European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 5, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday january 5,1990 the stars and stripes Page 9test of women in combat jobs proposed by Chuck Vinci Washington Bureau Washington a spurred by the favourable performance of female soldiers in the Panama invasion. Rep. Patricia Schroeder said thursday she will introduce a Bill calling for a four year test of women in army combat jobs. The proposal similar to a recommendation made recently by the defense advisory committee on women in the services would open jobs in All ranks to women in a specified number of army infantry artillery and other combat units. A Panama has reinforced something that has been evident for a Long time a that the army s combat designations would not really keep women out of combat Quot said Schroeder a Colo. A the Panama operation showed what a fiction that  Pentagon officials have confirmed that a number of women in military police units officially designated As noncombat units were involved in firefights in Panama. Capt. Linda Bray for instance led her military police platoon on a Mission to secure a dog Kennel under the control of panamanian defense forces. Three psf soldiers were killed by Brays platoon. Army officials said no female soldiers were killed or wounded in the Overall operation. About 600 women were among the 24,000 troops that took part. Most were military police but women also served in intelligence and communications units. Schroeder said she selected the army for her Bill because its ban on women in combat is based on the service s own regulations unlike the Navy and air Force which have Federal statutes exempting women from combat jobs. A the Only thing these combat designations Are doing is keeping women off a significant part of the career ladder a Schroeder said explaining that the fastest promotions and the biggest bonuses often Are Given in the combat skills. Schroeder admitted that the Bill probably will have Many opponents in Congress. Before the Panama operation. Rep. Beverly Byron. A mde a who chairs the House armed services subcommittee on military personnel had planned to hold pvt. Christina Cabido 20, of Strawberry Ariz. Sits by a machine gun mounted on a vehicle at fort Clayton. Panama. Hearings in february or March on the Progress made by women in the military. Byron was a prime Backer of another recommendation from the advisory committee to open thousands of jobs to women on Navy combat logistics Force ships which resupply Battle groups. But she was quoted thursday in the Washington Post As saying she still opposes putting women in front line units. She was unavailable for further comment. Army spokeswoman Paige Evrsole said the service is studying the commit tee s proposal for a test of women in army combat jobs but she could not estimate when a response would be forthcoming. But one army official in the Pentagon said there probably will be a Good Deal of opposition from senior leaders lie said there remains a pervasive feeling that women should not be sent into combat. A was out of touch As some people May View it. There s still this image of America s mothers Sisters and daughters getting killed in the direct line of fire that makes a lot of people in this building  the official said. A congressional staff member agreed. Quot much of the arguments hinge on emotional gut reactions rather than cold hard  the staff member said. A if the goal is to protect women Ihen it s better not to have them in the military at All. V. No the liquidity of the modern Battlefield a lot of support soldiers Are going to get killed along with the front line  the Panama invasion has widened the scope of Byron s upcoming hearings. Quot there will be a lot of Lively debate Quot the staffer said. Quot i expect Schroeder s Bill will be a very hot  sent a notifiers grimly Back to work Washington api a the Panama invasion was t an hour old before the Telephone awakened army col. Mel Hoherz. It Wasny to a Day old before Hoherz had dispatched officers on those dreadful Knock on the door missions to inform families that a son or husband had died in combat. As with everything the army has a system for this a and a 214-Page regulation 600-8-1 on what to do when a Soldier is killed. An army manual even tells the visiting officer what to say a the Secretary of the army has asked me to express his deep  Hoherz son of a career army officer grandson of a German pacifist who fled to America to avoid military service is in charge of seeing to it the process runs smoothly. A we try to do it with dignity Quot he said recently. Quot everyone grieves differently and sometimes they Grieve angrily in anger at the army and we know that but we try to be  Hoherz a Job is to see to it that the body is accompanied to the grave site by a Soldier a sometimes by a buddy who has been designated for the task by the surviving family. Hoherz dispatches the Quot notifier a who brings the first word a but often no details a and offers whatever Comfort a stranger can. By regulation the message is always delivered in person. He makes sure that another officer follows up with the forms that will bring the family the benefits to which it is entitled a usually a $50,000 life insurance payment plus a $3,000 death gratuity payment the soldiers unpaid pay and allowances a monthly Check for the widow until she remarries and surviving children until they Are age 18 23 if they go to College and social Security benefits. He tries to nudge families toward opting for a military funeral. Quot we can do it with great dignity and they Don t need an unexpected $5,000 expense at a time like this Quot Hoherz says. The army w ill provide a steel casket Worth $2,000, six pallbearers and a seven member firing team that fires three volleys of shots. And Hoherz makes sure word reaches the White House where president Bush has determined to write a personal letter to the family of every military Man killed in the line of duly. Panama marked the first american Battle deaths since the Grenada episode in 1983, which killed 19 . Servicemen. In Panama the . Military suffered 23 deaths a 18 army four Navy one Marine a and 322 wounded. Among panamanians 297 soldiers and some 300 civilians were killed. Panama aside the army had 116 military related deaths in 1989 a helicopter crashes training accidents heart attacks and the like and about 625 other accidental deaths mostly car crashes. Hoherz s outfit a the casualties and memorial affairs operations Center in suburban Alexandria a. A seeks to notify the family within four hours of receiving word of the casualty. The old process is still used. An officer or senior non cominis signed officer is sent from a nearby military base. Sometimes a chaplain is brought along. No Mission is undertaken Between 10 . And 6 . In these Days of family mobility and frequent divorce Hoherz says notifiers often must do detective work to track Down relatives or estranged wives sometimes using the police or postman or Utility company records. How to do it is spelled out in a 53-Pagc manual that uses the initials Quot nok Quot for Quot next of  a As a notifier you represent the Secretary of the  the manual says. Quot you Are expected to be courteous helpful and sympathetic toward the nok in this sensitive Mission. 5 our presence should soften the blow if possible and show the army s concern for its personnel their dependents and their  the visit is followed by a Telegram or a mail Gram. Its purpose is to confirm what Lias been said and to make it Clear the family has not been the victim of a macabre hoax. Meantime at the scene of combat there is a written report on the fatal event and an investigation a if it is an unexplained death Quot Hoherz says. Families arc entitled to these reports and to autopsy reports but they must ask for them. A company commander in theory at least knows the people in his unit. Quot if he a doing his Job. Hell know them by name and Well enough to know where they come from and whether they re married that sort of thing Quot says Hoherz. The company commander writes a letter of condolence to the next of Kin. It is sent within 24 hours if Field conditions permit. This letter often brings the first full account of How the Soldier died