European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Inside Stripe d Navy revise anti sub plans. Page 2 d 3 Usa eur fall Lei nominated for award. Pages 8-9 d Mcaa basketball tourney action Page 21  shop flout rut location f6i Thiu a. Vol. 45. No. 339 sunday. March 22, 1987 0 6693 a troop ceiling risky Richards tells panel by Chuck Vinc Washington Bureau Washington keeping a Cap on . Troop strength in Europe increase the risk of nuclear War by draining conventional capabilities As new missile sys tems Are fielded a lop military official told Congress. The ceiling which limits the number of . Troops in Europe to 326,414, is having a serious Adverse Impact on conventional capabilities that could not have been envisioned at the time the ceiling was established said if Force Gen Thomas c. Richards Dep uly commander of the european conical Richards testifying Friday before the defense policy panel of the House armed services committee. Said his command is consistently forced to either Send Back to the Stales units which Are needed to permit essential modernization or to defer deployment of such units to Europe. Related Story Page 2. Recently we be had to Trade conventional Man Power spaces to permit deployment of perching ii mis Siles and the continued deployment of ground launched cruise missiles Richards said this situation Means that to deploy a system de signed to increase deterrence and stability in Europe we must lower our conventional capability and thus increase the risk of nuclear conflict if deterrence  the command s most pressing priority is to address the problem of 28.000 unfilled army combat support and combat service support positions in Europe Rich Ards said. We need those people to fix broken equipment to haul and Issue supplies and to help handle reinforce ments coming to Europe from the Stales in wartime he said we have the management of All european Man Power spaces under control he said. It s my Hope hat Congress can find ways to Lead the allies without relying on a troop ceiling the threat of withdrawal of . Forces Lack of support to the infrastructure pro Gram or other punitive  despite richards1 urgings Congress is unlikely to support an increase in troop strength in Europe said a staffer for the House armed services committee. In fact there s probably More support right now for cutting the number of troops there although it s not nearly enough for that to happen either the staffer said but i Don t see any increase in the near future. The current climate on Capitol Hill just in t favourable for  the Pentagon has Long argued for abolishing the congressional mandated ceiling. Secretary of defense Caspar Weinberger and Gen. Bernard Rogers com Mander of . Forces in Europe have both spoken out against it. Rogers testified last year that he had been forced to Cut combat muscle to slay within the troop strength limit. Italian police Hunt slayers of top Star wars expert Rome a police began a massive search sat urday for the killers of an air Force general known As Italy s Foremost Star wars expert an assassination denounced As an attempt to destabilize the nato member country. Italian politicians said the crime recoiled the assassinations of West european arms manufacturing officials although investigators said they had no immedi ate evidence of International links. Gen. Licio i Argieri 61, was killed Friday evening in a fusillade of pistol fire by two men on a motorcycle As he Rode in his car and an Anonymous caller claimed a leftist group believed linked to the terrorist red Bri sea slayers on Page 28 arms negotiator Max Kampelman Kampelman suffers minor heart attack Washington a Max Kampman he chief negotiator at he .-Sovicl arms control talks has suffered a minor heart attack but he should be out of the Hospital in about a week his assistant says. Karpelman 64, was sent to George washing ton University Hospital by his physician Friday said the assistant Sharon Martin. The prognosis is Good and he should be out about a week she said. He was scheduled to testify tuesday at a sen ale appropriations defense subcommittee hear ing on president Reagan s program to develop a space based defense against missiles. He also had been expected to accompany Secretary of slate George Shilz to Moscow next month.  negotiations in Geneva soil scr see Kampelman on Page 28 Dollar s fall putting squeeze on Italy gis  Alba Bragoli Mediterranean Bureau Naples Italy la Dolce Vita the Sweet life still exists in Italy but american forces americans stationed in Italy have had to lighten their belts to adjust for the declining value of the Dollar. And while some of the belts May be Guc Cis or Luccis bought Back in the salad Days of late 1985 when a single Dollar bought As Many As 2,140 lire americans can no longer easily afford the niceties that once made life in Italy very comfortable. Today with die anaemic Dollar fetching Only about 1,300 lire americans have altered their lifestyles. They Are travelling less eating out less often and buying fewer endless costly items on the econ omy. Especially hard hit Are those with out housing allowances or those whose housing costs tar exceed their allow ances. It in t unusual for a two bedroom apartment with a Good View in one of Naples better neighbourhoods to rent for More than $ 1,000 a month. Back in 1985 and Early in 1986, Many opted to pay More than their housing allowances of move into a much coveted apartment or Villa. When the Dollar nose dived some of those people found themselves paying $400 or $300 a month out of pocket for rent. Mary quigly. A Volunteer worker for the Navy Relief society at the naval support activity in Naples sees Many  who have been struck by Llic drop of the Dollar. Today two people came into our of fice and said they just could not afford to live Here anymore Quigley said. We find that those who Are in trouble arc generally the ones who arrived in Naples when the Dollar was quite High. Now they Are locked into High rents they can no longer afford. Utility Bills present quite a problem in Italy. At Best Bills Are sent out Only every two or three months. However sometimes people May go for months and months without getting a Bill. Then the Bills they do get Are Only estimates of usage. The real problem comes when people s meters arc actually read per haps once a year or every two years. Those Bills Are quite Large often running Between the equivalent of $1,000 and $2,000, and they arc due immediately. If people Haven t been pulling Money aside right along in anticipation of those Utility Bills they May be in real financial trouble to help people navigate through financial so rails the Navy Relief society offers financial counselling Loans and some outright Grants that Don t require repayment if it would create a hardship quigly said. Between november and february the office has seen a 25 percent increase in the number of visitors Over the same period last year she said. Although the society gave out 25 Loans in both january 1986 and january 1987, the amount of Money was 40 percent More ibis year because people s needs were greater she said. In a typical month the office sees 40 to 50 people More than half for Loans or Grants and the rest for budget counselling. As is the Case with rent and utilities car insurance is a fixed expense thai can not be avoided. Vehicle liability insurance rates Are set by the italian govern ment and a Subj Al la Small yearly increases i bought a Small Fiat Uno in 1985, and it runs me approximately a million see Dollar on Page 3