved tuesday by the House that authorized military construction projects. Congress authorizes the spending of Money and then appropriates funds i separate legislation. The authorization Bill was sent o the White House for president Reagan s Signa Ture while the appropriation measure which was approved on a voice vote went to the Senate. The $8.5 billion appropriation was Compromise Between the House s original $8.4 billion measure and the Senate s $8.7billion version. Reagan had requested $10.3 billion for this fiscal year. All but two of the 550 differences be tween the Bills were worked out by a House Senate conference committee. That panel will now try to resolve the remaining project., which involve a proposed Sale of army land in Hawaii and construction of an activity Center at the naval Academy i Annapolis my. The $55 million appropriation for sullen Island was almost twice the spending level that had been authorized. The Navy now bases Many of its ships i three ports Charleston s.c., Norfolk va., and san Diego. But As the Fleet grows to a projected 600 ships the service has announced plans to berth ships in new facilities along the Gulf coast the West coast and the Northeast. In a report submitted to the House an Senate armed services committees nov. 8, the Navy estimated the Cost of dispersing the Fleet warships to 15 new Home ports at $799million. It said that figure was $55 million to $217.3 million higher than keeping the ship sat existing alternative ports and making needed modifications depending on which ports were used in the Cost analysis. But in the Navy s judgment the Strate Gic and tactical advantages make the in vestment worthwhile it said. Rep. Ted Weiss d-n.y., said wednes Day that patting the Iowa and its support ships in new York was adding to the deficit at a time when Congress is seeking ways to reduce red Ink. He also said it is unsafe tout a ship Likely to carry nuclear weapons m the midst of a Large population Center. The Bill also includes $10.8 million for chemical weapons production Plant in Arkan Sas but it restricts use of the Money unti Congress settles the controversial Issue of whether to end a 16-year us. Moratorium on building the weapons. That matter will be fought out in a separate Pentagon budget Bill. In addition the appropriation Bill contains $55 million for construction of Road and work on silos at Warren fab in Wyom ing for the homing of my nuclear Missita. The Money can be used for work of 40silos, said rep. Bill Hefner  Reagan originally sought 100 of the 10-warhead weapons but Congress hat limited the project to 50 missiles. One of the two items of disagreement Wasa $2.4 million request to build an activity Center at the naval Academy. The Senate conferees wanted to permit toe Center Bat the House opposed it. Also in dispute is a proposal involving the Sale of land at fort Derussy the 70cre army facility which is the last major undeveloped plot of land on Wakild Beach i Honolulu. The Senate conferee had pro posed approving the army s plan to Acyl 45 acres of land to either the City or county but the House opposed the Sale. The conferees will now try to work out Compromise on the issues. Captives families told we re making progress1 Beirut Lebanon a Terry Waite the Church of England emissary seeking to free american hostages told the captives families thursday have Cour age keep Calm we re making  Waite said in an interview As he was pinned Down in moslem West Beirut by Street fighting Between rival militiamen that some Progress has been  but he noted eight Days after relaunched his one Man mercy Mission we be a Long Way to go  the fighting Between druse and shiite moslem amal militiamen forced Waite 46, to delay a planned departure by plane Tolar Naca Cyprus in route to new York for meetings with . Officials and Church leaders on the hostage crisis. "1 want to have consultations with Mem Bers of the episcopal Church and the presbyterian Church and also have some fur ther conversations with the american administration he said. Waite met with . Officials in Londonov sunday. He flew there after meeting face to face with the kidnappers. They Are shiite moslem fundamentalists of the islamic jihad or islamic holy War organization. He returned to Beirut on tuesday for further contacts with the kidnappers. They Are demanding the release of 17 comrades convicted in Kuwait for bombing the . And French embassies there in december1983. Kuwait refuses. He declined to give details of his contacts with the kidnappers. But he said i d like to take this Opportunity of giving a word of encouragement to the families of the hos tages in the United Stales. They must be alarmed and dismayed when they see All this trouble. But i say to them have Hope i Haven t lost Hope. I m optimistic. I sounds and looks terrible but we re moving  Waite was sent to Lebanon by the Arch Bishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie nov. 13 after four of the six missing american wrote to the anglican primate for help in securing their release. Tie four Are Terry Anderson chief Middle East correspondent of the associated press r ence Jinoo " roman Catholic Relief official David Jacobsen director of the american University Hospital i Beirut Aneth in of i i � i � Thomas Sutherland Dean of agriculture it travel Agency creates soldiers Aid fund ka1serslautern is Barba Rous tour and travel on Post travel agent for the . Army in Germany is creating memorial fund to Aid soldiers in emergency  fund is being established in conjunction with a peace and Freedom tour Oberlin during the first official Observance of Martin Luther King s birthday Jan. 18-20.weekend activities will end with a prayer service in the memorial Church on Berlin Kurfurst Endami. When we considered what or. King stood for peace and Freedom we Felt that the divided City of Berlin would be the right place for a memorial visit said Barbarossa spokesman Werner Pausmann. Or. King preached before 25,000 people in West Ber Lin in 1964, and afterwards held a prayer service at the Sophien Church in East  Barbarossa will Start the fund with $5 for each person making the tour. They anticipate 2,000 people will make the trip for total of $ 1 0,000 to begin the fund. We visualize a continuing Effort to keep the fund going said Pausmann. We would like to make this memorial tour yearly  the fund will be administered by a com Mittee involving the army chaplains he  details Are still being ironed out Pausmann said but we Hope to keep and was recently murdered by terrorists. That Man was Young and it is possible that he "a?""1 tall upended upon him he said. We Hope  a thing never happens again but if it should we want to help the family in  the � to the fund might be use for Relief when a Soldier is involved in a never accidents and similar emergencies. The tour will Cost about $200 per person double occupancy. Exact Cost will depend on where the Tnp originates since flight will be made from Hamburg Frankfurt Stuttgart Nuernberg and Munich corrections _ ministrative costs to a minimum so that the Price includes the night two Noohi. Most of the Money will go to persons who and breakfast in a first class hot Al Tran Ste Ned. To and from the Airport a tour of  he cited As an example the Soldier who Berlin and perhaps a tour of East Berlin yesterday s vol Smarch Page in them ripes Magazine incorrectly called this weekend s Volk March in Wiesbaden a Boyscout  participating. The March it caused to Wiesbaden scout Volk Smarcz. In a Story on proposed changes to the Gib ill in yesterday s paper the  graph was omitted through an Efim error Navy master chief8?T Homer Johnson one of four service  testify advocated going Ever and allowing service members to program at any time the stars and stripes regrets the error