European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 7, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday March 7, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9 Over Here Naples class tackles Tough aids issues by Gary Miller Mediterranean Bureau Naples Italy a red Cross Volunteer Judy Schram turned on the videocassette player and let the dilemma unfold before the class Jim was lying unconscious and bleeding on the warehouse floor after a Container struck him on the head. Betty tried to discourage anyone from touching him. But one of her co workers ignored her and tried to Stop the bleeding from Jim a Scalp wound. A after All a he said As he pressed a handkerchief to Jim a forehead a a what a a Little blood Between  to Betty however a Little blood Between friends was a big worry. Jim had told her minutes earlier that he had aids. She was terrified As she watched her friends tending Jim. She did no to want to violate Jim a Confidence but she also did no to want to endanger her co workers. Betty pulled her supervisor aside and explained the situation. He did no to know what to do either but told her to wait and ask the medics. Schram stopped the video and asked the class sponsored by the Naples chapter of the american red Cross whether Betty handled the a a situation Well. T. _ one student answered that injured peo Ery called a reliable factual information to pie should always be treated As if they help Stop the spread of  have aids. The local red Cross aids education the student was right said Helen program provides people with inform Montgomery another red Cross vol Tion to help them choose a healthy life Untener. Without revealing Jim a Situa style program coordinator Regina skel Tion Betty could have used that concept by said. She wrote Grant proposals that with the Man trying to Stop Jim a bleed earned the Naples red Cross More than ing. She could have suggested that he use $14,000 from the National centers for a rubber Glove or a piece of plastic to disease control to help support the protect his hands from direct Contact local program. With Jim a blood. E Naples was the Only military chapter treating All Accident victims As if they in the world to receive one of the 33 have aids is an important guideline in Grants awarded this year said Skelly Italy where Good Samaritan Laws require who also works As a world health or people to try to Render assistance at Acci a animation consultant. She has a doctor Dent scenes. West Germany has a similar ate in immunology Law. The Grants Are being used to main during the nearly two hour class Tain aids awareness Skelly said which consisted of video presentations a recent general accounting office re and discussion Schram and Montgomery port about aids in the military criticized red Cross volunteers Helen Montgomery left and Judy Schram conduct a discussion on aids in Naples Italy. A amps. Gary Miller Skelly provided the group with what Montgom the defense department for among other things failing to design an aids education program for Scricc members. Many grass roots efforts such As the 16-month-old Naples program have been doing a Good Job Skelly said. Although the american Community in Naples is relatively healthy certain behaviour can expose individuals to the risk of aids. Italy has the second highest rate of reported aids cases in Europe. Intravenous drug use a major source of infection is increasing in the country. According to studies one of every 10 prostitutes in Naples is an intravenous drug user and about 10 percent of prostitutes have tested positive for the aids virus. Some Community members understanding of risk free behaviour is tainted by misinformation. They still believe they can contract aids from Bug bites toilets and eating utensils Skelly said. People also mistakenly believe that if they confine their sexual activity to members of the Naples american Community they run no risk of contracting aids. Skelly said. Only Active duty members arc tested for aids As part of their overseas screening not family members. Those who were tested could have been later exposed to the deadly virus. Furthermore people who have aids often test negative for two to three months after they Are infected she said. While aids information offered by such organizations As the Naples red Cross helps people understand whether they arc at risk the Issue of lifestyle is still a question that individuals must answer for themselves the class was told. As one of the videos in the seminar Points out aids is not acquired by who people arc. But by what they do. Trost says the Navy a role is unchanged by the los Angeles times Washington a As the army and air Force struggle to redefine their missions in a radically new world the Navy stoutly says its role is unchanged and its goal of global maritime superiority cannot be abandoned the services senior officer said monday. Adm. Carlisle . Trost the chief of naval operations said in an interview that the United states needs a Large modern and overseas based Navy to counter a continuing soviet threat As Well As challenges from smaller nations drug traffickers and terrorists. The Navy has global responsibilities ranging from Protection of sea lanes for Commerce to military support of allies in Asia Europe and latin America Trost said. Despite what he dismissed As a a euphoria Over the extraordinary changes in Eastern Europe and the soviet Union a the demand for naval forces does no to change very much a he said. Trost said that budget cuts Are forcing the Navy to retire dozens of aging ships ahead of schedule trim manpower and scale Back exercises. But he insisted mat Mastery of the seas remains a vital National goal and that the Navy cannot afford to Cut deeper and still meet its commitments. The Navy a reluctance to re evaluate its role at a ump of historic changes was noted pointedly last week by sen. Sam Nunn d-ga., chairman of the Senate armed services committee. A Corn Mittee hearing attended by Trost and the other three military service chiefs Nunn said the Navy appeared unwilling to respond to a changing world. A the Navy has to take another look at its requirements a Nunn said. A who Are you going to be protecting this change in Europe has to affect the  Trost acknowledged in the interview monday that the soviets have dramatically curtailed naval deployments outside of their Home Waters but he said that the United states planned no corresponding reduction in so called a out of arca  a a that a not our philosophy Quot he said. Trost said the roles of the army and the air Force Are significantly affected by the diminished likelihood of War in Europe where those services now station a combined Trost total of 305,000 troops. But Trost said the Navy a Mission is changed Little As a result. Many of the forces now based on the ground in Europe Are expected to return soon to the United states As a result of a conventional forces pact under negotiation with the soviets. Partly in response Overall troop strength in the army and air Force will shrink by 83,000 men and women from 1989 through 1991. During the same period. Navy manpower will be reduced by Only 8,000, according to Pentagon figures. Trost said that the Navy a role will grow rather than shrink in the new Security environment arising from the collapse of the Warsaw pact and the soviet unions turning inward to confront Long standing economic and social problems. Even As Moscow draws Back from Central Europe it continues to improve its naval Fleet including new missile launching submarines aircraft carriers and surface ships. The soviets Are scrapping scores of older ships and pursuing a a very very heavy modernization program a Trost said. While soviet ships Are spending fewer Days at sea. The soviet Navy is conducting Complex exercises near soviet ports and making provisions for launching ballistic missiles from submarines safely tied up at the pier. Trost said. A the soviet Union is still the Only country with the potential to wipe us from the face of the  Trost said. A a we a be rather imprudent if we did no to take the soviet naval threat into  he also cited proliferation of High technology weapons in the third world sophisticated terrorist groups and Well armed drug smuggling cartels As growing threats to the United states. Trost said the Navy had been called into action More than 200 times since the end of world War ii with Only a handful of those deployments involving the soviet Union or its satellites. At the same time . Access to overseas naval and land bases is being increasingly challenged forcing military planners to rely More and More on seaborne forces he said. Citing Spain Greece and the Philippines All of which have raised objections to continued . Military presence on their soil Trost predicted that the a we done to need you anymore philosophy will spread