European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 22, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 letters the stars and stripes military should ban Shady automobile dealers says no in reference to a recent article on per Sonal finances a few questions come to mind. A Little background first though. The article made reference to certain off base automobile dealers that prey on gis with their overpriced cars and Usu rious by american standards if not by German Law interest rates. We Veall seen their advertisements 1979 Bow $175 per month for 42 months in charges because they Aren t required to under German Law and because no sane person would do business with them if they did. This brings me to my main question. Why is the military condoning this practice although i doubt that the serv ices actively approve of the practices of these Shady operators they give their tacit approval of them. How by accept ing advertising from them in various base and Post newspapers and by permit Ting the on base distribution of privately printed advertising newspapers that contain the ads from these so called Deal ers. By indeed these operators thrive because Pearing in the civilian Enterprise new spa in Button on base 01 papers Ana a they have Access to their audience per. Contracts for these newspapers pro Vert ism circulars tha contain ads not through base newspapers and other in Hibit certain kinds of advertising to meeting american style full disclosure Glish language advertising distributed on include ads for businesses that Are off requirements bases. If we barred their advertising in our papers and barred distribution of private and rags on base that contained their ads unless and until their ads meet american style full disclosure require ments we could eliminate a Good num Ber of bad debt complaints against our and the problems that go is the advertising Dollar All that important that we sit idly by while our troops Are being hosed left and right master sgt. Eugene e. Buettner or. Sembach a West Germany editor s note we received two replies to this letter. The first is from Barbara Slifer command information staff officer office of chief of Public affairs he Usa eur in cooperation with the Usa eur judge advocate office you make a number of Points in your letter concerning civilian Enterprise publications distribution of commercial Public to address the first question the Mill civilian Enterprise newspaper contracts tary has never condoned Shady Immo also include provisions for advertising far Jne Gai businesses and those Stab that offer credit terms to state the bullish mints Are placed off limits when proven to be so. Furthermore the Public affairs staff reviews the ads in military newspapers and base guides before printing to ensure none Are contrary to and Are consistent with similar German advertising Laws. Even though commanders cannot con a the interest rate tween the Cash Price Andi the total credit and the Law Host nation or air Force regulations. In this Case failure to disclose full credit costs does not violate either. Air Force regulations state that ads air Force members or their families or interfere or detract from the command or installation Mission. German Law requires that ads placed by dealers or Compa Nies list the Overall Price not All other incidental costs. A incidental costs finance charges taxes interest rates and using the example i gave earlier let s cations Good Faith advertising and sol try a Little math and see How badly the Young soldiers Are being gouged. That $ 175 a month is based on insurance costs and for a Driver Over 35 with an Acci Dent free record. The and does t come right out and say that. But if you re 18 years old they la Jack the Price Way up. Let s use the 35-year-old rate for this example. A nato policy will run on the order of $800 a year for full coverage if you can get it on a car that old. The German Blue Book on a 1977 s series Bow might go As High As 3,000 Marks if it s a real Cream puff which it prob ably in t. That s $1,818.18 at 1.65 Marks to the Dollar which is where the Exchange rate was for so Long. Add the first year s insurance of $800 and you get $2,618.18. Crunching that $175 per month for 42 months and a Cash Price of $2,618 though my business analyst calculator yields an annual percentage rate apr of Over 73 percent Why is it that the services accept advertising from outfits that gouge the troops like that although it might be Legal under German Law if the military imposed full disclosure requirements on advertising distributed on base these Sleazy practices would dry up very Quick Ider indebtedness. More and More military newspapers Are converting to civilian Enterprise publications that is newspapers published with commercial advertising the Revenue from which defray the publisher s expense to produce the paper. One of the main reasons for conversion to civilian Enterprise is to reduce the expenditure of government funds and still have a Means for command information. The appearance of advertising in Mili tary Community newspapers does not constitute endorsement of a business or its products by the military command a fact which is expressly stated in the newspaper s Masthead. Only those civilian Enterprise publications under contract with the local com Mand May be distributed through official distribution channels. A other privately produced publications containing com Mercial advertising such As shoppers biweekly and off duty May be made available in military facilities at the com Mander s discretion. While the commander has no control Over advertising appearing in other com Mercial publications he does have a great Deal of control Over the advertising patrol the advertising in other commercial Mav not pose a danger or detriment to publications that May be available at Mili tary facilities they can place businesses advertising in those publications off Lim its to military personnel. Only if those publications constitute a Clear danger to military loyalty discipline and welfare can a commander restrict their Access. If you As a Reader learn that Advertis ing is misrepresented in your command information newspaper you should bring it to the attention of the Public affairs officer responsible for the publication. As a consumer it is your responsibility As it is for All of us to investigate All aspects of the Purchase of a product or service before signing a contract. Soldiers should t sign any document unless they understand what they re signing. The sol Dier can consult with acs and the local staff judge advocate before a commit ment in writing. If a seller fails to comply with these full disclosure Laws a remedy available in German court is that the buyer will be liable Only for the Cash Price and will not be required to pay the credit charges. Regardless of where a Soldier is As signed caveat emptor let the buyer beware should be a Rule of thumb for any Purchase. Editor s note the second response is from it. Col. David c. Mac Namee chief internal information division directorate of Public affairs he Safe while your letter addresses Advertis ing in base newspapers it actually encompasses two different issues 1. Why does the military condone Shady Busi Ness practices by accepting advertising which does t disclose full credit terms and 2. Why does t the military bar Dis and the dealer or company. If the publisher insists on printing an and in a base newspaper for an off limits establishment or one that is disruptive to Good order and discipline the com Mander May prohibit on base distribution of that Issue of the paper. On the second Issue department of defense policy is that commanders shall afford reputable distributors of other commercial publications the Opportunity to sell or give away publications on their installations. Such Public actions May be made available through subscription or placed in areas specified by the com Mander. The commander May Only Des Ignate where publications May be placed. He cannot demand that advertisements in those publications meet standards that Are different from Host nation Laws. No the military does not sit idly every military installation has a Legal office that provides free advice on Legal matters both american and Host nation. Ads Are written to interest the buyer and it is up to each buyer to Check with the Legal office before entering into any con tract or Purchase agreement. Be a responsible buyer and Check any contract carefully before you sign it. Reader takes Pride in lauding supervisor last night As i sat at the club with some of my army buddies i listened once again to All the horror stories about their team chiefs and Pla Toon sergeants. We took turns exchanging stories about our superiors and How they Only care about themselves and How they think of us As just another troop. Well i was the last to speak and my Story was no horror Story. My Story was about an no who takes Pride in his Job and reflects a thorough knowledge and understanding of our Mission in the army. Obviously i have been very Lucky in my assignment. I am writing this letter because after my friends heard my version of a senior no they advised me to write and make it Public that there still Are some non commissioned officers out there who Are highly motivated and Are concerned about the lower enlisted and continuing to make our army Strong. Hopefully some of the other cos will see this article and rethink their motives As a Leader. I will not sign my name to this letter because i Don t want my fellow soldiers to think i m out for a promotion. To begin with my platoon ser Geant is fair and does t operate that Way. He is an extremely professional Soldier. He has repeat edly earned my respect and the respect of the other men of our platoon. I have friends in other companies who would literally do anything to be a part of his he truly cares about his troops. He s never to Busy to answer a question listen to a personal problem or lend a hand and get dirty with the rest of us. He strives for excellence from All of his men and usually gets it. Education is big with him both military expertise and. Regular schooling. He drills us daily on questions about the army. Let me Tell you when i give him a Correct answer i can feel his Pride. He encourages both the Soldier of the month boards and promotion boards. Prior to any Board he volunteers his knowledge and his time to help us prepare ourselves. After All we Are a team and our answers reflect on him. He certainly is rarely disappointed either. Our team continues to Excel in All areas. Obviously with a wife and Small children his family comes first. But never a Holiday goes by that his other family the platoon in t invited. His wife is always having us Over for a Home cooked meal or sending him to work with baked goods. They even make up occasions like basketball games on to to have at least the sin Gle soldiers Over. They la never know How much we appreciate their hospitality. His enthusiasm initiative and dedication to duty has made me the Soldier i am today. His excellence is unsurpassed. Thanks for every thing. Name withheld of Irmburg West Germany pen pals please include my name in your pen pal column. I am 18 years old. Lilian c. Dilima Ca Paclan Tibulan Nearos Oriental Philippines please include my name in your pen pal column. I am 16 years old. Antonietta Campoy Ca Paclan Sib ujan Negros Oriental Philippines please list me in your pen pal column. I enjoy Tamla motown and Michael Jackson. I am 22 years old. Dawn Jeffries Purcell walk inn court Knowle bs41xt Bristol England please list me in your pen pal column. My hobbies Are Reading watching to and listening to Mellow music. Delia Ariza Corera Utah District Taloban City Leyte Phillip lines please list me in your pen pal column. I am 24 years old and a member of the Church of Christ. Arlene b. Drilon along Tibulan Negros Oriental Philippines please include my name in your pen pal column. I am 17 years old and my hobbies Are Reading collecting posters and listening to music. Irene Lim Tangon co Silliman University College of nursing Dumaguet City 6200 Philippines please include my name in your pen pal column. I am 15 years old and my hobbies Are collecting Stamps dancing and drawing. Irachel Lim Tibulan Negros Oriental Philippines i would like to correspond with people in other Rose h. Schipa municipal treasurer s office Mali Davaooriental-9601 Philippines
