European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday november 27. 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 3 Short term rotations might be feasible this time Saint say with grandpa for first time freed hostage Thomas Sutherland holds his 4-Yearold granddaughter Simone for the first time after arriving at san Francisco International Airport on monday evening. Sutherland was reunited with relatives monday after being held for More than six years As a hostage in Lebanon. He said he plans to have a a very very Happy thanksgiving with his family in Berkeley Calif. By Vince Crawley staff writer although previous attempts failed it May be possible to rotate soldiers in and out of Europe on Short term duty assignments the commander of the army in Europe said in a prerecorded television interview tuesday night. A you can to say its a Good idea bad idea. You have to apply it to the specific circumstances a Gen. Crostic e. Saint said in the 25-minute interview on the american forces network. The army has made three experiments with Short term unit rotations the general said a and it has not worked. On the other hand there arc things that have changed since the last attempt in the 1970swhich Means that you done to know that its going to work or not going to work another  Saint described Short term rotations As a a dumb ideas in an interview with the stars and stripes published oct. 31. Short rotations of units overseas have Long been favored by some lawmakers notably rep. Patricia Schmo Cdr a Colo. Schroeder argues that the United states does not need to maintain such a Large and costly infrastructure a including schools and family housing a to support permanently based units in Europe. With recent political developments in Europe such As the failed soviet coup in August army leaders arc again exploring such proposals. A the new situation gives us a degree of flexibility that the earlier threat did not allow a army Secretary Michael Pav. Stone said last month in Washington. If adopted the Short term rotations in Europe would resemble the program now being used in Kuwait where the 11th Artand Cav regt served for several months before being replaced by a battalion of troops from the 3rd and 8th inf divisions. Saint spent most of the interview talking about the current draw Down in Europe and likened it to trying to relocate the City of Savannah a. He said the move is on schedule. Reaching the draw Down goal of 92,000 army troops in Europe by 1995 Means moving an average of 500 people a Day seven says a week Saint said. About 80 battalions will be deactivated or shipped Home this year alone he said. He said he does t want to reveal draw Down plans More than 90 Days in Advance because he wants his soldiers to stay focused on their jobs. �?o1 Only ask you to do one thing at a time Quot he said. �?o1 ask you to train or i ask you to stand  he also said he plans to Start cracking Down on scat Belt use in tactical military vehicles. Of 69 soldiers killed last year in such accidents about two thirds were not wearing seat belts. A a in a going to protect them whether they like it or not a he said. A i just can to have people getting killed for such a dumb  soviet spy ships homing in on economic intelligence san Diego apr soviet spy ships have ceased gathering military intelligence off California and Are now focusing on amassing economic intelligence around Hawaii a newspaper said monday. According to an article published in tuesdays editions of the san Diego Union soviet officials Are listening for business secrets transmitted Between the United states and Pacific rim capitals. Such information could one Day be useful in improving the soviet unions ailing Economy the report said. A most of the trans Pacific financial communications Between Japan and Wall Street Between the asian Pacific rim and the Continental United states pass through Hawaii a said Desmond Ball an expert in soviet intelligence and a professor at the australian National University. Ball said that the soviet Union began refocusing its intelligence operations toward economic interests nearly six years ago. The reduction of tension Between the United states and the soviet Union has Cut the need for strategic military intelligence he said. The soviets signalled their intention to begin targeting foreign companies last month when Yevgeny Primakow chief of the soviet Union s new Central intelligence service said he would not Rule out economic espionage to gather Trade and technical information. The electronic eavesdropping ships intercept Telephone conversations facsimile signals and data transmissions relayed by communications satellites officials said. The information can either be relayed to Vladivostok Home port of the red Banner Pacific Fleet in the soviet far East or stored on the ship for decoding and interpretation later. Unlike the highly encoded military and diplomatic intelligence once sought by the soviets encrypted commercial intelligence is no match for military code Breakers Navy experts said. Although no soviet intelligence ships have been spotted in California coastal Waters for More than 16 months the ships have been observed in record numbers around Hawaii Navy officials said. Ball said that this year soviet ships were seen around Hawaii two out of every three Days a dramatic increase Over 1990, when soviet ships were sighted Only 60 Days that year. The extensive movement of . Forces in and out of san Diego especially nuclear powered attack submarines always has made the Region a primary intelligence target for the soviet military Navy officials have said. But the Cia which has opened a station in san Diego is focusing on economic rather than military intelligence with the primary target being japanese investment and debriefing . Businessmen after trips abroad intelligence sources said. Several soviet leaders including Mikhail s. Gorbachev and russian president Boris n. Yeltsin have expressed a desire for a larger role in the Pacific rim Region and have tried to encourage foreign development of its far East natural resources. As the Pacific rims importance grows intelligence ships will serve As a primary information collection platform cutting Down on the risk of human spies engaging in espionage intelligence experts said. The soviet Union has a worldwide Fleet of 62 intelligence  Blaze near la. Contained los Angeles up1 a Brush fire fanned by winds gust ing to 40 mph blackened 750 acres near Sylmar Calif., chasing about 100 people from their Homes and destroying a barn and several outbuildings before being contained by firefighters monday evening. The Blaze which started before Dawn near the Boot i ii and Golden state freeways spread quickly through the dense drought parched Brush covering rolling Hillside and Canyon country. The Speed with which the Blaze spread caused Many residents to fear a repeat of the Oakland by Skelcy Hills fire that destroyed More than 3,000 Homes and killed 25 people last month. But firefighters prevented a repeat helped by the fact that residents had cleared the dry Brush around their Homes most of which had fire retardant roofs. The Llames came dangerously close to Many Homes charring Brush just 15 feet away from one residence. It also burned to within 300 feet of a Mobile Home Park but firefighters aided by water dropping helicopters halted the fire before it reached any Homes. One residence sustained minor damage to its Wood shake roof before firefighters doused the flames and saved the House. Sunset farms suffered the most damage a barn House trailer truck with a camper two Sheds and a Corral valued at $100,000. A what prevented us from losing a lot of Homes in the area was the fact that Many of the Homes had non combustible roofs on them and most of the Homes had proper Brush clearance around the structures a los Angeles City fire department spokesman Jim Wells said. The Blaze defied control for nearly six hours before firefighters got a line around three sides of it. The smoke could be smelled in downtown los Angeles 25 Miles away. About 100 residents in the path of the fire were evacuated shortly after the fire erupted but were soon Able to return. At the height of the Blaze about 450 firefighters aided by the helicopters and two bulldozers battled to Complete the lire line and keep the flames from reaching residential neighbourhoods