European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 / a the stars and stripes Friday april 12, 1991 by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a a fatter paycheck for Many military personnel is just a formality now that president Bush has approved the $43 billion operation desert storm supplemental appropriations act Pentagon officials said thursday the Bill which Bush signed into Law wednesday provides $655 million for increases in personnel benefits including imminent danger pay. A the extra Money could Start showing up in some paychecks As Early As May 1,�?� a Pentagon official said. Highlights of the Bill include a an increase in monthly Quot imminent danger pay from $ 110 to $150 and a boost in monthly family separation allowance from $60 to $75t both retroactive to aug. 2, the Date Iraq invaded Kuwait. Those increases apply to All  eligible to receive them. A an increase in the servicemen a group life insurance Benefit from $50,000 to $100,000 and a boost in the death gratuity Benefit from $3,000 to $6,000, both retroactive aug. 2. Retroactive payment of the higher death gratuity Benefit will be paid to survivors of All service members who died on Active duty since aug. 2, but Only beneficiaries of personnel who died in Quot Gulf related Inci dents can get retroactive insurance payments. Those who opt for the full $100,000 insurance coverage will see their monthly Premium payments Rise from $4 to $8. A a delay until oct. 1 of increases in deductibles of the civilian health and medical program of the uniformed services for family members of personnel deployed to the persian Gulf. The Law also authorizes a boost in the monthly i Bil Benefit from $300 to $350 for those who serve at least three years on Active duty. The change which takes effect oct. 1, will also boost the monthly Benefit for a two year Active duty commitment from $250 to $275. J a for reservists who must carry out a six year service obligation to be eligible the monthly Benefit will Rise from $140 to $170. Authorization for the higher payments ends oct. It 1993. The president must then decide whether to drop Back to the old rates extend the new rates or seek another  ferry collision 100 Miles at00kmintended route it a a Romo Olla Sardinia Mediterranean sea Sicily Africa . Delays declaring end to War a ass ferry from Page 1 to go below deck to look for More bodies. A a it a very difficult to say when we re going to go below deck a said Gen. Giuseppe Mazzotta of the civil defense ministry. A there could be other fires there.�?�. A i x. The collision occurred wednesday about 10 30 ., said Sergio Albanese port authority chief. The ferry hit the Tanker on the starboard Stern opening a wide Hole and spilling crude Oil into the Ligurian sea. A i done to want to jump the gun but i m unable to find a reasonable explanation from a technical standpoint a said merchant Marine minister Carlo Vizzini a therefore i lean toward human  a the moby Prince was running the Liv Orno Olbia route for a Good four years. It had two perfectly working radar systems the ferry s company Navarra lines said in a statement. A the most recent safety inspection was carried out March 18 and resulted in a new certificate of safety for the transport of  the Captain had More than 20 years of service and had commanded the moby Prince since 1987, n a Varma lines said. \ a 7th medical come begins coming Home Heidelberg Germany a the first of about 1,100 troops from the 7th medical come arrived Home thursday evening from duty in the persian Gulf Region command officials said. Thursdays arrivals Are assigned to the 655th medical co which deployed to the Gulf in Early september and the 2nd and 566th medical dets which left Germany in Early december. The soldiers arrived at Rhein main a about 6 30  And were then bused to their Home installations. The 655th medical co which is a blood Bank unit and the 566lh medical det a medical dispensary unit Are from Lan Stuhl Germany. The 2nd med det a dental command and control unit is from Heidelberg. By United press International the . Security Council on thursday postponed its announcement formally declaring an end to the persian Gulf War and Secretary of state James Baker took his  peace initiatives to Syria and a probable hostile reception. Security Council president Paul notch Damec of Belgium had been expected to deliver the official announcement to the iraqi representative at 10 . With the message Quot the cease fire is now effective.�?�, a a. Abut there was no announcement and a . Spokeswoman said the Security Council was to meet later a to discuss the text of the  the letter is in response to iraqis formal acceptance last week of the cease fire terms. Baker arrived in Damascus Syria in his quest for Middle East peace but is expected to encounter discontent Over an israeli proposal for a regional peace con Ference. A a members of bakery a entourage said they were a encouraged Quot with talks earlier this week with Egypt and Israel and a saudi arabian minister but a senior state department official cautioned that much remains to be done before a Middle East peace conference becomes fact. Baker was to meet with syrian president Hafez Assad late thursday to discuss his talks and was expected to face Tough resistance to israelis proposal for a regional rather than an International Middle East peace conference an International conference would include All five permanent members of the Security Council a the United states France Britain the soviet Union and China a As Well As Israel the Arab nations and the palestinians a regional conference would exclude France Britain and China. Syrian official Media said Syria will not accept anything less than full implementation of . Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, which demand israelis a withdrawal from occupied territories captured during the 1967 War but treat the palestinian question As a refugee problem rather than a political Issue. And As a key ally during the Gulf War Syria expects a Reward from the United states in the form of pressure on Israel to make concessions on Middle East peace. President Bush said thursday the United states is a in lockstep with european leaders in helping kurdish refugees fleeing iraqi military forces while British officials reported agreement to create a a Safe Haven for refugees in Northern  a a / a a. A a a in a very pleased with the enormous cooperative refugee program under Way. There is tremendous suffering there a Bush said. A we Are in lockstep with the europeans in helping these people who Are being victimized by this brutal dictator in  from Page 1 a. A a a a changes and then submit it to Congress and the president. Fort Ord is Home of the army a 7th Light inf  has a population of More than 15,000 soldiers and 15,000 family members. The division would be transferred to fort Lewis wash., officials told the times until the army made its final decision on its future Force Structure. Whidby Island naval air station has a population of More than 8,000 Active duty Navy personnel and 13,000 family members. The station is Home to 23 Navy air squadrons including 13 tactical electronic warfare squadrons that Fly the ea-6b prowler and eight a-6e intruder bomber squadrons. The Senate armed services committee received paperwork from the administration on the final three commission nominees Only late tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers held a hurried hearing but did not have enough members present to vote a committee staff member said. The committee approved the nominations wednesday and sent the names on to the full Senate. Committee members want the full Senate to confirm the nominees before the list is released to head off any attempts by affected lawmakers to derail the process on technical grounds the staffer said. From Page 1 Lect ively reduce their Active duty numbers by almost 80,000, instead of the 60,000 reduction approved in the memo by Deputy defense Secretary Donald Atwood. Quot a a v Quot a the waiver Means military personnel strength will decline from 2.06 million to 1.99 million by sept. 30. But Atwood made it Clear that the waiver should not be interpreted As a deviation from changes drawn up before the War. A the reshaping of the United states armed forces continues in Light of changes in the world situation and constraints on the resources available for the National defense a Atwood told the chiefs of the military services. In a March 26 memo to Atwood Pentagon personnel chief Christopher Jehn said a Large portion of the cuts to be made Over the next few months can be achieved by suspending Stop loss actions that Are still keeping almost 24,500 personnel on Active duty past their Normal separation or retirement dates. To give service members time to find jobs All four services will give 90 Days notice to personnel who have been held under Stop loss before discharging them unless they choose to leave earlier Jehn said. A a / 1 ,. A the army which has about 745,000 members will Cut 35,000 people by the end of the fiscal year 7,830 fewer than the service had planned before the War. With 14,821 soldiers still on Active duty under Stop loss the army will Benefit the most of any service from the suspension of that policy. \. Jehn said the army a revamped reduction schedule reflects a decision not to pursue plans to involuntarily separate More than 4,000 officers and 3,000 enlisted personnel in fiscal 1991. Army officials do not plan to finish cutting the almost 8,000 excess personnel who will be on the books at the end of this fiscal year until late summer 1992. Then amp by plans to shrink from 579,000 personnel to 573,086 by sept. 30. That is 2,586 fewer cuts than originally planned. Jehn said the Navy a waiver request is caused solely by delays in decommissioning three ships involved in desert storm a the aircraft Carrier Midway and the battleships Missouri and Wisconsin. The Navy plans to trim More than 440 officers through Early retirements and will lose 510 personnel when Stop loss is lifted. Navy officials expect to eliminate All of their excess fiscal 1991 end strength by april 1, 1992. The air Force will Cut 15,287 personnel by sept. 30, leaving the service with 514,000 personnel. That is a Cut of 4,000 fewer than originally planned. Like the Navy the air Force plans it to Cut some officers through a selective Early retirement Board. The air Force has also just announced a voluntary officer Early release program and will trim 2,910 personnel when Stop loss is lifted. The Marine corps will shrink from 200,358 members to 193,735, a Cut of 1,937 fewer than originally planned. Almost All the Marine corps cuts can be handled by separating the 6,210 personnel held under Stop loss. The air Force and Marine corps both plan to trim their excess fiscal 1991 end strength by Jan. 1,1992. Jehn said the Cost of cutting fewer personnel than originally envisioned will total $800 million this fiscal year and $566 million in fiscal 1992. Those costs will be covered by funds in the desert storm supplemental appropriations package signed by president ush on wednesday he said