European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 19, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 a the stars and stripes Friday april 19, 1991 the sell amp an european edition circulation 185,000 col Gene e. Townsend. Usan a. Commander publisher. A Bernard a. Zovistoski r a. Editor a a a i. Col. Gayle w. Fix Usa. Deputy Cory Irlander a Marie Kolnicki  manager a a Bui Walker european editor Deane b. Mcdermott. Circulation manager a switchboard 06155-6010. Ltd ets348-5741 or5823. Telex 419-332. Business Tel fax 06155 601376. News Tel fax 06155-601416 mailing address Apo 09211 -4211 or Posl Fach 11 14 37, d-6100 Darmstadt 1,  06155-601 plus Extension or ets 348-8 plus Extension. A a a a a a a. A a a a a news ext 237,255,282, 226, 326. Sports ext. 225,269, 263.332, 321. 221. Features ext. 230,245, 341., letters to editor ext. 208. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226business Randy Mcclain ext. 326. T a bureaus Bremerhaven Germany Ken Clauson. 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Government the department of defense or the . European command. A the appearance of advertising in this publication including a inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of Colenso or the stars and stripes of the products or services  and versed in this publication shall be made available Lor Purchase use or patronage without regard to race color religion sex Nasonal origin age. Marital status. A physical Handicap political hit nation or any other non ment Factor of the purchaser user or Patron. Equal Opportunity after a lot of soul searching i have decided its tire 1 write this letter. There May be those who believe i do not support the equal Opportunity program. Do support the program however a truly equal one not the system we Call equal today. For example the 1990 master sergeant selection Board printed in its memorandum of instructions to Board members the following a the Board will recommend the Best qualified Sec scr Geant first class in each mos military occupational specially for promotion to meet the army  a it further stated a the goal of the Board is to achieve a percentage of selection for All gender and race ethnic categories comparable to the selection rate for the number of individuals  these two statements seem to be contradictory. If there arc More women than men in the zones of consideration then More women will be selected for promotion even if they arc not the Best qualified. Quot \ the current promotion system seems to support something other than equal Opportunity. At a time when the army is downsizing and promotions Are correspondingly reduced the Best qualified should receive those promotions regardless of gender or racial ethnic categories. A a a at the same time the army needs to continue its commitment to equal Opportunity. There Are standards that must be met by All who enter the army. In fact the standards for a woman Are higher than those for men entering the army. All Moses have their own standards that also must be met prior to being awarded that mos a a also the army offers Many programs that All soldiers May use to improve their promotion qualifications if they   a once a Soldier reaches the higher ranks their qualifications for promotion arc about equal to that of their Peers therefore the promotion of a percentage of All gender or race ethnic categories comparable to the selection rate for the number of individuals considered gives an unfair advantage to those soldiers under this special consideration. Quot i was taught that if you have a problem offer a solution before you complain. My solution to the above men tinned problem is As follow department of the army promotion selection boards should be Given a new form that is based on social Security number Only. Eliminate information normally found on the a form 2-1 arid 2-a name sex race number of dependents ethnic group citizenship marital status religion. A. A a also eliminate the photo. If a Soldier is overweight or out of uniform he should be flagged and not eligible to appear before the promotion Board. If department of the army selection boards were conducted As outlined above and then if Only women were promoted or All promotions were Given to one race or ethnic category we could be sure the Best qualified were recognized. This i feel would make a More productive and a truly equal Opportunity organization. A Robert Hart Kaiserslautern Germany a ailing 800 numbers the article the stars and stripes published March 29 on in age 17, the Germany edition concerning at amp to and �?o800�?� numbers was not Only misleading but could be quite expensive to your readers. You stated that the customer who dials �?o800�?� is billed Only $2.50 As a service charge for using at amp to s Usa direct system. I read a similar article in May 199t and proceeded to order from several catalogues. When i got my Bill i had accumulated quite a sum in Long distance charges. A a a a a a the fact is you pay not Only the $2.50 service charge but also the Normal Long distance Usa direct fee As if the Call had originated in Pittsburgh where the Usa direct offices Are located. Please make a correction and warn your readers. A Lynn m. Peterson Rhein main a Germany editors note the Story by the stars and stripes erred when it listed the charges for calling at amp to a �?o800�?� numbers from overseas. We ran a correction March 30 on Page 17. At amp to credit card holders can Call the numbers through the company Susa direct service. However the Calls Are not toll free As they Are when dialled in the United states. When calling from Europe a $2.50 surcharge is assessed for using the Usa direct service and minute by minute charges Are also added to the Bill. The minute by minute rate varies depending on which country the Call originates from. In Germany charges Are $1.77 for the first minute and $ 1,08 for each additional minute. Benefits of military a i am writing in response to a question asked by a Reader in the stars and stripes action line on March 23, the question was from an airman who wanted a fir Mancial hardship discharge. I do not understand How the airman could say that the military forces him to live in poverty. He forces himself to live in poverty by living beyond his Means and hot taking advantage of the military a housing. A a. All branches of the military offer Utility free housing to married and single service members. You can live in gov Crement housing and the Cost is that you forfeit your housing allowances. This in most cases is cheaper than living on the Economy and paying for the utilities. A a a a. He can also take advantage of the other Relief organizations in the military and get help in financial planning. The military also provides medical benefits for spouses lie May not bring in As big a paycheck As Joe civilian but unless Joe civilian has been with his company a while he will not receive medical care he needs to stay with the Security of the military and think of his wife and her medical needs. The military is the Way for him to go for now. Besides he made a commitment to the military and he needs to stick with it. A hardship discharge is not the Way to go.  a a a a Kandy so omon operation desert storm training paid of a upon arrival in saudi Arabia and during the preparation for the ground offensive our immediate Chain of com Mand told us to instill in our soldiers that this Wasny to just another Gra letters to the editor Fenohr or Hohenfels. They constantly reminded us that our soldiers needed to get out of the Graf and Hohenfels Mode. This disturbed me. As an no and a professional who knows the guidelines of army doctrine i trained my soldiers to know what i would expect from them during this crisis a train As if we were going to War i think the immediate Chain of com Viand anxieties Stem from a Lack of Trust in the cos who by the Way did a Superb Job. Or maybe they did not have Faith in the guidance of the higher command who by the Way also did a us per Job. All i know is that each time a situation arose in which my soldiers needed some guidance i gave them the answer slapped them upside the Kevlar then asked a you knew that right its the same Way we practice it in Graf and  Well now the crisis in the Gulf is Over and we re on our Way Back to Germany. Because of lessons Learned in the Gulf i can almost guarantee that Graf and to Hon fils will never be the same. A staff sgt. Howard l. Goehring Aschaffenbur Germany dangerous trophies throughout operation desert storm the United states led the world Community in its strict adherence  provisions of the Geneva conventions. In the spirit of the Geneva conventions the . Military adopted a number of general orders the first being general order no. 1, which governs the taking of War trophies. This order restricts the nature of War trophies to clothing insignia and personal items. I am very disturbed by what appears to be a total disregard for this order throughout the Chain of command. Substantial amounts of equipment and weaponry of All sorts Are now in the Possession of soldiers throughout the desert storm Field of operations. Certainly the military does not intend to allow soldiers to keep such items As rifles pistols and bayonets. I am very concerned that unless general order no. 1 is strictly enforced soldiers will Only be encouraged to take advantage of this apparent free for All. Attempts to transport dangerous and illegal munitions and weaponry could result in needless injury and death. A spec Aaron of Stout operation desert storm a editor s note a letters from readers expressing their viewpoints or opinions Are published daily in this space. All letters must be signed. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. Letters should be addressed to letters to the editor the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211. Letters requesting information or assistance Are answered in a feature called readers action line which appears on Page 16 every Day except thursday and sunday such letters should be addressed to readers action line the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211