European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes monday july 18,1988 High toy Cost for army of explained by Gao by William j. Bartma Washington Bureau Washington combining More personnel abroad with the expense of travel overseas the army and air Force Are posting higher costs per capita for temporary duty travel than the Navy and marines according to the general accounting office. The Senate appropriations defense subcommittee called for a Gao report on travel costs after noting that the army and air Force were budgeting $653 per average duty trip while the Navy and marines budgeted $415 and $337 respectively. In addition to the dispersion of personnel around the world the Gao said stateside stationing and Dif Ferent accounting methods contribute to the varying travel budgets. More than 75 percent of Navy and Marine corps Active duty military personnel in the states Are located either in California or six Atlantic coast states from Maryland to Florida. That reduced distances to be travelled on temporary duty. And Navy and Marine corps military personnel Are assigned to ships at sea also limiting travel. A smaller percentage of Navy and Marine corps military personnel Are assigned outside the states 20.9 percent and 21.3 percent respectively com pared to the army s 36.8 percent and the air Force at 25.3 percent. Military family members and civilian employees overseas also Are a Factor because they Are eligible for some reimbursed travel. Most of this travel involves dependents who accompany members or employees assigned outside the United states Gao associate director Mark Gebicke reported to the subcommittee. Therefore the services with More dependents located overseas would have the greater requirement for dependent try  the army and air Force have More than 20 percent of their family members located outside the United states while the Navy has 10.8 percent and the Marine corps 7.9 percent. The services also have different methods of categorizing travel costs. For example the army considers the Cost of leased vehicles used for base transportation to be a travel Cost while the other services considered such use As a contract service Cost. The Pentagon agreed with the Gao s Basic findings and no recommendations were made by the evaluators. Stretc dollars attic Sydney Australia a australian experts have tortured the nation s new plastic Money by Dunk ing it in Ketchup stretching it to the breaking Point and burying it underground. It passed every test the experts say. So this month Australia is putting plastic currency into circulation. Plastic Money has failed before in Australia and elsewhere when it turned out to be too Flimsy. But Australia now thinks it has the right formula and that it could eventually make an Export Industry of manufacturing plastic currency for other countries. The first plastic Bills will be for $10 australian $8 . Peter Mcwilliam spokesman for Australia s re serve Bank says the Bills have the same thickness and feel of traditional Cotton fiber Money but Are slightly More resistant to folding. To All intents and purposes it behaves like paper but it s More durable Mcwilliam said. The Reserve Bank withdrew an earlier version from circulation and improved it before releasing the latest version july 8 to commemorate the Bicentennial of european colonization. To thwart counterfeiters the Bills include an optically variable device which like a Hologram refracts a Rainbow of colors As Light strikes it from different angles. The device an Oval on an upper Corner features an image of capt. James Cook the British explorer who claimed Large tracts of Australia for England in 1770. The Royal australian mint will release the new $10 note for general circulation later this month but australians already have been lining up to pay a 40-per cent Premium for a collector s version. Created by graphic designer Harry Williamson the $10 note looks at australian history both before and after european settlement. One Side depicts an aborigine covered with body paint and accompanied by cultural artefacts. The other Side features a ship from the first Fleet which arrived with English prisoners in 1788, and subsequent Immi Grants who settled Australia. Development of the plastic Bills has Cost roughly $20 million dollars $16 million . And included years of tests considering every aspect from counterfeiting Protection to cleanliness Mcwilliam said. But Mcwilliam said Australia Hopes to recoup its expenses because the new Bills should last 10 to 20 percent longer than conventional notes. He said that if the Money is successful Australia plans to replace the rest of its paper Money with the plastic version then convert the technology into an exportable Industry. We believe it s a world s first and we have the patents on the technology Mcwilliam said. He declined to say whether other countries have inquired about the new currency but said i am sure other major currency producers Are  previous forays into plastic Money created by the american chemical company Dupont for Haiti Costa Rica and the Isle of Man encountered durability prob lems he said. Military Roundup of Captain with nato wins award for thesis Brussels Belgium is an air forc Captain assigned to nato is the Winner of an award for the thesis she wrote on International la while a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University. Capt. Heather a. Wilson a defense planner atthe . Mission to nato received the Paul Reuter prize in june at the Headquarters of the International committee of the red Cross in  s work entitled International Law and the use of Force by National liberation organizations deals with the Issue of self de termination since the end of world War  involves the right of entities other than self governing states to deter mine their own political and economic destiny Wilson  is no International agreement she said giving the entities the right to use Force in secur ing self determination for themselves. West German Sam unit aids Rhein main defense Rhein main a West Germany As a result of a 1983 .-West German defense agreement a West German surface to air missile unit assumed a role in providing air defense sup port to Rhein main  1st so surface to air missile group 42 from Schoneck is the first unit assigned to fulfil part of a memorandum of agreement signed by the . Defense Secretary and the German de sense ministry in october 1983. Col. David o. Williams 435th tac Airlift Wing commander and German air Force col. Horst Zumkley sur face to air missile come 4 commander pre sided Over welcoming ceremonies july 1 at Rhein main a. The unit Manning the Roland air defense system at Rhein main will participate in Peri Odic exercises involving the base s air defense. The Roland is a Mobile All weather surface to air missile system used against Low flying air Craft. It has a Range of about three Miles. The system is mounted on a heavy terrain vehicle containing a self supporting Power Supply. Seminars at rec centers to offer Home buying tips Pitburg a West Germany a real estate specialist will offer tips on Home buying during upcoming Daylong seminars at area recreation  of Erin Botsford s seminar topics in clude How to improve your credit rating How to save the Cost of a realtor s commission and How to use your veterans administration loan. The classes held in recreation centers will be saturday at Ramstein a aug. 20 at Vogel Weh Kaiserslautern aug. 27 at Span Dahlem a sept. 17 at Rhein main a and september 24 at Pitburg a. The course costs $25 per person or $40 for couples. For reservations Call the respective recreation Center. S. African events for Mande a birthday banned Johannesburg South Africa a police on saturday banned All events marking Nelson Mandela s 70th birthday and set up roadblocks around the Cape town prison where the Black Leader is con fined. Hundreds of members of these purity forces Many in armoured vehicles patrolled townships outside Cape town. There were no reports of violence. Police Mandela briefly detained at least four runners in a race organized As part of the birthday celebrations. The police action came amid renewed Calls from foreign governments for the release of Mandela who is regarded by Black South africans As the country s pre eminent Black Leader. Mandela turns 70 on monday. He has been in prison the past 26 years. Late saturday police Brig. Roy Dur ing issued an order Banning All events related to the birthday including a con Cert that was scheduled sunday. Other scheduled events including pop music concerts planned in the Southeast Ern port City of Durban and Soweto township outside Johannesburg were banned last week. Police blocked off Poh Smoor prison and said Only people with valid Rea sons would be allowed near the facility. They sealed off a sports stadium in the Cape town township of Gugu Letu forc ing cancellation of a soccer game and Rugby match that were part of the birth Day celebrations. Saturday s 15-mile Road race was the Only one of several birthday related events that was allowed to begin. But a heavy police presence apparently deterred most runners from showing up at the Cape town shopping Plaza that served As the starting line. Witnesses said police detained the Only five participants after they had run less than one mile. Police said four run ners were detained and later released. The runners wore to shirts that read Mandela Freedom at 70." two people travelling in a Van to provide drinks to the runners also were detained witnesses said. More than 30 people in the Cape town area who were involved in Mande la s birthday celebrations were taken into custody last  s wife Winnie on Friday rejected a government offer to have a six hour visit with her husband on his birth Day. It would have been the longest reunion since he was jailed. The reunion was to have included 11 relatives of Mandela who was imprisoned in 1962 for leaving the country Ille Gally and inciting unrest. While serving a five year term on those charges he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964for sabotage and plotting the overthrow of the government. Mandela is a Leader of the african National Congress the largest guerrilla group fighting South Africa s govern ment and its system of apartheid under which the Black majority has no voice in National affairs. Mrs. Mandela decided to forego the special visit to focus attention on other prisoners held for anti apartheid activities said the family s attorney Ismail ayob