European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 19, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes thursday. May 19,1988 news updates storm hits climbers London a a storm forced a British military expedition to abandon its third attempt to reach the Summit of mount Everest expedition members said wednesday. The leaders of the 36-Man team would have been the first britons to scale the 29.028-foot Peak using the treacherous Northern route. The two officers chosen to at tempt the Summit climb  Nicholls of the Royal marines and senior aircraft Man Al Macleod of the Royal air Force had to turn Back less than 1,000 feet from their goal. Maj. John Fitzgerald speaking from the expedition s Headquarters in Aldershot England said the men were forced Back by the severity of the storm. It was just a question of plod Ding on one foot after the other until this totally  storm swept across the top of the Mountain he said. The team s first attempt on the Summit was abandoned because of poor conditions and Lack of oxygen and its second was derailed by Snow and icy winds. Inmates lawsuit Boston a nearly 400inmates who filed a class action suit to protest having to use Buck Els As toilets in cells at the county jail in Lawrence will split s 1.2 Mil lion in a settlement. Inmates sued in 1981. Claiming he Lack of plumbing violated their rights and Superior court judge Paul g. Gamay two Yean later gave Essex county six months to provide toilets and sinks. A financial settlement recently was reached out of court. Esse county special sheriff Harry cop Pola said wednesday the Money will be divided among 397 inmates forced to use plastic night soil pots in their cells after the 9 . Ioc Down. The state will pay half the settlement this year and Essex county will pay the rest in three install ments Over the next three Yean. Military attitude toward spouses May affect retention report says by Deedee Arrington Dok suit writer Willinger West Germany the military will lose its High Quality people if the services attitude toward military wives does t keep Pace with society s recognition of women and family issues according to a paper recently submitted to the array. Military families will no longer Toler ate the attitude if the military had wanted you to have a wife it would have issued you one " said Diane Freeman the writer of the paper who spoke wednesday at a seminar on the changing expectations of military spouses. Freeman an army wife for 24 Yean wrote the paper As part of a master s de Gree program at Georgetown University. The seminar was offered at the american women s activities Germany conference this week in Willinger. A military lifestyle demands that spouses assume roles that conflict with each other that of the traditional supportive wife and that of the wife who is sufficiently Independent to manage while the husband is away. With changes in the makeup of the services and society s expectations for women the military has been compelled to reconsider the family s role in the Mil itary particularly that of the spouse Freeman said. The 1973 shift to an All Volunteer army brought More influence on the military system from families a trend Freeman attributed in part to the greater numbers of married members. Society s increasing acceptance of women in non traditional roles also has affected the military she said. Army spouses also want similar recognition. It will not serve the military Well to ignore these women or male spouses. They affect retention in both the present and the  the issues of providing adequately for the needs of spouses and families Are cause for military concern Freeman said noting that a service member May indeed neglect his commitment to the Force even in time of National crisis if he thinks his family will not be provided for. Soldiers have indicated that they May even disregard their obligation to stay and fight if family responsibilities become too  in a 1977 study cited by Freeman 62 percent of army officers interviewed who were planning to leave the service reported that their wives influenced the decision. About 61 percent of those offi cers interviewed who planned to stay in also said they had considered their wives opinions. In addition to the higher numbers of married military members the All Volunteer Force is better educated than be fore. Roughly 91 percent of today s Force have a High school diploma. Freeman said. Similarly about 89 percent of enlisted members wives have a High school diploma or More education. Eighty per cent of officers wives have some College and 17 percent Freeman said have More than four years of College. The unemployment rate of is percent for military spouses seeking work it poor when compared to the civilian rate of 5 percent Freeman said about 44 percent of military wives have half to full time work schedules. Frustrating the aspirations of Many military spouses however is the frequent mobility of servicemen Ben particularly for spouses who want careers and not just jobs. But extending a tour on the other hand May Only make the spouse s employment situation worse for the Lone the Opportunity for the wife to establish herself the More difficult it will be to uproot her Freeman said. To encourage continuing improvements to family support programs and attitudes toward spouses Freeman urged the Audi ence to educate commanders and other military authorities on the issues. The speaker also warned the audience not to be caught up in the rhetoric sur rounding recent budget cuts to family oriented programs. Before you know it it May be a lot of Money for a Long time she said. In a Brief interview after the seminar Freeman was asked if she thought i spouse s decision to work could Hurt the military member s career. I m hoping we re getting away fro that the said. My personal philosophy is that a supportive wife is a tremendous asset but a wife who pursues her own Iden Tity should not be a detriment the military. Freeman added can i longer take for granted the free Tabor they weren t willing to pay for at one tune. New housing program helps soldiers save on Security depos is expenses two f-15s damaged in midair Accident Gutersloh West Germany two . Air Force f-15 aircraft suffered minor damage when they touched while flying in formation during exercises tuesday a Pitburg a official said. The planes assigned to the 36th tac fighter Wing at Pitburg landed safely at the West German air Force s air base at Gutersloh Southwest of Bielefeld. Pilots were seen by doctors at Gutersloh and Given a clean Bill of health said tin Corcoran a base spokeswoman. The incident occurred while the planes were flying in dense turbulent weather about 23 Miles North of the West German air base. During the Inci Dent one of the planes dropped a por Tion of its right horizontal Tail Structure measuring 2 feet by 5 feet and weighing 60 to 100 pounds. The other aircraft suffered minor structural damage. There Are no reports of personal injury or property damage. Air Force officials still were searching for the dropped Tail object wednesday. The planes were participating in nato exercise bold Gauntlet which tests air defense in Central Europe. Air Force safely officials will investigate the incident. By Connie Dickey suit writer Heidelberg a new program Al lowing the army to sign contracts with individual landlords will eliminate the need for soldiers to come up with Large Security deposits and should provide More than 19,000 additional housing units in Europe a housing official with the army in Europe said wednesday. Although the government rental housing program will not be fully funded until fiscal 1990, it is being implemented now with Usa eur distributing funds As they become available said Doytt Rcd Mon. Information was not available on which communities will get funding for the program first but it should be operating throughout the command within three years he said. Under the program which passed a yearlong test in three locations in West Germany the government assumes the lease for a dwelling and pays rent utilities maintenance and services. The government also pays for legitimate damage claims and then recovers the Cost from participants As in cases involving government quarters. Soldiers who participate forfeit Basic allowance for quarters and overseas housing allowances just As occupants of government owned quarters do. But their rent no longer is affected by currency fluctuations. Also the soldiers agree to spend their entire tour in those quart in with a lease providing for change of station termination. The program is designed to provide a financial Benefit to soldiers who no longer will have to make up front deposits and will face fewer out of pocket expenses moving in. Test results showed that 93 percent of the participants were satisfied with their housing and 55 percent believed the pro Gram decreased financial hardship. The program is voluntary and open Only to soldiers and it will be implemented in Europe wherever Usa eur units Are Redmon said. It is aimed at new arrivals and priority will be Given to lower enlisted and officer grades. Listings of available houses will be handled by local housing referral offices but a Soldier will be Able to find a place Tell pro and let the office get the housein the program Redmon said. One Factor prompting the rental hous ing program was that Only 29 percent of the concurrent travel requests for sol Diers and families were approved in 1985, and Usa eur estimates that by 1990, there will be a shortage of 13,000 family housing dwellings. Landlords have reacted enthusiastically in the test areas citing the Lump sum payment of deposits prompt damage payments and longer leases available under the program Usa eur officials said. The air Force in Europe is seeking the authority to implement the program where appropriate and is awaiting approval of the request Redmon said the proposal has been submitted to the depart ment of defense but has not yet been approved. Siege ends at Golden Temple in India Amritsar India a the last 46 sikh extremists holed up in the Golden Temple surrendered wednesday end ing a 10-Day siege of Sikhism s holiest shrine. Police shot and killed one extremist when he tried to flee during the surren Der. Three other extremists committed suicide by swallowing cyanide capsules. At least 37 people mostly sikh Mili Tants were killed400-year-old Goli Tual and military stronghold imaging a Campaign of violence for a sep Arate sikh nation in Punjab stale. The figure does not include the three suicides wednesday and another Mili Tant who swallowed cyanide when 146 other sikhs surrendered sunday. Since sunday police commandos and paramilitary troops had kept pressure on the Complex with bursts of machine gun fire incendiary bullets and smoke bombs. The surrender followed escalating at Tants elsewhere in Pun Tille during the siege of the tacks by sikh militant i Golden Temple the spin Jab. Within 24 hours sikh radicals had Militar d of sikhs killed at least 38 people including 31migrant hindu Worken late tuesday night in revenge for the siege. About 2,800 policemen commandos and paramilitary troops surrounded the Golden Temple Complex May 9 after sikh extremists fired at police officers who were making an inspection just out Side the Walls. The Indian army raided the Golden Temple in june 1984 to drive out Mili Tants and some 1,200 people most of them sikhs were killed. Five months Eicr prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her sikh bodyguards to avenge the attack on the Temple