European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes thursday october 31, 1991 at a glance Steinau once Home of the fairy tale writing Grimm Brothers is one of two picture perfect German towns explored in stripes Magazine. Fan convicted of murder the obsessed fan who stalked to actress Rebecca Schaeffer and shot her to death on her Doorstep was convicted of murder after he failed to convince a judge he was insane. A Page 4 croatian flotilla halted yugoslav Federal patrol boats stopped a flotilla carrying Dubrovnik residents and top croatian officials reports said. A Page 8 3rd-Quarter growth reported the . Economy grew at an annual rate of 2.4 percent Between july and september the first sign of growth in a year and the biggest quarterly increase since the Economy began to run out of steam in mid-1989. A Page 18 Index i Abby Ann Landers. 15 comics. 15-17 commentary. 13 crossword. 15 faces no places. 14 letters. 12 Money matters. 18 sports. 19-24 to listings. 23 weather. 11 collection time your stars and stripes Carrier will be collecting soon at government housing areas for the subscription period please have your payment of $11 ready 2,657 soldiers to win stripes for master sergeant next year by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a Early next year the army will begin pinning master sergeant stripes on 2,657 sergeants first class recommended for advancement by a recent promotion Board. The files of More than 24,600 eligible sergeants first class a the most Ever considered by a master sergeant promotion Board a were evaluated in july and Early August said col. John Querfeld chief of the enlisted division under the army Deputy chief of staff for personnel. The promotion selection rate a 10.8 percent a was lower than last years 11.1 percent Querfeld said. Current master sergeant promotions Are coming off last years 2,571-name list which will have 979 names left on it As of nov. 2. The selection rate for soldiers receiving their first primary zone screening was 18.7 percent while the selection rate for soldiers in the primary zone who have been considered at least once before was 9.8 percent. A total of 5.4 percent of soldiers in the secondary zone were selected. Soldiers in the primary zone Are those being considered for promotion in step with the average for their time in service peer group Querfeld said. Soldiers in the secondary zone Are those being considered for accelerated promotion ahead of their Peers a the real Cream of the crop a said it. Col. Timothy Decker who works for Querfeld. Promotions to master sergeant Are made each month based on requirements and vacancies As Well As seniority within each army military occupational specially mos. Army Force Structure changes particularly in Europe where heavy divisions Are slated for inactivation Are beginning to affect the promotion process and have made an Impact on the recent master sergeant selections. For example the Overall selection rate for Bradley fighting vehicle infantrymen who carry the 11m mos was almost three times lower than the rate for Light infantrymen with the 11b mos. That is because stateside Light infantry units have not Felt the effects of the Force Structure changes to Date while Bradley equipped divisions in Europe Are being inactivated. Master sergeant promotions in the Armor Field artillery and combat Engineer Fields Are also depressed for the same reason. Until the service opts to Force out mid career soldiers a a decision that has not been made yet a the current Force Structure draw Downs will naturally result in slower promotion rates in the combat arms Fields Querfeld said. By the same Token combat support and combat service support units Are being withdrawn from Europe but kept in the army inventory in the United states so promotion rates in those Fields remain relatively unaffected. For example Large career Fields with above average promotion rates for master sergeant include aircraft maintenance Supply and services administration and medical the average sergeant first class selected by the Board is about 37 years old and has 17 years of service More than one year of College an average skill qualification test score of 86 out of a possible 100, and about five years and eight months time in Grade Querfeld said. Selections for promotion to master sergeant have ranged from 2,000 to 5,000 a year since 1981. Talks from Page 1 ignition of the rights of palestinians denounced jewish settlements in occupied lands and insisted Israel should not a exercise a monopoly Over Jerusalem. The status of Jerusalem which is holy to jews and muslims alike is one of the bitterest issues confronting the conferees. Israel annexed the Eastern portion of the City after capturing it in the 1967 six Day War and has vowed it will remain United forever As the capital of the jewish state. The palestinians also claim the City As their capital. As the talks opened the splendor of Spain a Royal Palace and its Rich tapestries could not mask the underlying tension. One israeli Delegate said she tried to shake the hand of a lebanese negotiator but was snubbed. Other than that handshakes were simply avoided. By their presence Bush and Gorbachev Lent their influence and prestige to the talks the first since a 1973 Parley in Geneva collapsed in a Day. Ahead Lay months or years of delicate talks designed to move ancient foes away from the Brink of War. The Central Issue is conflicting claims to Arab lands seized in War by Israel and Bush tackled that head on. A we believe territorial Compromise is essential a he said. But he balanced that with a Call for real peace not just a a state of  that was a Clear message to Arab leaders who have not acknowledged israelis right to exist. Bush Laid out a timetable for an israeli palestinian settlement urging a completion of terms for limited self Rule on the West Bank and in Gaza in a year. In the third year the two sides would begin negotiations for a permanent arrangement that would take effect at the end of five years. Bush also reiterated the . Offer to provide technical and financial help to ease the Way for the parties toward a peace settlement. Trying to coax the two sides to take chances Bush assured them that subsequent negotiation on a permanent Accord would be a determined on their own  the apparent . Message was that an interim arrangement could be experimental a and not binding on the final situation. Hanan Ashrafi the palestinian spokeswoman welcomed a the conciliatory nature of Bush a speech. Yossi Ben Aharon a top aide to israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir expressed satisfaction that Bush called for a territorial Compromise a rather than a land for peace formula. The threat of a syrian pullout from the process came from Zohair Jannan head of the foreign press department at the syrian foreign ministry. A if Israel does not withdraw from occupied Arab territories and if the settlements Are not Frozen this will just have been a ceremonial conference. And we will withdraw from it a he told the associated press in Madrid. Flags from Page 1 a graveyard and an inferno for the United states Israel and their allies. Mohtashemi a leading parliament member and Iran a former Interior minister said All participants at the talks should be assassinated for treachery. He singled out president Bush As a a first degree criminal who should be punished for sponsoring the talks which islamic radicals see As a betrayal of the palestinian cause. Mohtashemi Scall before parliament was not endorsed by president Hashemi a Sfanjani a pragmatist. But the country a spiritual Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said participants at the conference were committing a treason a and would a suffer the Wrath of  in Beirut about 12,000 Chest beating demonstrators marched behind flags of the Iran backed Hezbollah to the shattered . Embassy compound which was blown up by a shiite suicide bomber on april 18, 1983. Sixty two people including 12 americans were killed and 100 wounded. Hezbollah Leader Abbas Muslawi addressed the demonstrators from a Balcony of the former embassy now Home to shiite refugees displaced by Lebanon a civil War. Some of the protesters burned american and israeli flags and declared their determination to a liberate holy  Europe from Page 1 Tion and the time it takes to break Down again would eat up months of an already Short tour Saint said. Saints comments came after he spoke for 40 minutes to members of the euro Pean chapter of the association of the . Army on the final night of the chapters annual convention held in Heidel Berg on monday and tuesday. The association serves As a Liaison Between the army and businesses supporting a Strong . Military. During his address Saint said that training will be More important to the smaller Usa eur of the future if the United states is going to break the habit of relaxing its guard after military victories. The effectiveness of the army has declined after every War a and when we have gone Back to War we have had to pay for it in blood a Saint said. Although the armies once thought to be a threat Are now in disarray the general told the group that there is still a threat and a need for the . Military in Europe. That military envisioned As a rapid reaction Force could find its Mission in combating destabilizing conflicts such As the one in Yugoslavia Saint said after his speech. A that particular conflict Isnit one that threatens our National Security a Saint said. But if Washington decided to move into a conflict a a in a there tomorrow a he said