European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 14, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes Friday March 14, 1986 Berlin unit s copter pilots navigate by streets by Joe Mapother Bremerhaven Bureau Berlin the shiny Orange and White logos adorning the noses of the . Army aviation det s helicopters underscore a High visibility Mission flown under unique Urban conditions. Part of what makes the Mission unique is the 102-mile Wall surrounding the Western sectors of Berlin forming a slice of the West that can be traversed by the detachment s u h-1 Huey helicopters in minutes. Where other helicopter pilots navigate by Grid squares and maps we really navigate by streets said maj. Richard Hamil ton detachment commander. The shiny helicopters with their Large unit emblems on the nose contrast with counterparts flown by army units in the rest of West Germany. A lot of that has to do with the show the Flag Mission of the Berlin detachment Hamilton said. Because the six Huey flown by the detachment represent the Only helicopters in the City designed to carry troops the unit flies missions for the French and British As Well As soldiers of the Berlin brigade Hamilton said. Because civilian flying is largely limited to one commercial air Carrier from each Western ally country detachment pilots assist the local government by ferrying West Berlin Environ mental officials on pollution checks along the City s extensive Waterways system Hamilton said. Providing Security for visiting dignitaries also Falls to the army fliers. We do a lot of one of a kind missions Hamilton said. Flying Low level daily reconnaissance mis Sions and ferrying a steady Stream of dignitaries along the sector Borders occupies much of the unit s flying time Hamilton said. It res a photo by Joe Mapother copter s Large Emblem reinforces show the Flag Mission of the Berlin detachment. Quires with one notable exception staying within West Berlin airspace. Army pilots regularly Cross East German territory to Fly Over the former exclave of Stei Stuecken a 31.3-acre plot of ground whose residents found themselves Cut off from the rest of West Berlin less than one mile away when the City Borders were closed in 1961. Gen. Lucius d. Clay sent to Berlin by president Kennedy after the Wall was built took exception to the isolation of Stei Stuecken and flew in by helicopter one fall Day in 1961 to demonstrate a commit ment to hold on to the exclave. There is now a Road connecting Stei Stuecken to West Berlin. Detachment copters rarely touch Down at the former heliport marked today by a memorial. A nearby playground sports a Metal climbing toy in the shape of a helicopter. The ploughed Swath with rows of wire mesh electrified Fence and Concrete Wall surrounding the Western sectors would seem a Clear navigational guide to pilots. But looks can be deceiving said warrant officer Michael Murray while piloting a recent Border flight. The Concrete Wall that surrounds most of the City does not follow the actual boundaries in Many places he said. Along the vast Forest areas lining the Havel River on the West Side of the City whole sections of territory have been essentially abandoned by the East germans who chose to build the Border following natural boundaries rather than geographical ones. The pilots say that in summer they can see the difference Between East and West in the grass. Seldom Cut underbrush on East German territory contrasts with the manicured stretches belonging to West Berlin the pilots said. By the time most of my pilots Are signed off to Fly the Wall they know every Nook and every building Hamilton said. Most of the 10 pilots assigned to the detachment Are also qualified to Fly fixed Wing aircraft in addition to the helicopters the unit also flies a pair of Swiss manufactured single engine reconnaissance uv-20 planes and a twin engined u-21 plane used for flying dignitaries in and out of Berlin. Operating from a hangar at Tempelhof Central Airport the detachment last year logged More than 2,000 Accident free flying hours. Hamilton said one goal this year is to log 1,000 helicopter flying hours within the City which will give the German Shep Herd watchdogs tethered behind the Wal plenty to bark at. Woman called Saint of Egialeo acquitted of criminal fraud Athens Greece up a self styled Saint who claimed ability to perform miracles was acquitted of Crim Inal fraud Here after a we Klong trial. Athanassiu Kriketos 55, better known As the Saint of Egialeo a working class Athens neighbourhood had pleaded not guilty to several instances of criminal fraud and obtaining Money from mostly sick or elderly persons under false pretences. Kriketos was accused by the Public prosecutor of amassing 200 million drachmas $1.4 million of personal Fortune by defrauding Christian believers into thinking she was a Saint and the Virgin Mary s  the Saint who wore a White kerchief in court and was surrounded by hundreds of followers including Many women also wearing headscarves said her work is recognized by god and that  Kriketos made her first Public appearance As a self styled Saint in this conservative greek orthodox country in 1968. She has the ability to make written messages appear on her Chest and other parts of her body said a witness for the prosecution in court. But she exploits this ability by telling people these messages Are coming from the Virgin Mary and that the must obey them the witness said. Police sources said Kriketos s followers include a for Mer conservative minister senior armed forces office Sand wealthy shipowners. She was a poor woman living in a derelict hut in Egialeo before she discovered her Powers could make he Money said another prosecution witness. Kohl aide reports defection of 18 soviet bloc agents Bonn up eighteen soviet bloc intelligence officials have defected to the West in the last three years a senior aide to Chancellor Helmut Kohl said thursday. Waldemar sch Reckenberger a state Secretary in the chancellery told the parliamentary intelligence commit tee the vast majority had High ranks and some were very valuable agents. He gave no details. Sch Reckenberger who coordinates the work of West Ger Many s three intelligence agencies mentioned the defections to show that not Only West Germany has lost intelligence officials to the East but that the traffic is two Way. Experience shows that reverses Are suffered by Ger Many but also by other intelligence operations he said. Overall desertion rate steadily drops since Peak year of 97dod says by Chuck Vinc Washington Bureau Washington the desertion rate for Active duty service members has fallen to its lowest level in the past 15years, according to Pentagon statistics. The Overall department of defense desertion rate has been steadily falling since 1971, when Dod hit a Peak of 98,059 desertions a rate of 42 per 1,000. During the last fiscal year 11,529 service members were officially declared deserters a rate of 6.3 incidents per1,000 service members. A deserter is defined As someone who is absent without leave for More than 30 Days. A service member can be declared a deserter after any length of time if there is sufficient reason to believe he or she intended to desert. The Navy had the highest number of desertion incidents Over the past five years. The Navy had 5,072 desertions in fiscal 1985 for a rate of 10.1 incidents per 1,000 people. But that is less Thart half the rate in fiscal 1981, when 10,181 Nav personnel deserted for a rate of 21.8 per 1,000. The Marine corps has trimmed its desertions by almost two thirds Over the same period. In fiscal j981, 4,915 marines deserted a rate of 28.8 per 1,000. In fiscal 1985, 1,944 marines were declared deserters a rate of10.9 per 1,000. Army figures have dropped from 10,676 incidents in fiscal 1981, a rate of 15.9 per 1,000, to 4,357 in fiscal 1985, a rate of 6.5 per 1,000. The air Force traditionally has had far lower desertion rates than the other services. In fiscal 1981 there were 442 desertions for a rate of one per 1,000. There were Only 156 incidents in fiscal 1985, a rate of 0.3 per 1,000. That s the lowest figure for any service Over the past 18 years. An air Force spokesman said the air Force s Low rate improbably due to differences in service missions. The duty most air Force personnel have is very differ ent from army combat arms or Navy sea duty he said we do have deployments but they re not nearly As fre quent As the other  a Navy official said the Navy probably always will have the highest desertion rate because of sea duty. It s that simple said it. Cmdr. Judith Berry head of the Navy military personnel come s deserter Branch. We operate on big Gray ships often under less than Ideal conditions and our personnel Are away from their families much of the  All the services Deal with deserters in similar  a service member is declared a deserter his or her unit sends out do form 553, Absentee wanted by the armed forces to military bases and police stations at locations where the deserter is Likely to surface such Snear friends and relatives. Deserter information also is entered into the Fri s National crime information Center. The information will show up any time a deserter has a Brush with the Law even if Only for a speeding ticket or other minor violation said Wilbur Dolbow a Law enforce ment management officer with the army military police operations Agency. Dolbow said most deserters Are picked up within six months because most of them go Home. We re not talking about hardened criminals Here he said. Still there Are a substantial number of deserters who remain at Large for Long periods of time. And the Navy has taken a much More aggressive stance toward rounding up Long term deserters than the other services. There Are nine Navy Absentee collection units Narcus in various areas of the United states. Each collection unit is staffed by about 20 senior enlisted personnel who use Ever Legal Means to find deserters Berry said. They Check old addresses any known friends or rela Tives local motor vehicle files Power and Telephone companies she said. We re working now to see if we can get Access to internal Revenue service files on  once collection unit personnel find a deserter they Cal local police. We Don t kick Down doors and drag people out of bed she said. We re talking about getting our Narcus the authority to make arrests themselves but that s Only in the talking  she said Many Long term deserters have been caught within the past year. We caught one Guy who had been gone 20 years she said. Since the desertion rate has been dropping our Narcus have been Able to devote More time to tracking Down old  the maximum penalty for desertion with intent to avoid hazardous duty is five years hard labor and a dishonourable discharge. But Berry said proving intent is often difficult and most desertion courts martial result in a lesser sen tence. It s still a serious offence she said. We can t afford to let these people off just because they May be dissatisfied with some aspect of military life. It ultimately affects our readiness and combat