European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 12, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page h Ann landed dear Ann Landers i want to share with you and your readers one of the most touching experiences of my life. It occurred last night at a Little league game. Our son s team is made up of 7 to 9-year-Olds. Jimmy one of the members is handicapped. He has Down s syndrome. The lad was up to Bat and for the first time he hit the Ball. Although he was tagged out at first base he kept running. And then it happened. Every Spectator at the game stood up to cheer him on. When Jimmy reached Home base All his team mates rushed Over to give him a Pat on the Back and Tell him he was terrific. In a world where people have come to believe that most children Are cruel and unfeeling this was undeniable evidence to the contrary. Jimmy s Day was made. There was t a person in sight who was t Happy for him. It was something that few of us in the bleachers will Ever forget. Dean r., Calgary Alberta dear Dean what a glorious example of Basic decency. I truly believe that Given the proper stimulus most people will react in a Loving and positive Way. And your letter also proves that kindness is contagious. Dear Ann Landers recently a Reader asked is it possible for a jew to become a Catholic priest your Choice of monsignor Oesterricher As the Best known example was Aston Ishing. How did you Overlook the archbishop of Paris Jean Marie Cardinal Lutiger this Prince of the Church who was born a jew May be the next Pope. Only one jew in the history of Mankind achieved a higher station and he did not have to convert. He too was born a jew. Eppes a a yen from Long Island dear Eppes thank you and All the other mavens who set me straight. I should have held that letter until father Theodore he Burgh of notre Dame returned from his sabbatical. Welcome Home Ted. As you can see i missed you. Dear Ann Landers i have always believed that first impressions can have a powerful effect on How people judge us. Please read on and Tell me if i am wrong. When .1 was growing up i was very Blond. No one took me seriously. I believed it was because blondes Are presumed to be dumb. Then i began to Wear glasses. Suddenly people asked me questions and paid at Tention to what i said. Recently i read a Survey by a vision Center in dal Las. It said 79 percent of the corporate recruiters and fashion image consultants found that glasses imply intelligence. Sixty nine percent said they believed glasses create a professional image. Eighty percent thought that glasses help the wearer to focus on making a Power statement during a business presentation. Do you believe Given the findings of this Survey that i should Darken my naturally Blond hair since the dumb blonde image cancels out the Brainy image of my glasses Texas question dear Texas intelligent folks know that All blondes Are not dumb and that people who Wear glasses Are not necessarily smart. Why Cater to the dummies Busy signal dismay customer arc staff it s 10 o clock sunday morning. My wife and i have just finished a 2 /2-hour shift at the phone trying to Call the arc reservation number without Success. We tried a similar tactic yesterday Over four hours of continuous dealing same result. Friday my wife worked so i manned the phone alone during my training Holiday and relentlessly dialled the elusive person on the other end of 08821-750575. I tried throughout the Day 7 30 . To 10 p.m., but Only heard the now All too familiar Blat of a Busy signal. In an Effort to beat the system i called the Munich operator and asked if there was a line problem or if she had any suggestions. A very Friendly and sympathetic lady explained she was very familiar with my Story that she received dozens of Calls every Day with the same complaint. She related she must Call the same number in the course of her duties and meets with the same result. She did say., somewhat gleefully she had managed to get through once last week. I did t give up i called one of the hotels at Berchtesgaden directly. Another Friendly and sympathetic voice explained that individual hotels cannot make reservations directly nor can they Tell in Advance room availability. They Only receive a daily arrivals list. He stated they must also Call the same number and they have found it to be next to impossible to get through. I also tried to reach the arc general manager s office but they must not work weekends. Numerous Calls went unanswered. I m now beaten i give up. I will now be forced to spend my vacation dollars on the Economy. Little wonder though that arc is $1.16 million in the red and occupancy rates Are 83 percent according to a recent stripes Story. Not a big Deal for me As an army major but my real concern is for the troops who want to take advantage of the benefits the army promises. Many soldiers Don t enjoy the luxury of having an "8" line to sit at All Day to attempt to Call Garmisch. Many Are without the convenience of Economy quart ers and a German phone where they can sit for hours trying to get through. Can you imagine sitting in a phone Booth in the City Marks in hand dealing for hours to be Able to stay with arc Many have work ing wives who can t spend the Day at Home trying to Call. Or How about this scenario take some time from work go by the itt office stand in line for who knows How Long Send a telex requesting a reservation with out being Able to ask any questions about the Type of accommodations or services available then turn around tomorrow and go through the same process to get your reply. If it s a no confirmation do i get to Start the process Over again for another time certainly arc can do better than this. Last time i checked investing in a multiple Call answering machine was not an insurmountable problem or particularly costly. There must be a better Way name withheld Bamberg West Germany editor s note Cynthia Barton manager Central reservations office arc replies i agree with you that the current reservation system leaves a lot to be desired. Over the last year we be made Many changes to improve the situation including adding lines and staff. Frankly we just can t expand fast enough to keep up with the demand for arc rooms and recreation programs. We Are currently in one of our Peak reservation sea sons. During the summer we typically run at 95-100 percent occupancy Between Advance reservations wait ing list reservations and walk ins. The reservation agents Are answering Calls non Stop from the minute we open until we close at night seven Days a week. We too realize that Many troops Don t have the ability to repeatedly Call until they can get an available line. We have tried to offer alternatives we accommodate Large numbers of soldiers through group bookings where we provide free transportation to our facilities and work with one individual who coordinates bookings for Large groups of people. In addition to booking via the itt offices we accept reservations by mail. Many of our customers of All ranks utilize this method of booking. By mail or via itt we encourage people to give second and even third Choice of dates in their initial communication. This greatly increases your ability to get confirmed reservations. I assure you that we take this problem just As seriously As you do. We know the current situation is frustrating and we Are working very hard to fix the problems. Thank you for taking the time to communicate your concerns. I wish i could Tell you there Are immediate solutions to these concerns but there Aren t. All i can say is that we realize the urgency of the problem and Are giving it our full attention. Safe explains cola payments policy this is reference to the recent article army locally hired Naf workers to get Cost of living  this is Good news for the army local hires. I m glad to hear the army is taking care of its own. Now i wonder if our Safe officials will realize their local full time hires Are also just As deserving of receiving this same cola come on All of you Naf appropriated fund air Force employees who were hired locally let the proper officials know this cola is also needed for us As Well. Verlin l. Young Raf Mildenhall England editor s note Allen Kalishman chief employee entitlements and career management division directorate of civilian personnel he Safe replies thank you for the Opportunity to explain the air Force policy on granting Post allowance cola to fed eral employees. Under this policy All appropriated fund full time employees and those full time non appropriated fund employees recruited in the United states for an Naf position in a foreign area Are granted a Post allowance. Locally recruited Naf employees in Safe do not receive this allowance. You May wonder Why the army and air Force have differences in the operations of their civilian personnel systems the Case in Point being a Good example. Simply put the needs of the services differ. Therefore to the extent necessary the systems differ. In this Case the majority of air Force Naf employees Are family members whose sponsors Are already paid cola or Post allowance on their behalf. Therefore the air Force believes that paying Post allowance at the expense of providing additional jobs activities and  Grams is less beneficial to the Community. Remember every Dollar paid out by an Naf instrumentality is a Dollar that does not go toward enhancing the morale welfare and recreation activities and Quality of life for soldiers airmen civilian employees and their families. Consequently the air Force has made a conscious decision not to pay Post allowance or any other Type of incentive allowance or Benefit where it is not required As a business necessity or by Rule Regula Tion or Law. The St is and feel pest by a for european edition col Jeffrey m. Cook Usa commander editor in chief it col Suzanne l Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominiski Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermott production manager managing editor circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the . Government the department of defense or the . European command. The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of de sense or the stars and stripes of the products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for Purchase use or patronage without regard to race color religion sex National origin age marital status physical Handicap political affiliation or any other non Merit Factor of the purchaser user or Patron. Military address the stars and stripes Apo 09211. International mail the stars and stripes Postrach 11 14 37, d-6100 Darmstadt 11, Germany. Tel military Darmstadt Airstrip 2376 741 Griesheim civilian 06155 6010 ets 348-5741 or 348-5823. Telex 0419-332. Tel fax 06155-601376. New York office room 401. 252 seventh ave., new York 10001, Tel area code 212 620-3333. News bureaus Pitburg Germany Mark Walsh building 102, room 21oa, Pitburg a Box 2994. Apo 09132 Telephone ets 453-7052 Pitburg Civ. 06561 5779. Bremerhaven Germany Joe Mapother building 103, Carl Schurz Cavern Apo 09069 Telephone ets 342-8659, by Ier Haven Civ. 0471 88782. Kaiserslautern Germany Daryl Green Deedee Arrington Doke building 2899, Pulaski Barracks Apo 09227 Telephone its 489-6585 or Kaiserslautern Civ. 0631 52104. Munich Germany Charlie Bowden building 16, b stairwell 2nd floor. Mcgraw Cavern soured Apo 09407 Telephone ets 440-7320 or Munich Civ. 089-690-1800. Nornberg Germany building 21, William 0. Darby Cavern Apo 09696 Telephone 06165-601237. Stuttgart Germany Joseph Owen building 2302, room 223, Patch Barracks Box 171. Apo 09128 Telephone ets 430-8449 or Stutt Gart Civ. 0711 6877826. Mediterranean j. King Cruger and Alba Bragall Naples Italy Asa Box 56, Fpo by 09521 Telephone Auto on 625-1110 ext. 4880 or Naples Civ. 0039-81-7624049. United kingdom Dave Diehl building 436 Cess us. Raf Mildenhall Apo 09127 Telephone Auto on 238-2226 or Mildenhall Civ. 0638 512226. Washington . Chuck Vinch William Bartman Oast a the Pentagon room 2e756, . Box 46095, Washington do 20050-6095 Tele phone 202 697-6695. Wurzburg Germany Janet Howells Tierney Telephone ets 348 5741 or Griesheim Civ. 06155-601237. Circulation offices Germany Berlin Civ. 8331846, Mil. 6187, ets 332-4412 Bremerhaven Civ. 85168. Mil. 8119, ets 342-8119 Rhein main Frankfurt Civ. 069 692050 or 692565, Mil. 6025 or 7103, ets 330-6025 or 7103. Telex 412712 Kaiserslautern Civ. 57070 or 57079, Mil. Vogel Weh 7100, ets 489 7100 Munich Civ. 6901503 or 6901504, Mil. 6556, ets 440-6556 Nuernberg Civ. 712558, Mil. 7001, ets 460-7001 Stuttgart Civ 0711-8701496, Mil. 7175, ets 420-7175. Greece Athens Civ. 9923390. Italy Vicenza Civ. 515358. Spain Madrid Mil. 00341 205-6600 or Civ. 00341 6561465 Turkey Istanbul Civ. 664372, telex 26174 sans to. United kingdom Greenham common Civ. Newbury 0635 44768 Mil. Newbury 0635 46263 ext. 209