European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 25, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday August 25, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9 sergeant Mirties Richmo Equa Ityl by de Reavis staff writer Frankfurt West Germany a think of Arthur Diggs As a Man who does no to need much sleep. The technical sergeant routinely puts in 18-hour Days serving the air Force and his off duty Devotion the a act. A Diggs. Irum Williamsburg in. Is stationed with the 4th air support operations Center so in the Frankfurt suburb of re Daheim. He s the first military person abroad to serve As a conference proud Cut of the National association for the advancement of coloured people the oldest civil rights movement in the United states. Since Diggs arrival in West Germany in 1987, his drum beating has led to the establishment of 18 a act branches across Europe. An additional five Are in the founding stages. All fall under the umbrella of the european conference that Diggs Heads. A we began with 300 members when i started a Diggs said. A we now have More than 2,000 members in Germany Italy  Diggs an air Force Veteran of 16 years began working for the a act in 1983, when he founded a chapter at Seymour Johnson fab . A we All owe it to our american heritage to work for fulfilment of the Promise of this country that All men Are not Only created but treated equal a he said of starting that first chapter. A we military people also Felt we needed our own tailor made organization not Only to handle complaints but to run educational and religious  his work with the a act grew naturally out of his involvement with the Community which has included work with veterans organizations orphans and senior citizen groups wherever he was stationed. His involvement in Community affairs brought him into Contact with a act National president Benjamin Hooks who has backed Diggs plans for an overseas network from the Start. Hooks help aside Diggs Success with the organization Hasni to come easily. Commanders were at first hesitant about his work with the a act he said mostly because the officers were Uncertain whether civil rights work on base was in keeping with military regulations. But they became firm supporters after sitting Down with him and discussing the issues Diggs said. A they were supportive to the extent of helping me get branches started a he said. A they caught a lot of fire but stood up for the  ass Arthur Diggs. Boosted membership Mcodis c. Matthews a Frankfurt lawyer who acts As Legal adviser to the group in West Germany believes the a acpt a Independence gives it a leg up Over military race relations programs a a in be been impressed with the Quality of almost All the equal Opportunity staffers in be met but in a a doubting Thomas when it comes to believing the system can control itself a he said. A i think it needs outside  William Penn the a act director of branches tit National Headquarters in Baltimore was also instrumental in helping Diggs get the overseas branches organized. A before we approved of chartering the conference in Europe Diggs showed us evidence that there was a Large Black population in the military in Europe but that there were also problems that needed to be addressed by  said Penn a Reserve colonel and the inspector general. Abr the 8th medical brigade at fort Hamilton in Brooklyn . In Diggs opinion those problems include a Kun Siux klan activity. Diggs said Usa eur s inspector general did not corroborate a act findings of klan activity in several army communities Over Here. A a we be lost a Battle but not the War a Diggs said. A we intend to keep up our klan watch and Hope to get enough evidence to convince the  a discrimination against Blacks in promotions and disciplinary action. Diggs said he keeps statistics on civilian promotions courts martial and articles Istronia the major military commands in  the stats show that the army is More than 30 percent Black. Our promotion rates done to amount to a Hill of Beans and we re Over represented in article i5s.a a a a there arc 496 civilians with gs-12 ratings working for the air Force in the european command. Only 5 percent arc Black. The army in Europe has 1,625, and the Black percentage is Only slightly higher. In the Navy in Europe there Are no Blacks with a gs-12  said the statistics show a a Clear and evident pattern of administrative  a we have placed this material at the disposal of the inspector general and every important office in the government All the Way to the White House. We expect something to be done in the near  Diggs applauds the Bush administration for its support of the a act in Stark contrast to the position of the Reagan administration. A whereas Reagan saw no racial problems in the United states one of Bush a first acts alter taking oath was to invite minority leaders to the White House to discuss problems Quot he said. A Cdr. Hooks can get to see the president when he feels it is necessary. That a a 180-degree turnaround from the past  gets jail term for housing allowance fraud Raf Ben Waters England a amps a a staff sergeant who bilked the air Force out of $4,780 in allowances was Given a two month jail sentence and ordered to forfeit $100 a month for six months. Staff sgt. James Gram a weapons Load Crew member with the 581st air Craft generation so also lost one Stripe in a demotion to sergeant. Grant an eight year Veteran pleaded guilty to wrongfully receiving. $4,780 in overpayment for Basic quarters allowance and variable housing allowance Between april 1988 and March 1990, base spokesman master sgt. Dominic Donelli said. The Biddeford Maine native will serve his two month sentence at Raf Lakenheath. Any decision on How or if Grant should repay the overpayment would be made by air Force finance and accounting officials Donelli said. The information would not be made Public because it he would be an administrative action said. The maximum sentence Grant could have received in the one Day court martial thursday was a bad conduct discharge six months in jail total forfeiture of pay and allowances and a reduction to the lowest Grade military shooting Range draws fire by dams Baeczak staff writer wife Badin West Germany a . Military officials in Wiesbaden Are continuing to receive noise complaints from people living near a shooting Range in the suburb of Rhein Blick. But a military Community spokesman said officials already Are doing All they can to limit use of the Small arms Range. George Polich said military officials observe the country a quiet hour Laws which prohibit loud noise from 10 . To 8 . Daily and All Day sunday. Polich said the Community which is responsible Lor firing Range operations has received complaints from residents who say increased use of the Range has disturbed the areas Tranquility. Residents also have complained to local politicians. Frank bucker. A state Deputy to the Hessen parliament in Wiesbaden has asked the states office of internal politics to review policies that govern the Range s use. Members of the stale a social democratic party have asked slate officials to look into the matter. The Rhein Blick Range is limited to pistol and Rille shooting. Until a year ago it was used almost exclusively by army units of fewer than 100 soldiers practising marksmanship. In addition members of the local american Rod and gun club use the Range on saturdays members Are allowed to invite germans during the saturday shoots which is the Only time civilians Are allowed Access to the Range. In 1989, West German police received permission to use the Rhein Blick Range while improvements were made to their Range. Work at the German Range is expected to be completed in about eight months. Some of the complaints about noise Are misdirected Polich said. A German Range used primarily by German civilians and located about a mile North of the Rhein Blick Range allows shooters to fire shotguns and other weapons he  school lunch tickets still valid until sept. 30 Munich West Germany a students at the military a a Veisas schools will be allowed to use last years lunch tickets Heck us of a delay in printing new ones a european Exchange spokesman said Friday. The Exchange service had previously said that the old tickets were no longer valid because of a 5-cent Price increase hut cafes Europe Hasni to received full shipment of the new coupons Lor the school year that begins monday Apt. Wes Davis said. C coupons regardless of the Date will Cost $1.20 this year Davis said. East years coupons Are on Sale at Exchange easier cages and Are valid until sept pm. Parents who still have last year s coupons May use them thereby saving a Ruckle Davis said. Alter sept. 30, last year s coupons May he returned Lor a refund. A a fes expects a Lull shipment of the new coupons by aug. 28, Dav is said