European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 19, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 19, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 3 germans divided Over need for mock War by Joseph Owen Start Wriler a lion germans living in the certain Challenge a never area discuss inc aircraft whipping through Chiky and Lank columns crawling through their streets the Only Point on which they All seem to agree is thai it s better than a real War. Some Kochur Valley residents who find themselves in inc midst of mock Battles Between Northland and Southland told the stars and stripes that such military exercises Are indispensable. Others said the rival armies should hold their War games elsewhere. Motorists in a traffic Jam in inc bavarian town Oft Einsfeld impatiently honked their horns an unusual practice in West Germany while they waited for a Long line of 3rd army div  vehicles to wend its Way through to a. Yet. In nearby Roth no org of Der Taubr children waved and a few adults lined the roads to watch another . Armoured vehicles skirted the Northern Edge of inc famed medieval town. Some people said that they endure inc noise of Mili tary flights throughout the year and that the exercise Only intensifies it. Kuinz Casau resident Alexander Schneider 16, said inc allies should move their Low level flights to the United slates or Canada because West Germany is Loo densely populated for such training. They re necessary All right Schneider said but nol in  Nadine Binder. 13, of nearby garb org said the Jet scare the children in her Hillside neighbourhood. As a Small child i was afraid of them Loo she said. In America there s probably More room for Low level flights ii Fanner said As he and his wife picked plums on their farm in Norlach. Some limbs i m afraid out in the Field his wife said describing How the appearance of Low flying jets Star tics her. She said the noise from a Jet  confused an Clicc Luician working in their Bam so much last year that he came running out of the build ing. The couple said ground equipment is Only slightly less troublesome. Their House is Only 10 feel from the Road so the Walls rattle whenever a heavy vehicle drives by. The couple declined to give their names Sadid All other adults who were questioned. Two elderly women in Finz Casau said they had noticed either the air or the ground Maneu vers this Sib Ken c a Shepherd minds his sheep while members of the 1st inf dlr of fort Riley Kan mind their vehicles sunday near Heilbronn Wesl Germany. Year and they weren t disturbed by them in the past. Thai s part of military life one said. Her companion said she Only wished the armed forces would damage less properly while passing through. A restaurant owner in Vezinau said his fellow Villag ers had welcomed the German army units stationed there during certain Challenge and the soldiers had been equally receptive to the locals. A 51 year old Farmer in Rassbach who recalled flee ing inc advancing soviet army As a child in East Prus Sia said German units passing through her Village have been polite and Friendly toward the local Chil Dren showing them How their equipment works. We Are All Happy that icy want to protect us she said but she added it s necessary but in an emergency the Maneu vers Aren t going to help  a neighbouring Farmer said the German troops have been careful to avoid destroying crops unlike a Ca Nadian unit that drove through Rassbach s ripening Grain Fields several years ago. But in defending the Maneu vers he said defensive readiness must be maintained. Thai is the Point of inc  an engine filter from a Chuntal where , troops have spent the past week agreed. It s necessary. If someone would come Alicr us seriously we have to be ready he said. But his wife bemoaned the grinding Roar of the pass ing armoured vehicles. Children have it  she said explaining thai the noise often provokes her 3-Ycar-old daughter and infant son to Stan crying. The soldiers Are Friendly sure but the children get awakened and they Don t know where it s coming  damage from Page 1 brought in on a temporary basis to perform inspections. Usa eur also approved using area Man Euver management specialists to inspect Man Euver dam age claims study ways to improve Man Euver dam age reports and provide feedback to commanders. The specialists who arc Well versed in German Laws and customs arc responsible for tracking a Nevers in each German county. They report to Mil Ilary commanders at the brigade level and solve problems arising from the hundreds of Maneu vers conducted each year in the Federal Republic. The Basic claims process has nol changed. A Ger Man whose properly has been damaged by Maneu vers Stilt continues to tile a claim through inc local authorities and that claim goes to the German de sense Cost office the agent for All of the counties i Germany for paying claims. The West German government pays 25 percent of All claims for damage  forces while the . Government pays 75 per cent. The Cost office settles Small claims of about $ 150 or less. That allows the . Claims system More time to carefully investigate the serious claims Hals Lead said. If a claim is for a lot of Money we have the option to reject the payment for that and investigate  for exercise certain Challenge an estimated1,000 soldiers working at five Man Euver damage Contra centers have been assigned the task of track ing assessing and in some cases repairing damage to German terrain and property. Also the 5,000umpires refer being the exercise Are also being used to spot damage. Damage reports Are called into the five centers by units or by Man Euver damage teams on patrol according to maj. Alan Watts who is in charge of the Center at sch Sobisch Hall. Reports Are fed into a computer and their seriousness assessed by an officer. The computer not Only keeps track of the damage but helps establish a data base for determining the types of damage mad during Maneu vers and How frequently they occur. We re trying to capture some statistical data so in the future we can make decisions where to Pul our resources Watts said the information is relayed twice a Day to the exercise s Central control Center in trails him which keeps Overall track of damage reports. Exercise officials would not provide information on the damage reported in the first week of the exercise. However a source said More than 700reports had been received by midweek including in m6qa3 tank scraping a House in Elton Hauson. First it. Steven Cardin head of a Man Euver dam Annuala Nevers and payments try stun Tuvin p4mnt� Imi 198ia 1mb 19b7 jul at 2aa 1�6 �8 to if  though sup Tab 1bw  in to by Itu Pond in 1 age control team in one of inc sectors said he thinks almost All of the damage reports Are being checked out by the teams. Earlier in the week Cardin s team helped cleanup a 35-gallon Oil spill near Crai sheim. In coordination with inc local German police and water authorities . Soldiers scooped out enough Din to Hll two dump trucks and later refilled the Hole with Sand. Our Mission is to come out and fix what we can Cardin said. Oil spills Are one of our main  although there Are three major . Military training areas in Germany at Hohenfels Gra few bar and wild Flucken army officials say the 1,000 Maneu vers held outside those areas each Yea rare necessary if the service is to meet its training goals. Bui such realistic training comes with a Price lag. Large Maneu vers account for up to two thirds of All Man Euver damage costs but represent less than i percent of the Maneu vers conducted each year. Exercises such As certain Challenge typically account for 35 percent to 40 percent of the Tola Bill. Army officials believe Man Euver damage from last year s refer Ger exercise could exceed si7 million. In addition to the Man Euver damage Bills army officials fear political costs will Lead to additional exercise constraints and a loss of realism. It will always be different in Germany because we Don t have the Man Euver space the Warsaw pact has and we Ean l just Tell a Farmer to vacate his land while we Man Euver Halstead said. We re Spect his rights. What s different is the level of Public conscious Ness on this Issue and the need for us to Demon Strate More and More our sincerity and our capability to Deal with this  he added i m confident we re on the right track of doing that and 1 think All of Usa eur is. Along As we do that the germans will respect that and allow us to continue our Maneu vers