European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes wednesday september 18, 1991 at a glance its the end of an Era. Strategic air come in an Effort to save Money is eliminating the Tail gunners position on its b-52 bombers. See Story on Page 5. Thomas praised criticized three Black Law professors urged the Senate judiciary committee to reject Clarence Thomas nomination to the supreme court but other educators and a former Federal judge endorsed the nominee. A Page 4 insurer leaving new Jersey Allstate insurance co., one of the largest insurers in new Jersey announced that it intends to withdraw All property and casualty business from the state. A Page 6 taxes still being withheld civilian employees in Europe will continue to pay social Security and medicare taxes on overseas housing and Cost of living allowances until payroll centers can modify their computer systems to Stop withholding. A Page 9 profits called a must army business ventures such As clubs and Bowling centers should fold if they do not make a profit the commander of the army Community and family support Center says. A Page 10 Bank Reform urged a group of banking experts urged Congress on monday to immediately Reform Laws governing insurance for Bank depositors to prevent further taxpayer losses. A Page 17 Index Abby Ann Landers. 19 action line. 16 comics. 19-21 commentary. 13 crossword. 19 letters. 12 Money matters. 17-18 sports. 23-28 to listings. 27 weather. 11 vehicles from Page 1 chiefs of staff and his subordinates studied the causes of Allied losses during operation desert storm they concluded that american troops need More Protection from the enormous firepower of their fellow warriors. A Pentagon inquiry into combat losses found that 27 out of the 35 army tanks and Bradley lost during operation desert storm had been accidentally hit by american tanks Apache helicopters and a-10 Thunderbolt warplanes. Only eight of the 35 fell victim to iraqi mines and gunfire. The study also found that 35 of the 148 men and women killed in action about 24 percent a died As a result of Friendly fire. Part of the problem officials now acknowledge is that modern tanks can attack targets Well beyond the Range where they can be accurately identified. The army Stop of the line m1a1 Abrams can hit targets More than two Miles away. The army did not really focus on this mismatch of guns and gun sights As Long As its primary objective was fighting soviet troops in the relatively confined terrain of Europe. But the Flat desert of Southern Iraq accentuated the weakness by encouraging commanders to move As fast As possible and shoot their guns at their maximum ranges. Childress said of the Abrams tank the Thermal sights proved to be very Good. Our problem is that we can see the targets but we cannot always identify them at extreme  the new anti fratricide beacons Are supposed to make it easier for a tank commander or Pilot to resolve doubts about the identity of a target by scanning it through the military a Stan Dard Issue night vision goggles. If the telltale blink of the anti fratricide Beacon appears through the goggles no one should open fire. Army commanders will be issued two kinds of beacons one costing $200 apiece and the other $30 apiece. Troops Are supposed to be trained on both models but the decision on which one or ones would be used in combat would be deferred until an actual Battle approached. The army acknowledges that these first generation beacons have drawbacks but says it is working to perfect devices that will be much More reliable. One failing of the soon to be issued beacons is that they Are useless in daytime. They work by transmitting narrow beams of invisible Light that can be seen through the military s High tech night vision goggles. A More serious drawback according to army officials is that the beacons Are capable of revealing the position of american forces to anyone on the Battlefield a enemies included a who have night vision equipment. Even though the iraqis lacked night vision devices in the Gulf War the army figures its next enemy May Well have managed to develop night vision devices or will Purchase them on the Black Market. Within two years the army a advanced systems concepts office plans to Field a far More sophisticated a a query and re Sponser system in which american combat vehicles would be equipped with devices capable of beaming a a done to shoot messages whenever they Are about to be attacked by an Allied unit. Of from Page 1 forces creating air wings that operate More than one kind of aircraft and consolidating All base organizations under one Wing. In Europe an example of the so called a single Wing Quot concept would be at Ramstein a Germany. Last Spring the air division that oversaw the bases fighter Wing and its support Wing was inactivated. The functions were placed under a single Wing umbrella. Restructuring of the air Force began in late May with the air staff and secretariat offices realigning their functions officials said. Reorganization of the air staff offices will ultimately mean a smaller Headquarters staff of 2,565, representing a 21 percent personnel reduction from its current roster of 3,280. A total of 14 general officer slots have been eliminated throughout the service air Force officials said. The paper referred to several specific wings As composite wings which Are made up of several different kinds of  those listed were units at Mountain Home fab Idaho Pope fab n.c., and Osan a Korea. Not mentioned however was the 52nd tac fighter Wing at Span Dahlem a Germany where several different kinds of aircraft will be based soon. An air Force spokeswoman said that it was too Early to discuss the role of specific wings in the restructuring process. Also she would not elaborate on How the changes will affect the numbered air forces a the 17th in Germany and the Netherlands the Mediterranean based 16th air Force and the 3rd air Force which oversees . Air Force operations in the United kingdom. In his speech Rice emphasized the theme of a global reach global Power a which the air Force uses to describe its strategic planning framework focusing on Airpower a Speed Range flexibility precision and How lethal it is. A though the integrated employment of Airpower is not a new idea a Rice said a a operation desert storm punctuated the Point. A to bring integrated Airpower to Bear in today a world it is counterproductive to separate it into three  the air mobility come will handle Airlift and transportation As does the existing military Airlift come but its Mission will expand to include Aerial refuelling a is critical to moving forces Long distances i Short times Quot Rice said. However Forward stationed tankers so in will be assigned to theater air forces such As the . Air forces in Europe and Pacific air forces. The refuelling aircraft currently Are controlled by the strategic air come. The air combat come will oversee intercontinental ballistic missiles reconnaissance some tactical Airlift and tankers fighters and bombers As Well As the people who operate and support them. In addition the command will be responsible for communications command and control and intelligence aircraft such As the airborne warning and control system or a acs. The tac air come with Headquarters at Langley fab va., is responsible for deploying rapidly anywhere for sustained tactical air operations and for providing combat ready forces to defend North America against aerospace attack. The strategic air come which has its Headquarters at Offutt fab neb., provides the United states with nuclear Power Strong enough to deter an attack. It also maintains a Long Range bomber Force and airborne reconnaissance refuelling and worldwide command and control systems. The military Airlift come with Headquarters at Scott fab 111., is responsible for Airlift aerospace Rescue and recovery aeromedical Airlift and evacuation and airborne weather reconnaissance. Canada from Page 1 then will be turned Over to the German Federal government. The reductions Are expected to yield a savings of nearly $438.8 million . Over the next four years and much greater savings in the years beyond that. Canada now has 7,305 troops 827 civilian employees and 10,087 family members in Europe. More than half the canadians arc stationed at Lahr. The Federal Cabinet decided on thurs Day to withdraw the troops and close the bases Smith said. The decision followed a three year defense policy review with input from nato allies. He added that the current turmoil in parts of Eastern Europe did not influence the decision. A we have from now until 1995 to determine whether the risk was acceptable and the Way things Are going now i have no hesitation a he said. The base closures mean that the forces no longer will have a european transit Point for Canadian troops and supplies dedicated to . Operations in other countries. A we recognize that it will be More difficult to support our operations in places like Cyprus without a base in Europe a Smith said. But he added that such support will not be impossible to provide. Smith said no location has been arranged yet for the 1,100-member army task Force that will remain in Europe but it probably will occupy space on a facility operated by one of Canadas nato allies and not necessarily in Germany. Forces personnel Learned of the decision in Smiths 5 . Announcement Over Canadian forces broadcast outlets. Galvin from Page 1 to about 260,000, and Galvin said he believes the Force can be reduced to 150,000. But Europe still holds the potential for conflict As evidenced by the current civil War in Yugoslavia and the allies need a military Force that can face unexpected crises Galvin said. Galvin said a changing North Atlantic treaty organization could begin to take shape in november when the Alliance holds its Summit in Rome. There have already been moves to forge More links with Eastern Europe and the soviet Union to maintain european Security Galvin said. These discussions could Lead to a an interlocking network of Security structures a Galvin said. Some of the Soviel officials echoed these themes. A i am convinced that nato in the shape in which it was created in the period of confrontation with the Warsaw pact  exist any longer Quot said col. Vladimir Danilov a soviet military spokesman through a translator