European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Rethinking the roles of women and draftees by William Tuohy _ los Angeles times in the aftermath of the cold War and the persian Gulf conflict Many nations Are revising their attitudes toward compulsory military service and combat roles for women soldiers. Some Western nations Are weighing an end to compulsory military service or at least reducing the number of draftees and turning toward All Volunteer armies such As those of the United states and Britain. Around the world 83 of the 140 Sovereign nations with military forces employ some form of conscription which Means according to defense sources that at any Given time about 10 million draftees Are lost to the work Force in order to serve in the military. But among Many Western and East european nations As Well the length of service for conscripts is being reduced much to the dismay of professional officers who believe that training soldiers for Short military stints is a waste of time. Further Many countries report a growing trend As in the . Army toward the use of women in expanding roles in the army air and naval services. The performance of american women soldiers in the Gulf was highly praised experts a five women were killed in action and two taken prisoner a and the . Senate recently voted to permit women pilots to Fly combat missions. Ironically Israel the Only major military nation that drafts women into the army has refused to give them combat roles a and the Gulf War has not changed the mind of the defense ministry in Tel Aviv. Nor is Israel reducing the length of sen ice of conscripts four years for officers three years for men two years for women. The pressure for limiting conscription service is impelled by the reduced defense budgets on both sides of the old cold War Divide. Moreover population trends in some of the industrialized countries have already so reduced the number of Young men coming of military age that these nations have been hard pressed to fill their draft quotas. Readers action Linean american Holiday without ice q a what s the problem with having an adequate ice Supply for major holidays i and 50. Others showed up at the Wiesbaden Haine Berg Shorette Between 8 45 and 10 . On the fourth of july to get ice for our traditional barbeques. There was none. We were told various stories from the delivery truck broke Down to the ice making machine was broken to it will be delivered any minute now. Word seeped out that the class i had ice and the feeding frenzy that ensued almost ended in fisticuffs. People who stood in line to pay got none. It was rather disgusting. It s not like we can just go Down to 7-eleven or any Quick Stop store. Do you know any German stores that sell ice none of us did or wed have gladly taken your profits somewhere else. By the Way the situation never improved. July 8 there stiff Wasny to any. I recall the same problem last fourth and on labor Day so this is nothing new. Francis j. Tyminski Wiesbaden Germany sgt. Maj. Michel j. Bolduc he cafes Europe a sergeant major replies i m sorry this happened and apologize Lor the inconvenience to you and others the Correct Story is the ice maker at our ice Plant in Offenbach broke Down. The Only place we could obtain replacement parts was in the United states and thus the month Long wait for ice the Good news is the ice machine is now repaired and in Germany the bund Estehr Only two years ago was still planning to raise the length of service for draftees from 15 to 18 months to maintain armed strength. But Quot last october on the eve of unification Bonn announced a Cut for conscript service to 12 months. The dutch too have reduced conscription time to 12 months and Are planning to reduce the total number of draftees by almost 50 percent by 1995. Some military experts argue that a smaller Al Volunteer professional standing army will be better Able to Cope with emergencies than one heavily reliant on conscripts. A in july the French government decided to reduce compulsory military service from 12 to10 months. Former defense minister Jean Pierre Cheve nement complained Quot i am against this reduction. It is the first step toward a professional but former president Valery Giscard Deestaing countered Quot i am for an army of volunteers and professionals for two reasons. One is the end of the cold War and the second is the Gulf War which has shown that Only the scientific arms used by men very Well prepared Are among the Eastern european nations the former communist defense ministries Are also reducing the the Haine Burg shop Pette manager says he a going to make sure he has an adequate Supply of ice on hand for the labor Day arduous search for medical care of a the people of the we Brucken Kreuzberg Community Are once again the victims of the Workings of the official minds. A few year ago they decided to close Down the movie theater rather than have some place close for our children to go. Its much better that they have to drive through town to the air base leaving nothing for them to do at Kreuzberg. Now we Brucken a is closing. Once again we Are losing our facilities. Not Only Are we losing facilities for the entertainment of our youngsters but we Are losing medical facilities. Instead of being Able to turn our records into the Lan Stuhl Hospital we either have to drive to Vogel Weh in Kaiserslautern or to the other Side of Pir Masens to Munchweiler. Both of these places Are out of the Way causing us to travel extra Miles for no apparent reason Why Are we being penalized for the we Brucken air base closing Why can to Lan Stuhl accept our medical records yes the army is really taking care of its own Sharon m. Russell. We Brucken Germany text. Col. Gary n. Matteson ambulatory patient care consultant he 7th medical come replies we understand your concerns about the closure of the air Force health clinic at we Brucken air base. It is obvious that this will present an inconvenience to your Community when compared to the services offered now a amps Art Wes Booher length of service for draftees. Romania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Hungary and Poland All have Cut service time to Between 12 and 18 months from the former two to three years. Even in the soviet Union where compulsory service has Long been viewed As one of the most sacred patriotic obligations a vigorous debate is now under Way. In East Asia Japan has an All Volunteer self defense Force including women while the huge armies of China North Korea South Korea and Vietnam generally conscript for longer periods than Western services and use women volunteers. A. Quot we Are using More women in the military Quot said a South korean officer. And a japanese Diplomat added Quot we May have a lady general one in the Middle East where several nations remain technically at War with Israel there is perhaps the least sign of change. Israel has a Tough conscription policy and drafts women though they Are kept out of the kind of combat roles their predecessors once played during pre statehood fighting. Major Arab military nations such As Egypt Syria Jordan and Algeria All have conscription with periods ranging to three years. But none accept women soldiers in the armed forces. The problem is that As the air Force departs there Are no new resources for an additional army clinic. As the draw Down in Europe occurs we Are trying to improve care by maintaining current staffing at existing facilities. As communities draw Down in size this should improve the availability of care. Opening an army health clinic in your Community Means medical care would have to be reduced elsewhere. The reason you Are being asked to go to Vogel Weh or Munchweiler for outpatient health care is those Are the closest health clinics in your area. Although Munchweiler and Lan Stuhl Are somewhat similar distances from we Brucken the Hospital at Lan Stuhl is a regional medical Center which offers Many specialities by referral while the primary outpatient care facility for the Lan Stuhl Kaiserslautern area is located at Vogel Weh. Medical records Are maintained at the outpatient care facility where you receive your primary health care. The commander of the Lan Stuhl regional medical Center is the coordinator of health care in your area and is currently working with Community commanders to ensure Quality health care is available. If specific problems do arise please Contact the patient representative at Lan Stuhl. To write us readers action line is the readers a court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or quest bus about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes. Apo 09211-4211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 a the stars and stripes wednesday August 28, 1991
