European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Germany edition vol. 49, no. 336 monday March 18, 1991 b authorized unofficial publication for the . Armed forces 350 d 8693 soviets hold landmark vote Moscow apr millions of people voted sunday in a historic referendum on whether to preserve the fracturing soviet Union. Violence prevented some people from casting ballots. Others were lured to the polls with gifts of food. Hanging in the balance in the first referendum in soviet or even russian history was not Only the Fate of this vast country and its More than 100 ethnic groups but also the future of Mikhail Gorbachev. The soviet president lobbied heavily for approval and predicted Victory in the referendum. It asks citizens whether they want to stay together in a renewed federation. Unofficial preliminary results showed More than 94 percent of voters in four regions of the Central asian Republic of Kazakhstan voting  two thirds of the voters in the far East City of Khabarovsk also approved the referendum election officials said. Public opinion polls had indicated it would pass giving Gorbachev the popular mandate he seeks to crack Down on separatists. He has been pushing for the referendum since december to bypass democratically elected Legislatures in the republics that he contends Are dominated by nationalist extremists. A the country however is already so divided that six of the 15 soviet republics or 10 percent of the 200 million eligible voters refused to vote in the referendum. Violence in Moldavia on sunday reflected the fractures. Quot a a �.�/. A v a a a. Hundreds of nationalist moldavian aided by police enforced a local Boycott by blocking Access to the seven polling stations the red army set up in the Republic s capital Kishinev according to the associated press. He reported that nationalists beat up ethnic russians and ukrainians who tried to vote. No serious injuries were reported. Moldavia is among the six republics whose Par see vote on Page 10 Boris Yeltsin left and Mikhail Gorbachev cast ballots in the first Ever referendum on preserving the soviet  of Jet delays Homecoming by Bill Mcallister the Washington Post Washington seventy one service members from operation desert storm Learned last week that their vie tory in the. Persian Gulf has not changed one military axiom rank has its privileges. The group climbed aboard an air Force c-141 transport in Riyadh saudi Arabia on wednesday for what was to have been a 17-hour flight to Charleston . The daily flight is known in the military As the a desert  but when the plane made its regular Landing at Torrejon a Spain a where desert express Craft refuel and take on fresh Crews a the passengers were jolted to see an air Force two Star Gen eral wearing a flight suit climb aboard according to a Serviceman on the flight who asked not to be identified. No the passengers were told the plane was not going to Charleston its expected terminus the Serviceman said. The new Pilot maj. Gen. Paul e. Landers jr., commander of the 21st air Force was coming aboard with his wife and several aides and they wanted to Fly to Zaragoza another base in Spain. They would Stop there for three hours and then the plane would Fly to Landers Headquarters at Mcguire fab . Col. Bud Ross a spokesman for the military Airlift come which runs the desert express said Landers who remains proficient As a Pilot was completing a two week tour of european bases with his wife and several aides and had no aircraft designated for his trip. So Landers whose unit operates the desert express was assigned the c-141 when it arrived at Torrejon. That Way Ross explained a no one was bumped no one was ordered off the  the 21st air Force is a military Airlift come unit that flies cargo planes. But the Serviceman on the flight said that when airline seats were placed aboard the transport for the general a wife and aides a replacing the transports web seating a there was no longer enough room for All the passengers. He said 39 of the passengers flying on a space available basis aboard the transport were members of an air Force Security police unit who had hoped to return to Charleston As a group because there was not room for All of them they left the plane. Ross said the individuals a a chosen to leave the plane. The others who remained on Board were flown to Mcguire and offered commercial tickets from Philadelphia to their Home bases according to the passenger. The action so upset the Home bound service members some of whom had been in the desert since shortly after the aug. 2 iraqi invasion of Kuwait that the senior passenger a Navy commander complained according to a fellow passenger. The complaint never reached the see Jet on Page 10shortfall May cause air Force extensions by Janet Hove los Tierney Washington Bureau Washington a about 9,000 air Force personnel assigned overseas could have their Tours involuntarily extended this summer unless Congress allows the service to shift funds to pay for their moves. Any extensions also would affect the Tours of the people scheduled to replace those now serving overseas air Force officials said. The air Force wants Congress to reprogram its 1991 military personnel account in effect shifting Money from other accounts to cover the costs of the transfers. The service is $104 million Short of funds needed for the personnel transfers. Army and Navy officials said they were not experiencing the same problem cited by the air Force. If the funding shift is not approved by March 31, officials will formally announce tour extensions said col. Duke Lyons of the air Force military personnel Center at Randolph fab Texas. The extensions would affect people who Are due to return to the United states from overseas assignments in july August and september officials said 5,200 air Force members in Europe 2,300 in the Pacific and 1,500 in other overseas assignments fall into that category. Those on Remote area Tours would not be affected. Overseas Tours could be extended by two to eight weeks depending on the original Date of departure for the new duty station said Lyons who is the personnel centers special assignment division chief. If the funding shift is not approved airmen due to Complete an overseas tour this summer would not be Able to leave until the last two weeks of August at the see fund on Page 10