European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes monday october 29,1990 letters priorities letter prompts responses i read the letter . Middle East priorities questioned a and i would like to let the people know that i done to think our society is at fault. American women asked for Equality and we re getting it. Some Are getting a Little More than they asked for. I joined the army on my own and i know the sacrifices i have to make. That a what serving my country is All about. Ill admit that if they told me i did no to have to leave i would have been More than Happy to stay Home with my child. And As far As one person making a difference i Hope i do. In a Here to do my Job and ill do it to the Best of my abilities. A spec. Hollie l. Vallance operation desert shield it is about time the males in the military Wake up and in particular the old males and smell the roses. We now have an All Volunteer military and everyone in it is there by his or her own Choice. I spent 23 years in the army and supervised Many female soldiers in particular the last few years to include tactical units. A Good percentage of them were excellent soldiers. During this time i found the Best policy with them was to treat them like soldiers. As far As them leaving their babies and family it is no different than a Man having to leave his. I think it is about time we got off this kick about the poor female Soldier and get on with the business of being a military no matter the gender. �?1st sgt. Ret Alton r. Medcalf Mannheim Germany i saw a sergeant ask a is it right for a Mother to go off to fight for the country and leave her kids alone a even though the report stated that her sister was designated to take care of her three children she clearly was unprepared and unwilling to go. Without arguing her Point i would like to say this to everyone who Calls himself or herself a Soldier Sailor airman or Marine a if you Are not ready to go get out of the military and Stop taking the taxpayers Money for a Job you Arentt willing to  a staff sgt. Anthony e. Greene Heidelberg Germany let me explain something to this writer and others who share his views. When an individual serves in the armed forces he or she should realize that the needs of the country Are first and Foremost being a Parent is secondary. Anyone who does no to believe this needs to get off the boat asap. Several years ago my husband and i were stationed at fort Campbell when i became pregnant with our first child. I had every intention of doing it All a Mother wife Soldier. I was told however to expect a tour to the Sinai or Honduras after the birth of our child. After much soul searching i decided it would be unfair to the army myself and my child to stay in. I would not be an effective Soldier if i was grieving for my child a Sailor feeds his baby daughter before boarding the aircraft Carrier Saratoga for duty in the persian Gulf. And missing his first tooth or his first Steps. It was a very personal decision and it was mine to make. I did what was right for our family. I took the chapter 9, otherwise known As a pregnancy discharge. The flak i caught for my decision would astound this writer. The military is not a 9-to-5 Job. Women who choose to remain on Active duty Are the first to Tell you they Are aware of the risks and responsibilities that remaining will entail. These women Are soldiers no different than their male counterparts. If we made an exception for this Mother then How Many More exceptions will we make let me say this to the writer and those who feel As he does about mothers deploying i too am saddened by the pictures of mothers kissing their babies goodbye. However it saddens me to see daddies kissing their babies goodbye too. The world is changing and America had better Wake up and realize that in the next War mommies and daddies will be coming Home in body bags. A Teresa Shafe Baum older Germany As far As i know the woman in question voluntarily held up her hand and enlisted she Wasny to drafted. What makes this writer think that it is easier for a male Soldier to leave his 17-Day-old son than it was for this woman or How about the Soldier whose baby was born while he was on duty in saudi Arabia the fact is male or female they volunteered to serve their country wherever that May take them. I As a Mother and military wife was not Happy to see my son leave his wife and 10-Day-old son or my friends son in Law leave his 6-Day-old son to deploy overseas. I know several female soldiers who have children who have gone or will go no questions asked. If it bothers this writer so much that this one female had to go Why does no the Volunteer to go and take her place maybe he forgot we Are not there for the Price of Oil but the lives and integrity of people All Over the world. When you think of those soldiers in saudi Arabia most of them Are parents. In some cases both parents Are soldiers. Whichever the Case May be just Pray for their Safe and speedy return to their families and quit condemning a government for which they proudly serve for sending them at All. Our priority is  a Kathy Cook a Maria cop adage a Anna Cranford Gellhausen Germany. I noticed another article on How women in the military Are making it through the hardship of being separated from their children. I would like you to know that not Only women Are missing their children. I have three daughters 5,3 and 1, whom i miss dearly. It is not Only me who is missing my children Many other men who Are in my billeting tent miss their children. My Point is that this is not Only a Motherly problem. Whoever wrote the article needs to present both sides of the Story. A staff sgt. Joseph a. Martin operation desert shield i am a woman serving in Germany with the . Forces. I am also very happily married to a civilian. Women Are faced with the same choices As men when we decide to join including the effects on us our families Etc. The fact that the United states has raised its consciousness level to a Point whereby women Are a a allowed to make equal and valid decisions like any Man is a step Forward. But the Job gets harder when we meet sexist men. Then instead of working As a unit to accomplish our Mission women Are facing a Squadron Leader who wont allow us the same opportunities As the men stunting our Job development slowly trying to make us less efficient thereby causing the Mission to suffer. It is even scarier to consider going into War with men like these and to think what would happen then. Frankly such sexist people have no room in an equal Force such As ours. A a. Stewart Sembach a Germany quit picking on the Apache Pilot says As an ah-64 Pilot currently serving in operation desert shield in a absolutely infuriated at the constant and unfair negative press directed at the Apache attack helicopter. Why is your paper continuously reprinting slanderous blurbs from a Gao report that has been lambasted for its Lack of technical accuracy if you want to obtain the facts Why done to you focus on the apaches pilots and their opinions of the aircraft instead of relying on the conjectures of a group of bumbling bureaucrats fact the Gao a report concerning the a a failure of main Rotor Blades erroneously included a huge number of Blades that were mangled in a tremendous storm at fort Hood Texas. This inexcusable a a accounting error skewed the a a failure statistics to a ridiculous percentage a so much so that ill forever doubt the Gao s competence on any subject. The ah-64 is the United states finest anti tank aircraft bar none. While the vaunted a-10 sits on the ground at night or worse flies blindly the Apache can deliver pinpoint firepower against enemy tanks Miles away in total darkness. Our Infra red night vision system gives us an unsurpassed degree of clarity in this unforgiving environment. Note that no apaches have crashed in saudi Arabia where other helicopters have if fighting Breaks out iraqi tanks have nowhere to hide Day or night. But i just Fly the Apache for a living what do i know a chief warrant officer 2 Bryan a. Walker operation desert shield writer wants timelier Newsweek arrival i currently have a subscription to the stateside edition of  it is one Magazine that i believe gives a lot of information on current events. The reason in a writing is not to Praise a a Newsweek or its staff but instead to ask Why it takes two weeks for the stateside edition to get Over to Europe. I know that magazines Are sent the slowest Way possible but i also know that it takes Only two to three Days for people in the United states to receive magazines through the mail. Letters sent from the states to Europe take four to five Days. Why does it take magazines 10 Days longer i know that there is such a thing As the International edition of a Newsweek a but i do prefer the stateside one As i can relate to it better and the Quality of the stateside edition is also better. A name withheld. Ansbach Germany editors note Bill Tyler postal service analyst . Army postal group Europe replies although some publications Are sent by surface transportation ship those published weekly such As a Newsweek a Are transported by air on a space available basis. The United states edition of a a Newsweek Magazine is delivery by the publisher to the bulk mail Center Secaucus nj., each wednesday afternoon. A a Newsweek is then sorted into sacks going to each Apo served by the postmaster of new York. Next your a a Newsweek is sent by truck to the airmail facility at Juk on the morning of the next Friday. The publisher dates the Magazine at least five Days in Advance. For example the week we checked the system the a a Newsweek dated monday sept. 10, was delivered to the bulk mail Center on wednesday sept. 5, and was trucked to airmail facility at Juk on Friday sept. 7. Normally space available mail Sam goes out of Juk within three Days that would put your a a Newsweek in your Apo on or about sept. 11 or 12. If your weekly Magazine repeatedly takes longer than this please furnish us your name and address As it appears on the Magazine. We will try to find out what the problem is. If we can be of further assistance please Contact us at ets 379-7643/7837 or write to commander . Army postal group Europe attn Teupe Page Ops Apo �9186