European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 8, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 8, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 5 Senate panel oks Dod reorganization bid would give pcs chairman a stronger role Washington a the Senate armed services committee voted 19-0 thursday to approve legislation reorganizing the department of defense by promoting greater cooperation Between the armed services and pro Viding a stronger role for the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The legislation the product of months of hearings con ducted by sen. Barry Goldwater r-ariz., and sen. Sam Nunn d-ga., is expected to be brought to a vote on the Senate floor by Early Spring. Goldwater the committee chairman told reporters the unanimous committee vote coupled with the parallel efforts of the House armed services committee and the recent report of the Reagan administration s Packard commission makes it almost certain that meaningful reorganization legislation will be enacted into Law  he said he Hopes president Reagan can be persuaded to apply his lobbying talents in support of the legislation to overcome entrenched Pentagon opposition. Our committee has had to fight elements of the Penta gon every Inch of the Way on this Bill Goldwater said. As today s vote indicates we have had considerable debt More than $39,000 Success in this Battle but reinforcements led by the presi Dent certainly would be helpful Goldwater said. Nunn said passage of the legislation will help the Young men and women on the front lines by making the uniformed services work together As a  the two said the principal goal of the measure is to improve the ability of the army Navy air Force and Marine corps to conduct joint operations an area in which they say the military has done poorly. The measure has these principal provisions it makes the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff the principal provider of military advice to the president and Secretary of state places him in charge of the joint chiefs and creates the position of vice chairman to better represent the joint military  it decreases the size of Headquarters staffs and de sense agencies by about 17,700 people to streamline the administrative and operational Chain of  it bolsters the command and personnel authority of War fighting commanders the commanders in chief of unified Field commands who the senators say have been Given Short shrift by individual service commanders. It restructures the military procurement system which one committee member sen. Carl Levin d-mich., said is an uncoordinated Hodge podge with inadequate responsibility focused at the highest  it reduces by two thirds the More than 400 reports Congress requires of the defense department yearly. The Bill is the product of 23 hearings. It follows the publication of a 645-Page staff report entitled defense reorganization the need for  the legislation does not follow the principal and most controversial recommendation of that report which concluded that the joint chiefs of staff had become so divided by interservice rivalry and its advice consequently so diluted that it should be abolished and replaced with an advisory panel of senior officers. Sen. John Warner r-va., a former Secretary of the Navy took Issue with Goldwater s characterization of the opposition from the military. He said the committee started with the Assumption that the military was broken and needed  Warner said the final Bill to which More than 80 amendments were added in closed hearings demonstrates that while changes Are needed the committee s initial Assumption was incorrect. Of exchanges concerned Marcos won f pay fab by Norman Blackcap military writer Washington the family and associates of former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos have run up a Tab of More than $39,000 at air Force base stores raising fears within the service that the debt will never be paid Pentagon sources said thursday. The Issue is becoming a sensitive one within the air Force the sources said be cause the base exchanges Are self support ing and their profits Are used to support morale welfare and recreational programs for Active duty personnel. The Exchange system in t something that runs on Money appropriated from con Gress said one Pentagon official who demanded anonymity. And the state department in t telling us anything about payment of this debt. If it s not paid it s our people on Guam and Hawaii that turn out the losers he said. Hog heaven sen. William Cohen a Maine a Mem Ber of the Senate armed services commit tee said we offered Marcos Safe Haven and not hog heaven. I Don t think anybody anticipated Marcos would be using and pos Sibly abusing these  earlier this week the air Force disclosed that the Marcos party had been allowed to charge More than $12,250 Worth of per Sonal and household necessities at the Exchange at Andersen fab Guam where it had stopped overnight during Marcos flight from the Philippines. The air Force refused thursday to Dis cuss whether similar purchases had been allowed at Hickam fab on the Island of Oahu in Hawaii where the deposed presi Dent and his party temporarily reside. More purchases however a Pentagon source who asked not to be identified said similar purchases had been allowed Over the past week. On feb. 28, this source said 44 members of the Marcos party purchased personal and household goods Worth $15,269.78 by signing sales invoices. And on March 4, he continued 14 Filipi nos charged another $11,575.29. That would bring to $39,101.76 the value of goods charged by the filipinos since flee ing their Homeland. Air Force officials at the Pentagon declined to discuss the status of the Bill thursday referring All questions to the state department. The service did say however that on the basis of information provided by Hickam officials further shopping is not sex  the state department meantime continued its Public silence on How the debts of the Marcos party would be paid. Ken bail is a spokesman would say Only that the matter is still being  i have no answer for you at this Point he said. The air Force won t talk about it be cause they be been told to keep quiet said one source. There Are a lot of sensitivities Here. But they re not seeing any Effort to cover these Bills and they re afraid the exchanges Are just going to get stuck because of the politics of it All the source said. According to col. Robert e. Finkel a spokesman for the army air Force Exchange service half of All annual profits from base exchanges Are designated for morale welfare and recreational programs and the other half is used to build or up Grade Exchange facilities. Last year the Exchange service returned $118.2 million to army and air Force bases for programs serving Active duty personnel he said. Crates of Money although there have been no reports that Marcos or his associates were carrying american currency with them when they fled Manila Marcos was allowed to take dozens of crates with him when he left some of which Are said to hold Large amounts of philippine currency. The Central Bank of the Philippines is Reagan retires sex Nasa chief Fletcher seeking an injunction to recover the pesos Marcos took with him and May also try to seize the other assets. The value of jewels and other property has been estimated at More than $1 million. The customs service has impounded the material. Secretary of state George p. Shultz said in an interview thursday evening that the Reagan administration will depend on the interplay of Law to decide what to do with items taken to Hawaii by Marcos and his associates. Shultz describing the former president As in poor health and experiencing a difficult period said other properties that Marcos might own Are his As far As we Are  last week the state department said the Federal government would absorb Only the Cost of transportation lodging and Security for the Marcos party. Despite that statement Beijes a state department spokesman indicated it was still unclear whether the filipinos would be asked to pay for the Exchange purchases. The air Force and state department have declined to provide a precise Tabula Tion of How much it Cost to Fly Marcos and his family and friends from the Philippines to Hawaii. The Cost of operating the four air Force jets involved in the evacuation totalled More than $80,000. Sands of time Washington a James c. Fletcher who ran Nasa during Apollo missions to the Moon and helped give birth to the shuttle program was picked by presi Dent Reagan on thursday for a second tour of duty As head of the nation s space Agency. Fletcher a physicist and expert on space and missile technology had said publicly he was reluctant to take the Job that he left in 1977, but that it would be difficult to refuse the president. The decision was hailed by sen. Slade Gorton r-wash., chairman of the Senate space subcommittee As the Best Choice for this  Gorton Aid Fletcher has the experience and personal leadership qualities necessary for the tasks that will right the Nasa ship and get it Back on  the Veteran Nasa chief said last week the Agency needed a competent Leader someone who has managed an organization before and has exhibited the qualities of Good  Fletcher who lives in the Washington suburb of Mclean va., could not be reached for comment on the announcement. His wife reached by Telephone said he was travelling on business and would return sat urday. She did t say where he had gone. Mrs. Fletcher said her husband accepted the Nasa Job reluctantly. He Felt this was his duty she said. He did t seek the Job and he did t ask for  in accepting Reagan s invitation Fletcher will take the Helm of an Agency tarnished by the Jan. 28 explosion of the challenger shuttle and the death of its seven Crew members in the worst disaster in space exploration. An investigative commission looking into the challenger disaster has challenged the soundness of procedures followed by Nasa in launching space shuttles. Fletcher has said the presidential panel seems to be conducting a Witch Hunt. If confirmed by the Senate the 66-year old Fletcher will succeed James m. Beggs who resigned a week ago. Beggs had been on unpaid leave since he was indicted in dec. 2 on fraud charges which stemmed from his previous work at general dynamics corp. William Graham has been serving As act ing administrator of Nasa since Beggs went on leave. He had been Beggs Deputy for just 10 Days. Key members of Congress had urged the administration to name a permanent Nasa chief with Strong credentials to help restore the Agency s tarnished image. A Federal grand jury accused Beggs and three other former general dynamics executives of plotting to hide huge Cost overruns on the ill fated sgt. York anti aircraft weapon. He has said he is innocent and awaits trial. Fletcher has been teaching at the univer sity of Pittsburgh and doing consulting work on aerospace projects. He served As Nasa s chief from 1971 until 1977, and is credited with convincing then president Richard m. Nixon to approve a shuttle program in an Era when Money was tight and questions persisted about any new manned space programs. During his tenure Nasa flew its final Moon missions launched skylab and saw astronauts Man the space Laboratory for up to 84 Days at a time. In the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. March 8, 1946 the Spanish government in Madrid retaliating for French action in closing the Franco Spanish Bor Der barred French nationals from Spain. 30 years ago today. March 8, 1956 Tom Harrigan director of the new York knights of Colum bus track meet blasted the Amateur ath Letic Union for its lifetime ban of Miler Wes Santee for accepting excessive expense Money. He called the aau rules  20 years ago today. March 8, 1966 the supreme court upheld key sections of the 1965 voting rights act. 10 years ago today. March 8, 1976 Dorothy Hamill America s 19-year-old olympic Champion won the women s figure skating world championship in Goteborg Sweden