European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday july 18, 1990 the stars Ano stripes Page s Over Here billeting aide Jenny Sim Rich kelp sir Crew member from Tiv Isab Calif get set to move Ink Accomma Laulom a a a a they re walking int. Crews find prime Knight mighty a com Amy Geiszler Jones . Bureau Raf Mildenhall England a the Crew of the c-5 Galaxy was just leaving the aircraft when the Green bus pulled up m front of the parked plane. Fifteen minutes later billeting clerk Jenny Sinozich had loaded up the flight Crew members in from Dover fab del., handled their arrival paperwork and deposited them at the base hotel with a cheery a you All have a Good  the service part of a program started in March called prime Knight is being enthusiastically received by air Crews who used to while away hours of precious rest time trying to get from the flight line to a room for the night. Raf Mildenhall is one of 11 air Force bases testing the program which will end its six month trial in september. Ramstein a and Rhein main a both in West Germany also Are prime Knight test Sites. Ass Dav Dahl a hotel near Raf Mildenhall.  timey a can avoid going into a billeting office. Is Good a said 1st it. Juergen Schupp the Mission commander of the c-5 Galaxy that is stationed at Travis fab Calif. A it s a definite improvement Over the old  a typical problem in the Days before prime Knight was the 5 . Rush when As Many As 50 people would line up for space available accommodations. A and then the air Crew would arrive at basically the same time. A lot of times they had hauled these space a people and then Boom they would get stuck in the Back of the line waiting for service a said chief master sgt. Ray Couey Milden Hall s prime Knight manager. The programs purpose is to streamline and standardize the handling of transient air Crews. The air Force also Hopes that the perk of consistent fast service will help retain pilots who might otherwise answer the tempting Call of the commercial airlines. Since March about 3,800 personnel aboard 675 planes have enjoyed the Quick service at Mildenhall. Some Days As Many As 113 people have been accommodated. Only air Crews arriving for Crew rest not those on temporary duty get prime Knight treatment. However service for try personnel has improved As Well because the transient air Crews Aren t processing through the same front desk anymore Couey said. The program at Mildenhall which is coordinated through billeting is administered by seven workers and is open for business from 5 30 . To 10 ., with clerks on Call after hours. Each morning the clerks Check with the Airlift coordination Center for incoming flights they need to handle. About 15 minutes before the planes land a clerk and a bus arc off to meet the Crew. A we usually have to Wail for them. They never have to wait for us Quot said Sara Day one of the prime Knight clerks. Prime Knight also serves foreign and . Mutl no i it _ t4 a army and Navy air Crews who touch Down at Mildenhall. A anything that lands on the flight line a said Kimberly Herrera another clerk. A the turkish Aren t used to this Type of service. They eat it up a while the bus ferries the Crew to stops at base operations and other offices the accompanying prime Knight clerk Stamps the travel orders handles the customs forms gives copies of room assignments and hands out room keys. A final handout is a Blue folder containing information about the base and an Opportunity to critique the prime Knight program. A the critiques we be gotten Back have been very very favourable Quot Couey said. A they Are saying a the program is Long overdue a a please Don t make the program go away a and a we appreciate the personal  Quot _ a a from All indications it is going to be a full fledged program after september he said., it thu ii Little effect seen from ban on cosmetic Sura Erv by Janet Dagostino include Cleft in. Law / by Janet do Augstino medical writer a ban on cosmetic surgery in military hospitals will have minimal Impact on military plastic surgeons in Europe officials say. The department of defense has prohibited such procedures As face lifts and liposuction after reviewing its policy on cosmetic surgery Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Hansen said the ban Means that procedures done solely to improve a persons appearance will not be provided to Active duty dependents retirees and their family members Hansen said. Cosmetic surgery is rarely done in . Army hospitals overseas said or. Col Thomas Verdon commander of the Lan Stuhl army regional medical Center in West Germany. He said plastic surgeons in Europe primarily do reconstructive operations which include Cleft lips and palates breast reconstruction after Mastectomy or bum treatment. They have Little time to do any purely cosmetic procedures such As breast enlargement he said. There Are two army plastic surgeons stationed in Europe to care for the army air Force and Navy populations. Both Are stationed at Lan Stuhl. Air Force ear nose and Throat surgeons in Europe May do a limited amount of cosmetic surgery to maintain skills but these procedures Are done in conjunction with a medical need said capt. De Worley a spokesman for the . Air Force in Europe. For example a surgeon operating on a patient who has a nasal obstruction called a deviated septum a a valid medical problem a could at the same time change the shape of the nose if the patient wanted his appearance enhanced. This Type of surgery would not be affected by the ban Worley said. The tightening of the cosmetic surgery regulations was prompted by a High ranking Pentagon lawyer. The official concluded that military hospitals whose plastic surgeons perform cosmetic surgery Are violating a 1979 Taw that prohibits unnecessary operations. Tie los Angeles times reported last month that military doctors worldwide Are performing hundreds of cosmetic surgeries at taxpayers expense even though such sur genes Are rarely covered by private health insurance or champs the military s health insurance program. Critics say taxpayers should not pay for military personnel to improve their faces and physiques at a time when the government is trying to decrease military spending. It it writ Kurt