European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday february 11. 1986 the stars and stripes Page 5 special forces units Short of air planes budget tripled but improvements Are minor Washington not the Penta gon s special military commando units Are critically Short of the aircraft they would need to fight terrorism or conduct unconventional warfare two key senators have warned defense Secretary Caspar . Barry Gold Alcor r-ariz., who Heads he Senate armed services committee and Sam Nunn of Georgia the committee s senior Democrat have told Weinberger the Pentagon has made few significant improvements in its special forces since the Effort to Rescue he stages in Iran in 1980, despite a five year buildup in which the budgets for those forces have tripled. They made their statement in a letter to Weinberger Jan. 29, a Day after a commit tee hearing at which senior Pentagon officials and operational commanders charged that the commando units were ill prepared because the air Force had neglected them in favor of fighter planes. One participant at the hearing said Goldwater a general in the air Force Reserve was  the Reagan administration has said developing the special forces has had a High priority since the hostage Rescue attempt in april 1980, which failed after three of eight Navy helicopters malfunctioned in the Ira Nian desert. One key purpose of the five year buildup was to acquire More rugged Long Range air Craft such As helicopters gunships and transport planes. But some advocates of the special forces including Noel c. Koch the senior Pentagon official responsible for them say military infighting and indifference have hobbled efforts at rebuilding those forces. We be got bands that Are in a higher slate of readiness than some of our special operations assets Koch said in an interview last month. Goldwater and Nunn said the special. Forces now have the same number of specially equipped air planes they did when he Iran Rescue Effort failed and two fewer Long Range helicopters essential for com Mando operations deep in contested territory the apparent failure of the department of defense to overcome existing shortfalls in a timely fashion raises serious questions regarding the department s ability to establish priorities the letter said. Critics say the air Force which discharged with getting the commandos in and out of trouble spots has Given Short shrift to special operations aircraft so it can build up its tactical fighter wings. The air Force recently tried to turn Over to the army ils responsibility for special forces helicopter missions although the army does not yet have any of the Long Range Craft to do the Job. The proposal was blocked by Congress and Pentagon civil ians but the air Force says it will go ahead once he army has Buill its own special forces helicopters. Air Force officials acknowledge the shortages of aircraft but they also say they have begun pumping Money into the Spe Cial forces to relieve the shortages. The budget president Reagan sent to Congress last week earmarks $1.7 billion for those forces next year up from $1.2 billion his fiscal year and $441 million in 1981. But a congressional aide familiar with the Long Range plan for aircraft purchasing says the schedule for buying new aircraft has regularly slipped As planes and helicopters have been jettisoned from the budget to make Money available for fighter planes. The aide said it would be another four years before the special forces reached a sufficient level. Members of Congress say the Pentagon is late in delivering a report demanded by Congress last year on plans to remedy the Lack of special operations aircraft. Rep. Dan Daniel d-va., and sen. Wil Liam s. Cohen r-me., say the special forces have suffered from Lack of air Force and army support and that they will pus for legislation this year to unify control of the forces under a single civilian Agency. . Judge is convicted of perjury acquitted of accepting an illegal gift Hattiesburg miss. A a jury sunday found . District judge Walter l. Nixon or. Guilty of two counts of perjury making him the second sitting Federal judge to be convicted of a crime. Nixon was found innocent of a third perjury count and of receiving an illegal gift. He and his wife and daughters wept As the verdict was  s lawyer Michael Fawer said he verdict will be appealed. Nixon chief judge for Mississippi s Southern District and on the Bench since 1968, was acquitted of accept ing $60,000 Worth of Oil and Gas interests from Busi Nessman Wiley Fairchild in Exchange for his help in trying to get stale drug charges dropped against Fairchild s son. Drew. Lied to grand jury but the jury which deliberated 14w hours sat urday and sunday concluded Nixon twice lied when he testified in 1984 before a Federal grand jury investigating the  said he was saddened by the mixed verdict but added it s a verdict in which a Man is absolved of any underlying  Nixon will not preside Over any cases pending he Appeal but will not step Down Fawer said. Prosecutor Reid Weingarten said the verdict was not a cause for rejoicing. .,.,."nobody u going to celebrate tonight in the department of Justice with this verdict he said. We Are satisfied his Case had to be brought and Justice Sands or time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Feb ii 1946 Generalissimo Francisco Franco offered amnesty to All Spanish exiles if they Fonow a fir Linein the future for rebuilding  Jose Giral. Span h re Publ can Leader living in Paris warned of cml War in spun unless the allies act at once to oust Franco. 30 years ago today. Feb. Was  judge James h. Meredith set sentencing for March 31. Nixon who faces up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 Fine remains free on Bond. In his summation Weingarten said Nixon paid Only $9,500 for the Oil and Gas interests describing it As nothing More than a Christmas present from Wiley  Fawer said the government s Case had crumbled with the government conceding the drug Case had nothing to do with the Oil and Gas lease. The smell of rank injustice. Pervades this prosecution Fawer said. But Weingarten argued hat if government wit Nesses were telling the truth Nixon had testified to two serious falsehoods in the trial. One Weingarten said was claiming he did no influence the drug Case and the other was not telling the truth to the grand jury investigating him. Weingarten referred to testimony that deeds to the Oil rights had been backdated. Make it look legitimate it was an Effort to make the Deal look legitimate to make it look like judge Nixon did not get some thing for nothing he said. Weingarten said Nixon used his office to dip into Wiley Fairchild s Oil and Gas portfolio and then lied to the Federal grand jury about he Deal. Fawer accused he government of concealing facts that pointed o Nixon s innocence and described Wiley Fairchild As an old Man Selling what he could to the Federal government no matter what the  Drew Fairchild eventually entered guilty pleas to Federal and state drug charges and served a 4m month sentence. Two other Federal judges Alcee Hastings of Flor Ida and Harry Claiborne of Nevada were indicted while on the Bench. Hastings was acquitted of bribery charges in 1983. Claiborne was convicted in 1984 of failing to report $106,000 on his Federal income tax returns repent revellers Christy Moore of Covington Kyn holds i blk loft As she and other members of her group preach on Bourbon Street in new Orleans. The group was attempting to turn people away from the Pursuit of pleasure As Mardi Gnu got into full swing. Problems of Energy storm causes problems in . E orders for 1 20 years ago today. Feb ii 1966 Sophie Tucker. 82, he brass voiced ent Emine who billed herself a the last of the red hot manias died in her new York apartment. To years ago today. Can it 1076 the United states took a Gian s ride Jarf a h Ai by medal i a getting Finland in he win or olympic games in Innsbruck Autna. Boulder Colo. A the biggest Geomagnetic storm since 1976, which disrupted communications across much of the United states subsided sunday an should end later this week a solar forecaster said Sun Day. We Haven t seen anything like this in a Long time said Joe Kunches duty forecaster at the space environment services Center of the National oceanic and atmospheric administration. I d guess within 48 o 72 hours we d be Back o a Normal situation he said. In a Geomagnetic storm a surge of Energy from he Sun enters he Earth s magnetic Field and causes electrical interferences with communications and aircraft navigation. The storm also can cause satellites o stray from heir orbits. While such a phenomenon can also mean difficulties with Power distribution and phone lines engineers monitoring such systems can make adjustment to Deal with the problems. The storm began saturday and ran through the night. The storm is continuing but it has declined substantially in the last 12 hours Kunches said sunday. He could not confirm forecasts that the Aurora to Realis or Northern lights would be visible throughout the United states because of the storm. We be been clouded out in Boulder and i suspect most of the is. Had similar conditions As  he said