European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 21, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 cos rejection of top Job perturbs army by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington too Many of the army s Best and brightest senior cos Are turning Down promotions to command sergeant major according to the military personnel Center s top enlisted Soldier. While officials still Are Able to fill All 1,404 authorized command sergeant major slots they often have to Settle for less qualified soldiers said command sgt. Maj. Joseph Himelick. The High number of sergeants major declining promotion was noticed and commented upon by the annual sergeant major command sergeant major Selec Tion Board which convened last month at fort Benjamin Harrison ind. Himelick said the problem is apparently affecting All career Fields but particularly the infantry and Armor branches. We re filling the slots but we May soon have to begin putting soldiers with non Armor and non infantry backgrounds into the command sergeant major positions in those career Fields Himelick said. He said that while the situation is More of a concern than a problem at this Point personnel officials Are puzzled about the reasons behind it. We just Don t know Why Himelick said. It s got us stymied because these Are the Guys who Are great leaders and now they Don t want to take that last step and move into that top leadership  he said the personnel Center plans to begin questioning sergeants major about Why they Don t want to take one More promotion. But he has some speculations of his own. Take a sergeant major in the infantry he said. He s been out in the mud running through the Bush almost All his life. Somewhere along the Way we put him through the sergeants major Academy and then gave him a teaching Job at a training Center or Roth unit or maybe As a Reserve component  once in that Job the sergeant major might realize that some people have houses and sleep in Beds and he might like that pretty Well he said. When offered a promotion to command sergeant major he might see it As a ticket Back to the Bush Himelick said. It could also be that some sergeants major working at the Headquarters staff level for general officers might not want the promotion because it May mean going to work for a lieutenant colonel at a Bri Gade somewhere meaning they d have to work their Way Back up to the staff level All Over again he said. Really we just Don t know. Our Job now is to find out if there s something broken and if so How we can fix it. We certainly want the Best leadership for our troops in the  nato standardization efforts still face obstacles by Mike Heronemus staff writer Brussels Belgium the real value in standardizing nato forces May be in keeping Materiel fixed and armed not in having everyone using the same weapons said an expert at nato Headquarters. Recent efforts by nato have resulted in promises from several nations to cooperate in developing weapons and Materiel especially for nato forces. But the Many different National require ments for certain types of weapons systems May mean common equipment is not Possi ble to develop he said. We May never have a nato Standard main Battle  even so some components of main Battle tanks used by nato forces can be identical he said. With agreements to develop tanks which use the same fuel guns am munition and tracks you would have Cov ered a Good Deal of what is vital to Mili tary operations. We must make a distinction Between what is desirable and what is a must he said. Much of the survivability and capability in nato forces depends upon the use of the same fuel ammunition and vital re pair parts like tank tracks he believes. Nato standardization efforts for Many years have resulted in agreements dealing with equipment components and operation Al procedures. One such agreement established the 7.62mm nato Basic round for Small arms. The result is that stocks of . Ammunition can be used to Supply other Allied units in combat or vice versa. One of the biggest tasks nato has had in the logistics realm is giving nato sup ply numbers to repair parts each nation stocks for its equipment and making sure identical or interchangeable parts get the same number the expert said. Nato has about 20 million individual parts coded. Many weapons systems ranging from the Beretta pistol to the self propelled 155mm howitzer and cruise missiles Are used by two or More nato forces. Some like the 155mm howitzer May have some modifications. The German 155mm howitzer has a different Breech Block than the . Version of the gun. Even though several countries Fly the same Model Jet aircraft modifications Are frequently made based on each country s specific needs or desires said sources at supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. But Basic components Are the same in each aircraft they said. One of the lingering problems in using repair parts of one nation by another is the metric system. Even with the United state s announcement to convert to metric Stan Dards Many years ago change has been minimal in the View of european National forces the nato source said. A Flag for the Flower festival up photo a Marine presents adm. Lee Baggett supreme Allied commander Atlantic and Andrea Carter of Canada with a Canad an Flag at opening ceremonies for the 33rd Azalea festival in Norfolk a. Carter was named Queen of the festival which was created to promote relations among the nato countries. Sixteen flags were hoisted at the ceremonies. We applauded the recent announcement by Ford motor co. To convert its Auto Mobile production to metric standards he said. Standardization agreements have eased Many of the problems nations will face if they go to War beside an ally but communications standardization is still a problem the nato source said. Communications systems must be the same he said especially for identifying Friendly or enemy aircraft flying overhead. Defense ministers of nato countries signed an agreement last month to Cooper ate on development of a system that would make sure ground units can quickly identify Friendly aircraft to prevent firing on it. On the ground radio communications standardization is also a problem shape sources said. But communications problems go beyond the standardization of equip ment they said citing language As an Ever present obstacle at unit operational Levels. Soviet vets paying visit to Cleveland Cleveland a eight soviet vet Erans of world War ii have arrived Here As part of what they called a peace pledge they made More than 40 years ago to american troops they encountered in Germany. When a reporter asked the group s response to the . Strikes against Libya Igor p. Belyaev who was a Soldier at the historic meeting of soviet and american troops at the Elbe River in 1945, replied in English that the group has trouble under standing american motivations. Libya is so Little. America is so great said Belyaev who is now foreign policy Edi Tor for the the literary Gazette in the soviet Union. Is it possible to imagine that the great american military Force would fight such a Small country what for outside City Hall on Friday two Mem Bers of the Cleveland committee in sup port of Solidarity confronted the soviet Visi tors with signs and polish flags. Protester George Bakalar called the Visita joke. By coincidence it happens to fall during unifying Ohio for peace week Bakalar said. We feel it s a propaganda trick. It s a Gross misrepresentation to think that the spirit of 41 years ago when we were fight ing the nazis is anywhere at All similar to what has happened since then. To imply that because they Are bringing some men Here just because they Are veterans of what happened 41 years ago is a  the group was in Cleveland at the invitation of the Cleveland partner cities pro Gram which is seeking a City in the soviet Union for the purpose of cultural exchanges