European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 the stars and stripes sunday August 28,1988 parts shortages hurting b-1 readiness Gao says Washington a major shortages of reliable spare parts Are plaguing efforts to sustain operations of the by bomber Fleet causing the air Force to cannibalize grounded planes to continue flight training the general accounting office said saturday. The air Force even with its extraordinary efforts has not been Able to meet training and readiness objectives the Gao said. Reliability shortfalls parts failing faster than expected continue to be a major cause of spare parts the air Force took exception 19 the report saying that while challenges do remain the service is making steady Progress in assuring adequate spare parts Are available for the by the most important Point is that the b-1b is per forming its deterrent Mission right now said Defrank an air Force spokesman. Today b-1b aircraft have trained Crews and Fly the necessary sorties to meet wartime requirements. The air Force has steadily improved the planned rate of by b training flights and expects that trend to continue As the system matures and spare parts Are delivered he said. The new Gao report comes just Days after the con Gressional budget office released estimates that Mak ing significant improvements in the by program could Cost up to $3.4 billion. The budget office said those improvements once made would allow the bomber to Fly to targets inside the soviet Union its original Mission. The reports Mark the latest rounds in a Long running fight Between the air Force which has defended the plane and congressional critics who contend it May Cost too much in trouble and Money to improve it. It s very difficult to get a straight Story out of the Pentagon about the plane s problems said rep. Les Aspin d-wis., chairman of the House armed services committee who released the latest report from the Gao on the aircraft. He noted that the air Force disputed a Gao finding that the strategic air come reduced the number of Mission ready Crews available for the by Fleet because parts difficulties reduced the number of planes Avail Able for training. The defense department said the reason was spare parts but the extensive modification of the by Aspin said and added in fact the Gao had training reports that cited spare parts shortages As the primary cause of the training limitation. Once again the facts seem to contradict Pentagon assertions about the shortages of by bombers ready to Fly affect not Only training but plans for placing bombers on Alert to re Spond to a nuclear attack on the United states. Alert status is the bomber s reason for being Aspin said. If that s adversely affected and it is Here then you be got the Gao report said some problems have improved since its last examination of the by bomber program last year. The air Force s and contractor s attention to prior Ity parts has resolved some parts problems but a More systematic approach would ensure Early and appropriate attention to the problem parts the report said. Two weeks ago Aspin said it might be necessary to halt spending on the bomber rather than pay for expensive repairs. The earlier congressional budget office report on the bomber said problems Center around electronic countermeasures the Complex computer driven sys tem that defends the plane against attack As it flies on its Mission. The by program was killed by president Carter in 1977, but resurrected by president Reagan four years later because Reagan said the plane was needed As a successor to the aging b-52. The air Force has bought 100 a is and will use the plane in conjunction with the so called stealth b-2 bomber As the b-52 replacement in the nation s Arsenal of strategic weapons. The b-2, nicknamed for its capability to evade enemy air defences will have its first Public flight in november. The last by was delivered on april 30. The air Force said the total Cost of the program was $27.3 billion but that figure does t include any improvements. Crackers refused by Dod will go to poor in Ohio Cincinnati up tons of Cracker intended for the military will be distributed to the poor in what is apparently the first time i Ohio and perhaps the country that edible food rejected by the department of defens Ewill go to needy people instead of a Landfill. I was always troubled with their logic said John Smith general manager of Cinac the Cincinnati company that packaged the crackers in a Way that did t meet army Stan Smith heard that 4 a Semi trucks full of vacuum packed crackers were headed to a Landfill because of such packaging flaws As scratch on the metallic wrap he called department of defense officials in Philadelphia. After several bureaucratic adjustments the three to four tons of crackers ended up Friday at the free store food Bank in Cincinnati. Stephen Gibbs executive director of the store said the store Hopes to receive about$3,000 Worth of food from Cinac every six is a toehold he told the Cincinnati enquirer. But it is an important Gibbs said the military donation of edible but rejected food was a first for Ohio and was perhaps unique in the nation. Smith said the donation was made possible after the contracting division of the defens department sent paper work on the crackers to the general services administration. The Gas contracted with the Ohio department of surplus property which directed the request to the Ohio department of education which told the free store the food could be accepted. Smith said the crackers Are relatively Salt free because the army does t want salted crackers that would Lead to thirsty soldiers. Cinac helps package about 12 million army meals a year. Where s the rest of me the nose Section of a Boeing 747 is fuselage Section is one part of what i prematurely airborne while it is being reportedly the largest shipment of con loaded aboard the Container ship Yuen trainers Ever to be sent to Australia Chau at terminal 18 in Seattle. The from a . West coast port. Quoyle accepted intern accused of harassing Black prof paper says by the los Angeles times Washington a Dartmouth College student suspended from school along with other staffers of a conserva Tive student newspaper on charges of harassing a Black professor last Winter was accepted As an intern on the staff of sen. Dan Quayle apparently with Quayle full knowledge of the Case according to the los Angeles times. The student John w. Quilhot of Fortwayne ind., said Friday that he told Quayle s staff about the suspension i Advance and offered to step aside if there was any problem but he was taken on anyway. The incident came be fore Quayle was tapped As the gop s vice presidential candidate. He Quayle was fully aware of the circumstances surrounding the suspension Quilhot said in a Telephone inter View. Quilhot said he worked for Quayle throughout april and May while his suspension was in effect then re turned to Dartmouth to become presi Dent of the Independent student newspaper the Dartmouth review. He said he performed Only routine jobs for Quayle such As opening mail and answering Tele phones. He declined to comment further on his stint saying he had been asked to refer All inquiries to the Bush Jeffrey a. Nesbitt press Secretary in Quayle s Senate office confirmed that Quilhot was on Quayle s Washington staff during the period but said he Vya working Only As an unpaid nevertheless Nesbitt conceded thai Quayle approved the assignment eve after learning about the charges and Dartmouth s decision to suspend quil hot. He Quayle basically knew what he d read in the newspaper but after hearing John s Side of the Story he concluded he Quilhot was right Nesbitt said. It s a first amendment Issue nes bit added meaning a Case involving constitutional guarantees of free speech. Dartmouth officials said Friday quil hot and three other review staffers were suspended March 10 on charges of Vio lating the College s code of conduct by allegedly harassing a Black professor William s. Cole and by tape recording an argument with him without Permis Sion. The incident fuelled new racial ten Sions at Dartmouth. At one Point 250students, Many of them Black staged a rally in support of Cole. Review staffers later denied that their efforts were racially times said it made several at tempts to reach Cole at his office and Home but it was still is teaching music at Dart Mouth. Quilhot is to begin this fall As a senior at the College which is in Hanover a. His suspension was for two months
