European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 2, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Paga 2 the stars and stripes saturday May 2,1987 Dod offers to freeze officer strength Pentagon Hopes to deter reductions by Chuck v1nchwashington Bureau Washington Secretary of de sense Caspar Weinberger seeking to pc vent further congressional cuts in tic officer corps has proposed freezing officer strength for two years. Weinberger also submitted a report detailing growth in the officer corp since 1980 that shows Hal 77 percent of the increases wire in combat related forces. By offering to freeze officer manpower Levels and showing thai most of the growth has been combat related. Penta gon manpower officials Hope to deter congressional plans to Cut an additional 16,000 to 18,000 officers by the end of fiscal 1989. Congress passed a Law requiring offi cer cuts As part of the fiscal 1987 de sense authorization act. The Law called fora 1 percent reduction in fiscal 1967, which already is being carried out by the services. It also mandated further cuts of 2 percent in fiscal 1988 and 3 percent the following year there is no rational justification formatting the 988 and 19s9 cuts Wein Berger said. I can t suggest a mechanism for allocating cuts of this magnitude which is consistent with my duty to ensure the maximum effectiveness of our  the report said about 85 percent of the cuts would have to come from com bal related areas. One scenario showed next year s Cut would trim enough offi cers to Man seven Navy Carrier Battle groups five Marine air squadrons four Marine combat battalions two attack helicopter battalions 50 army combat companies two thirds of a division and 19 air Force squadrons. The report said this does t represent the position of the services on How the cams would actually be allocated. That process is expected to be Long a involved As each service seeks to limit i portion of the cuts. Despite the barrage of statistics. Con Gress is unconvinced. The to Jse armed services committee has delayed the 2percent Cut for one year so the general accounting office can study the  Senate armed services committee thursday approved the full cuts of 2 per cent and 3 percent Over the next two years. Staffers for both committees agree the Pentagon just has t proven its Case Wilh its latest report. They Haven t Don what we asked them to do said one. The report shows How officer strength his grown but it does t justify that growth. It does t add much to our Bod of knowledge on uie  the Senate armed services commit Tec is always coming at us with the offi cer to enlisted ratio which they say has gotten too unbalanced said one Penta gon official. But that s just not a reliable indication of military capability any More. We re planning for today not 1945. To arbitrarily Cut whole chunk from what we be achieved in the past six years is not the Way to  the True Impact of a 5 percent Cut Over two years can t be known Wilh any degree of certainty he said. That s our biggest fear he said. What is the Impact of not growing 22,500 officer and instead throwing 18,000 Oul of service think about the kid in hot right now who planned on the military h a career and is now told there s no place for him. This has a potential Long term negative Impact on the Altitude of people toward becoming military officers if the can t be sure whether there will be a Job for them or  army on frock with budget cuts Elton says a Charlie Bowden mulch bread the army f push to trim $200 million from its Transfer costs is on track but ten for officials continue to Monitor the program daily in an attempt to prevent a repeat of this year s Stop Gap measures according to the army s personnel chief. Temperatures h 49 Mew Umu wow i a s of w�.3 u 7?43 m is Stu a m a bultogm41 ii car is w 8ss"1"1 a Sash 47 by of Anta k 61 ltmxx4 91 it of Hui in t3 m Urt St of is n set m nit � it a so 70 no to a h Oua 41 7 owns n � m 7437 39h m 42 a h m still rat we want to be absolutely sure that the programs we started la year arc Able to earn us the dollars that we be Gotto make up this year said it. Gen. Robert Elton Deputy chief of staff for personnel. We Don t want a repeat of the Early out program or the Extension program that took place this year an last  timing was the most critical Factor unmaking up the dollars he said. If we had been Able to spread that Over three or fou cats then clearly we could have worked out some other ways to ear those dollars. By when you be got to trim $200 million from a billion Dollar program in a single year you be got o make some major changes Elton said during an interview this week in Gar Misch Germany at the semiannual meeting of the Community and family review committee. He is chairman of the committee. In Europe the most significant change was the involuntary Extension of Over seas Tours for some soldiers into fiscal 1987 and the change of tour length for first term soldiers from 18 months to 24months. Usa eur officials had lob bied to keep the tour length for first Wermers at 18 months. The program while successful continues to be monitored closely at the Penta gon he said. Every individual who moves is being accounted for by some one Back at the department of the army Elton said. Right now we re absolutely on track but we want to make sure that we Don t slip Back and cause ourselves any difficulties in 1988." waiver authority for moves was taken from local command Wilh the new initiatives and now requires approval from either Elton or the Secretary of the army. Officials also Are developing a new category of move for special cases when for example an individual is promoted out of a particular Job or Complete command assignment. We must move them but the constraints Are too Tough he said. Such an action requires approval of the Secretary of defense he said Elton also said the army s Long Range plan to get its enlisted Force Back id alignment is showing signs of Success an should be Complete by the end of this decade. We juried out in the early1980s Wilh a noncommissioned officer Force that was critically misaligned Elton said. Fifty percent to 60 percent of the no Force had been serving in the wrong Job and wrong Grade he said with Many Mil itary occupational specialities critic slip Short in manpower. That a been re do id to around 20 percent through a combination of promotions and Redan fixation programs and should be completed within the next three Yean be said. W u Tom 7s n n h 1494 to m 81 lxtnhock37 73 47 t4 u a � Slimm �7 70 smlmctjt17 v4 by Kantonon w to a h 73 u u 77 30 n spam37 40 v 11 t4 n to 7j cd Tiu w no sentenced to life for murder of Gas station owner in Germany 67 it wcm9" is of Vann ton european weal her Fukui for avid air of buoy  in Tot Etta nxnt0. Vmay and he a Ntow a Liev Tocol far Moulvi comma no Tao Wii so. Inn ski Suot to Purlar Bettt Sinley &j4. Oud Oak for Sunh Rova Realf i not a note. By Janet Howelis-t1ehneyst�ff writer Darmstadt Germany a staf sergeant who pleaded  to murder in the shooting death of a Gas station owner has been sentenced to life in prison. Stats a. Carlos Ponce 35, assigned tothe troop support Agency at Wei Bruecken and attached to he Del Darm stad military Community also was reduced in rank to recruit  from the army and ordered to forfeit All pay and allowances. Ponce also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and two counts of assault in the Jan. 16 attempted robbery. The two assault charges were reduce from attempted murder charges. The facts were pretty Clear said capt. William e. Boyle jr.,  was unusual to have someone do something so out of character Ponce whose military record was spotless until the incident will serve his sentence at fort leave Nwanji Kan. I would realistically expect him to serve More or less 10 to is Yean Boyle said. Clash injures several Dhaka Bangladesh a at least10 people were injured when students clashed with paramilitary guards at railway station in the Border town of Rajshahi in Northwestern Bangladesh officials said Friday. During his testimony in the one Day general court martial thursday Ponce described How Englebert Becht owner of the Darmstadt Eberstadt Gas station re fused to surrender a Cash Box and charged at Fonce. During the ensuing struggle Fonce fired his 9mm pistol three times hitting Becht once in the Groin and twice in he stomach. My intent was to Rob him i panicked. I could t believe that the shots went off Ponce said. Ponce was captured by three wit Nesses who held him for police. The Soldier entered the service in 1972and was promoted to staff sergeant in 1983. The native of Argentina lists his Home of record As Commack . He lived in Darmstadt with i wife ands Iepson. 44 72 Copenhagen a 47 f Attu 47 57 us too. My 75 Hund. At 43 Uncil m64 u Pant d � u hint p Oby 01 i. 0i rom Lutu s.1 4 Litfia Antul. D so 3rt a co. F63 4fi of. In . D 73 is 4m 4pm 50 fillet 54 Ftp he 71 m 7351 my so Jim 48 94 Tel gets 3 years for drug assault offences Pir Masens Germany is a 22-Ytar-om private who pleaded guilty to wrongful use of marijuana aggravated assault and communicating a threat has been sentenced to three years in prison. Pvt. 2 Robert p. Goldsmith b Fiel artillery computer repairman with the 346th Maint co in Pir Masens also received a dishonourable discharge in a Gen eral court martial in Kaiser Lautem. The drug charge was brought against Goldsmith after he tested positive during a unit urinalysis. A subsequent inc i Galion turned up34 Grams of hash thai he intended to bring Back to his unit the other charges resulted from Anea life fracas in Goldsmith s dorm where he struck a Soldier Over the Bead with a Beer bottle. Goldsmith also was reduced in rank lore Cruit fined is ,000 and ordered to for Feit All pay and allowances