European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 26, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 the stars and stripes sunday august26,1990 iraqi troops wait outside . Embassy from Page 1 g t thursday were kept from leaving Baghdad on Friday and that the reason cited was that Italy s embassy in Kuwait had defied orders to close. Three diplomats remaining at the greek embassy reported to Athens that their electricity and water had been Cut the greek foreign ministry said. Egypt said it would not close its embassy or reduce its staff of 20. It also maintained a line of four truck loads of riot police outside the iraqi embassy in Cairo. Soviet officials said in Moscow they had evacuate Dall of their embassy personnel from Kuwait but did not consider the Mission closed. Malaysia and India took a similar position. About 21,000 westerners including 3,000 Ameri t cans and 3,000 britons were being kept in Iraq an Kuwait by Saddam who has threatened to use them As human Shields against a .-lcd attack. Earlier Friday soviet president Mikhail s. Gorba. Chev sent an urgent message to Saddam urging him to comply immediately with . Security Council Reso  warned that failure to do so would inevitably prompt the Security Council to take corresponding additional measures the soviet news Agency Tass said apparently referring to adoption of the .-Spon so Rcd  reiterated it would enforce . Trade sanctions against Iraq despite a recent warming in relations with  on Friday austrian president Kurt Waldheim arrived in Jordan on his Way to meet with Saddam. Wald Heim would be the first Western Leader to have face to fact Contact with Saddam since Iraq invaded  said he will discuss humanitarian is sues with  s parliament speaker Sadi Mehdi Saleh warned Friday that the presence of . Forces in  might ignite a War that would set the Region and its Oil reserves afire and kill thousands of americans. Britain s Independent television news meanwhile said iraqi communications minister Latif Nassif Al Jassim warned that if Iraq were invaded British hos tages would die. Cheney chops Light helicopter Purchase plan by 40 percent Washington up defense Secretary Dick Cheney announced Friday that he will slash production of the army s $42 billion Light helicopter pro Gram by nearly 40 percent to save an estimated $7.8 billion. It was Cheney s final review this year of major new weapons systems in an attempt to find defense budget savings. While cutting Back and slowing Down pro Grams he did not terminate any expensive weapons. Cheney said he will direct the army to Cut its planned buy of 2,096 Light helicopters Over the next Loyear Sto 1,292. They will be produced at a rate of 120 per year instead of the planned 216. Reducing the size of the program to 1,292 helicopters represents the minimum requirement for Light helicopters in the Force Structure Cheney said. The changes in Europe do not alter the need for helicopters that can serve a versatile More flexible Force Cheney said. The la is intended to be a Light All weather night attack helicopter that can destroy tanks and shoot Down helicopters. More than 2,096 had been expected to be ordered Over the next 10 years entering service in 1997. They Are expected to replace the ah-1 cobra oh-6 and oh-58 Light tactical helicopters. The la has been criticized for failing to meet is 7,500-Pound weight limit for not being agile and fast enough to catch the soviet Ka-28 attack helicopter and for failing to meet its Cost goal of $7.5 million each. Pentagon officials said the per unit Cost of the la has grown to $9.1 million. Crisis prompts More family Aid by Chuck Vinch Washington brr Eav Washington. The defense department is expanding family Center services at More than 400 Mili tary bases worldwide because of operation desert shield providing crisis counselling and other assistance As needed Pentagon officials said Friday. I am pleased we can support our families during desert shield with the services of the family centers which Are intended to serve and answer questions from those who share the sacrifices of their loved ones defense Secretary Dick Cheney said in a statement. The centers will serve As a Point of Contact for Mili tary families seeking information about the unit status of service members said maj. Doug Hart a Pentagon spokesman. Specific deployment information May not be Avail Able immediately for All service members because de tails May be classified Hart said. For desert shield the centers will help family members obtain crisis counselling information on specialized sup port groups and assistance with stress related problems associated with a major deployment Hart said. Help with personal services such As housing child care pay allotments and id cards As Well As referrals for financial assistance is routinely Avail Able. The defense department will not increase funding to pay for the additional family Center services. The centers have always had volunteers on staff and we re going to be relying on them pretty heavily for this Effort Hart said. The american red Cross also will help the Pentagon by mobilizing its . Chapters to address military family concerns he said. Family Center services Are available to the immedi ate families of Active duty members Reserve person Nel activated for duty and retirees. All centers provide the services but families should Call the Center on or nearest the base where their serv ice member s unit is located Hart said. Families of reservists on Active duty should Call the Center nearest their Home. There Are 86 family centers in West Germany 11 in the United kingdom nine in Italy six in the nether lands four in Belgium three each in Turkey and Spain two in Greece and one each in Portugal and Iceland the Pentagon said. Reserves from Page 1 Airlift group of the new York air National guard was activated late thurs Day Squadron it. Col. John Perez said. The Squadron which has about 150 members is based at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh. Many Mem Bers Are pilots Dock handlers and Load masters trained 19 Fly cargoes great Dis Tances and they Likely willbe used to Fly troops and materials into the Gulf Region Perez said. Most reserves sent to saudi Arabi Awill tackle two of the most important tasks in desert warfare getting water an protecting against chemical attack. Van d. Hipp jr., Deputy assistant Secretary of the army for Reserve Force Sand mobilization said 100 percent of the army s water purification and distribution manpower is in the reserves. In the saudi desert where tempera Tures in summer often top 120 degrees american service members Are Dri Kingas much As 6 Gallons of water a Day apiece to avoid dehydration. Water also is needed for cooking washing and other vital functions. Moreover 65 percent of the army s chemical decontamination manpower sin the reserves Hipp said. The Prospect of iraqi president Saddam Hussein or Dering a Poison  attack on . Forces is one of the biggest concerns of troops hunkering Down in the desert. Doctors nurses and other medical personnel also Are largely in the re serves. It was unclear whether any Reserve combat units such As the Georgia National guard unit that makes up one of three brigades in the 24th  div Mech at fort Stewart ga., will be dispatched to the forbidding saudi desert. The two Active duty brigades in the 24th already Are on their Way there. Pete Williams the Pentagon press Secretary said most of the army and air Force reserves called to Active duty will be deployed to saudi Arabia. Of the Navy reserves who Are activated about half will be sent there he said. Williams said thursday that about 9,800 part time soldiers will have Bee called by the end of August. The total is expected to reach about46,700 by oct. I and Williams said he could not Rule out the possibility of More reserves being activated later. President Bush has the authority to Call up As Many As 200,000 reserves Forup to 180 Days without declaring a National emergency. Those called to Active duty will serve90-Day Tours but the period could be extended another 90 Days if defense Secretary Dick Cheney decides that is Nec Essary Williams said. Irishman held for 4 years released in Lebanon Damascus Syria up Irish hostage Brian Keenan was freed by pro iranian moslem extremists in Lebanon on Friday after More than four years in Captivity and turned Over to Syria where he was re ported Sale lebanese and syrian sources said. Irish hostage Brian Keenan has just been set free in Lebanon the islamic Republic news Agency said in a Brief dispatch from  later an official syrian source in Damascus said the freed hostage was in the hands of the syrian authorities and was to be handed Over to Irish officials on  Dublin Keenan s two Sisters shrieked with Joy when they Learned of his release. Authorities said ire land would Send a plane to Damascus to bring him Home As soon As possible. It will be a very emotional time when we meet Brian Leona Spence said at a news conference with her sister Brenda  westerners six of them americans Are still held by Arious extremist groups in Lebanon. Keenan a British citizen had been held since his abduction on april 11, 1986, in moslem West . He taught English at r in american University of Beirut. No group claimed responsibility for Keenan s abduction but it is believed he was grabbed by iranian linked fundamentalist shiite moslem gun men. A spokesman for the British foreign Oitice said we Are delighted about Keenan s release and added that britons share Keenan the Delight of the Irish. We continue to urge the release of All hostages wrongly held the British spokesman said. Syrian officials said the delivery of the former Cap Tive would take place at the foreign ministry but the Paris based Monte Carlo radio reported Keenan was already at the Irish embassy building in Damascus. Iranian Deputy foreign minister Mahmoud Vaezi was quoted by Iran s English language newspaper Teh ran times on Friday As saying Keenan s release was the result of several months of efforts by iranian officials and islamic groups in Lebanon. Demands by the kidnappers for releasing Western hostages have included Freedom for More than 350 palestinians detained in Israel and the release of More than a dozen arabs convicted in Kuwait of bombing various Western targets. The convicts status has not been Clear since Iraq s aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait. Is bookstores closed monday stars and stripes bookstores will be closed on Mon Day for inventory. The stars and stripes newspaper will be available at alternate vending Points in your Community