European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 7, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wimm Iii m. Pm \ w i m ars a a i i troops of an East German armoured infantry regiment during unit Celebration at bad a Lungen marred by Snow and rain. An army that is amps photos by Scott a. Miller a falling apart a eat onal fragmented fighting Force East German Chi. Michael Gerlach in his Barracks room at bad a Lungen. May. Raimund Rosso w with soldiers during i Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes we Neh continued from Page 13 the spa town of bad a Lungen in Thuringia. The Cavern lies about 15 Miles from the Border that used to be regularly patrolled by the . Army s 11 the army Cav div the Cavern named after a German resistance fighter in world War ii is Home to what remains of the German democratic republics 56th inf motorized regt. During a meeting at the base 15 soldiers discussed reasons for the units and the army s problems. Several said in the presence of their officers that they Felt the army should shut Down overnight. They called it a waste of Money. Quot i m wasting time Here in the army Quot one Soldier said. Quot others out there Are getting on with their lives and making important decisions for the future. The army Here has no future. That s Why i want  after the meeting another Soldier was even More Blunt. Quot they allowed you to see this Cavern because it s pretty quiet Quot he told a reporter who was visiting during the base s 40th anniversary. Quot you should see some of the others. Soldiers Are still being mistreated and they re deserting. Done to let them fool you a the National Peoples army is falling apart in other  ironically the disgruntled soldiers Are products of an education system designed to produce devout defenders of the state. The National program of a defense education Quot began in kindergarten where children Cut out paper air planes and tanks. Schools taught calculations of missile trajectories in math classes and map Reading in geography classes. Above All students Learned that the East German army defended Freedom while the West German army served As an instrument of imperialism. The system failed. The devout defenders of the state have turned into ready renegades. In december for instance 100 soldiers staged a three Day strike at their Cavern in Beelitz near Berlin. The protest began after commanders refused to let soldiers drink Beer during a new year s party. At the same time the officers had their own Beer drinking Bash. Their protest forced the minister of defense to accept their 24-Point list of demands including a reduction of compulsory service from 18 to 12 months pay increases and a 25-hour workweek. To combat the ill will Hennicke and other commanders at the Cavern have invited members of the political opposition and the Church into the Camp for a continuous dialogue. Quot the soldiers saw we were serious about military Reform and democracy in the army Quot said col. Erich Madler assistant division commander. Quot the process is still ongoing. I know it has saved us a lot of trouble although it causes a lot of  Hennicke knows of the headaches firsthand. Thanks to the new workweek he said his troops Quot done to want to touch a weapon Quot on wednesday afternoon. Quot at this rate i might As Well go out and hire a Bunch of night watchmen and Wear a red clowns nose Quot Hennicke said. Officers concerns go beyond the Day to Day problems of reining in rebellious soldiers. They Are also worried about their personal futures As military men in a unified Germany. Quot i can t imagine wearing a nato uniform a one officer said. Quot a uniform is More than clothing a we were raised and educated in a certain  Quot although we agree with the goals of the revolution most of us could t change uniforms Quot another officer said. One officer said he did not believe nato did not have designs on East German territory. Quot i see West Germany buying us out disbanding our army and moving nato into our territory. It s Only natural that it happens. Its part of the Power game Quot the officer said. During the Cavern s 40th anniversary ceremony on March 1, Flag bearers Goose stepped past the grandstand where the High ranking officers stood. It. Col. Knut Gfroerer turned and said Quot that a the next thing that has to go after the March 18 elections. Even Friedrich Engels with Karl Marx one of the founders of modern communism made fun of the Parade step Back in the 1800s a he called it  the East German army has shrunk sharply in the Wake of the country a democratization upheaval