European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday october 24, 1991 the stars and stripes c Page 3complaints Surprise postal official but they say new address system progressing Well by Crystal Laureano staff writer Ramstein a Germany a despite being surprised by the complaints of overseas military postal patrons officials from the . Postal service visiting Europe said wednesday that they Are satisfied with the Progress of the new address system. A a lot of Peoples expectations were that on Day 1 it was going to work a said Alan Kane assistant postmaster general for delivery distribution and transportation. A that just can to happen. The system is too huge. A but put it into perspective. Its Only three months into  Kane is in Europe to meet with army and air Force postal officials in Germany and Navy postal officials in London. With him Are colleagues from the . Postal service and the military postal service Agency the Liaison Agency Between the military and civilian postal services. The air Force and Navy in Europe began using the new four line address some new zip codes and a instead of new York n.y., on july 15. The army in Europe delayed implement Ion of the program until oct. 1. Both old and new addresses can be used until july 15, 1992, the deadline set by the . Postal service for All overseas military mail to carry the new address or be returned to the sender. Since july service members have complained that companies in the states have not accepted the new addresses particularly the a designation. Some Post offices stateside also have refused to accept packages destined for Apo a insisting that the sender use Apo new York. Such problems a took us a Little bit by Surprise a said Kenneth Mcfadden general manager of the International and military mail operations division of the . Postal service. A we put it out through Normal communications the Way that we implement a change a Mcfadden said. A we did no to expect the Type of reaction we  Mcfadden said he  say How individual companies were notified of the address changes but he insisted that the word was distributed through Standardi m guardedly confident that we Are better off than we think we Are a col. Don Price channels. The information was stressed especially with the postal services largest customers. A the word was put out and it was the expectation on our part that the word would get disseminated a Mcfadden said. Officials have tried to rectify any confusion by stepping up their information Campaign with major mailers Ana through notices in postal bulletins. Meanwhile the postal service is using feedback from disgruntled postal customers to identify specific prob lems. A my staff has personally called Over 200 firms in the United states and gotten very favourable reaction from them in terms of the changes they needed to make a he said. A and Well continue to do that As service members Over Here encounter  Mcfadden was caught off guard by complaints he has heard while in Germany that the four line address was not being accepted by some organizations. A a in a not so sure that there is a problem so much As a perception of a problem. I done to know a he said. A that is something that i am carrying away from this  officials Point to a Survey of overseas bound mail conducted at two stateside Gateway airports saying it shows the new address system is Well received. Mail was surveyed oct. 7 and 8 at Dulles International Airport in Washington and John f. Kennedy International Airport in new York said Marine col. Don Price Deputy director at the military postal service Agency. Some 30 to 40 percent of the mail leaving Juk Airport had the new address format and zip code designation As did 35 percent of the sampled outbound mail at Dulles. A a in a guardedly confident that we Are better off than we think we arc a Price said. Quot that Survey was taken on the 7th and 8th of october and i think now we Are higher than  a maybe there is just too much emotionalism around this thing a Kane said. A it seems to me that the game plan was to go All the Way until next july to make this thing work. Its now three months into it and we re up to around 40 percent and we be got nine months to go. That a not  to trim 20 percent of top officers Ottawa up a Canada plans to Cut 20 percent of its highest ranking military officers As part of an Overall reduction in the comparatively top heavy regular armed forces a defense official said tuesday. Associate defense minister Mary Collins told a parliamentary committee studying the governments new defense policy that 23 of the military Stop officers will lose their jobs Over the next two years either through attrition or redeployment to other government departments. It. Gen. Fred Sutherland vice chief of Canadas armed forces said the reductions were related to a streamlining the functions of command and  it. Col. Brian Mcdonald a retired member of the forces calculated in a newspaper report that Canada has 14.6 general officers for each 10,000 combat personnel. By contrast Germany has 4.8 and the United states has 4.9. Given the country a physical size and the Small size of its military Mcdonald said Canada should have Only seven generals for every 10,000 combat personnel. Sutherland said the cuts eventually might affect More than 20 percent of existing generals and admirals adding that the reduced size of Canadas regular forces increased the need to a manage  according to one news report Canada has More generals than tanks 115 to 113, and More officers than privates 18,681 to 16,096. Last month the conservative government announced plans to close its two bases in Germany by 1995, leaving Only a Token 1,100 military personnel who May become part of a rapid reaction Force headed by  forces rain shells on historic Dubrovnik two croatian defenders in Dubrovnik inspect a Street Crater caused by the Federal forces bombardment. Zagreb Yugoslavia apr Federal artillery and gunboats shelled the historic Center of Dubrovnik for the first time wednesday hitting medieval and Renaissance Sites in the walled City Center reports and witnesses said. At least three civilians were killed and two wounded during the Day As Federal forces poured More than 1,000 shells on Homes and hotels a some packed with refugees a around the medieval port croatian defense officials said. A City Hospital also was hit the defense officials said. The fierce assault on Dubrovnik a tourist Mecca and cultural treasure came hours after a yugoslav army officer was quoted by the state news Agency Tan Jug As saying the military was poised for an All out strike on croatian defences around Dubrovnik sport. The officer col. Miroslav to Clebak the commander of a front line unit said his men had come under severe mortar and sniper fire in Kupari a resort just South of Dubrovnik that Federal troops entered tuesday. Tan Jug later said the army withdrew from Kupari to a a safer position after suffering unspecified heavy casualties. Croatia declared Independence along with Slovenia on june 25, but Croatia a ethnic serbian minority wants no part of an Independent Croatia. The Federal army with a serbian dominated officer corps has sided with the serbian rebels in Croatia and More than 1,000 people have died in the fighting. In reporting the assault on Dubrovnik croatian defense officials cited Calls with their colleagues in the City who Are witnesses to the attacks. Croatian Media also reported the assaults which could not be independently confirmed. Earlier wednesday air raid sirens also sounded in Zagreb but no bombing was reported. It was the first Alert in Croatia a capital since thursday when Federal forces launched Strong attacks on Dubrovnik and croatian strongholds in the Eastern part of Republic. Federal planes bombed croatian positions near the Village of Jasenovic 40 Miles Southeast of Zagreb. The croatian town of Vukovan in Eastern Croatia which has been under siege for two months by the Federal army and serb militants was shelled again wednesday Tan Jug said. There were no reports of casualties. Associated press reporter Dusan Stojanovic at the serbian and army front line in Vukovan on tuesday saw dozens of bodies of serbs and croats decomposing in the no Many a land that separates the Federal and serbian troops from besieged croats in Vul Kovar Scenter. Elsewhere in Croatia Snow rain mud and cold seemed to have stilled much of the fighting. The croatian officials said that monuments hit during a fierce gunboat attack on Dubrovnik sold town wednesday afternoon included the Minctta Tower on the City ramparts the old musical school in the City Center and the Rcv Clin fortress at the City a Southern Gate. A military communique cited by Tan Jug claimed that croatian forces inside Dubrovnik were trying to provoke the army into attacks. The report said the croats were firing on Federal troops from Parks Tennis courts and gardens inside Dubrovnik where More than 50,000 people Are reportedly trapped. Overnight gunboats off Dubrovnik shelled the Babin Kuk resort area just North of the heart of the town and the Small Island of la pad croatian defense officials said. They said several hotels were badly damaged and a Hospital also was hit. A naval blockade lifted to allow some ships in and out of Dubrovnik in recent Days was reportedly again in Force. The continued fighting around Dubrovnik came after Serbia and its allies remaining on the collective Federal presidency approved tuesday a wide Call up of army reservists in regions that want to remain part of Yugoslavia