European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 4, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 9over Here colonel cleaned up Ramstein images amps Michael Abrams col. Eckert gives a plaque to Rock Star Jon Bon Jovi after a Benefit concert. By Deedee Arrington Doke Kaiserslautern Bureau Ramstein a West Germany a the Driver spotted a pop can resting at the one of clock position in the Middle of the Road. He turned to his passengers and said a if you reach out the door and pick it up As we drive by i wont even have to  the Story comes from the Litany of litter tales told about col. Bill Eckert the former Ramstein a commander who even deputized officers and sergeants at the base to collect the id cards of jitterbugs caught in the act. No wonder Eckerty a colleagues nicknamed him squeaks. Actually Eckert earned the name because of his integrity. But his Fame As a one Man litter death squad Only enhanced that squeaky clean image. Eckert 43, recently left his Job As Ramstein base commander to become the assistant Deputy chief of staff for logistics for the . Air forces in Europe. He took with him a reputation that often suggested More Small town mayor than air Force commander. Colleagues say his Only faults Are a Lead foot on the Gas pedal a fondness for junk food and an attention to detail that once found him reviewing reports in the Early a morning hours of Christmas Day. Under Eckerty a leadership the base morale and recreation operation completed a remarkable turnaround from allegations of wrongdoing and deep red Ink to one of a Safe a Best. A i done to consider it a Lack of imagination to follow air Force regulations a Eckert said about the club situation he inherited at Ramstein. A the air Force is not asking me to do things that Are wrong. My senior leadership wants me to do the right thing. A you done to serve them Well when you go off doing something wrong and done to Tell  but Eckerty a interest in sticking to the straight and narrow did not end with the club system. He had a standing offer to members of his Wing a if somebody Ever approaches you and says a do this act which happens to break this regulation because col. Eckert said do it a Call me and ill give you a $10 bill.�?�. Before becoming base commander in june 1988, Eckerty a air Force assignments included a stint As military aide to then vice president George Bush. He also served on the joint chiefs of staffs Iran crisis action team. Eckert was described by one colleague As a the most moralistic person in be Ever  Many others termed him the Best and most dedicated commander they a Ever had a Man who successfully led the air forces largest base in Europe through a difficult 20 months with Grace humor compassion and a willingness to take unusual risks. One such risk was convincing his air Force superiors to Host a Rock concert featuring superstars Bon Jovi and guitarist Lita Ford a feat that was Likely As Tough As the time Eckert helped Bush sell the my missile to Congress. The Benefit concert to raise Money for victims of the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster was also intended to boost base morale in the Wake of the tragedy. A the made it of to be from Ramstein again. It was of to smile a said one colleague familiar with Eckerty a stint As a concert promoter. A had it not gone Well i would have been totally responsible and i know that a Eckert said. A a Man should take part in the actions and passions of his time for fear to be judged by history not to have lived a he said quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes. A on that basis you take reasonable risks for things you think Are  the lanky soft spoken colonel also became Well known As a fighter of crime and Public nuisances on Ramstein. His interest he said was to a help increase the sense of Community add to the sense of heart and try to make people feel like they re not lost in the crowd because Ramstein a such a big  he offered Cash rewards for information about vandalism. Shortly before he left the commanders Job he instructed base Legal authorities to begin work on a regulation prohibiting Public obscenity on base including messages on to shirts and bumper stickers. On a Rainy morning before a recent thanksgiving Eckert showed up at Ramstein a main Gate to wish commuters a Happy Holiday. He dished up airmen a Holiday dinners in the Chow Halls and gave up his own coveted parking space at the officer s mess to help ease a base parking crunch. And As col. Scott Summerfield recalled Eckert once showed up at the base clinic to personally Comfort a victim of family violence. A that epitomized what he was All about a said Summerfield the Ramstein judge advocate. A the sat there talked to her and made her a special reservation for billeting. I was  sue Eckert a former air Force nurse and the couples daughter. Katie 8, Arentt unhappy that the colonel is no longer base commander. A a he a going to be Home More a said sue Eckert. A i could never count on him being Home. Life May not be As  but the litter collecting habit won t die. The colonel pays his daughter 25 cents a bag for picking up garbage in the area. The very sight of litter bothers his wife. And he a left behind litter collecting converts like it. Col. Scott Atkins of the 377th Mission support so. �?�1 cannot walk across base without bending Over to pick up litter a Atkins said. Col. Bill Eckert Gao Calls storage of space data a deplorable Washington apr hundreds of thousands of tapes containing irreplaceable scientific data from . Space explorations Are stored in a a deplorable conditions including Dusty hallways and Leaky basements the general accounting office said Friday. The National aeronautics and space administration took Strong exception to the report saying the conclusions were a unnecessarily harsh and contained unfounded a sweeping  the Gao an investigative Agency of Congress in turn rejected nasal a criticism and said there was reason for concern that space science data stored on magnetic tape was a at serious risk of becoming partially or completely  the congressional monitors said they visited 10 tape storage and processing facilities and found that eight did not comply with at least two of the regulations established by the National archives and records administration for the handling of magnetic tapes. The Gao said a some of the most significant tape management deficiencies were found in the two largest facilities. These two Are the National space science data Center at the Goddard space flight Center in Greenbelt md., which stores More than 113,000 magnetic tapes and the tape staging and storage facility in Landover md., which stores and tracks More than 860,000 tapes. By contrast it said the . Geological Survey s Eros data Center in Sioux Falls s.d., and the digital equipment  data Protection services in Dominguez Hills Cali were in full or partial compliance with Federal standards and Industry guidelines. Other facilities visited were the National archives los Angeles Federal records Center in Laguna Niguel Calif and its Washington National records Center the smithsonian astrophysical Observatory in Washington . The Multi Mission image processing facility of the Jet propulsion Laboratory and the infrared processing and analysis Center of the California Institute of technology both in Pasadena Calif and the Center for astrophysics and space sciences of the University of California in la Jolla Calif. A hundreds of thousands of tapes containing space science data Are stored under deplorable conditions a the Gao said. It said five of the facilities storing almost 500,000 of the 1.2 million tapes from Nasa missions complied with not More than half of the Federal standards and Industry guidelines