European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Way dealing with the by Janet Howells Tierney staff writer eing assigned to a Remote site in Turkey used to be the . Military equivalent of getting exiled to the siberian wastelands. Troops lived in quonset huts and were Lucky to have a primitive Post Exchange or gymnasium. No women were assigned to these areas and families were not authorized under any circumstances. Today although a one year assignment is still considered a hardship tour the situation has improved. Construction has boomed in recent years on Remote army installations in Synop Cakmak i Erzurum Cornu or Takoy and Izmit. Most of the posts have new Barracks clubs and gymnasiums. At one or two Sites soldiers also have a Bowling Alley or a swimming Pool. Living conditions have improved drastically in the last three years said maj. Dale r. Endreson commander of the army s 21st Field arty det in Cornu about 70 Miles West of Istanbul. The hardest thing now is the inability to pick up the Telephone and Call  being separated from the family remains a big problem for married service members who Only can keep in touch through the slow postal system. A free five minute phone Call to the United states is allowed each month although Many complain the connections usually Are bad. Sgt. Danny a. Casillas 25, a chemical operation specialist in Cornu passes time burning rubber while away from his wife and two sons Back in Manhattan Kan. Running helps keep the stress Down Casillas said. I do from eight to 10 Miles a Day. Five Days a week i run at least two Miles with the  while most Don t take physical fitness to the extreme Casillas does sports Are a big part of a service member s life in isolated areas. Gyms often Are open around the clock to allow shift workers a Chance to sweat a bit in the weight rooms or get in a Midnight game of basketball. Stiff athletic Competition exists Between the six is photo by l. Emmett Lewis or. Dogs sprawl in Fate heat outside the dining facility at . Army Post at Cakmak i near Istanbul. Units under the 528th . Army arty group headquartered in Cakmak i near Istanbul even though the unit is spread out on five different posts. But some players Are too far away to participate much. Soldiers with the 27th Field arty det on the extremely Remote site of Erzurum located about 1,000 Miles East of Istanbul get Snow almost nine months out of the year. The regular two mile run held by most army units is difficult to accomplish in Waist High drifts so the soldiers do lots of Cross country skiing. Those who Don t work out with their bodies exercise their minds. Education centers some available at All hours offer soldiers College level courses on video tape so they can be in class at any hour. At a time when most other army education programs Are feeling the budget knife the Field station at Synop asked for and received $24,000 in Aid to allow service members the Chance to take As Many courses As they can. Many do. In May sgt. Edwin e. Everly 32, completed his associate s degree through City colleges of Chicago by viewing video tapes during his free time. Everly an automatic data telecommunications Center operator in Synop worked his Normal 12-hour shift and studied an average 20 hours per week. But after six months of this schedule he realized time was running out and he would rotate Back to the United states before finishing Everly decided to extend his one year Remote site tour so he could finish his degree without having to go through additional paperwork to reapply for the course at his next Post. The hardest part of the decision he said was breaking the news to his wife and daughter during his authorized 30-Day morale leave Back continued on Page 14 Friday july 1, 1988, the stars and stripes Page 13