European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 30, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday. October 30. 1988 the stars and stripes Page 3 of female recruit quota halted for by 87 by Chuck Vinc Washington Baraa Washington the Outlook for increasing the number of women air Force enlistees it Bright enough that Congress has agreed to a service request to repeal female recruit quota for Iii fiscal year. The fiscal 1987 defense authorization act eliminated the requirement for this year but left a quota for next year intact. But next year s quota will face opposition when work begins on the fiscal 1988 defense authorization Bill said congressional and air Force source. A House armed services committee initiative in the fiscal 1985 defense authorization act directed the air Force to enlist at least 19 percent women in 1987 and 22 percent in 1988. Women make up about 17 percent of the 60.000 to 70,000 people who enlist in the air Force each year. The House committee has pushed for the quota because of concerns about the shrinking Pool of Avail Able recruits Over the next decade. It believed the serv ices should evaluate greater use of women before a crunch developed. But air Force officials said that quotas setting mini mum percentages for female recruits could require the service to accept less qualified people reducing readiness. They say a revamped recruiting program will allow More women to be brought in without quotas. We believe we should be allowed to recruit without gender specifications an air Force spokesman  want he most qualified people regardless of whether they re male or female. The theory some people in Congress seen to have is that if More women Are forced into the air Force that would free up More male recruits to join the other services he  people Don t enlist in the defense department the spokesman said. They usually enlist in a particular service. If one service does t Lake them they re not Likely to ran across the Mercet to join  a Senate armed service committee staffer Aid the committee also oppose the quota requirement. It May be a Good social Experiment in theory but what we need is the proper people properly trained to make up an armed Force he said. In the respect thai the quotas have served to focus attention on women in the service in i been Good he said. But quotas based on Factor other than Quality and skills is not the Way to do things about 11 percent of air Force personnel arc female. Women make up about 10 percent of the army and 9 percent of the Navy. Doctors warn of exotic pets after ferret attacks baby by Jean Albright Bill not Bureau Span Dahlem a Germany a paediatrician who treated a 5-Montb-old girl for More than 100 ferret bites strongly warns against keeping exotic pets. The bites were not deep just numer Ous or. I. Col John c. Leopold of the Span Dahlem a paediatrics clinic said of the september attack on the in Fant there could have been More serious damage to fingers or toes or where tendons could have been  the military family daughter was treated with antibiotics and will recover without Handicap or serious scars he said. The baby was sleeping in her crib when one of two ferrets belonging to her baby Sitter attacked her. The baby Sitter had to pull the animal off the baby he said. I m warning parents when they bring children in for Check ups. Some think ferrets Are cute but there is enough evidence to show thai they Are not Good As pets in the  the Case was the first such incident in the Span Dahlem area but an Environ mental health officer and a veterinarian have joined Leopold in saying not enough is known about the animals to Trust them As pets. Although Only a few cases Are documented each year there have been enough violent attacks by ferrets for both the american veterinary medical association and podiatric infectious disease Magazine to Issue warnings within the past six months. Ferrets eat meat including human flesh and they can carry rabies. Since there is no requirement to immunize Fer rets any exposure to the disease will stick with them. There is no requirement because no approved vaccine exists said or. Capt William d. Pratt who examined the Fer ret for rabies. Pratt is an army veterinarian working in the Tilburg a veterinary clinic. Tests of inoculations in other Small animals have shown that they sometimes Coxa cd the disease rather than becoming immune. Ferrets have not been pets for Long their wild traits have not been bred out Pratt said they be been bred to Hunt for meat not As affectionate Little  snakes and monkeys can be just As dangerous As Pels he said. Until 10 years ago it was unknown that More common Peu could carry and spread Salmonella or that gerbils could transmit a form of meningitis said capt Jim Fraser environmental health officer at spangdahlem."11 has t always been though that Fer rets often carried rabies because normally they die right away from the bite and Don carry the disease anywhere Fraser said but if it does t happen that Way exotic pets and kids can be a tragic mixture by the Lime you figure it  pets Are More acceptable to Fraser in adult Homes rather than incomes with defenceless children. The baby Sitter in this incident was licensed Home care provider and when the Home was inspected by an Environ mental health official there were no Pels although the presence of the ferrets might not have prevented the License being granted Fraser said exotic Pels now would influence his recommendation against potential baby Sitters. There an Only 21 Sam space available mail Days left to Send car Ildas packages Home to loved ones. Postal patrons reminded of duty charges user fees Mannheim. Germany