European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 04, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 military briefs the stars and stripes thursday May 4,1989 Sailor accused of desertion is flown to Brig in Spain Naples Italy is a Coly officer 3rd class Jennifer Muir was flown under guard wednesday to Rota Spain where she is being confined in the Brig pending action on a Deser Tion charge. The 22-year-old Sailor was escorted by two Security officers during the three hour flight aboard a regularly scheduled Navy aircraft said it. Dave Morris a Navy spokesman. An officer will be appointed to determine whether Muir a communications worker with the military Scal Ift come in Naples will receive a court martial or non judicial punishment. Morris said. Muir. Who disappeared july 29, was picked up by police in Southern Italy before Dawn monday. Her father Tom Muir appeared sunday night on a nationwide television program that at tempts to track missing persons. Tom Muir who had made repeated trips to Italy to look for his daughter was to Fly wednes Day to his Home in Trumbull Conn. Go gets 2-year sentence for forgery larceny Kaiserslautern West Germany is a 19-year-old Soldier who pleaded guilty to forgery and theft in a general court martial april 26 will spend two years in jail at fort Roicy kan., a 21st theater army area come spokes Man said wednesday. Pvt. 1 Earl e. Epps or. Of to Btry 3rd in 44th air defense arty Ramstein a also was fined $1,500 and received a bad conduct Dis charge. The crimes involved the theft and use Ofa Check Book and an no club card in iwo Sepa rate incidents. The sentence resulted from a pretrial agreement in which the Houston native pleaded guilty to 11 counts of forgery two of larceny and one of breaking restriction. The spokesman said Epps forged checks from the stolen Check Book totalling about $1,160 and charged an Undis closed amount of goods at the Ramstein no club. Heilbronn fire damage set at More than $ 17,000 Heilbronn West Germany is army investigators still Are seeking the source of a fire that caused More than $17,000 damage and the evacuation of seven families saturday from a four Story residential building in John f. Kennedy Village. A nearby German Hospital treated i5 of the occupants for smoke inhalation and released them the same Day said Otto e. Beck Heilbronn military Community fire chief. There were no other injuries he said. The fire started in the basement storage area in one of building 219 s three stairwells and was reported at 3 04 . Beck said. German fire fighters put out the flames within 30 minutes. Structural damage is estimated at $ 13,400, while personal property accounts for most of the rest of the loss. The fire damage was confined to the basement. The evacuated families have moved into temporary lodging and will slay there until the building is renovated. Beck said the renovation was scheduled before the fire occurred and eight apartments in an another stairwell already had been cleared out for that reason. Soviet inspection team arrives at Rhein main a Rhein main a West Germany a so Viet inspection team arrived at Rhein main about 3 . Wednesday to perform a Short no Tice inspection under the terms of the intermediate Range nuclear forces Accord officials said. Both the soviets and the americans can con duct 20 such quota inspections this year under article 11 of the superpower Accord which eliminates land based nuclear missiles in Europe with ranges of 300 to 3,400 Miles. According to officials of the on Sile inspection Agency s european Field office at Rhein main the id member team will conduct the inspection at a site to be announced thursday. Shuttle countdown proceeds As officials watch weather Cape canaveral. Fla. A the countdown marched smoothly wednesday toward a second at tempt to launch the shuttle Atlantis with a Crew of five and a space probe destined for Venus. Nasa s Only worry was a worsening weather forecast. All in All things look Good for a 1 48 . Launch tomorrow thursday and the Start of our trip to Venus launch test director Albert Sofic said of shuttle preparations. The weather Outlook however was not the greatest with forecasters saying on wednesday afternoon there was a 40 percent Chance that either rain or High winds would prevent a launch during the available launch period. The first launch attempt last Friday was aborted just31 seconds before liftoff because of a Short circuit in a fuel . Nasa said the delay Cost about $300,000. The Mission to take the Magellan spacecraft into orbit will revive a . Planetary program that has been dormant since the launch of the Pioneer Venus in 1978. After an 11-year Gap in the planetary program we re anxious to get started said John h. Garph Cid project manager for the Magellan. Shuttle chief Richard truly opened an afternoon news conference with Here we arc again and we re ready to Fly again. We be fixed our problems. The weather is not going to be As Good As it was last Friday but it appears it will be  air Force capt. Thomas strange the shuttle meteorologist said that there was a 40 percent Chance of a violation of weather  he said the forecast called for a Chance of showers. But of More concern he said was the possibility of crosswinds of More than 14 Mph that could be danger Ous if the shuttle had to make an emergency Landing on a runway near the launch pad. On thursday the shuttle must be launched by 2 52 ., the end of a 64-minute launch window in order to have the Magellan in the right position for a flight to Venus. If it in t launched by May 28, the Magellan will have to wait for two years before Earth and Venus arc in the right position again. Bonn from Page 1 missiles scaled Back the a said. Bush s spokesman Martin Fitzwater suggested that the disagreement was not Likely to be resolved before Bush Kohl and the leaders of the 14 other North at lactic treaty organization countries attend a Summit in Brussels Belgium May 29-30, the a reported until now the Kohl coalition government has pushed for delaying the Lance modernization until 1992, after National elections in december 1990. The United states wants an immediate decision on the Lance and no new negotiations with the soviets until substantial Progress has been made in talks on reducing conventional forces. The current Vienna talks began in March although negotiations have been in Progress in the austrian capital for 15 years. The official referred to the opposing standpoints As a minor Alliance problem. The Alliance is solid. Germany is a democracy Anda reliable ally with whom we share common values. This is not the kind of crisis that could split the Alli Ance As some press reports would have us believe the official said. I be seen Graver problems. The decision to establish a German army or France s decision to partially disengage from nato were More difficult problems but were  the official said the United slates opposes negotiations with the soviets on Short Range missiles because such talks could Lead to  of  need the nuclear deterrent to offset the Over bearing superiority in conventional Warsaw pact forces. The alternative to a nuclear deterrent would mean having 65 military divisions Here which i Don t think the germans would care for  have to keep in mind that anything we withdraw from West Germany will be difficult to return and int the Atlantic is a lot wider than the Vistula. The so vices Only need a Bridge to return anything they remove he said. We base our policy on what the soviets do not what they say they arc  the official said the germans and other european shave been hammered by the soviets so Long they re relieved it has stopped. They arc More optimistic about soviet intentions than the United  official disagreed Wilh charges made by some in the United states and other Allied countries that the Bush administration has no Clear nuclear policy. The Alliance does t have a serious policy problem the Warsaw pact has one he said. Gorbachev snot pursuing a planned policy. He has a suitcase full of things that Fie knows will aggravate the West and pull them out from time to Lime just for that purpose. There s no reason to adjust policy to counter some thing As incoherent As  the official said a turning Point in East West relations has not been reached. If the germans perceive know How threatened they were. We Hope Gorbachev has Success and for thai he will have to put some food on his people s  court from Pago 1 and retirement benefits to devote his life to military  Walkins has greatly benefited the army and therefore the country by his military service Prog arson said. In addition Walkins homosexuality clearly has not Hurt the army in any Way he said quoting an army review Board report that the morale and discipline of Walkins unit had been unaffected. Equity cries out and demands that the army be stopped prohibited from refusing to re enlist wat Kins on the basis of his  seven judges voted in Watkins favor but Only two William Norris and William Canby discussed discrimination Bolh of them agreeing with Norris ear Lier opinion in the Case that the army should be barred from discriminating against homosexuals. Four judges dissented none of them touching on the constitutional Issue. Watkins of Tacoma wash., called it a wonderful ruling and said he was t disappointed that the court failed to resolve the constitutional question. It s an Issue that s probably going to take a class action Type suit before a court makes that Broad ruling 10 or 12 people in the military who arc willing to stand up and say they re Gay he said by Telephone. Now a clerk with the . Forest service in Seattle Watkins said his plans depend on the army s next move if they re going to Appeal it we re in the same position we were he said. Watkins told the army he was homosexual when he was drafted in 1967, he was accepted for service any Way and was allowed to re enlist three times. Man jailed for Selling data on nato Stuttgart West Germany a a slate court on tuesday convicted a West German Engineer of Selling sensitive information on nato military air Craft to the soviet Union. Helmut Stefan Kolasch a 45-year-old former employee of the Siemens electronics firm was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and fined $ 10,700. Kolasch sold technical information to the Kab so Viet intelligence Agency on nato s Tornado warplane and on the Jaeger 90 fighter Jel now under Devil pm Cal the Stuttgart court ruled. The court determined that Kolasch had worked for the Kab from 1973 to 1984, and was Given $ 14,430 by his Kab contacts. Kolasch was involved in research work on electronics for military aircraft Al Siemens. He was arrested on March 23, 1988. The court however said prosecutors did not prove Kolasch handed Over results of All his research team work on aircraft electronics