European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 9, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday june 9,1966 army s computer development lags panel chairman says Washington up congressional Probir found hat army officials spent s250 million and needlessly delayed fur years development of three major com Puter systems including one vital to lie Mobil Iraklion of combat units a House sub committee chairman says. Rep. Bill Chappell d-f1a. Chairman of the Home appropriations subcommittee on defense said investigations for his panel discovered that army officials Lack of com Puter expertise had led to program cancel lations Cost overruns Anil project delays. Chappel nid committee and Genera accounting office studies found that the army had written poorly designed con tracts tried to go too far too fast in Denef Oping High risk technology and conducted lax work reviews. If Var wore Decimal tomorrow chop pals Iid in a recent interview things would be chaotic because there s no com Puter system to organize people and equip ment the army bus accomplished virtually nothing on this and other projects despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars the three systems Chappell discussed would organise the wartime mobility lion of 1.3 million Active duty National Cliuard and Reserve soldiers Iccy track of army people and equipment in peacetime and transmit information so infantry soldiers Riboul the location Andrj firepower of enemy troops. Army officials acknowledged that the three programs have been plagued by Many of the problems Chappell discussed. They conceded that the army s Lack of computer expertise had caused contracts to be poorly win Jan and managed contributing o con tractor cosi overruns and delays a big problem said la. Col George Kulcsar of the assistant chief of staff for information management office has been Eviat army leadership has made frequent changes of software solutions because of Lack of education about rapidly evolving computer technology. Chappell who became chairman of the subcommittee May 7 after the death of rep Joseph Addabbo d-n.y., said he decided to reveal the panel s previously Undis closed findings out of frustration with the army s Lack of response. The army is worse off than he Navy and air Force by Light years in its computer development,1 he said. While army officials agree with Chap Pell on the nature of the problems they dispute his estimates of waste. They argued that funds lost in Cost overruns cancelled programs and severely delayed projects amounted to is 10 million rather than j250 million. Trie biggest source of disagreement is Over the amount of Money spent on the vertical Force development management information system designed to keep track of people and equipment in peacetime. The army criticizing the contractor s product killed the project earlier this year after 10 years of funding. Chappell says the army spent about $150 million in developing the project Dur ing the last decade while the army says it spent s40 million. Capping a lesson in numbers pupils Lake a look at 1 million bottle Caps Coil cycled by teacher Jill Lerrick at Heights Ohio. The pm it Ury school Cieber put the Caps on display a demonstrate la her pjs Lla that i million is Milb big number. Cuba re eases officer imprisoned after Bay of pigs Homestead Fla. A a High ranking cuban officer imprisoned Cor his part in the Bay of pigs invasion 25 years ago was reunited ill his family sunday after being released by cuban president Fidel Castro and flown to Florida. Sometimes there Aren t words to express How one feels Ricardo Montero Tuque said moments after an emotional greeting by relatives at Homestead fab. I m very grateful to the people and the government of lie in led state. I m very Happy to be  Montero 60. Freed five years before the end of his sentence was met by his cuban wife. Ester Montero who now Livet in new Jersey his 80-year-old Mother Bernardina Duluc