European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 10, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                1 Page 28 the stars and stripes Friday june 10,1988 363 army officers selected for retirement by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a total of 363 senior army officers 173 colonels and 190  colonels will be involuntarily retired this year to help meet congressionally mandated officer cuts personnel officials said thursday. Secretary of the army John o. Marsh or. Last week approved results of a Selec Tive Early retirement Board said u. Col. Tom Wilson chief of the officer sustain Mcnol and development Branch under the army Deputy chief of staff for personnel. This was not an easy decision Wil son said. No one wants to see these offi cers go but we have no alternatives. The Bottom line is that we have to do what makes sense for the army. We can t continue to reduce accessions and thin out the lower officer ranks without damaging readiness in succeeding  the retirement Board reviewed the re cords of colonels Wilh at least five years news briefs Lime in Grade who have nol been selected for brigadier general and lieutenant colonels who have been passed Over for pro motion at least three limes. Those picked for retirement have Bee notified by letter by Law they must leave no later than dec. I but they May request an earlier retirement Dale Wil son said. The Board was used to pay part of the army s officer cuts Bill for fiscal 1988, which totals 1,514, Wilsor said. In fiscal 1987, the first year of the congressional cuts the army had to reduce its officer end strength by 1,635. Because the dec. I deadline is actually in fiscal 1989, Only some of the 363 offi cers will leave before the end of the cur rent fiscal year on sept. 30, Wilson said. We could pc pushed the Board up a few months so that All the culs would have been made by sept. 30, but we Felt this was just too important to Rush he said. We wanted to make sure these officers had sufficient time to put heir re cords in order for the  the army has been using other pro Grams to meet its goal for this fiscal year such As voluntary releases and slowed promotion and accession Rales but this has created a worsening imbalance in the Field grades of o-4 and above he said. The voluntary release program has worked Well Wilh More than 300 officers using that option. Bui out of that total Only four or five were in the Field grades he said. We had hoped to gel at least one third of the volunteers in that program out of Fth Field grades another problem is that the army overestimated the number of officers that would be Cut this year through Natu ral attrition those passed Over for pro motion and those who did nol renew their contracts. Those two factors along with the slowdown in the number of new officers coming on Board have aggravated an imbalance in the higher grades that Hai developed Over the past few years be cause More senior officers Ait opting to slay longer on Active duly Wilson said. That s Why we needed to us his Early retirement Board he said. The current cuts Mark the second year of the congressional drive to reduce Mili tary officer strength by 6 percent be tween fiscal 1987 and fiscal 1990. To now appears Likely that lawmakers will repeal or at least delay the remaining cuts of 4 percent Over the next two Yea when the fiscal 1989 defense authorization Bill is passed. Pentagon officials apparently have swayed lawmakers Wilh a massive officer requirements report As Well As an offer to make a smaller reduction on their own that would total about 1,000 officers for the army Over fiscal 1989 and 1990. Under the original congressional plan the army would have been forced to Cut 4,400 officers Over the same period. 3rd army Soldier killed As car collides with truck Gellhausen West Germany a 3rdarmd div Soldier was killed wednesday when his vehicle veered into an oncoming Lane of traffic and collided head on with a flatbed truck driven by a German on Highway 457 in Geln Hauson said a spokeswoman from the 3rd army div s Public affairs office. The Soldier was pronounced dead at 1he scene of Fth Accident by a military physician. The injuries sustained by the unidentified German were in Pond to be minor. The identity of the Soldier will not be released until his family has been notified. Span Dahlem of officer killed in 1-car collision air Force capt. Rodney w. Shocks who was assigned to the air Force clinic in Spang Dahlum West Germany was killed in a one car Accident thursday afternoon after losing control of his car. An air Force spokesman said Scheks 3s, who had been assigned to the clinic since june 25, 1985, was taken to the Hospital at Pitburg a West Germany after the Accident occurred on Highway k39 near Behrang West Germany. Scheks. Analiz Eoanu Ricu ky., is survived by his wife Todd in daughter Leni and son Reid. Italy controllers Call strike 7 airports face shutdown Rome a seven Northern italian airports face Complete shutdowns Friday because of a strike called by the air traffic control Center of Padua. The work stoppage was scheduled to last from 6 . To 7 . At the airports of Trieste Venice Treviso Verona Bologna Florence and Ancona. Italy s stale Carrier a italia said it was cancel ing All flights to those airports. The air traffic controllers want More pc Iron Nel to be hired and also demand a restructuring of their work hours. Further strikes have been called for june 13 Between noon and 7 . And june 17 Between 6 . And noon. Senate fails in bid to override Trade Bill veto Washington up the scale failed wednesday to override president Reagan s veto of the Trade Reform Bill and preserve its labor backed Plant dosing provision. The Senate vote was 61-37, Short of the two thirds margin needed to override a veto. Supporters stressing the need for a comprehensive . Policy to Deal Wilh foreign Trade abuses and promote american exports immediately focused their sights on passing a second Trade Bill stripped of the controversial Plant closing provision. . Sailors furn hoses on protesters from suit and wire reports Palma de Majorca Spain . Sailors aboard the aircraft Carrier Dwight d. Eisenhower thursday turned fire hoses on members of the ecology group Greenpeace who tried to prevent the ship from entering a Spanish Harbor a Greenpeace spokesman said. No one was injured in the incident according to United press International. The spraying began after Greenpeace activists in inflatable launches from the organization s ship sin us came near the Carrier off the Mediterranean Island of Majorca up reported. A Navy spokesman in Naples said it is unfortunate that the Greenpeace organization As represented today by the vessel sinus would risk injury to themselves and american servicemen through unsafe ship and boat  sailors sprayed Small boats from the Sirius when they mane Vered under the Carrier s Anchor As it was about in be dropped it. Dave Morris told the Sara and stripes. The launches came within 30 feel alongside the car Rier and crossed the Bow of the 90,000-ton ship Al 25 Yards he said. Such moves violate rules for operating vessels at sea Morris said. Greenpeace spokesman Xavier pastor Lold up we were protesting the ship being m Spanish Waters As we have information it is carrying nuclear Wear  a Law bans nuclear weapons from Spanish territory. Greenpeace is carrying out a summer Long Campaign to demand a nuclear free Mediterranean according to  incident is under review by . Navy forces Morris said. Irs drops plan to tax vacation pay Washington a the internal Revenue service has backed away from its interpretation of a part of Las Law that could have made deferred benefits such As the vacation pay and sick time of Public and non profit employees taxable according to a Treasury department letter released , Donaldson Chapoton assistant Secretary for tax policy said in the letter that Bona fide vacation leave sick leave compensatory Lime Severance pay disability pay and death benefits will nol be taxable under Section 4s7 of the tax code."1 am very Happy that the irs has decided to drop its unfair interpretation of Section 457 of the tax code said rep. Raymond Mcgrath  is certainly Good news for the Public employees of the states. It is certainly Good news for the tax exempt employees it signifies that the irs will note picking the pockets of these  Mcgrath estimated dial some 14 million stale and local employees nationwide would have been affected. Court from Page 1 personnel administration Center was discharged in 1984 despite High Job ratings. In the feb. 10 ruling a three judge panel said he army must reconsider Watkins application for re enlistment without regard to his sexual orientation. More than 1,300 people were discharged from All branches of the armed services for homosexuality in the fiscal year that ended sept 30, the government said. In the february ruling the court rejected army arguments thai the ban was justified by widely shared moral standards and concern for morale and discipline. Laws thai limit the acceptable focus of one s sexual desires to members of the opposite sex like Laws that limit one s Choice of spouse or sexual partner to members of the same race cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny absent a compelling governmental justification said the majority  dissenter from february s ruling. Judge Stephen rain hard said the decision conflicted with a 1986 supreme court ruling upholding a Georgia anti Sodo that ruling which he condemned stood for the proposition that special  protections for homosexuals were not recognized by the courts rein hard said. Stallone from Page 1 Man checkpoint Al the Friedrich sir ass crossing Point. After going Back to West Berlin Stallone visited the museum near the . Army s checkpoint Charlie. The museum has records of escapes through the Berlin Wall and exhibits on dramatic escapes. The Wall was built by the East 27 years ago to halt the mass flight of refugees lowest Berlin which lies 110 Miles inside East Germany. By coincidence Liane Suea Demann a 22-year-old, fair haired East Berlin woman was telling reporter show she escaped May 28 concealed under the front Seal of the automobile of her West Berlin Boyfriend Georg Wehrel 35. Stallone hugged her and kissed her on he Cheek saying this Renews my Faith in human nature. In my eyes she is a real  Stefl Vernann told reporters i sat on the floor of the car Wilh my tags crossed after the seat cover on the front passenger seat was Slit and the bluffing  body then was concealed by a Black seat cover. I was scared stiff at the Wall checkpoint. I heard the Border guard Check the trunk of the car and the front and push Forward the Back Seal. Then he was satisfied and said auf Wiede Sehen " you re a real movie Star Stallone said to her As photographers took their picture. Are Yon excited very excited she answered