European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse 1 St army div joins 3rd inf in Bavaria by Vince Crawley and John Millar staff writers a Marne land patches became a hot commodity Friday in a part of Northern Bavaria that the army used to Call because of restructuring related to the reduction in troop strength about 6,000 gis switched patches from the 1st army div nicknamed a old Ironsides a to the 3rd inf known As the a Marne the units of the 1st army div Are scheduled to inactivate Early next year when the division colors and emblems will be transferred to bad Kreuz Nach. Troops must have their patches sewn on by monday morning when they Comesee related Chart and Story on Page 3 to work said maj. Brian Shellum the 2nd brigade adjutant in Erlanger Germany. He sewed on his own Marne Patch thursday evening. In Vilseck where old Ironsides 1st brigade became the Marne divisions 3rd brigade the military clothing sales store manager says she Wasny to caught by Surprise. She began stocking 3rd inf div patches six weeks ago. A i ordered 12,000 subdued camouflaged patches and 7,000 full color patches a Jutte Waechter said. She said that she figured 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers would have to change Over and that each of them needed patches for four Battle dress uniforms plus a set of dress greens. The store manager explained that Vilseck commanders and sergeants major have kept her posted on what patches to order. A they always keep me Waechter keeps a big Basket of the new patches behind the counter a and that Sall in be been Selling for the last four other areas Aren t so Well stocked. A presently no there Arentt enough a sgt. Maj. David major said of the Patch situation in Erlanger. A but As they come in units arc being 348 Vince Crawley wearing a 3rd inf div Patch a Soldier from Erlanger holds the rag and Battle Streamer of the 1st army Oivo a 2nd brigade. The colors were then retired and the brigade was transferred to the 3rd inf div. The Triangle on the rag is the 1st army div Patch. Still he said a in my battalion most of the soldiers have got one and he has been sending Supply sergeants out to scavenge patches from units that were already in the 3rd inf div. A a we re also trying to Type up paperwork that would allow soldiers to get patches sewn on without spending Money out of their pockets Quot major said. A spokesman for the bad Kreuz Nach military clothing sales store said he expects Nev uniform patches to be in Stock within three weeks. Soldiers will need to replace their former a a Pathfinder patches of the 8lh inf div with the a a Ironsides patches of the just army div. For most soldiers the new Patch is All the see soldiers on Page 2point system used to pick draw Down units a a 1-by Eefie Bathen 1 numbers Bureau the army used a Complex formula including a Point system to determine which european units would remain on Active duty after the draw Down in Europe. The draw Down is a an extremely emotional Issue because it deals with the lineage of the unit Quot said staff sgt. Elayne Venema a spokeswoman for the . Army in Europe so a system was developed that considered non emotional issues such As geographic location available facilities and the nation s commitments to allies she said. A a Quot to the army also used a historical precedence ranking system that rates units in four categories a infantry armoured airborne and air assault according to information from the army. Units with a Long history of Battle honors Are held in the highest esteem and have a greater claim to Active status. According to the information each unit receives a one Point Lor every year since the unit was organized and Active. No Points arc deducted for periods of inactive status. A two Points for each Campaign in which it served. A two Points for each unit decoration awarded. The historical part of the Issue is possibly the most emotional said Venema because some units Dale Back to before the civil War. Commanders at the corps and brigade level who helped in the draw Down discussions were particularly proud of their units heritage she said. One Pentagon source recalled that a raised Eyebrow from a four Star general saved an armoured cavalry regiment from the deactivation list. Accessibility to training areas was a geographical consideration Venema said. In addition to the Ziajor training areas near Grafen Wuhr and Hohenfels local training Fields were evaluated. The army also gave priority to communities with the Best military and Community facilities. A the goal was to move As Many soldiers from substandard conditions to better standards a new problems May stall hostage release Beirut Lebanon apr As hostage families broadcast messages to their loved ones in Lebanon a shiite cleric Iran and Syria All indicated that problems May arise in negotiations aimed at ending the hostage crisis. The most influential shiite Muslim cleric in Lebanon Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told Ful Lowers Friday that he believes the United states will try to Block . Efforts for an Exchange involving the Western hostages seven missing israeli servicemen and nearly 400 Arab prisoners held by Israel. His comments came hours after the . Secretary general predicted Progress in the next few weeks toward such an Exchange. Syria and Iran have urged that the hostage Deal include Arab prisoners that Israel and Germany have refused to include in the expected Deal. Iran a ambassador to Germany Hussein Mousavi an said Friday that unless Germany releases two convicted Arab terrorists it May not win the Freedom of two German captives held in Lebanon. German officials have repeatedly refused demands to free the two terrorists Mohammed and Abbas Hamudis. . Secretary general Javier Perez de Cuellar has said no european prisoners will he included in the proposed Swap. Relatives of three Western hostages broadcast radio messages thursday after a week that saw new talks three Western hostage releases and encouragement that the remaining captives May be listening. Briton John Mccarthy said after his release aug. 8 that the see stall on Page 2
