European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday March 11. 19b8 the stars and stripes Page 9 Navy s claim on readiness draws sceptical response by William j. Batman Washington Faumui Washington a member of the House appropriations committee expressed scepticism Over the Navy s claim that personnel shortages have nol of acc cd the service War fighting capabilities. Despite a lean Force thai has left ships somewhat undermanned vice adm. Leon Edney told the appropriations defense subcommittee. We have not drawn Down on our War fighting  you be not drawn Down on your War fighting capabilities said rep. John Murtha d-pa., . But you re 3.500 Short an medical personnel and sooner or later it s going 1o have an effect. On mor  Munda said one key complaint lie heard during a Lour of the Navy s persian Gulf operations concerned a tack of adequate medical care. Edney. The Navy s Deputy chief of naval operations far manpower and personnel conceded shortages in the medical area arc of concern and said the Navy surgeon Genera it trying la keep people through pay Roll bonuses and efforts to improve morale. To keep the Fleet staffed Edney said Short duties have been altered and civilians have replaced military personnel where possible. As a result or the alteration in duties Many staff billets Are shorthanded he said. Edney was the latest Pentagon official to appear before the subcommittee to seek support for his scr. Ice s budget request. Due to fiscal restraints heightened by the october Stock Market collapse All of me services have had to Rire their budget requests. As with his counterparts from the other sen ices who have appeared before the panel Edney said his first priority is getting sailors the 4.j percent pay raise the Pentagon has proposed. His next priority is to keep sea to Short rotations steady to control the Strain of family separations from what you be presented Here today there s not enough manpower to run the 600-ship Navy with the threat that s out  Martha told the Admiral. Edney said the Force is lean but capable although it cannot afford to Trow any leaner. We re at the limits of leanness and  Edney like his counterpart from the other services asked the subcommittee to halt a congressionally Man dated reduction in the military officer ranks. The Pentagon hat reduced officer strength by i percent Overall in each of the last two years. Defense officials have weighted the cuts More to Ward the army and air Force to protect the Navy and Marine corps. But Over the not two years when the cuts Are mandated to be at 2 percent the services arc to be treated More evenly. Edney said the most serious officer shortage facing the Navy is in the area of experienced nuclear trained personnel. The shortage is 28 percent for these officers to Are needed at sea As commanders executive offi cers and department Heads As Well As Tor key Fleet support billets ashore. As with the air Force the Navy also has problems keeping its pilots who often leave for better pay with the commercial airlines while Many of these departed aviators choose to join the Reserve their departure leaves the regular Navy with the expense of training new pilots and a Tower experience level. Edney said the Navy is losing 65 percent of its pilots before the key seventh year of service. To retain pilots the Navy proposed granting a si2,000 per year Bonus for those who choose upon completion of their sixth year of service to sign a contract for two four or six More years of service making the Bonus available for up to 14 years of serv ice. When several subcommittee members questioned the expense or the Pilot Bonus Edney said it costs aver is million to train one of these officers. You re talking about the cheapest Way of retaining these men 9 killed when siberian hijackers trigger Melee aboard soviet Jet Moscow api a family of musicians demand ing to be flown to London set off a bomb aboard an Aeroflot Jet and killed four people before an Assaph team stormed the plane and shot dead five of the hijackers. Toss said thursday. The hijackers carried weapons and explosives aboard the plane in their instruments the official soviet news Agency said. In addition to the nine Lead 20 passengers were reported injured in tuesday s Hijack ing of the Tuposcv-Li-1 plane. Tass said. Tass identified the 11 air pirates As members of a family musical ensemble from Siberia known As the of Conkins. It gave no information on their motives. The hijackers set off the bomb while the plane was on the ground near Leningrad Tass said. The hijackers seized the plane tuesday As it was headed to Leningrad after a Stop in the ural mountains City of Kurgan. The flight began in the siberian City of Irkutsk. Tass reported the incident on wednesday but gave few details. It was the second hijacking of a soviet Domestic night in in years.  embassy spokesman Richard Gilbert said thursday that the embassy had been told no Ameri cans Wen aboard. The Sovic Skaya Rossiya daily reported thursday that the cockpit Crew had relayed a message from the hijackers that they were to proceed to London the pilots reported what happened to ground con  Tass said. They were told thai a refuelling was needed to meet their demand and the Airliner made an unscheduled  Tafs said a. Special assault team boarded the plane after it landed and i hat inc hijackers opened fire. The bandits managed to set Offan explosive device in the Airliner s Lait Section. The plane caught ire the Agency reported. An air hostess and three passengers were killed As a result of inc act of terrorism. Other passengers were evacuated but 20 were injured and were hospitalized Tass said five of the ii criminals were killed in stated without giving details radio Moscow said the other six would be tried in court. The bandits were the Oyez skins a family musical group from Irkutsk in Siberia Tass said. Eyewitnesses pointed to three leaders among the criminal team vastly and Oleg Ovechkis and their Mother incl Ovechkis a plump fashionably dressed woman of Over 50." fuel Spring fever the Cool much tads did t Hie this German balloonist who decided to Glen a March on springtime by lapping his Ottn Supply of hot Ajr. After taking look at the Clear Blue sky the Nitri could t Mill limn i off fur a Ziy flt Ghl aver South Frankfurt. Soviet missile moves were expected Galvin says Casteau Belgium api the so Viet Union has begun adjusting its nuclear missile Force to regain firepower lost through inc  medium Range missile treaty nato s lop commander in Europe said wednesday. Gen. John k. Galvin. Supreme Allied commander Europe said the moves had been expected and Are not in violation of the treaty signed Labi december to eliminate inc superpowers intermediate Range nuclear missiles. In on interview at shape Headquarters Galvin likened inc soviet moves to Sci Harjind a Wall from which some stones have been removed. "1 Don t want to gel Tuo specific. But i gel some indications thai the Sovi cts arc readjusting inc stones on the  he said adding that the Western allies would do this Loo. " the soviets will re target other War Heads into Western Europe to cover military targets previously assigned to inc hundreds ofss-20 Racket to be Dis mantled under terms of the superpower Accord Galvin said. The net result he said is Likely to be that the soviets will partially offset the loss of their is Jos which Are triple War head ballistic missiles capable of striking All of Western Europe. Nato also is seeking to adjust and modernize its remaining nuclear forces in Europe to partially compensate for the loss of the . Cruise and firshing ii missiles there is disagreement in nato though Over How and when to do this. Galvin said it is important for nato to eventually replace its aging Lance Short Range nuclear missiles which Are not covered by the inf treaty with a More Modem version. He added however that a final decision on replacing the Lance missiles in West Germany ii not needed before 1970. Nato arms modernization is Nec Essary he said to help defeat one of soviet Leader Mikhail s. Gorbachev s chief Aims to rid Europe of All nuclear weapons Calvin said thai despite Gorbachev s recent pronouncements about seeking � More peaceful relationship with the West the Kremlin Leader has nol abandoned the longstanding soviet aim of dominating Western Europe. Galvin likened the optimistic attitude of Many westerners toward Gorbachev s More peaceful sounding foreign policy themes to inc syndrome of a hostage feeling kindly toward his captor after being re leased. Galvin said Western government should nol move too quickly to encourage Gorbachev s efforts to modernize the soviet Economy since a stronger econ omy might eventually make Moscow a More formidable enemy