European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                War vehicles to get beacons military seeks to eliminate Friendly fire deaths by Joseph Albright Cox news service Washington a distressed by 35 Friendly fire deaths in operation desert storm the . Ground forces will soon begin tagging their fighting vehicles with electronic beacons to Ward off accidental hits in a future War. Starting next month thousands of the beacons will be shipped to army and Marine divisions around the world said Richard Childress director of the army a advanced systems concepts office. First to receive the a anti fratricide devices will be the army so contingency units a including the 24th inf div Mech from fort Stewart a. The 24th Mech was the first heavy tank unit dispatched to saudi Arabia last year and it reportedly remains the Central Comdr so a contingency tank unit for use in some future persian Gulf flare up. The beacons Are meant to be stuck onto the exterior Metal surface of tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles with tape or velcro fasteners. Once a Crew member gets the order to switch on the Beacon it will blink out pulses of a near infrared Light that can be observed from several Miles away by other Allied tank Crews and pilots of tank killing helicopters and fighters. Up to now the ground forces have never found it necessary to equip their fighting vehicles with electronic recognition devices comparable to those used by commercial airliners and military jets throughout the world. But As Gen. Colin l. Powell chairman of the joint see vehicles on Page 2yugoslav Navy says Adriatic ports blocked Belgrade Yugoslavia a the yugoslav Navy claimed tuesday that it had sealed off Dubrovnik and Croatia a other main Adriatic ports and warned that Federal ships would fire on any vessel trying to run the blockade. A statement released by the Navy said the measure was in retaliation for a blockade by croatian forces of Federal army garrisons throughout the breakaway Republic. According to the statement the ports of Rijeka split Pula Zadar Sibenik Ploce and Dubrovnik were blocked. The Navy warned that its ships would attack any vessel trying to leave or enter the ports. The announcement came a Day after the Federal military run mainly by officers of Yugoslavia a dominant Republic of Serbia said it launched an offensive to crack the croatian sieges. Also monday a High ranking european Community negotiator prepared to open peace talks. In the Netherlands the econ monday urged the deployment of a lightly armed peacekeeping Force As demanded by Croatia. Serbia idea. It a opposes the dec leaders have stopped Short of considering military intervention in Yugoslavia but Many have said they would be ready to do so if the nearly 3-month-old conflict threatened to become a full scale civil War. The american ambassador to nato see Adriatic on Page 2 a plane goes up in flames after a yugoslav army rocket attack on the civilian Airport at Varadin North of Zagreb. Overseas Van buyers did t get Brake option by Ron Mckinney staff writer at least seven Chrysler vans ordered with an anti lock Brake system were delivered to military customers in Continental Europe without the accessory a military car sales spokesman said. The $454 package Deal which included a steering wheel air bag was not included on 74 of Chrysler a 1991 voyager and caravan models to military customers worldwide. A there was a shortage at the time of production a said Douglas Schurig the manager for Chrysler a International military sales. He said Chrysler has worked with the overseas military car sales to inform the Van owners so refunds can be made. A your distributor has taken All the necessary Steps to advise the customers a he said. A by All indications they were All  maj. David Landon however said he discovered the missing anti lock brakes on his Van himself. Landon the combat strike division chief for . Air forces Europe at Ramstein a Germany accepted his $19,953 voyager in August at Kaiserslautern. He had ordered the Van with the anti lock Brake package in March. When the Van was delivered Landon said no one told him there was no Antilock Brake. Landon read the owners manual and Learned that a dashboard Ligh was sup see Van on Page 2 Galvin foresees Sharp cuts in . Troop Levels in Europe Cambridge mass. A the commander of nato forces told a group of soviet officers monday that the vanishing soviet military threat should Lead the United states to make Sharp cuts in its troop Levels in Europe. But . Gen. John r. Galvin added that the United states must maintain a military presence in Europe to promote stability. A we cannot retire into fortress America a Galvin told nearly 30 senior soviet military officials at Harvard University a John f. Kennedy school of government. The soviet officials Are in Cambridge to meet with National Security experts and get a glimpse of How a military operates in a democracy. Among the topics has been the future role of the United states and soviet Union in Europe following the collapse of soviet Central authority. A we done to consider the soviet Union As a nation that is planning some kind of attack against anybody Galvin said. A there is no threat of the old sense but there is a desire for stability and predictability a he said. Galvin said that when he took his Post four years ago there were More than 320,000 . Troops stationed in Europe. That number is Down today see Galvin on Page 2