European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 4, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday october 4, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 9 ., soviet vets comrades in pain Moscow a the agony of War forged a Bond among men thai american veterans of Viet Nam found instantaneously on meeting soviet sol Diers who survived Afghanistan. We embraced before we even spoke to each other said Shad me had of los Angeles a former Marine who is among a group of Vietnam veterans visiting their counterparts in the soviet Union the trip which began sept. 26, was arranged to share expertise in i rating casualties. But among the 21 american specialists on artificial limbs computer aids for he handicapped and psychological therapy arc eight Vietnam vets. Their common experiences overwhelmed the fact that Mcshan s attackers wielded soviet Nile and Igor Cdv Edv s concussion came from a  mine that blew up his troop vehicle. But the veterans did More than Trade photos of Bare chested Young men posing triumphantly Over captured weapons and explain which of the buddies in the picture did t make it Home. The soviet and american veterans quickly found they shared some thing More than the horror of War. Both groups fought in conflicts that carried non of the glory of world War ii when the soviet Union and United slates were allies. And both came Home not As heroes but As problems. So beyond the camaraderie they shared tactics for pressuring government to help those who suffered mental and physical trauma serving their coun tries. The americans complained about the veterans administration. But we have no such organizational All said Alexander Lavrov who served in Shin dad in the Western part of Afghanistan from 1984 to 1986. Because the soviet Union has insufficient medical care rehabilitation services and equipment for the 36,000 soldiers injured in Afghanistan the experience of the american Vietnam veterans on How Roget help is very important Lavrov said. The handicapped Are having trouble getting serv ices but the afghan veterans with lingering mental problems Are facing & Complete Wall of ignorance the Afghanistan veterans said. We Are Back in the .s.r., but our hearts and our Heads Are  Lavrov said. When we sleep we often see Afghanistan we see our dead friends we see the mountains we see our soldiers  but a fellow Veteran who could not shake such memories and found himself terrified of going to sleep got no medical help for the problem be said. The soviets have absolutely no concept of psychiatric help said Charles Figley a Vietnam Veter an in the group who is now a Purdue University psychologist Fistey wrote some of the earliest books on Post traumatic stress syndrome among the former american soldiers. The Vietnam veterans returned to an America painfully divided Over the War but the first soviet veterans of Afghanistan came Home to a nation thai did t even know they d been to Battle Figley said. The soviet veterans reported that their parents were told they were planting Lowers and Trees that it was environmental assistance they were offering the afghans. When the americans asked what happened when the parents sons died the afghan veterans shrugged their shoulders and said what could they Tell them Figley reported. When they came Home they expected parades said Figley who specializes in the treatment of Post traumatic stress syndrome. Instead they found Apa thy later with the Rise of soviet Leader Mikhail s. Gorbachev s policy of glasnost or openness soviet citizens started to learn about Afghanistan. But its veterans still Don t receive the kind of hero worship accorded to soldiers who served in the great Patri Otic War against the nazi invaders. Nor have they received inc special privileges due them such As advancement to the head of the Ever present lines in the soviet Union whether they be a few minutes for meat or a few years for an apart ment Lavrov and Medvedev said. Lavrov said Afghanistan veterans Are entitled to those same benefits but they rarely receive them. There Are no memorials to the Afghanistan Veter ans in a nation where nearly every town has a Monu ment to the veterans of world War ii. Mikhail a Young Man from Leningrad who lost his Best Friend in Afghanistan came to Moscow to meet with the Vietnam and Afghanistan veterans to discuss his efforts to gel a memorial built there. Moscow recently agreed to a similar request. The afghanis As the soviet veterans Call them selves have Only recently begun to band together to fight for the benefits they need and to which they feel entitled Figley said. Just two months ago thousands of them gathered in Moscow s Gorky Park for a reunion on a military Holiday and it was the first Lime Many realized the discrepancy Between the nation s treatment of them and its previous soldiers who d risked their lives in War Figley said they told him. Many of the veterans got drunk and marched throughout the town. The newspaper Moskovsky Koms molets reported that 82 of the nation s elite paratroopers were arrested in Drunken brawling stemming from the reunion. 2 officers looking for new Obs As cruise missiles Ore banished by Mark Walsh Blob org Bureau March Een Tamenne. Belgium Christo Pher Kuklinski and Jon Gullet Don t have much to worry  when it comes to Job Security. They have none. The , air Force second lieutenants who completed their military schooling at Florennce a in Bel Gium will be losing their jobs by the end of the year. And if All goes according to plan their Choice of career will cease to exist by the Spring of 1991. So it goes when you re a launch control officer on the ground launched cruise missile one of two classes of intermediate Range nuclear weapons outlawed under the superpower inf Accord. The pair the last control officers certified with the 485th tac missile Wing at Florenne plan a Short respite by moving on to bases where the missiles Are scheduled for later removal. Kuklinski will head for Comiso As in Sicily Guild will be assigned to Raf arc Cham common in England one regret the officers have is that they were not around for the 1984 activation of the unit we kind of wish we were Here when it was just opening up so we could be breaking the ground said Kuklinski a native of Norristown a. Recently the control officers were taking part in a pair of exercises designed to lest the Wing s ability to disperse the Mobile missile launchers in time of War. Under the cover of heavy camouflage the office Sand their Crews spent five Days in september simulating launches in the Damp belgian Woods. A lot of officers Don t get to work As closely with the troops As we do said Gullett of Ottumwa Iowa. We gel to see what the real Job  faced with the end of his own real Job Gullet plans to train As a launch control officer with another missile system. Kuklinski on the other hand plans to strike out in new directions once the last cruise missile has been removed from Europe. Ill try to get into flight school he said u. Christopher Kuklinski sitting and it. Jon Gullet inside a cause missile lunch control Center. Joint Mountain climb helps .-India relations new Delhi India up a successful mountaineering assault on a 23,365-foot Himalayan Peak by a joint indo-. Military team May stimulate increased bilateral cooperation Between the armies of the world s largest democracies officials said monday. The expedition to Mana 115 Miles Northeast of new Delhi was the first of its kind conducted by the Indian and  Milit Aries. The team consisting of 13 american and 21 Indian servicemen launched its climb on the Snow capped Peak on aug. 27 and the Summit was reached seven teen Days later Indian maj. . Chan the Leader of the expedition told a news conference monday. He said it was the first time in 50 years that the Peak had in conquered from the Southern Side although it has been scaled several limes from the East Ern face we were scared to look Down be cause of deep ridges and afraid that Loose boulders May Roll Down from the lop said air Force chief warrant officer Robert Wood of san Antonio Texas the chief  Climber. The most difficult part of the expedition was the bus journey to reach Mana Village said sgt. William Pelkey of col Chester i. He said the bus travelled on a Road that was unimaginably bad. The normally poor condition was exacerbated by heavy Rains that caused several landslides. Working in teams a total of so of the americans and 19 Indian servicemen reached the Summit in three groups be tween sept. 13 and sept. 15. A videotape played during the press conference showed two Indian climbers on the Summit clasping their bands and kneeling in prayer As High winds whipped an Indian Flag planted nearby. The Indian and  Servicemen said they developed excellent rapport and team spirit during the 45-Day adventure on the Mountain and added that they hoped it would Lead to greater cooperation Between the two armies. One wrong step and misunderstand ing at a crucial time Means a fall Loreath said Lalit Kumar new one of the Indian servicemen. He added that the relations established now will  i Welcome such contacts and Hope it grows said la Gen. S. P. Pulali head of the Indian army s training programs. . And Indian officials said the expedition was yet another sign of the growing defense relationship Between Washington and new Delhi whose chief arms supplier is the soviet Union. Under prime minister Rajiv Gandhi India has shopped increasingly in the West including the United states for military High technology. The october 1986 visit to India by Lhen-, defense Sec Clary Caspar Weinberger the first by a Pentagon chief marked the beginning of a significant expansion in military relations. Military cooperation received a fur ther boost when Weinberger s successor Frank Carlucci visited India in april. Indian and  Sources monday said  Chief of army staff Oen. Carl Vuono would be coming to new Delhi on oct. 11 on a four Day visit. It would be the first to India by a  Army chief of staff since 1979. Before Gandhi came to Power indo-, defense relations had been marginal because of friction Over Washington s close defense and economic ties with Pakistan India s neighbor and foe in three wars since i94s