European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday june 22, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 7panel hears Gulf War tales of derring do Washington apr two army special operations officers on thursday described daring Rescue missions inside Iraq under enemy fire during the persian Gulf War. A. A a a a it was a harrowing experience a a army chief warrant officer . Balwanz said recounting How he and seven men were trapped in a Chest deep canal near the euphrates River in Iraq. ,. A we held off a company of iraqi soldiers plus some armed bedouins that joined in the fracas for approximately six hours until we could be rescued a he told a Senate armed services subcommittee. The enemy numbered about 150, said Balwanz who headed a reconnaissance team. With soldiers in the Trench american fh6 planes flew overhead providing close air support. Eventually the americans were rescued by Black Hawk helicopters. Balwanz was among a group of officers who testified publicly for the first time about the role special operations played in operations desert shield and desert  special operations come an elite group com Manson fan moves to be near Priorf los Angeles apr a Charles Manson Follower is moving Back to California to be near the. Imprisoned cult Leader according to a prosecutor. Sandra Collins also known As Sandra Good plans to live near y Corcoran state prison South of Fresno where Manson is serving a life term Deputy District attorney Steven Kay said. Manson followers arc prohibited from visiting him but she might try anyway he said. J. A a she so a very Good hard Core Follower a Kay said. A she will do something to get to Manson. Whether Shell get in trouble doing it or not i done to  Manson 56, was convicted along with Susan Atkins Patricia Krenwinkel and. Leslie Van Houten after the grisly 1969 Tate Labianca murders. / the women said they were obeying Manson a orders when they killed actress Sharon Tate and four others As Well As grocer Leno Labianca and his wife Good 46, served a decade Long sentence for sending threatening letters to business people. She was paroled in 1985 and moved to Burlington  a at first she rejected parole because one of  conditions was that she  associate with the Manson family a Kay said. The conditions of her parole ended earlier this year. Good and other Manson family followers staged daily vigils on the sidewalk outside Quot the courthouse when Manson and the other women were being tried. When Manson carved an. A  on his it forehead Good carved one on hers. When Madison shaved his head Good followed suit. Prising air Force Navy and army personnel handled Many of the Riskiest most secret jobs in the War operations of deception along the Kuwait coast reconnaissance missions inside Iraq and Rescue operations. They often used such sophisticated equipment As sat a elite radios that allowed reconnaissance personnel to transmit up to Date details Back to Headquarters and satellite equipment that read land terrain and night vision equipment. A another army chief warrant officer Jim Crisafulli told the senators How he flew Black Hawk helicopters 200 Miles into Iraq to extract another special operations team under attack. Because of the need to act quickly the pilots moved across enemy territory in Daylight a deviation from Normal nighttime operations. The pilots rescued their colleagues from a ditch just 35 feet from enemy positions Crisafulli said. Sen. William Cohen a Mac called the special operations members heroic. Army Gen. Carl w. Stiner commander of the pc Cial operations come based at Macdill fab near Tampa ija., said equipment and operations worked excellently in the War. But he said there was room for improvement a the Navy is very concerned about shallow mines. A it s a real problem and poses significant risk and we done to have an adequate Way to Deal with it a he said. A another shortcoming is the submersible boats that carry seals a the Navy a special operations Force a to enemy territory. Because the personnel Are exposed to the water sometimes As Long As eight hours they arrive at Shore often with their body temperatures Down. As a result they Are not in top form he said. The military has proposed building dry submersible boats in 1995, he said. A service members Ponist carry Between 140 pounds and 150 pounds in their packs when they leave for missions of five Days or so. The packs include food ammunition radios and batteries. But Stiner told sen. Sam Nunn d-ga., that the military wants to reduce the Load to about 40 pounds. Officials Are experimenting with lighter batteries and equipment. V a a  z it f leaving Job in Congress rep. William ii. Gray Iii answers reporters questions after being elected president of the United negro College fund on thursday. The House majority whip who represents Pennsylvania a 2nd congressional District said he decided to leave Congress a because i could make a More focused contribution and at the same time spend More Quality time with my family and my  Gray 49, is the pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Mines no Washington up proposed fines totalling a record $6.51 million have been assessed on about 800 Coal mines nationwide for tampering with dust samples intended to protect miners from the deadly Black lung disease the labor department announced. Coal mines in Utah Colorado Montana and Wyoming were among the 800 fined in the scheme to sidestep Regula  to protect miners. A this is the largest aggregate Fine Ever assessed under Federal mine safety and health Law a Secretary of labor Lynn Martin said thursday. A the magnitude of the fully proposed penalty reflects the magnitude of the offence. We Are fully committed to Assur no the integrity of the sampling program ind keeping dust Levels below the limits set Law. Martin announced the citations against the Coal mines in april. West Virginia with $1.63 million in fines led the 16 states that were cited. Other sums facing mines totalled $1.42 million in Kentucky. $1.19 million in Pennsylvania $86,000 in Utah $113,000 in Colorado and about $8,000 each in Montana and Wyoming. Giant fish in sky keeping in War Rio Grande City Texas a drug smugglers who Fly their contraband in from the South face a new obstacle a 2,000-mile a radar Fence of balloons capable of keeping an eve on the entire mexican Border. Three giant helium balloons undergoing final tests in Lexas have completed the network of six a tethered Aero stats designed to watch for aircraft. Since March the six Aerostat have guarded the Border from californians Pacific coast to the Texas Gulf coast. More of the 233-foot balloons a which look like giant White fish a Are to be installed to keep watch on the nations Southeastern flank including Florida Louisiana and the Caribbean. Statistics Arentt available on How effective the balloons have been in slowing the flow of drugs irom Mexico. But the Cus Toms service which directed the programs development said some traffickers have abandoned planes in favor of More risky ground transportation. A a we re seeing that the Aerostat and the air program Are a deterrent to drug smugglers living across the Border a said Suzanne Moore a customs spokeswoman in Riverside Calif. Customs officials also credit the balloons with helping officials seize 500 pounds of marijuana in february 1990. The air Force recently took Over operation and maintenance of the balloon network. Before the installation of the balloons which can hover As High As 15,000 feet Many Remote sections of the Border went uncovered by ground radar stations. Pilots flying Low especially at night could avoid the radar land and unload drugs at any of hundreds of Small airstrips