European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 18, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes wednesday february 18,1987 Load of trouble for truck a photo a Jackknife a truck Sils on he Side of interstate 85 near Greenville s.c., monday after sleet and rain created icy Road condition. The Northeast also has had its share of wintertime problems with harsh Heather bringing cold related deaths and below Zero temperatures in Many Arena. Army working on updated plan for handling Battlefield dead Washington a the army concerned that recovering bodies from the battlefields of the future May expose personnel to deadly chemicals or Radia Tion is trying to modernize its procedures Tor handling the remains of fallen  army s concerns particularly for a War fought in a dirty environment of nuclear or chemical contamination already have led a study group to confront the need for new equipment  As radiation Detec tors and a new Type of Pouch to handle remains. This has not been a subject that s been popular and so it s been somewhat ignored said Gary l. Wicking. An army logistics specialist who Heads the army s Graves reservation work group. It is sensitive and must be handled that Way. But it really is absolutely time to do  he  s group was formed ofter the army s quartermaster school completed � critical study last August that concluded the military still was relying on meth ods dating to world War  group held its first meeting last october and is scheduled to meet again this week. The work probably won t be completed before the fall of 19ss. Besides the Prospect of soldiers being killed As a result of nuclear chemical or biological War the group is consid Cring what new technologies Are available for use in a War zone to assist in identification of remains and what can be done to automate the process of tracking remains through what is now a Maze of paper  group also is exploring the Touchy subject of performing temporary burials in a War zone until re Mains can be transported Home and has asked the chief of chaplains to develop a non denominational memorial service for non clergy personnel to perform at temporary  Don t plan to do that unless we absolutely have to Wieting said. Bui if to Are forced to inter Weill absolutely go Back. That is our National policy. We will always go Back and bring those boys  the group includes about 30 officials including representatives from the air Force Navy and marines. Under military procedures the army bears primary responsibility for handling the combat casualties of All services. Wieting said his group has a relatively simple charter to use fresh approaches to Cany Graves registration into the 21st Century and to quickly and reverently recover and evacuate remains. On the future  although the quartermaster school s study is Classi fied on unclassified executive summary has been re leased. It discloses recommendations to the working group to consider automating the army s system for identifying and handling remains including the Purchase of minicomputers for Graves reservation specialists. It also Calls for research in  areas As the use of bar code lags that can be scanned electronically 10keep track of casualties As they Are transported Bome. Much of the study however focused on the prob lems of War involving nuclear biological or chemical Abc weapons. The study asserted there is no Doc Trine for Graves registration operations in an Nicen  the study found Oil soldiers need some rudimentary training in handling casualties they encounter on a nuclear or chemical Battlefield stateside acid rain May hasten Duck decline group says Washington a acid rain May be causing some of the decline in North american Duck populations an environmental organisation said monday. Acidification of lakes in Breeding areas Means that ducks and their offspring May not be getting enough to eat said the study by the Izaak Walton league. The Breeding Range of the Black Duck whose Popula Tion has declined 65 percent since 1955, largely Over laps the area of heavily acidic precipitation in North America the northeastern United states and Eastern Canada the study said. In addition important wetlands habitats arc threat ened in Wisconsin Michigan and Minnesota Accord ing to the league. As a Lake gets More acidic it can support less aquatic life. More than 200 lakes in the Adirondack mountains of new York state Are so acidic that they can hardly support any life. Am announces recall of 47,650 vehicles Detroit a american motors corp. Says it u Recap Jilg 47,650 jeep pickups and sport Utility vehicles for three possible problems. A parking Brake pedal that could release on loaded vehicle will be checked and replaced if Nec Essary on 41,073 1986 jeep Comanche pickup trucks. Assemblies that could cause the accelerator Cable to disconnect during use will be checked and re placed if necessary on 5,900 1986 jeep wagoneer Cherokee and Comanche pickups and sport Utility vehicles. A stud on top of the engine manifold thai could cause fuel Hose chafing will be checked and repositioned if necessary on 680 jeep wagoneer Chero Kee and Comanche 1937 models with six Cylinder engines. Am has received no reports of accidents or injuries connected with any of the recalled vehicles said am spokesman Ben Dunn. George Wash., serves its traditional free cake George Wash. A Cherry p e and Cherr Cobbler were on the menu at the Martha inn on Mon Day but the highlight in George Wash., was the traditional tree birthday cake. An Eagle with Banner was the Centrepiece of the 3 fool-by-6-foot cake. George Washington s bust stood proudly in one Comer in the other was the declaration of Independence depending on the weather there Are usually up to 800 people at the inn said Mary Garrison who to i charge of the Kitchen be the George Community Hall. Year round permanent residents number 300. The town s women s club the Georgette Volunteer for the cake baking and decorating. It took eight hours to produce this year s decorations Gar Rison said. Navy suspends drone aircraft plan after losses Washington a the Navy after losing four of five be in the sky drone aircraft Worth from j2 50,000 to s 400,000 each has sus Pended a program to equip warships with the Pilot less planes military sources say. The losses involving drones Dis patched with the battleship Iowa occurred Over the past month and most recently on feb. 6, said the sources who asked not to be named. Four of the five drones dispatched were lost they said. One source said the four drones arc in Little bitty  the Cost of the drones de pends upon what surveillance and camera equipment they carry. The Navy already had opened an investigation into the string of accidents the sources said. The service suspects a number of causes but believes one problem might involve the Remote control system for the Pilot less planes. One of them was lost at sea when the engine Cut off one source said Bui one of them hit the Fantail of the ship and the other two hit the retrieval stanchions and were  on Jan. 8, Pentagon spokesman Robert Sims announced with some fanfare that the Iowa had become the first . Navy ship 10 be equipped with rvs or remotely piloted vehicles. Sims said that the amphibious As Sault ship Tarawa had conducted some tests of the drones in the Pacific Las year and that the Iowa had conducted a final series of successful in is in de Cember off the coast of Virginia. Those december tests led to the system being declared operational Sims said. The drone which the Navy has dubbed the Pioneer resembles Amodel air plane with a Wing Span of roughly 16 feel. It can carry various types of sensors radars and to cameras and is designed to provide Navy surface ships with the ability to conduct reconnaissance mis Sions or to direct fire at targets without calling on manned air planes. The drone is driven by a single pro peller weighs about 400 pounds and can remain airborne for As Long As five hours while operating at a Range of up to Ltd Miles i can operate Day or night and transmits pictures from its to cameras directly to the Host ship. The drone is designed to be guided either directly by sailors on a ship Orcan be programmed to Fly a specific route. It is launched with a Small rocket assist mechanism and is retrieved in midair by dying it into a net sus Pended Between stanchions. But you be got to have Good control of the thing to Fly it into the net one source observed. The initial Pioneer contract was awarded last year to the Aai corp. Of Baltimore and Maylat Ltd. Of Israel following two years of Navy experimentation prompted by Israel s Cess with the aircraft during it 1982 invasion of Lebanon. The planes originally were designed to take off and land from the ground. But the Navy developed the net retrieval system in an Effort 10 provide ships with an extra surveillance capability. Last wednesday the Navy had announced it was awarding another $22.4 million contract to Aai for More of the aircraft