European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday. August 2b, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 9 4th Allied tac air Force getting new commander shape Belgium German air Force maj. Gen. Rolf Thimann will become 4lh Allied tac air Force commander and be promoted to lieutenant general oct. I the supreme Allied commander Europe said thursday. Thiemann s3, succeeds it. Gen. Waller r. Schmitz who after 2w years at Heidelberg will Lake Over duties As chief of the German air Force office at Cologne want. Thiemann commands the 4lh German air div. A change of command ceremony will be at 2 p,m., oct. 2, at Campbell Barracks in Heidel Berg. Search again delayed for on Post travel agent Schwet Zingen. Germany is the search for an on Posl travel agent Tor army installations in Germany has once again been delayed. The closing Date has been extended for prospective bidders to take the first step in the bid process. The original deadline of aug. 10, extended to sept. 10, has been reset for nov. 13, according to a morale support directorate spokesman. The bidding will be for a travel agent to re place Barbarossa Ravel Agency which had the contract until March. Ansbach Baum older win firsts in raft race Heidelberg teams from Ansbach and Baum older Germany placed first in thei Divi icons in the recent Usa eur raft race in Nuernberg. About 600 people including 34 open division teams and 12 women s division teams participated sunday in the annual event said jct Leedy Usa eur outdoor recreation official. Teams from Germany garnered the lop three spots in each division. In the women s division co a 501st in Ansbach took first place 606th tac control so Bremerhaven placed second and 178th personnel services co of Aschaffenbur won third. In the open division Btry a 429th Field arty. Baum older placed first co c. 237th Etter in Heilbronn took second and he co 22nd signal brigade Frankfurt won third. Contest seeks photos of naval maritime themes Annapolis . Entries Are being accepted through dec. 31 for the 26lh annual Nival and maritime photo contest sponsored by the . Naval Institute and the Eastman Kodak co j government systems division. Photo submissions must pertain to a naval or maritime subject. They can be either Black and while or color prints or color transparencies. The first place prize is $300. Second place in $350 and third place is $1 to. Fifteen Honor Able mention prizes of $100 each will be awarded. Entries must include a caption and he photographer s name and address must be printed or typed on a Sheet of paper and attached to the Back of each print or printed on the transparency mount. The smallest acceptable print size is 5 inches by 7 inches. Transparencies should be 35mm or larger. Contest rules can be obtained by writing to membership department . Naval Institute Annapolis . 21402 or calling 301 268-6110, exl 237. Dark Side of command9 port of officer s of Veteran says by Fred Downs Washington your Job is to Kilt inc enemy and take ground after you finish tour years Here i want you to realize All of your training comes Down to that Bottom line. That is what your Job is As a platoon Leader in  1 made that statement in a lecture on leadership at West Point in the Spring of 1986.1 had looked Oul Over the faces of inc cadets and it struck  thai these naive almost officers could soon be in charge of an infantry platoon preparing to fight an enemy. I mused Over How woefully unprepared they were for what they would be facing. And so i hit them Between the eyes with  remark about killing. I got their attention. I also got the attention of someone else in the audience a High ranking officer who had been silting in the Back of the classroom. Afterwards i was admonished Here at West Point we do not Call it killing the enemy we Call in servicing the target " that struck  As absurd. At the wellspring of America s future military leaders the phrase kill the enemy was regarded As impolite. Yet 1 have Given commentary enough lectures and have talked to enough Active duty officers to know that these bloodless euphemisms abound in the Modem army s classrooms. Not Only arc words being used to hide the reality of combat but the hard Learned lessons of platoon command in Vietnam have been practically forgotten since the War ended. This amnesia about Vietnam is bad for the army. In is also grossly unfair to inexperienced Young officers. It leaves them unprepared for combat and Means they Are More Likely to make the kind of mistakes that get their troops killed. If i were in charge of training combat officers i would Start by establishing a class called the Park Side of  it would be about the realities of combat killing the enemy and taking ground. It is hard to talk about this Side of command because it involves taboo subject such As death fear destruction and mental illness. The dark Side assumes that in War there Are no Universal truths except the will to survive and the need to live with yourself afterwards. An officer s first Job is to keep his men under control. That is complicated because men in combat Are on the ragged Edge and if they sense weakness on the part of an officer or if he condones an immoral act they will lose respect for him and he will lose control. An officer must know How to Deal with human nature under stress. He must be aware of cach Soldier s motivation personal habits and beliefs peer group pressures and societal background. He must balance these factors in an environment of sleepless nights fatigue hunger thirst by weather stress anger anxiety killing and dying. In the perfect platoon most of the men will be Law abiding moral decent people. It is this premise on which the training of new officers is based. But the perfect platoon does not exist. Officers need to know Hal within their command there will be men who Gamble drink take drugs Steep with prostitutes gel Anlo fights arc racist Deal in the Black Market. Defy authority connive Malinger arc stupid have menial illness Are major felons rapists and killers Are Petty criminals have violent lempers have a propensity to be undisciplined Are of Low character arc defiant or just Plain hard to get along with. In a peacetime army there is enough stability for a new officer to become accustomed to his role As platoon Leader. There Are experienced officers in solid chains of command there Are experienced cos within the units and there is a Force of Well trained men who Are there because they want to be. The dynamics change radically in a draftee army in wartime. The army expands rapidly with new units the dark Side assumes that in War there Are no Universal truths except the will to survive and the need to live with yourself afterwards. Sex officer Fred Downs new officers new no s  whom arc pushed through training and rushed to the front or to support units. The Young infantry officer who must take command of these draftees is probably an Amateur himself unaware of the tensions and undercurrents that can cause trouble. This inexperience can be deadly. I am convinced that most hand grenade attacks on officers by their men in Vietnam occurred because the army had such a Large percentage of draftees under the command of Young officers who did not recognize these undercurrents or know How to Cope with them. The men who fought in Vietnam did not give a Good Hoot in hell whether i hair officers came from West Point Roth or the Moon. They wanted the officer to keep them alive and not do anything stupid. A Young officer should expect different reactions from the men in his platoon to killing and he should be prepared to Deal with these reactions a combat officer must also expect that some of the men under his command will be killed. He must realize thai the losses among his men will already have been factored into strategic planning. Even if the officer does his Job perfectly he will lose men. He will make mistakes that will kill men. Some combat officers will not be Able to assume such responsibility for very Long. Some will handle it Well. The Young officer must know this dark Side ahead of Lime if he is to Lead effectively. Editor s note Tow Trilbi Fin Ivrus army null few who  in Vau Iam. I la Ainne or the.  Tan w ton Lieuw in confront id Vav wait Ingiosi Post Honduras holding 4 leftists As suspects in restaurant blast Tegucigalpa Honduras a the military blamed foreign leftists for a restaurant bombing that wounded five . Servicemen this month and it said four suspects had been arrested. The arrests were announced late wednesday after a meeting of president Jose Ancona Hoyo. Armed forces chief Gen. Humberto Regalado Hernandez and lop military and political officials. Authorities were seeking other suspects in the aug. 8 pipe bomb explosion in the town of Comayagua near the Palmerola air base where 1,200 . Soldiers Are stationed inc press office said. The bomb was placed in a window of a chinese restaurant frequented by . Servicemen in Comayagua located s5 Miles North of Tegucigalpa and 7 mites North of the Palmerola base. A . Civilian and ii Hon Dunn civilians were also slightly wounded in their interrogation the suspects revealed the existence of r dangerous plan of subversive Des Tabili ution in he country through the execution of numer Ous terrorist attacks in combination with directions emanating from International leftist organizations the statement said. It did not further identify the leftist Organiza  the suspects All can Rcd with conspiracy were identified Only As Francisco Cruz Valcano Alex Fer Nando Castro Martinez Mariano Lagos Donaire and Rafael Flores. The statement said they were arrested in Comayagua but did not say when they were detained. The military s statement said some of the four were Alto involved in the aug. 18 bombing of the rectory building of the National autonomous University of Honduras on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. That bomb ing caused Linle damage. Since 1982, . Army special forces troops have been training Sci Duran soldiers in Croumi insurgency tactics to fight what Are described As Small disorganized leftist rebel groups that surface occasionally