European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 26, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 9 Over Here sergeant tireless in fight for Equality byed Reavis staff writer Frankfurt West Germany think of a thur Diggs As a Man who does t need much sleep. The technical sergeant routinely puts in 18-Hourdays serving the air Force and his off duty Devotion the a act. Diggs from Williamsburg va., is stationed wit the 4th air support operations Center so in the Frankfurt suburb of to Dalheim. He s the first Mili tary person abroad to serve As a conference president 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 18naacp branches across Europe. An additional five Are in the founding stages. All fall under the umbrella of the european conference that Diggs Heads. We began with 300 members when i started Diggs said. We now have More than 2,000 Mem Bers in Germany Italy  Diggs an air Force Veteran of 16 years began working for the a act in 1983, when he founded chapter at Seymour Johnson fab . We All owe it to our american heritage to work for fulfilment of the Promise of this country that Allmen Are not Only created but treated equal he said of starting that first chapter. We military people also Felt we needed our own tailor made Organiza Tion 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 has t 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 Mili tary regulations. But they became firm supporters after sitting Down with him and discussing the issues Diggs said. They were supportive to the extent of helping me get branches started he said. They caught a lot office but stood up for the  is Arthur Diggs. Boosted membership Mcodis c Matthews a Frankfurt lawyer who acts As Legal adviser to the group in West Germany believes the a act s Independence gives it a leg up Over military race relations programs. I be been impressed with the Quality of almost All the equal Opportunity staffers i be met but i m doubting Thomas when it comes to believing the system can control itself he said. I think it needs outside  William Penn the a act director of branches at National Headquarters in Baltimore was also instrumental in helping Diggs get the overseas branches organized. 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 to addressed by  said Penn. A Reserve colonel and the inspector general for the 8th medical brigade at fort Hamilton in Brooklyn . In Diggs opinion those problems include Kun flux klan activity. Diggs said Usa eur s inspector general did not corroborate a act findings of klan activity in Sev eral army communities Over Here. We be lost a. Battle but not the War Diggs said. We intend to keep up our klan watch and Hope Roget enough evidence to convince the  discrimination against Blacks in promotions and disciplinary action. Diggs said he keeps statistics on civilian promotions courts martial and articles i 5 from the major military commands in Europe. The stats show that the army is More than 30 percent Black. Our promotion rates Don t amount to a Hill of Beans and we re Over represented in article. 15s. There Are 496 civilians with gs-12 ratings work ing for the air Force in the european command. Only 5 percent Are Black. The army in Europe has 1625, and the Black percentage is Only slightly higher. In the Navy in Europe there Are no Blacks with a gs-12  he said the statistics show a Clear and evident pattern of administrative  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 Posi Tion of the Reagan administration. Whereas Reagan saw no racial problems in tin United states one of Bush s first acts after taking oath was to invite minority leaders to the Whitehouse to discuss problems he said. Or. Hooks can get to see the president when he feels it is necessary. That s a Iso degree turnaround. From the past  _ no gets jail term for housing allowance fraud. A t t r t ,1iiis\i11/1 i m Miry univ for i five of Tom draft Ben Waters England is a staff sergeant who bilked the air Force out of $4,780 in allowances was Given a two month jail sentence and or dered to forfeit $100 a month for six months. Staff sgt. James Grant 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 Inove payments for Basic quarters allowance and variable housing allowance Between april 1988 and March 1990, base spokes Man 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 remade by air Force finance and account ing officials Donelli said. The information would not be made Public because it would be an administrative action he said. The maximum sentence Grant could have received in the one Day court mar tial thursday was a bad conduct Dis charge six months in jail total forfeiture of pay and allowances and a reduction to the lowest Grade. Military shooting Range draws fire by Dave Walczak staff writer Wiesbaden West Germany . 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 s quiet hour Laws which prohibit loud noise from 10 . To 8 . Daily and All Day sunday. Polich said the Community which is responsible for firing Range operations has received complaints from residents who say increased use of the Range has Dis Turbed the area s Tranquility. Residents also have complained to local politicians. Frank bucker a state Deputy to the i Lessen parliament in Wiesbaden has asked the slate s office of internal politics to review policies that govern the Range s use. Members of the state s social democratic. Party have asked state officials to look into the matter. The Rhein Blick Range is limited to pistol and Rifle shooting. Until a year ago it was used almost exclusively by army units of fewer than 100 soldiers prac timing 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 Ger Man civilians arid located about a mile North of the Rhein Blick Range allows shooters to fire shotguns and other weapons he said. Old school lunch tickets still valid until sept. 30 Munich West Germany students at the military s overseas schools will be allowed to use last year s lunch tickets because of a delay in printing new ones a european Exchange spokes Man said Friday. The Exchange service had previously said that the old tickets were no longer valid because of a 5-cent Price increase but   has t received full shipment of the new coupons Lor the school year that begins monday Apt. Was Davis , regardless of the Date will Cost $1.20 this year Davis said a us year s coupons arc on Sale at Exchange cashier cages ant Are valid until sept 30. Parents who still have last year s coupons May use them thereby saving a Nickle. Davis said after sept. 30, last year s coupons May be returned for a refund. Maihs expects a full ship ment of the new coupons by aug 2