European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 11, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday August 11,1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 a  hdm huh a bib Obi a general hopeful on talks but wary of East bloc guns Over Here by Joseph Owen Stuttgart Bureau Stuttgart West Germany blossoming soviet cordiality has put some westerners at ease but the de parting Vii corps commander thinks his troops still realize that a lot of War saw pact gun muzzles Are pointed in their direction. It. Gen. Ronald l Watts said the cur rent  arms negotiations have had absolutely no Impact on his troops altitudes toward their responsibilities. In fact i be asked our commanders about that Watts said in an interview i think we have to be very careful it. Gen. Watts last week in his office at Kelley Barracks. No commander that i be talked to believes the talks arc having any negative Impact on the soldiers commitment to maintain a High state of  Watts 55, Steps Down aug. 25 after two years As corps commander and will become the army s inspector general. He will be replaced by 1st Arrond div commander maj. Gen. Frederick m. Franks jr., who will be promoted to lieutenant general aug. 22. Walls a native of Seneca mo., said the army s biggest Challenge is educating . And Western european civilian about Warsaw pact military capabilities. Everyone Hopes the arms and troop reduction talks in Vienna Are productive he said but being hopeful and seeing the results Are two different  the Warsaw pact still has twice the number of tanks that nato has and quadruple the number of nato s Artil Lery pieces he said. Walts said nato s preparedness for Battle has led to the current arms talks because the Warsaw pact realized it could t Divide nato. The germans i come in Contact with Are very supportive of the american pres ence Watts said adding that he thinks most West germans share that attitude. Even the vocal minority who complain want Only to Stop the noise and other in conveniences of military Maneu vers not evict the american troops he said. I think we have to be very careful about what we conclude from the rhetoric we read Here and in the .," Watts said. And the general said talk of facility closures caused by preside no Bush proposals to Cut about 30,000 . Troops is premature because the Bush plan depends on a number of Warsaw pact developments. The Only Vii corps Sites sure to see changes in the next few years arc those housing the perching ii missiles and the 56th Field arty come soldiers who operate them in and near Heilbronn ecu Ulm and sch Sobisch a mind. The United states is destroying the missiles under the 1987 intermediate Range nuclear forces treaty. Corps officials have sent proposals for future uses of the missile Sites to . Army Europe Headquarters but Watts declined to describe them saying the West German defense ministry is responsible for announcements about stationing changes at . Military facilities Here. On the Home front a tight West Ger Man housing Market has left . Troops generally scrambling for Good housing. Watts said the housing problem in the Vii corps area the West German states of Baden guru Emburg and Bavaria i typical of the whole country. He said the corps is Short about 5,000 housing units. As a result Usa eur adopted last year a Vii corps recommendation to deny con current travel to soldiers and their families unless housing would be available for them within 30 Days of their arrival in West Ger Many. I Don t think it s fair to the family to bring them Over Here and put them in a is Joseph Owen it. Gen. Ronald l. Watts. Families contrib Etc to readiness hotel or transient quarters where they re living out of a suitcase for two to four months time Frame while they re looking for a House Watts said. He said several Vii corps housing initiatives arc paying off however. Individual corps soldiers have negotiated688 leases in fiscal 1989 under the new government rental housing program and Many More such leases arc expected next year. The program Calls for a Soldier to forfeit quarters allowances and spend an entire Lour in an off Post apartment with the army paying rent and Utility Bills directly. The corps itself has negotiated leases for 220 houses in the past year with 350 More expected in 1990. Also 270sets of new government quarters Are under construction in Ansbach Bam Berg and  does not believe the housing shortage justifies having soldiers serve unaccompanied Tours in Europe. The solution is not sending families Home because families contribute to readiness. We be proven time and Lime again that to have soldiers Over Here on an unaccompanied basis rotating toy is very expensive Watts said. Separation of families also causes indiscipline indicators to mount headed. There s More Likely to be an increased amount of drinking More incidents off Post things like  colleagues Call Powell Soldier s soldier9 Atlanta a Gen. Colin l. Powell who thursday was named to be the new chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is described by colleagues As a sol Dier s Soldier who does t particularly like staff jobs. The four Star army general who be came National Security adviser in 1987and Heads the . Forces come at fort Mcpherson in Atlanta would be the first Black to serve As the Nalion s senior Mili tary officer if his nomination by presi Dent Bush is approved. The 52-year-old son of jamaican Immi Grants Powell was highly regarded by president Reagan succeeding Frank c car Lucci As Reagan s National Security adviser. He was the general who guided preparations for the soviet president Mik Hail Gorbachev summits who helped restructure and give new direction to the National Security Council following the Iran Contra investigation and who by his personal integrity and commitment has restored Confidence in the National Security Council itself said Whitehouse spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. Those qualities were cited by the Washington Post in calling Powell the antidote to Ollie North the former National Security Council aide convicted in the Iran Contra scandal. Colin gets mad at me when i say this but i think he should go to the very top of the military establishment up Toad including chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Carlucci has said. Powell took Over . Forces come or for com in april putting him in charge of troop readiness and deploy ment for the , army. In interviews since then he has emphasized he s proud of the accomplishments of the average . Soldier Over the years. In the old Days Powell said soldiers would keep a pinball machine in a Corner of their Barracks. Today there s a com Puter  on personal level however Powell does t always keep up with the times. You d Only know the 1972 Chrysler Sta Tion Wagon parked in the general s space each Day was his by Reading the four Stard Cucalon its front. Washington colleagues have describe Powell As a Soldier s Soldier who does t like staff jobs. Carlucci says that Powell has always been reluctant to be bureaucrat and that Reagan got Powell to accept the Job of National Security adviser after the general had turned Carlucci Down several times. In his time off he tells Young Blacks to spend their lives helping to open doors for minorities. Don t squander the blood sweat and tears of those who paved the Way for you he told Clark Atlanta University graduates this Spring. The greatest Dan Ger. Is  he tells of his Battles with racial discrimination recalling the time an Ala Bama state trooper pulled him Over for speeding in the Early 1960s. The trooper looked at the car Complete with new York plates and an lbs bumper Slicker and hissed boy gel out of  on the Job Powell emphasizes his commitment to obtaining resources for his troops a task he said was top priority whence became for com commander. As Leader of for com Powell is responsible for the training and prepared Ness of More than 1 million Active re serve and National guard troops in the United states. Powell s daily interests Are More press ing keeping his troops ready for combat with the Hope they will never be  and in that position he keeps a close Eye on the soviet Union. The soviets Are going through wrenching historic change beginning with the irreversible acknowledgement thai their system is broken and has to be changed he said at his for com installation. But their for com is Strong. We must be  born in new York. Powell completed training in the airborne and Ranger schools and served in West Germany Ana Vietnam. Commissioned in the infantry in1958, he was wounded twice during two Tours in Vietnam once falling into a trap lined with sharpened Bamboo Sticks and impaling a foot. His decorations include the distinguished service medal the legion of Merit the Bronze Star and the purple heart. Powell and his wife. Alma have two daughters and a son