European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 13, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes saturday May 13,1989 switch in travel firms called Boon to mar by Norm ze1gi.er Traul outdoor writer Frankfurt West Germany the company selected to Lake Over army travel sen ires in Germany will return More Money to morale welfare and recreation copters than information Tours and travel offices could its general manager said Friday. Robert in Bois of the air transport association of America scheduled airlines travel offices overseas said the extensive array of products Sato will Oiler and the Cost effectiveness of combining Leisure travel and official travel services would enable the company to return Mote Money to the communities than itts Ever , he declined to speculate on exact figures. The Monck Issue has been a subject of debate with Many itt officials and some corps level commanders opposing the turnover. Opponents contended there was no Way a civilian firm could return As much Money to mar As the army s Agency could. Figures for fiscal 1988 showed that army itts in Germany turned Back about s2 million or 5 percent of their $40 million Gross. Itts Only handle Leisure travel. Under the new contract signed May 8, Sato will return from 6 percent to 6.5 percent of Leisure travel sales to communities. The original army contract proposal estimated the total Gross sales for Leisure and official travel in usar eur at about $100 million. Dubois said the $100million figure was probably a Little bit exaggerated. Be feel it s closer to $60  Bill Kochon Derfer Sato s assistant general manager for Europe said Friday that an internal company memo estimates the combined travel sales at $75 Mil lion. The transition plan requires Sato to take Over some locations aug. 8. Dubois said he docs not expect any major glitches especially since the company has been doing business in Europe for nearly eight years and already has an infrastructure set up. Sato currently has offices on 21 bases in Germany including 12 army installations. At some locations Sato will take Over office space from itt. At others it will begin offering Leisure travel services at its exist ing official travel centers. He repeated Sato s stated position that it is eager to hire qualified itt employees and said the company Hopes to employ significant numbers of family members. He said he would meet with itt officials next week to obtain a list of applicants and resumes. Dubois pledged to provide a first class product to the american military Community and elaborated on tuesday s announcement that a German travel firm amt Lichts Bacri Schus acis Caliro a Mph or Abr would assist Sato. The German firm will provide training and logistic support but not staffing for Sato offices Dubois said. He called Sato and Abr Blue Chip companies that together can provide a full spectrum of top Quality travel services. He also ended speculation that Sato might subcontract out bus Tours saving that function would not be turned Over because it is a unique american prod  however Sato will drastically reduce the number of companies Selling bus Tours on army bases select ing four or five Stellar performers and eliminating the others. Eighteen bus tour companies currently do business with itt he said. News updates new test round Wellington new zealand p France on Friday detonated a 15-Kiloton nuclear device at muru Roa atoll in the South Pacific signalling the Start of a new round of testing the new zealand government said. Arms and disarmament min ister fran Wilde said the blast was detected by scientists at the Seis Mic research station on Rarotonga. Cook islands. The explosion was the equivalent of 15,000 tons of dynamite said Murray Lowry spokesman for the new zealand department  research. He said it w As first blast this year and the 104th since France s testing program in French Polyne Sia went underground in 1975. Rushdie reaction Beijing a about 2,500 chinese moslem chanting Pun ish China s Rushdie marched through Beijing Friday demanding two editors be imprisoned for pub Lishing a Book on the sexual habits of moslem. These men must be jailed said i Jing a uighur Turk fro the Central Academy of nationalities and a Leader of the protest. If they disappeared from the face of the Earth we would be  the protest came a Day after iranian president Ali Khamenei told a news conference in Beijing that Iran still demands the execution of British author Salman Rushdie who is accused of blaspheming the islamic religion in his Book satanic  the chinese Book in question is called sex habits a compilation of essays on the sexual tastes of people around the world. Sen. Glenn wants Dod to report on a sponsored families overseas by William j. Bartman Washington Bureau Washington concerned that non command sponsored dependents May be straining military facilities overseas. Sen. John Glenn has asked the Pentagon for a report on service families that receive no government support. I m All for keeping families together Glenn said thursday during a hearing of the Senate armed services manpower and personnel subcommittee which he chairs. But he said coherent defense department policy is needed on family members overseas and especially those taken abroad without official military Sanction and financial support. The non command sponsored de Pendents Glenn said May put heavy Drain on Day care commissaries schools and medical  non command sponsored family members arc supported by the service member and May use military housing and military facilities on a space available basis in some overseas locations. Those who receive benefits have an Impact on the defense budget con Gressional sources said. And when they do not receive the services and housing problems ranging from family abuse to improper care for spouses and children can occur. It s often a family tragedy in the making one Senate source said. Senate sources also said the Ohio Democrat and other senators arc particularly concerned about abuse and other family tragedies that can occur in families who live overseas without government support Glenn also raised the question of evacuating the More than 314,000 . Military family members in Europe. In Europe if War actually started that would be an absolute mess he said. The families Issue arose after sen. J. James Exon a Nib. Asked Deputy assistant Secretary of defense David Berteau about the Wisdom of having military families in such violence torn locations As the Philippines and Panama. Bar Tau said such policies arc care fully weighed. There s some risk in being a Mili tary dependent in almost any overseas environment it. Gen. Thomas Hickey the air Force personnel chief told the subcommittee. In fact there s risk even in some Domestic Loca  Glenn and Exon agreed with Ber teau and Hickey that morale suffers and service members often quit the military when they spend too much time without their families. Glenn a former Marine officer said he once spent two years away from his family and realizes you lose a lot of people during periods like  and Money is not easily saved by bringing families Home Glenn said. No dependents in Europe would save a lot of Money. At the same time it would t be free rotating 300,000 peo ple every six  although there Are no six month Tours in Europe military Tours Are Shorter in locations where service members must serve without their families. Talks on Fate of . Bases suspended for greek vote correction an article tuesday about the Bradley fighting vehicle incorrectly stated that several soldiers drowned when a Bradley Sank while crossing a River. There have been no fatalities in the 16 water Inci dents in which a Bradley entered water and was unable to come out under its own Power a Pentagon official said Fri Day. Although a Bradley Driver drowned at Hohenfels West Germany in March 1987, the Accident is not considered a water incident because the vehicle was not rigged for water operations at the time the official said. The Driver was moving across what he thought was solid ground when the vehicle hit a sinkhole. Athens Greece a greek and american negotiators suspended talks Friday on the future of four . Military bases in the country and will resume them following general elections next month the government spokesman said. The talks will be temporarily sus Pended due to the opening of the elector Al Campaign preceding the june 18 greek general elections government spokes Man Sotiris Kostopoulos said in a statement. Kostopoulos added that a Date for the next round of talks would be set follow ing an agreement Between the two  the spokesman did not say if any headway had been made in the negotiations. Greek and american officials have held 17 rounds of talks in an Effort to reach a new agreement on the bases to replace a five year Accord that expired last december. In previous rounds negotiations made Little Progress because of Greece s insistence on linking any new Accord to its longstanding disputes with neighbouring Turkey. Prime minister Andreas Papandreou s socialist government has said any new agreement must provide assurances that the United states will help Greece solve disputes Over military and airspace control of the Aegean sea its seabed Mineral rights and the War divided Eastern Mediterranean Island of Cyprus. Western diplomatic sources said talks have been further stymied by Papandreou s unilateral decision to shut Down hell Nikon a in Athens and his pre election pledge to hold a National referendum on any new agreement. Under the old Accord Greece and the United states have until june 1990 to reach an agreement before the bases arc shut Down. Swiss inflation rises Bern. Switzerland up inflation continued to Rise in Switzerland in april with a 0.5 percent increase in consumer prices bringing the annual rate up to 2.6 percent the government said thursday. Smoke inhalation hospitalized 4 kids Bamberg West Germany is four american children were hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation after their baby sit Ter was locked out of the apartment and food on the stove began to Burn. Firefighters broke a door lock and rescued the four children who were Between the Ages of 2 and 6, said Irma Sharpe a Bamberg Mili tary Community spokeswoman. The parents a military couple were at work at the time of the Inci Dent on wednesday. The children were taken to a local German Hospi Tal where they were kept overnight for observation. Sharpe declined to identify the family that lives on Bamburg s  authorities also deter mined that the baby Sitter a Filipi no woman had an expired Resi Dency permit. She was Given temporary permit to allow her to earn enough Money to leave the country said Karl Thon the Bam Berg police chief. Authorities Are continuing their investigation