European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday May ?3, 1991 the stars and stripes Pago 3 army keeping quiet on reduction plans by Rosemary Sawyer staff writer Willinger Germany a soldiers in units earmarked for troop reductions in Europe won t be notified right away because the army does no to want to distract them usage urn Stop enlisted Soldier said wednesday. A we done to   too far out in Advance because we want you concentrating on preparing for your Mission a command sgt. Maj. George l. Horvath Iii told about .4 h women attending a conference of the american women a activities Germany. A it is not because we re trying to keep this a big  As a Rule the command notifies battalion commanders 180 Days before scheduled departures and lower echelons 90 Days in Advance the Point at which units turn their full attention to moving out Horvath said. The command expects about 50,000 of its soldiers to leave Europe by october Horvath said. About 18,200 of those arc soldiers whose reassignments and plans to leave the army were stalled in Stop loss which froze troop movements because of operations in the persian Gulf. Horvath said he tells company commanders platoon sergeants first sergeants and sergeants major that they do not need to know when they re scheduled to move. A when you. Are told Booth your Mission will be to move the unit  have enough time to do that Quot he said. Horvath said troops should wait for their chains of command to provide information related 1o base closures and not believe what he said were of ten erroneous German and . Friedia reports. A general Saint will not Call up the editor in chief of stars and stripes and say �?~1 want you to publish a  if he does use any Media source it will be Aen television and either he or his representative will go on an television and make an announcement a Horvath said. Horvath said the rapid reduction of troops in Europe is expected to cause turmoil and anxiety for vol Tei it Ami families. Hurt her fueling tears Are the army s plans to reduce its tanks from 7.m>, t to >20.000 by i to he said a i m Felling you. It s going to be or rough Road to hoc a he said. Horvath said the women at the Confer knee can play Quot a tremendous role a in keeping turmoil at manageable Levels. He asked the women to pay particular attention to single Serai come Rimers. A a a they re part of this family also and they have the same kind of anxieties about not knowing when they re going where they re going a he said. The deep cuts in army personnel Over the next five years will in some cases have to be done ruthlessly Horvath said with some soldiers Heinga told a a in a sorry the army has no room for you any  he told the women that he expected the Quot Bottom 20 percent Quot to be the first to go. A and they know who they Are a he said. He also stressed that just because a Soldier did no to serve in the War in the per  Gulf do a it i on in i Proon Oion potential Millers a not Evix a me to South West asm 3�d Well there Are a lot of folks Thal went their who were relieved because Thuv did Noi have the a Luhv to unction to a combat environment or under that kind of stress Horvath said a you done to have to be concerned if you re  technically and Tacti Cally competent and you re doing what you re. Supposed to he doing Ami that a faking care of soldiers and families and training them hard a i Orvath said., Jim also said be thought it would be at least two years before the army Hail to implement selective Early retirement i Orvath. Who has filled Usa eur s top enlisted spot for two years noted that the rapid troop reductions in Europe will affect the availability of packers movers and transportation for departing units. However the command has no plans to Send soldiers to their new assignments ahead of their families because of delays in the moving process he said. Quot persian Gulf War conditions altered red Cross methods by Chuck Roberts Middle East Bureau Riyadh saudi Arabia a the War in the Gulf Wasny to another Vietnam Lor the american red Cross. In Many ways it was harder. In Vietnam the troop buildup was slow and military units usually remained in one place. In the persian Gulf the buildup was Swift and the War was a highly Mobile one for service members and american red Cross workers who ate slept and worked with them according to George Georgakakos the organizations director of operations in the persian  a. Y. When the 24th inf div Mech was preparing to March 160 Miles into Iraq during the ground War Georgakakos had to decide on the spot whether to Send red Cross workers along. A if we go to sleep with the 24th mechanized infantry division a he answered a then we should be there in the morning to have breakfast with them too a he decided. Two of the four workers assigned to the division travelled into Iraq with the soldiers to perform their red Cross Mission of providing a link Between service members and their families. In 10 months in the Gulf the red Cross de live Rcd More than 147,000 messages to and from Servic Mcm Bers. At the Peak there were 115 work Georgakakos Quot cars in the Region. Currently there Are 62 and some will remain until the troop level drops to about 8,000. Most of the messages Deal with death illness or severe personal problems but there also Are happier messages such As birth announcements. Even the bad news cart provide some Relief if it helps reduce anxiety and uncertainty about family situations Back Home Georgakakos said. Georgakakos a Pittsburgh native who normally is the senior regional manager for the red Cross in Stuttgart Germany said a red Cross message often is a better than a phone Call because it tells a More Complete Story. If there is a severe illness in the family a red Cross worker will Call the doctor and obtain detailed information about the illness. Letting red Cross do the detective work also can prevent staggering phone Bills he said. Messages to soldiers begin with a phone Call to a local red Cross chapter. The chapter forwards the message to the National Headquarters in Washington where it is sent to red Cross workers assigned to Mili. Tary communication centers in saudi Arabia. There were about 24 communication centers during the War. In combat the red Cross workers faced the task of forwarding the messages to brigades and battalions constantly on the move. If the message could t be forwarded by a Field Telephone it would be delivered by courier. If a courier Wasny to available red Cross workers tried to arrange delivery by helicopter. If All else failed workers sometimes jumped in a car and delivered it. When messages had to be delivered to the United states workers sometimes drove across the desert to use Sci phone Booths. Georgakakos said the Job Wasny to nearly As hectic when he began his red Cross career in Southeast if we go to sleep with the 24th mechanized infantry division then we should be there in the morning to have breakfast with them too a George Georgakakos red Cross director of operations in the persian Gulf Asia. In Vietnam soldiers would often go into the Jungle during the Day to fight and return Back to a base at night where they would pick up their red Cross messages. In that War he said red Cross workers weren to lugging 55 pounds of chemical and other gear travelling in convoys for 14 hours or constantly digging bunkers filling sandbags and putting up tents. Also he said the red Cross work Force has changed since Vietnam when few women served in the Field. In the persian Gulf about half the workers were women who took on some of the toughest assignments. Georgakakos said inadequate communications a mostly Field telephones of limited Range was a major problem in the desert War. In a perfect world he said the red Cross would have satellite phone hookups and Laptop computers to Speed message flow he said. Although the red Cross and the military worked Well together Georgakakos said he would like to see even closer ties. This would include red Cross participation in military Field exercises and Early involvement in the planning of an operation such As desert  s end brings ., Germany closer Kohl says Washington apr German Chancellor Lliel nut Kohl said tuesday that any tensions Between the United states and Germany Over the persian Gulf War and German reunification have been resolved. Quot certainly we All lived through a dramatic period and there were times when communication broke Down a Kohl told a news conference. Quot that a certainly a fact Kohl said however that he a never doubted the excellent state of american German  tie added he could detect no irritation during his first trip to Washington since East and West Germany were reunited Hist october. A Kohl said his talks with president Bush on monday and members of Congress on tuesday were a particularly  lawmakers criticized Germany during the persian Gulf War because of its refusal to Send troops. But it has since won Laver for being one of the few countries to pay its pledge to the War costs some $6.6 billion. A some talked about some irritations but they certainly were nonexistent Between the . Government and the Federal government and certainly nonexistent Between president Bush and myself a Kohl said. A whoever attended the meetings on the Hill today certainly was not Able to detect any irritation Between the senators and congressmen a lie added. Kohl met with democratic and Republican leaders of the i Louse and Senate. One difference that remained however was Over Germany s Rebull to a . Request for lower German interest rates to help stimulate the world Economy. Kohl reiterated monday his View that higher interest rates stabilize the German Mark and contribute to a Strong Economy. German officials said a meeting tuesday with Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady was added to Kohls schedule at the americans request just before his return to Bonn on tuesday afternoon. Details of the discussions were not available. A fall american officials especially president Bush on their part again and again emphasized that they consider the dose cooperation and partnership with a United Germany As a key element of an american policy a he said. He said he had discussed plans for the seven nation Summit conference in London this july and said a main topic would be How to support the Reform process in the soviet Union and Eastern Europe. And he said he agreed with the americans he met with that they must do everything possible to succeed m International Trade talks and that would require compromises on All sides. I he United states has been critical of the european Community a High subsidies for Farmers which the americans say distort free Trade