European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday october 9, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page those with kids pay heavy toll for Gulf duty by Dave Tarrant staff writer with the . Forces saudi Arabia sgt. Paulette Chung dispenses medication at a Field pharmacy for operation desert shield. But nothing can cure what hurts Chung. When she shipped to saudi Arabia she left behind her Only child Warren who had just turned 7. Chung 33, a single Mother from Boston keeps a snapshot of Warren in her shirt pocket and each Day looks at it too Many times to count. Stationed in upstate new York she had Only 48 hours to report to duty at fort Stewart ga., As part of the 724th support in. A when i found out i had to come Here i was crying and then Warren started crying too a she said. A i explained it All to him and then my sergeant major talked to  Chung is one of the scores of military women who have left their families for an open ended tour of duty in the desert. Although there Are no official figures the women Here far exceed the number Ever before sent to a potential combat zone. Although barred from combat women work in dozens of support Fields As nurses maintenance technicians military police and similar positions. They done to know How Long  be Here and they can to Call Home. For single mothers who must rely on parents or babysitters to take care of their children the desert duty can be especially wrenching. Because of mail delays it was almost a. Month until Chung received her first letter from the Babysitter caring for Warren. A the hardest part of being Here is not hearing from the person who a taking care of your child a she said. A i know she a doing a Good Job. Its just hard when you done to hear anything. The highlight of the Day is the  like Many soldiers Chung relies on a wry sense of humor to help her Cope. She keeps a a Short timers calendars in the trailer where she works. It is blocked out for six months a what she expects will be a typical rotation. A a there a Only 130 Days to go until Early february a she said cheerfully. The psychological Burden is particularly hard on single mothers with Newborn children. Pfc. Traci Digrandi who also is with Chung a unit supporting the 24th inf div Mech said her parents Salvatore and Julie Digrandi Are Carin pcs amps Dave Tarrant sgt. Chung for 6-month-old Michael at their Home in us Field Conn. A we talked about it when i found out i was going and mom offered to take Michael a she said. A a it a great to have  for All the hardships Digrandi does no to believe the army should allow military mothers to stay Home. A i know there a some controversy about it. But you signed the dotted  still Digrandi a voice quavers when she talks about missing the experiences that Bond mothers and their  being Able to see All the first things he s doing a she said. A a in a hoping to get Back by his first birthday a april 18th a Digrandi a Battle with homesickness has drought her closer not Only to other women but also to the men in her unit a especially those with Young children. I u e Ottto stay Busy. You be got to cry and laugh a Little. But we got a couple of Guys out Here who just had babies and they be been great a Digrandi said. Bbl keeping Iraq current despite jamming attempts by Dave Diehl . Bureau London a while most of the world is trying to keep things out of Iraq the British broadcasting corp. Is Busy getting things in. The bbl has expanded its arabic service to Lovi hours a Day to the iraqi people. The programs include news from London and the rest of the world entertainment and features. The 24-hour, English language service also goes into Iraq. The service that reaches the Arab world is the by cd a second largest exceeded Only by the English language broadcasts. The arabic service has a London based staff of about 80. Or to its Central London Headquarters bbl offers 800 hours of broadcasts each week in 38 languages. Officials estimate their weekly global audience to be 120 million. The world service gives the iraqi people about their Only outside View of what is going on in the world. There have been attempts to Jam the bbl signal but engineers in England have found ways to get around the it reference. Only the arabic service has been jammed and Only intermittently bbl officials said. The English language broadcasts have not been affected. The jamming also is affecting the voice of America broadcasts going into Iraq they said. Just As important As beating the jamming is keeping what goes Over the airwaves objective said Sam younger head of the arabic service. About half of what is broadcast is news and comment younger said. A in All that output its important that we maintain a balance a he said. The by cd a charter states that it will provide an unbiased presentation of the news. Right now however its hard to find news or commentary that is  president Saddam Hussein. For the most part the bbl news that goes out hourly to the Arab nations is the same that goes to the rest of the world. But the order in which stories Are read is changed said Mike Jervis the editor of the newsrooms Arab african and asian desk. A Many of our news bulletins Are the Only Chance that some of those people can get a perspective of what is going on in the world a Jervis said. Tuning in the bbl the bbl s world service v i is broadcast mainly Over 7l shortwave including the following frequencies. These Are for the broadcast in English. All times Are local. Saudi Arabia j other Gulf countries 6 . To 15245 8 30 . 15070 11760 6 . To 12095 8 30 . 11760 9670 8 30 . To 15245 5 . 15140 8 30 . To 15195 5 . 15070 11760 5 . To 15070 11 30 . 12095 1413 5 . To 15140 11 30 . 15070 12095 Germany i Italy 8 30 . To 12095 5 . 9750 6045 6 . To 12095 8 30 . 6195 9410 allot her 9410 times 6195 3955 8 30 . To 17640 5 . 15070 12095 other frequencies Are available by writing to bbl 5p.m. To 9410 11 30 . 7325 6195 a. A . Box 76,Bush House strand London wc2b4ph, United kingdom soul cd bbl Cylc shortwave radio aids bbl others in reaching listener English language broadcast All times Are Universal coordinated time broadcasting s name for Greenwich mean time. All frequencies Are in Kilohertz. Country time frequency Iraq 8 . 13660 Canada 6 . 15260 Cuba 6 30 . 9670 amp 11795 Iran 7 30 . 9022 Poland Midnight 7145 Turkey 11 . 9445 Italy 1 . 9575 Australia 12 . 9580 Sweden 2 . 11705 Finland 12 . 15400 source stars amp stripes a amps Wes Booher the bbl a and similar International broadcasters a reach hundreds of millions of listeners a week through the marvels of shortwave radio. But that a just a drop in the bucket. All around the world governments and private broadcasters Are filling the airways with shortwave transmissions which generally Are much More powerful than the commercial am and pm stations common in the United states. Programming is routinely broadcast from More than 1,650 transmitters around the Globe often at 10 times the Power of americans largest am stations according to shortwave authorities. The extensive coverage and the strength of shortwave signals allow listeners to pick up broadcasts from almost anywhere without expensive equipment. Shortwave receivers Cost from $50 to $200 and can pick up programming around the clock from the Middle East to the South Pacific. Several leading electronics manufacturers produce shortwave radios that can be found or ordered by most electronics dealers. According to shortwave buffs an understanding of foreign languages is not necessary since most countries broadcast some programs in English. This programming usually includes sports features and music from the country of origin. A Luke Britt