European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                5 tuesday december 4, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 7 crisis by the los Angeles times Barstow Calif. A the persian Gulf crisis has sharpened a dispute Over the army a desire to expand its main desert warfare training Center at fort Irwin Calif a sprawling 640,000-acre facility in the Mojave desert. The expansion plan which would add almost 250,000 acres to the army a land has moved slowly because of local opposition. An environmental Impact statement was delayed last year after the desert Tortoise whose habitat would be affected was added to the endangered species list in an emergency declaration v now with the army contending it needs More room quickly to meet the troop training demands of the Gulf crisis opponents of the expansion say the conflict is being used As an excuse by the military to gain control Over More land. About 10 Days ago col. Hal Fuller Garrison commander at fort Irwin broached the idea of an immediate 125,000-acre expansion to accommodate the army s stepped up training schedule. A this is More than half the 242,000 acres Secretary of defense Dick Cheney said last year should be added to the 642,000 acres already within fort Irwin a boundaries. Specifically Fuller proposed seizing by january a Large Swath of publicly owned land. Virtually All the land is part of a desert preservation area controlled by the Federal Bureau of land management. A a but Gerald Hillier the bureaus District manager in Riverside Calif., said his Agency would be unable to carry out any environmental assessment quickly enough and that Only Congress could suspend the environmental Laws that must be addressed before any expansion takes place. Fuller said in an interview that for now these my has dropped its idea of an emergency expansion mid will pursue the proposal for a larger expansion through the regular process. The final environmental Impact statement is not expected before 1992, in the meantime these Are Days of improvisation for the training Force of 650 at fort Irwin. First commanders were told to expect As Many As four National guard brigades a total of 21.000 troops for desert warfare training beginning just after Christ Vas. Three of the brigades were called up last week. The army first formally proposed expanding fort Irwin in 1988. The plan has had considerable opposition from environmentalists miners Small property owners in the area real estate speculators acid even monks at a coptic monastery on land that would be taken. The Gulf crisis a and the ensuing Public focus on military training a has Only slightly reduced the opposition said Karla Swanson of inc Barstow office of the Bureau of land management she is in charge of reviewing the expansion request. Some opponents wonder Why the army needs More land when the military already controls an area of the California desert almost As Large As Connecticut. In addition to fort Irwin there is the Marine base at Twenty inc Palms the Navy a weapons Center ranges around China Lake and Edwards and George air Force bases. A a i m afraid Thova re trying to use  situation As a wedge Quot Sau Jcsse Coati is a retired Marine and geological expert who has been showing the desert around Barstow to visitors for Many years. A we be got zeolites Tungsten Gold mines ready to be worked again on the land they want Quot Collins said. A there Are Beautiful forests of Joshua Trees Ami the did Indian trails. Well they re crazy a lot of these generals would like to use the flare up in saudi Arabia and Iraq to get More land. Never mind that the russians Are Down the Drain they re going to use this As a new excuse Quot 80, Dies Goldberg los Angeles apr Robert Cummings who starred in More than 100 films and played a swinging Bachelor in the 1950s sitcom a the Bob Cummings show a has died at age 80. The actor who had Parkinson a disease died saturday at the motion picture and television Hospital in Woodland Hills of kidney failure and complications from pneumonia said Hospital spokeswoman Louella Benson. Most of his roles were Light comedies but included some serious portrayals a such As in a a King a Row with Ronald Reagan and in a dial m for murder a Alfred Hitchcock a 1954 thriller. Other film roles included a the Devil and miss Jones in 1941, a the Bride wore boots in 1946 and a for heavens Sake in 1950. He entered the burgeoning to Industry in the 1950s, appearing in dramas and his own shows. A the Bob Cummings shot a was probably the closest thing to a sex comedy on television at the time on a the Bob Cummings show a which ran on Abc and lbs from 1955 to 1959, he played Bob Collins a photographer who squared Beautiful models around Robert Cummings plications town. The series was known As a love that bobs in syndication. The show was Given a. Comedy Advin Ture format for a 196l62 run on lbs and Cummings played Bob Carson charter Pilot and Amateur detective. A in 1954, he won an emmy As Best actor for a twelve angry  born in Joplin mo., Cummings studied engineering and business before turning to the theater to earn Money for his family during the depression. He worked As a straight Man for Milton Berle and starred with Fanny Brice in a the Ziegfeld follies.�?�. Cummings got his first film role in 1935 playing a tall texan opposite Margare Sullavan in a so red the Rose a after retiring from show business Cummings became an ardent believer in the Power of health food and astrology preserving his Youthful looks even into his later years Cummings wrote a Book on nutrition a How to stay Young Jed  _ 1 Cummings is survived by his fifth wife whom he married in 1989, and Seuff children and nine grandchildren wins at los Angeles apr whoops Goldberg was named Black entertainer of the year and won Best supporting actress honors for her Rolein a a ghost at the a act image awards. Morgan Freeman won Best film actor for his role As a. Chauffeur in a driving miss Daisy at the 23rd annual awards honouring Black achievement saturday night. No award was Given this year for Best female actress because of the paucity of roles for Black women the a act said. It said the Lack of nominees was a sign of a the imbalance and irresponsibility of the film  in the music category Quincy Jones won the Best album award for a Aback on the Block a and Luther Vandross received Best male recording artist honors. Best vocal group honors went to the whispers for their album a More of the night Quot arid Etta James won As Best blues artist for her singing on a a sticking to my  Best jazz artist was Jonathan but scr for  Best rap group was . Hammer for a please Hammer done to Hurt  Anita a Baker won Best female artist for a compositions a selective service system ready if called upon Washington apr seventeen years after the governments authority Tor a military draft expired the selective service system is alive and Well a and on standby. A. ?�.���� a a a a a but if president Bush and Congress gave the order the selective service could Start issuing draft notices within Bush has said As recently As last week that he does t want to see the draft reactivated but its the Job of the selective service to be ready a just in Case. V the Agency has 270 full time employees 2,000 local draft boards and an entire system for resuming the draft if ordered to do so. 7a a it a business As usual because that is our Mission a to be ready a selective service spokeswoman Barbi Richardson said. A we were ready a year ago and wed be ready  however selective service director Samuel kit Les sey or. Said a your Agency has had no indication that a draft is needed in response to the Middle East crisis Quot still the buildup of american troops in the persian Gulf has led to growing Public concern and debate about the draft which was one of the most divisive issues of the Vietnam War. V the presidents authority to draft men which Nad been routinely renewed by Congress every Jour years expired on july l.1973, three months after the last . Soldiers left Vietnam the military then began depending on voluntary enlistments. Even if the draft were reinstated quickly there would be a significant time lag before conscripts reached the Gulf. By Law draftees May not be sent oversees for three months after induction. Lawrence Korb a Brookings institution Aifa Lyst who was assistant Secretary of defense for manpower until 1985, said it would take a year to get conscripts trained and Over to the Gulf. _ _ Martin Binkin another Brookings institution analyst said a i do not think that the average american kid has to worry about conscription a Many Are worried nonetheless. A we receive Calls from mothers. From the Young men their wives their girlfriends their grandmothers their grandfathers a Richardson said a we let them know there is no draft and we do not anticipate one. David treber of the National inter religious service Board for conscientious objectors said his organization also is getting More Calls. A a we be even had mothers who have 14-year-old, sons wanting to get information a treber said. Other Calls come from College students who say a a t registered for the draft a couple years ago and never thought it would amount to anything and now in a worried a Quot treber said. A. A a. Quot a. James Blackwell of the Center for strategic and International studies said the need for a draft May increase As voluntary enlistments drop off due to concern about a possible War in the persian Gulf. A the longer it lasts and the closer it comes to a shooting conflict the closer we come to a draft Quot he said. The selective service insists it is doing nothing in. Usual in response to the troop buildup in the Gulf. Should Congress authorize a return to the draft the selective service within hours or Days could hold a lot try based on dates of birth to determine the order in which men would be inducted Richardson said top priority for the draft would be Young men who turned 20 during the same Calendar year As the lottery. Young men already a Marc required to Register with the selective service when they turn 18. A once draft notices were issued draftees would have 10 Days to report to a military processing station for examination and perhaps immediate induction Only after a Young Man got a draft notice could he file a request to postpone or avoid military service. Reasons for a delay might include an emergency such As serious illness or a death in the family. _ others might request classification As conscientious objectors who oppose participation in War. They would be required to serve either in a non combat position or in a civilian Job that benefited the nation