European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 23, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11 letters a Reader discusses women in combat i Sueann Landers dear readers this lightly edited conversation took place Between a doctor and his patient. The woman had seen another physician because of dizziness fainting spells tremors in her head and hands and depression. The symptoms mimicked Parkinson a disease. She had been ill for five years. A Are you taking any medication a a no. I have been off medication for three  a Are you on painkillers a  a what about Relief from depression do you take anything at All a a ooh yes. I take  a How much do you take a a usually three or four pills a Day. If my depression is really heavy i will take  a what strength a a full  a How Long have you been taking valium tablets a a maybe seven or eight  a Why did you take them in the first place a a i had been feeling depressed about a family problem and my doctor gave me the prescription to make me feel  a did you report the fact that you were taking medication regularly to the neurologist that you consulted for your tremors a a the last doctor i went to did ask me that  a and did you Tell him you were taking valium a a no. I  a Why not a a because valium Isnit really Medicine. Isnit it something like vitamins a a no. Valium is medication. Surely you must have known this when your doctor gave you a prescription for  a not really. I guess it was so easy to renew the prescription that it did no to seem like  that conversation is from an excellent Book i recommended several weeks ago a head first by Norman cousins. This Exchange Points out How dangerous it can be for a doctor to authorize a refill for a prescription on the phone. It also illustrates How vital it is for a physician to ask questions and not assume that the previous doctor was competent. For example valium is a tranquil Izer not a drug to be used for depression. I checked with or. Richard Rovner a professor of neurology at Northwestern University medical school. He said a the Long term use of any medication can cause unusual symptoms and should continue Only under close observation and periodic in person visits. A sudden withdrawal however can be dangerous. A no patient should take Medicine or Stop taking it without professional  Gem of the Day credit Susan Peters Eastham mass children have a much better Chance of growing up if their parents have done so first. C creators Syndicate the volatile Issue of whether or not women should be a a permitted in combat has been raised and reported again in a recent Issue of the stars and stripes. Enlightened reasons for not a a allowing this include sex lust reproduction and testosterone Levels and have clouded the real Issue Here defense of ones beliefs the Constitution and american democracy when that defense involves guns and gender. I will elaborate a women get pregnant therefore All women desiring combat assignments should be required to have a tubal ligation. Women do get pregnant As evidenced by All the abandoned amerasian children All Over Southeast Asia. Perhaps the solution to unwanted population explosions in a War zone would be to make vasectomies mandatory for All male combatants. I realize that a a accidents happen but the threat of pregnancy to National Security would be drastically reduced. A women cry and become frightened in combat situations. This will erode military discipline and Mission accomplishment because men feel they must protect the women in their squads. Women generally do display their emotions More openly than men. It is a result of childhood conditioning. Girls express boys suppress. Are men less compassionate to a scared crying male combatant people react differently to a Given situation. Its called coping and it has nothing to do with combat ability or a desire to Complete a Mission. A men Are naturally More aggressive which Means they Are much better fighters in a combat situation. If aggression implies a better fighting machine Why not consider monitoring the pms cycles of female soldiers and Send them into Battle at the appropriate time men always complain about How vicious and aggressive pms women Are and How they the men will do anything to either avoid or placate them. What better weapon against the enemy. Wake up Washington you have a great untapped natural resource Here. This is no More ridiculous than the tubal ligation suggestion and would be much More effective in completing a Mission quickly. A the american Public is not ready for the sight of dead Young women in body bags. The age or gender of any combat casualty is a tragedy. 1 cannot believe an american family would Grieve less for a dead son than for a dead daughter and the implication that they would is pure unadulterated horse Pucky. Women have been in various forms of combat since the beginning of time. This latest struggle is against arrogance ignorance and the underestimation of women in general regarding team playing and their ability to Complete a Mission through some less than pleasant Means. Washington should Stop dragging its feet on other More pressing issues such As solutions to environmental problems aids the homeless illiteracy recognizing Lithuania not to mention Dan Quayle a Affinity for anatomically Correct South american carvings while the Mapplethorpe exhibit in Ohio is under fire for obscenity. A be All that you can be slogans by an a equal Opportunity employer should pertain to everyone not just those of a specific chromosomal distribution. Unless of course discrimination Laws Only pertain to the civilian sector and All of those Lovely recruiting commercials on an Are a a bait and switch scheme. Today because of nuclear capabilities germ warfare and the distinct possibility of global incineration there is no such thing As a non combatant. The gender Issue regarding who can and will carry a gun is not Only irrelevant it s idiotic. A Evelyn Mcginnis Torrejon a Spain a commissary stocking system explained i have lived in Germany since August. In be found that a tour in a foreign country has its inconveniences both Large and Small. One thing i really miss Are some foods unavailable in the commissary. No matter who i ask no one seems to know Why we can to get them. For example 1. If Novelty items such As weight watchers ice pops Eskimo pies and jello pudding pops Are shipped from the states Why Are we Only offered cafes bulk ice Cream How about putting in a few Cartons of Seal test or Breyer with the Dole fruit pops if one Frozen item can be shipped Why not the other 2. In the states popular diet sodas such As diet 7up and diet Pepsi Are sweetened with 100 percent Nutrasweet. Only the very cheap diet sodas use a Nutrasweet saccharin blend. I find Here in the commissary that the popular diet sodas use this cheaper foul tasting blend. A name and location withheld editors note a we received two replies to this letter. The first from Barton l. Hairr director operations air Force commissary service Central european Region cafes has an exclusive contract for ice Cream. For the convenience of military families in Europe cafes built a Plant in Germany to produce ice Cream. Of coms is required by Law to Purchase ice Cream from cafes. Items that Are unavailable from cafes novelties can be purchased and shipped from the states. Cafes also has the exclusive contract for sodas. They have an authorized item list. We can Only order items that Are authorized on this list. The sodas Are from the United states and do contain Nutrasweet. German sodas contain the Nutrasweet saccharin blend. The second reply is from col. Paul i. Phillips commander . Army troop support Agency. European commissary Region due to space constraints in the in country storage facilities that support commissaries the variety of chill and freeze products in the european commissary system must be limited to 840 items. Because of this restriction it Isnit possible to offer All the items that our customers May want however each commodity is Well represented by the products and brands that Are Market leaders in the Continental United states civilian and military markets. Twenty one ice Cream and Novelty items in addition to cafes products Are available to All Tsa eur Cor stores. These include four flavors of Haagen dazs ice Cream the no. 1 National Brand of Premium bulk ice Cream. Although these products Are not regularly stocked in All Tsa eur Cor commissaries commissary customers May request that an item be ordered for them. All sodas sold in european commissaries Are procured from the United states and supplied by cafes. Consequently the sugar substitute Content does not differ from the diet sodas sold in the United states. Around the time your letter was written shipping problems required an emergency one time buy of diet Coke on the local Economy. This could account for the differences in sweetener Content that you noted. Thank you for your letter and the Opportunity to explain this Issue. European edition col. Gene e. Townsend Usan commander editor in chief it. Col. Suzanne l. Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermott production manager managing editor circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the official views of or endorsed by the . Government the department of defense or the . European command. The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense or the stars and stripes of the products or services advertised. 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