European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 14, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6the stars and stripes thursday february 14,1991 Quot Back Home War Materiel shipments slowing Gulf mail Washington a the need to move combat related supplies and equipment is slowing mail deliveries to american troops in the Middle cast military officials  takes an average of 13 to 17 Days from the time a letter is mailed to the time it s delivered air Coree maj. Mark Rader said tuesday. A competing priorities have caused less mail to be moved a said Rader a spokesman for the military postal service Agency. Top officials Are aware of the slowdown in the mail. A we Are doing everything we can to shorten the Lime a Gen. Colin l. Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff told the Senate armed services committee last week. It a a. A. A. A. A a a a thief sentenced to write 50 letter Sjo gis in Gulf West Palm Beach Fla. A a convicted robber who violated probation was sentenced to write 50 letters to american troops in the Middle East. Circuit court judge Mairy Lupo said tuesdays Deal would be Worth 60 hours of Community serv a ice. A a a a a. Karen Grisham 26, of Lake Worth quickly agreed especially after Lupo gave her stationery and told her the county would pay the postage. Lupo said Only Handwritten and individualized letters would be counted. A the idea of Community service is that you pay Back to the Community some think a of what you be taken away from it a Lupo said. �?o1 think this is As Good As picking up trash on the  Navy puts in new order for 400 cruise missile Washington a the . Navy has ordered 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles a Star of the Allied military offensive against Iraq for $442.5 million. Navy spokesman it. David Wray said tuesday the contracts were unrelated to . Operations in the Gulf. The Navy had previously bought about 1,000 of the non nuclear land Utlack missiles. In the new action the Navy ordered 240 of the computer guided missiles for $253.0 million from Mcdonnell Douglas corp. And 160 More for $188.6 million from general dynamics corp. Under the contracts All the missiles Are to be completed by March 1993, although some would be ready before then. More than 200 Tomahawk missiles have bombarded targets in Iraq since the Gulf War began. Iraq has shown no effective defense against the t tomahawks fired for the first time in combat by Navy vessels including submarines in the red sea and the arabian sea. The missiles have a Range of 1,560 Miles. Flying at Low altitudes they Are designed to avoid radar  in the Gulf former of chief believes War a a a a a a a a a v a a Quot a a a Washington up a ret. Air Force Gen. Michael a Dugan fired last september for revealing too much to reporters about Allied military strategy in the persian Gulf said he believes a coalition ground offensive is just Days away now a military analyst for network television the former air Force chief of staff said tuesday he believes the ground War a is within Days not  he made the statement that a ground War a is at hand a while roaming the Pentagon corridors As military officials conducted their daily briefing for reporters. A a we re at the Point where a combination of threats a air sea and land a would be clearly More than Iraq could sustain a he said. Mis statements contradicted indications from the Bush administration that the massive air initiative. Against Iraq will continue for a while longer. Some military officials have said an air Campaign should run As Long As possible to weaken iraqi positions and reduce casualties to Allied forces once a ground Meattle begins. Military commanders have said that round the clock bombing is still paying off in the destruction of iraqis military forces which could lower Allied casualties during a ground Campaign. Military officials have said that the air Campaign has away destroyed 15 percent to 20 percent of iraqis tanks artillery pieces and armoured personnel carriers. Dugan said the .-led military Force has already achieved the necessary measures to launch a ground assault. He cited the destruction of iraqis Navy the grounding of its fighters and support planes and the apparent obliteration of critical Supply routes. A he also said the stepped up shelling of fortified iraqi positions from the land and the sea in recent Days is the Tina step a military can employ before launching a ground War. A Dugan said military officials Are Hopin Glo Send mixed messages to iraqi president Saddam Hussein about their intentions or plans. Overall Dugan said he is a a impressed the the bombing operation and he agrees with the . Commander in saudi Arabia Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf and others who have said a War cannot be broken into neat tight phases. He said the . Air Force would be an integral part of any land War offering support identifying targets for ground troops and acting As decoys. And once a ground War starts Dugan said a you do not fight on the terrain your enemy has  sergeant Granny staff sgt. Joyce Monk a grandmother of five from Frostproof Fla., dons her helmet after completing a 12-hour shift in an army mess tent in saudi Arabia. With her is coworker spec. Judy Ann Warfield of Frederick my. Washington a Telephone Calls from american troops in the persian Gulf Are helping ease emotional stress for families Back Home but causing a financial Strain for some. For the first time Ever front line troops have Access to telephones. At amp to set up More than 1,000 special phones in saudi Arabia last fall and . Service personnel Are using them to Call concerned relatives. But unfamiliarity with International calling charges and misunderstanding of the Way the Calls Are being billed have left some families with Telephone Hills they can to afford to pay. Some troops participating in operation desert storm apparently believed their Calls Home would be billed As though Thev were made from new York at amp to spokesman Jim Mcgann said. A the fact is that they re billed from saudi Arabia a he said. A there was misinformation and people were  also some military1 people apparently did t know at amp to had stopped offering free phone Calls to the United states As the company did briefly last fall. The resulting confusion has left some families with phone Bills totalling hundreds of dollars. A a Mcgann said families with relatives assigned to desert storm a Are averaging about $50 a month in charges from saudi Arabia and extremely High Bills Are a by tar and away the exception rather than the rule.�?�. Callers using the special phones get direct Access to an at amp to operator in the United states. Those using Telephone credit cards pay a $2.50 service charge $3.19 for the first minute and $1.15 for each additional minute Mcgann said. That adds up to just under $16 for a 10-Mijiute Call. A 10-minute collect Call costs about $19, he said. The charges cover Only at amp to a costs Mcgann said. A there is no profit making here.�?�. The Federal communications commission is trying to figure out what if anything it can do. Acc officials have been meeting with at Home representatives of at amp to Sci and us sprint a Waind they be been talking about a whole series of different options a said Ken Robinson assistant to acc chairman a1 Sikes. Quot Sci has about 120 phones in saudi Arabia and troops can use a sprint service to make free Calls through Ham radio operators. A i really done to know what the options available to the acc May be a Robinson said. A certainly we have the authority to see that the prices charged Are  at amp to has set up a special toll free number that families with relatives in desert storm can Call to help work out problems with Bills. That number is 1-800-323-help.a