European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Vol. 50, no. 134 sunday August 25,1991 authorized unofficial publication for the . Armed forces 500 d 8693 a it v Quot a a f it Ltd is Gorbachev joins to mourn  a. T f it % it 3 Young Savior from wire reports Moscow a Boris n. Yeltsin leading tens of thousands of mourners hailed three Young coup victims As russians Savior and Mikhail s. Gorbachev awarded them the highest soviet civilian Honor As they were buried saturday. Were shrouded in the White red and Blue Flag of pre revolutionary Russia. At the funeral of the three victims officials renamed Central manch Square the Square of free Russia to Honor the tens of thousands of russians who stood up to the communist hard liners during a we say goodbye to our heroes our the failed 63-hour coup last week 4 a thousands surround three Flag and Flower dropped coffins in Moscow on saturday. Defenders our Savior. Of course we arc not saying goodbye to their names a because their names will become sacred to Russia a the somber russian president said from behind a bulletproof shield. The caskets of Dmitry Komar 23, Iliya Krichevsky 28, and Vladimir Usova 37, Yeltsin walked with the mourners to Moscow a Vaganov Skoyec cemetery from the Central manch Square where Gorbachev earlier had awarded the three muscovites killed by soldiers during the see mourn on Page 2military readiness increased quietly during coup by Barton Gellman the Washington Post Washington a during the Moscow coup the . Military took hundreds of quiet Steps around the world to heighten readiness. / As Long As the outcome remained in doubt according to military officials they could not ignore the risk that a a soviet civil War might spill across International  or that a consolidated coup might place a More hostile government in command of Moscow a enormous military resources. For three anxious Days some officials said they confronted the possibility that their strategic picture of the world was about to change  considers ousting 1,900 majors captains by Janet Howells Tierney Washington Bureau Washington a the army May have to involuntarily separate As Many As 1,900 majors and captains next year to meet reduced troop Levels set by Congress the services personnel officials said. The number could be reduced if Congress approves a voluntary separation plan endorsed by army personnel officials. The army is the largest of the nations military services with about 721,000 soldiers on Active duty said it. Gen. William h. Reno chief of staff for army personnel. And because of its size the army will lose the most people 186,000 by 1995 to reach the congressional mandated troop strength of 535,000. The service plans to have about 50,000 fewer soldiers by the end of fiscal 1992 and 42,000 less by the end of each of the following years through 1995, Reno said during a recent interview with soldiers radio and television in Washington. Sruv produces and distributes news reports and command information for broadcast on the armed forces radio and television service and on closed Cir see army on Page 2 Over the medium and Long term a Pentagon policy official said a fall the suppositions we had about the positive evolution that allowed the end of the cold War would have been called into questions by a successful coup. But some officials worried about More immediate threats. A i think its fair to say that in the 22 years in be been a commissioned officer Many of the scenarios started with these kinds of things a breakdown of the political system of the soviet Union some kind of internal instability which led then to regional instability a said one officer whose Job involves Day to Day knowledge of military operations and intelligence. Ultimately it was the Moscow government that concerned military planners. Had the coup succeeded they anticipated a return to cold War policies such As providing weapons and intelligence to . Adversaries. A a it a a great reminder for the military professional and the policy person that things Arentt always As stable As they seem one senior officer said. A a life a full of mean surprises and this was just one of  determined from the beginning not to raise Public fears or provoke an inadvertent clash the defense department echoed president Bush a assertion that the turmoil in Moscow presented no military concern to the United states. Officials clamped Down hard on Public comment. For similar reasons officials said the joint chiefs of staff did not change the a defense conditions that governs the Tempo of worldwide military operations and see readiness on Page 2 a amps Dave Casoy they re off and paddling hard at the Start of the fourth annual v corps and German american raft race on saturday. The Field was crowded As teams vied to he the first Over the finish line 400 meters away. Some 600 people had signed up to compete on the wet and wild main River course near Frankfurt Germany