European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 11, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 of experts seasoned in weather 11 Janet nowei.15- j Job Nev staff writer Hanau. Wesl Germany when those rare rays of sunlight fill the nor Mally gloomy Corners of Centra West Germany than pc he a orcs. High pressure systems from the group of i Bruj Sii be islands in he at lactic Ira vet Init hands of Miles to Bat  systems coming out of the North. When lose High pressure systems win the result is Lite current Blue ski Sand Sunshine according to the sea soned forecaster of Del 2.7th Weathers. At Hanau army Airfield in West Germany. The Nice weather should stick for the  a Del 2 forecaster predicted Friday chances Are lie s right. The unit holds a 95 percent accuracy rate for ils predictions a record that helped win in the 1988 Williams award. That Competition names the Best operational went Ier support unit in the air Force. Ii was the first Tittle  prize went Irta weather unit attached to the army in Europe. The air Force detachment does for tin army what he. Army can l do for itself in Dick weather there arc no army positions Tjui Valconi to the air Force s weal her Fitce asters and Obs Irv a combat helicopter pilots and foal soldiers of the 3rd army div. Head quartered in Frankfurt rely on the airmen to forecast what the weather will he for a Btl 500 flights per month and Atmos Corts Sant Fiel exercises. It s no easy task for the in person staff. This is a difficult place to forecast said staff.se.1. Dennis a Lackey  with the unit since october. It s influenced by the terrain. Hanau is kind Zofih a  German weather is caused by air flows from the Allan in said senior airman Jake. A Jacobson. An observer who works in the Airfield s control Tower. There s a lot of moisture and Noth ing to Stop it when we get Beautiful Days with Clear skies but a ool weather it s because of a High pressure system from  and when warm Clear we either Cov ers the area Iive iming  azores another forecaster said. The weather detachment does ils Job both on the ground and above it. One member of the shift the observer watches weather develop from  senior airman Jake d. Jacob san checks the Reading on his wind recorder. Field s control lower White a second plots color charts in the weather station at the Tower s base the third member a forecaster gives Quick briefings to pilots. Don t do it sir Lackey recently advised a cobra helicopter Pilot re questing information.1-"the winds arc gusting to 24 knots and   up  and pilots give a Good report on the enlisted airmen. They give Good accurate service said 1st 1.1. John e. Quackenbush a cobra Pilot with 2nd in 227 h aviation rent one Wall of the recently renovated station is covered with maps drawn by computer or _ by observers. Plotting weather system move minis. The forecasters Analyse inc maps satellite monitors and other sources fitting the pieces together like a Puzzle. It s a Potpourri. A combined analysis i jct y 5ai t. The. Gorran printouts we get Are a Bil pessimistic. We also look at what happened hours ago and try to figure out what will Hap pen by comparing  of the puny be pieces come directly from the observer in the Airfield Tower we can see at least 10 Miles Jacobson said. We know distances to different landmarks. Not All the predictions Are. Made from the control Tower the detachment averaged 45 Days per person in the great outdoors last year support ing army Fichtl exercises. Our forecast ids the aviation Bri Gade know if they will he Able to Sec the targets on the Range detachment com Mander. Maj. Alan r. Shaffer said. Four people from the unit usually go to the Field at any one Lime and pull 24 hour shifts. For an airman life in the Woods amid the army Green is a new experience. I enjoyed being out in the Field at first Jacobson said. It was like Camp ing Jacobsen in fad might easily he mistaken for a Soldier. When he first came to x l 2.almost three years ago someone gave him an army sweater to Wear. Jacobson has grown quite attached to Ivd Spile a Hole in the left sleeve fraying ends and the shrinking that it has undergone from too Many washings. He wears it every Day at work during a recent Field exercise the detachment tested a new automated weather system,-Complete-.with satellite Monitor. In the fail leaching the installation and use of the new system. Jacobson said Quick changing Ger Man Cal her keeps tic unit on its toes. Ii never docs anything really exciting but it s always changing he said. I be seen in do everything in  hour period from Sun to  and the observers keep a close Eye on the Cloud ceilings which they be scan drop from 3,000 to 1,500 feel in minutes a situation Hal can be disastrous for an unsuspecting Pilot. The observer shares the Tower Wii h three army air Raffic controllers i know More about How the army ticks than the rest of the air Force does Jacobsen said. The experience has Given the air Force weather observer an insight into a bit of Colimon Soldier knowledge the Field is a pain he said. We never know when the army is going to  Kitty Dukakis publicly admits to being alcoholic Hoston not Kitt Dukakis the wife of Jov. Michael so Lukakis of Massac Huells thursday said she. Is an alcoholic and appealed to. The Media to allow Herlo pursue her recovery in a Mac. With inc governor standing at her Side. Mrs. Duka Kis said she would have preferred w  drink in problem inv ally but hoped Hal by publicly acknowledging it she would persuade others to follow her it single to seeking help. Mrs. Dukakis completed a to monthlong treatment program Al a clinic in Newport. R i. Tuesday. In a statement issued in february after his wife was and milled to the  re habilitation Center Dukakis said his wife began drinking excessively shortly Afler his defeat in the presidential election. Al a news conference thursday mrs. Dukakis 52, refused to blame the stress of the presidential Campaign for her drinking problem. Any crisis could have led to the drinking she said the Campaign was a very positive experience and the on a thing thai happened wrong was that we lost " the announce Mcnol last month Abb i mrs Dukakis drinking problem shocked her friends who said they had never seen her abuse alcohol. Mrs  that Riany people had wondered How a drinking problem could develop in jus a few months i have been chemically dependent since i was 19 years of age she said when 1 received help Over is and a half years ago for my dependency on diet pills one of inc lessons 1 did t learn is that once one is dependent a drug or a drink in whatever form cannot be used a Day at a Lime and Hal is Why 1 had a relapse in november ibis  the form of alcohol abuse and now i know hat i am  mrs. Dukakis disclosed in july 1987 thai she had been dependent on amphetamines for 26 years and had been treated for addiction in 1982, her disclosure came Sci crap months after Dukakis announced he was seeking the democratic party s nomination for presi Dent. Specialise agree Hal people who have been Chemi Cally dependent on one substance Are Al higher risk of becoming dependent on a second one. In Squire common that people who Are dependent on a Given drug May switch to anti her drug either soon Afler giving up the first drug Oral some air Point said or. Roger Weiss director of the alcohol and drug abuse treatment Center at Mclean Hospital in  also said studies had shown Hal women move More quickly than men from initial use of a drug to dependence. Mrs. Dukakis said her recovery program would continue with lectures films group Ilter apy and Mucci Wiigs Wilh other alcoholics. She also said she would go ahead with a planned series of speeches find would make the chemical abuse one of the i hems of the speeches. Sheds also writing a Book