European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 a the stars and stripes Friday March 22, 1991f at a glance forsythia Are in Bloom around the Eiffel Tower in Paris a sure sign that Spring has arrived. Army school needs rehab if renovations to Diamond elementary school at fort Stewart ga., Arentt completed by the end of the school year the two school sys Tern could lose its accreditation a a Page 5 scaled Back space station bowing to congressional demands for Economy Nasa is cutting $8 billion from the Cost of its proposed space station and delaying completion until the year 2000, a Page 7 Havel warns of vacuum Czechoslovakia president Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia is urging nato to forge closer ties with the former communist regimes a Page b Pink slip for Neu him the army will close the Neu him military Community by oct. 1 this year 40 years after it was established a a a a a Page 9 credit card tips if you Are drowning in credit card debt Becky Cutler has some lifelines to throw you. But done to expect the Road to be easy a Page 17 Index Abby Ann Landers a a 19 action line. A a a 16 comics. 19 21 commentary. 13 crossword. 19 letters. A a a 12 Money matters. 17 sports. 22 -28 to listings a a a 22 weather. A a a 11 will take by Deedee Arrington Doke Kaiserslautern Bureau Ramstein a Germany Moth a hailing four air Force contingency hospitals that were geared up to receive persian Gulf War casualties is going to take longer than it did to prepare them the air forces top doctor in Europe says. Contingency hospitals in England and Germany were ready to receive patients within Days of Hospital teams arrivals said Brig Gen. Charles h. Roadman command surgeon for . Air forces Europe. But conducting inventories document Irig Supply expiration dates arid other logistical details of putting the hospitals Back into storage will take a six weeks to longer than six weeks and i done to know How much longer that is a Roadman said. The hospitals Are at rats Bicester it Little Tissington and Nocton Hall in England and at Zwic Brucken Germany. Their clinical staffs have returned to the United states support personnel l from the states and staff members normally assigned in Europe will Mothball the facilities. V 1. A fifth contingency Hospital in the Safe network of facilities was opened in Holstebroe Denmark during the crisis. It was run by the Danes but did not receive any patients. Roadman likened the preparation of a contingency Hospital for War to creating a major medical Center. Little Ris Singtong a 1,500-bcd capacity for instance was greater than that of Wilford Hall air Force medical Center a major military Hospital at Lackland fab Texas. Medical staffing within Safe More than doubled from 5,200 people to More than 12,000 during the crisis. The increase included about 4,300 Active duty and "2,600 Reserve forces brought in to staff contingency hospitals Aero Mudica staging facilities and the aeromedical evacuation system. A Safe a Hospital capacity expanded to More than 4,000 Beds including 3,250 at the four contingency hospitals in England and Germany. As of March 15, 6,129 patients had been evacuated from the Gulf to the . European come. Of those 2,215, including 64 Battle casualties were admitted to Safe medical facilities. Aeromedical staging facilities at Ramstein a arid Rhein main a will stay open indefinitely while troops remain in the Gulf Region. Such facilities serve As Stopover Sites for Servic Mcm bars on their Way to hospitals. A amps John Millar pfc. Glenarven Robbins sorts mail in the cramped tent that doubles As Mai room and his Home in Northern Kuwait. Goes to work at Home by John Millar v Middle East Bureau. Northern Kuwait troops on duty in the Middle East say mail Call is the High Point of the Day. For pfc. Glenarven Robbins its the Only Point of the Day. Robbins is one of two mail clerks assigned to 3rd army div Headquarters and because his tent also doubles As the unit mail room in Northern Kuwait he literally eats and sleeps in mail. The Small Green Hexagon tent that Robbins calls1 Home and Wark is usually packed. Most of the time there is room for Robbins his combat gear and a couple of cots. The rest is devoted to the bags and boxes of mail. During the Day fellow mail clerk spec. Jewel Payton is also there. But she retreats to her of n tent at night leaving Robbins to the endless envelopes and packages. A Small desk serves As the service counter. On it Are letter sorting Hins Robbins made from empty ration boxes. On a recent Day. Robbins was silting at the desk flipping envelopes into the boxes from a handful head pulled from an Orange mail Hague tween his Knees. At his feet were More of the bags. It was about 6 . And he was working by the Light of a kerosene lantern. The Headquarters company which has about 375 people usually gets about 1,000 letters a Day the 23-year-old Robbins  fio boxes. That a a Good average a the flow of mail has been heavy since the Frankfurt based unit landed in the desert three months ago he said. It slacked off during the ground War As trucks were diverted from hauling mail to trucking ammunition hut lately a a mail a been catching  he fished around in one of the ration boxes and pulled out a recent arrival noting that it had been postmarked in the states three weeks earlier a that s pretty Good Quot he said. Robbins biggest problem is the mail he does no to know what to do with �?o1 get mail for the division rear Here at division main. I get dissent mail for people we done to have Quot he said. A some people Are attached but did no to let us know they were attached. So i get this mail and have no idea that they re even  As. The divisions link with Home Robbins has become a popular attraction for soldiers working in the division Headquarters area. The continual Stream of soldiers always has the same question a got any mail for me Quot a a it a a real High morale thing a Robbins said. A even if it s a letter marked a any serv Lee member a once they get them its like a High for  / on this Day Robbins kerosene lantern died so he continued sorting his mail in the narrow beam of a flashlight. A what do you want Quot he demanded As a Soldier popped his head inside the tent Flap. The visitor smiled. A i came to visit you because 1 done to want you to say the Only time i come to visit you is when want mail a the Soldier said. That s the Only time you visit Quot Rabbin said handing the Soldier several letter held together with rubber bands. N  flashlight Back to the desk Robbins resumed his sorting. As Long As it makes the soldiers Happy w e ii keep doing it a he said