European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 4, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 the stars and stripes monday tuesday july 4/5,1988 9 killed when copter slams into Mountain Bonn up a West German Mili tary helicopter slammed into a Mountainside in the bavarian Alps and exploded sunday killing All nine on Board including two women and two children police said. The  Bell uh-1d aircraft crashed in Steep rugged terrain near the austrian Border six Miles South of the tourist resort of Garmisch Parten Kir Chen the West German defense ministry said. Local police said nine bodies had Bee found including those of the three Man Crew a military Captain and his two sons a woman and her 22-year-old daughter and the daughter s Boyfriend. Officials said the helicopter took off from an Alpine guide training Camp in the morning to Fly the civilians to a near by  a few minutes flying in poor visibility the aircraft rammed into the Mountainside and exploded scattering debris Over a 500-Yard area on the 6,500 foot slope p61ice said. The cause of the Accident has not been determined officials said. Sunday s crash was the third involving West German military flights in As Many  Friday a Small reconnaissance air plane crashed during  exercises inthe Northern West German state of Schleswig Holstein killing the Pilot. A Day later a West German Transallc-160 transport plane crash landed near Bordeaux France injuring All six sol Diers aboard. Star spangled fest in China Beijing a americans inching celebrated Independence Day on saturday with dragon  acrobats an air Force band and 3,000 Mcdonald s big  than 1.500 americans living in China from Bey ing to the far Northwest tem Xin Jiang put once gathered at the uj5. Embassy in the  guards were posted outside the embassy compound and a Meta Detector was set up at the main in  last month warned americans in Beijing that they might be the target of terrorists from another country. The third country was never identified and the warning was eventually  re As Safe As in main Street .a.," said an embassy  year for the past five years Mcdonald s in Hong Kong has flown in thousands of big macs for the fourth of july. But mis year the Mcdonald s monopoly Over the embassy party was broken by Kentucky Fried Chicken which opened its largest restaurant in the world in Beijing last fall. Kentucky Fried Chicken donated1,000 meals for the Celebration while 14 Mcdonald s employees from Hon Kong flipped 3.000 patties. The festivities started with an afternoon Parade by 70 children Riding bicycles festooned with red White an Blue streamers or on roller skates. Ambassador Winston lord wearing White Vest red shirt and Straw hat called on americans to exercise their right to vote in this fall s presidential election lord s 10-minute speech ended in a deafening Roar of firecrackers. Two teams of dragon dancers accompanied by clanging cymbals then took Over the show. Next came the air Force pop band spectrum flown in from Washington for the occasion. 4 options listed for strengthening nato forces Washington up a congressional study examining ways to beef up nato conventional forces in Wake of the inf treaty says options run from Quick $5 billion fix to a $50 billion modernization program. The study by the congressional budget office exam ined four approaches to improving nato s capabilities since president Reagan and soviet Leader Mikhai Gorbachev signed the intermediate nuclear forces treaty dec. 8. The co report suggested a number of options Fornato forces including spending $5 billion Between now and 1993 on barriers that could be erected on the inter German Border to delay an armoured invasion. The report said tank traps and other barriers could have a positive effect on Force balance especially in the Early Days of a conflict Between nato and War saw pact forces. The study also examined the possibility of Fielding More modern weapons or adding More forces. But the co forecast that Over the next 20 years those approaches could Cost $48 billion and $41 billion respectively and would offer Only modest Short term improvements. The fourth option which the report said would not yield any benefits until at least the mid-1990s, involves developing and buying new weapons to reach behind the front lines and strike Warsaw pact reinforcing troops. If that approach can be made to work at a cos of $50 billion through 2008, it would offer the great est payoff the co said. The inf treaty will remove Over the next three Pearsall . And soviet nuclear tipped ground launched missiles with ranges of 300 to 3,400 Miles leaving the superpowers and their nato and Warsaw pact allies with conventional ground and air forces and Shorter Range nuclear weapons. The Warsaw pact has More weaponry than nation some key categories particularly in heavy tanks. Moscow also has started putting a special reactive Armor on its tanks which May be Able to Stop Many nato anti tank weapons. But most of the nato fielded weapons Are considered More technically advanced and More capable than those arrayed against  co which offers financial advice to Congress and studies options for dealing with issues confronting legislators suggested Congress May wish to Combine one or More near term strategies with continued development of follow on forces attack at a Pace slow enough to allow careful  emphasis could shift to deep attack weapon when and if their feasibility becomes better established the report said. Jet from Page 1 on both military and civilian distress frequencies beginning at 10 49 . This procedure was repeated several times but the aircraft neither answered nor changed its course. There were electronic indications on the Vincennes that led it to believe that the aircraft was an f-14. There have been a number of f-14 flights in the area Over the last few Days. Given the threatening flight profile and the decreasing Range the aircraft was declared hostile at 10 51 . Local. At 10 54 ., when the aircraft was about nine Miles away the Vincennes fired two Standard surface to air mis Siles at least one of which hit at an approximate Range of six Miles. Due to the limited visibility the aircraft was not visually sighted until the missile impacted. In understanding this incident it i important to appreciate the total context in which our ships operate. The .government emphasized from the outset that committing military units to the persian Gulf Mission would involve risk Sand uncertainties. This conclusion has been reinforced by several incidents. For example the Bridgeton mining the Stark tragedy and the Samuel b. Roberts min  Crowe expressed deep regret Over the loss of life but he emphasized sever Al times that the . Military command ers in the Gulf had acted with Good judgment because they believed Ameri can ships were being approached by a hostile aircraft. Fitzwater said Reagan who was at the amp David presidential Retreat near Washington for the fourth of july Independence Day weekend received a Tele phone Call at 4 52 . From National Security adviser Colin Powell who told him that . Forces believed they had shot Down an iranian f-14 Jet fighter. He received another update in writing at 8 11 . That noted the iranian claim that a civilian jetliner had been  9 50 ., he was told that the iranian allegations might be Correct. The Only . Interest in the persian Gulf is peace and this tragedy reinforces the need to achieve that goal with Al possible Speed Reagan said. Pentagon spokesman maj. Mike Stepp said earlier sunday that hostilities began in the Gulf when an iranian gunboat fired at a helicopter. He said that the helicopter was not hit and that the Vincennes and the frigate Elmer Montgomery re turned fire. The incident was the first such hostility Between the two nations since the United states destroyed two Oil plat forms in april. Cut from Page 1 directing the Pentagon to change deploy ment policies to achieve a 10 percent Cut in the number of family members abroad by oct. 1,1991. One Way to address the problem in Thelong run the committee report said would be for the  to adopt Shorter Tours for Complete units such As the Marine corps practice of rotating battalions to Okinawa on six month unaccompanied Tours. The  is developing its cohort system in which companies deploy As cohesive units but the plan will not be fully in place for years and does not address the Senate committee s concerns. The  system is focused mainly on combat  units and has no provision for Tours of less than one year the Stan Dard tour in Korea. Cohort units deploying to Europe move on three year accompanied Tours. If the Senate appropriations commit tee provision makes it into the final Fis Cal 1989 funding Bill it would kill future  plans to increase the number of accompanied Tours in Korea. The committee s military construction panel already includes language in its own Bill Banning More accompanied Tours in Korea until a review of the future . Military role in that country incomplete. The House defense funding Bill do snot include provisions for reducing the number of family members overseas. I the Issue is included in the final Senate Bill it will be taken up when House an Senate conferees meet to work out differences in their respective versions. Soviet assails e. German shoot to kill order Bonn a a soviet official denounced East Germany s shoot to kill order issued to its Border guards saying that firing at people trying to flee to the West is inhumane a radio station re ported sunday. It appeared to be the first time a soviet official publicly has criticized communist East Germany for its longstanding policy that anyone trying to escape to West Germany be shot. Yuri aka Ulyanov second secretariat the soviet embassy in Bonn said nations have every right to protect their Borders West German radio re ported. But As far As these shootings go i these times that seems inhumane the radio quoted him As saying. I Don t believe what occurs on the West German East German Border is a result of orders from Moscow he reportedly said. He also said that the situation on the order must become much safer if relations Between the two German states Areto improve the radio reported. Aka Ulyanov made the remarks sat urday night in an address to West Ger Man University students in Bonn the radio said. There have been no reports of East germans being killed in attempts to escape to the West this year. But in Berlin alone 59 East German shave been shot to death while trying to escape Over the Berlin Wall since 1961,West Berlin police say. East German Border guards reportedly fired at a 31-year-old Man who climbed the Berlin Wall on april 19, but he escaped to West Berlin unharmed. The West German government condemned the incident