European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 26, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 b the stars and stripes sunday january 26, 1992suspect s recall to duty challenged army exceeded authority no s attorney says by Ray Rowden Washington Bureau Washington an attorney has accused the army of exceeding its authority in recalling his client a a retired sergeant major a to Active duty to face possible murder charges. Allan Gerson who is representing Earnest . Sands made the accusation in a petition filed with the . Court of military appeals. His client is a suspect in the death of Ampara m. Sands. The petition followed the army a decision to return Sands to Active duty at fort Stewart ga., where Sands is awaiting a decision by the army whether to try him in his wife a death. Sands wife died july 18 while serving with the . Military training Mission in Riyadh saudi Arabia. Sands was working As a civilian in saudi Arabia at the time of his wife a death. Sands has not been charged but a Jan. 8 letter from the military a civilian personnel chief notifying him that he was losing his civil service Job said he was the principal suspect in the death. A your former Houseboy has provided a sworn statement that he saw you finish suffocating and strangling your wife and helped you move her from the floor to a bedroom at your insistence a the letter added. It also suggested that Sands the 57-year-old chief of the missions Community operations division was involved in an extramarital relationship. An army spokesman in the Pentagon said Sands was recalled a to assist in the disposition of the  the army recalled Sands to Active duty Jan. 8. He flew out of saudi Arabia under military escort two Days later. Gerson of the Washington firm Hughes Hubbard amp Reed argues in a petition for a writ of Hareas Corpus that the army exceeded its authority in recalling Sands. He asked the military a highest court to order his client returned to retired status. A the military courts can exercise Power Over Petitioner Sands without recalling him to Active duty in fact it would be improper to have recalled him to Active duty solely for obtaining court martial jurisdiction Over him a Gerson argued quoting defense department regulations. Gerson said he has urged his client to avoid interviews. Gersony a petition did not Challenge the constitutionality of that portion of the uniform code of military Justice that declares that retired members drawing pay Are subject to military Law. However Gerson wrote a at the very least before an individual can be recalled to Active duty in connection with an investigation preliminary to a possible court martial he is entitled to a hearing before an Independent authority. And a determination that there is probable cause to believe that he committed a  reached by Telephone Gerson said the army has Given him no indication of How it intends to proceed in the Case. Sands will be Given temporary duties at fort Stewart while awaiting the decision of maj. Gen. Barry r. Mccaffrey the commander of the 24th inf div Mech regarding the Case the Pentagon spokesman said. During the persian Gulf War Mccaffrey became the army court martial convening authority for an area that included Riyadh the spokesman said. Sands Case has already sparked interest in Legal and diplomatic circles. A nov. 11 article in Washington a weekly Legal times focusing on the lengthy process of establishing jurisdiction noted that sen. Claiborne Pell . Sen. Richard Lugar Rind. Sen. Paul Simon Dill. And rep. Jim Jontz d-ind., All voiced concern Over the Case to . Officials. Former . Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick devoted her oct. 28 new York Post column to the Case stating a a. The Issue Here is not his guilt or innocence. It is the failure of . Officials to ensure that Sands receives Basic Legal  in the letter proposing to remove Sands from his Job in Riyadh the civilian personnel officer at the . Military training Mission there wrote a extensive discussions Between the saudi arabian government and the United states government have occurred Over which Sovereign authority should have jurisdiction Over your Case. Within the United states government it has likewise led to extensive discussions among . Military authorities authorities of the state department and the . Department of Justice Over jurisdiction Gerson and members of Sands family have insisted that . Officials did Little for Sands during the six months following the death of his wife. A a. The remarkable conduct of the . Government in relegating Petitioner Sands to the jurisdiction of the brutal saudi criminal system its pattern of providing Petitioner with inaccurate and incomplete information concerning its efforts to secure the Transfer of jurisdiction Over his Case from the saudi to the . Government and its disregard for the rights of Petitioner cannot be ignored a Gerson argued in the petition. Saudi officials began interrogating Sands for up to 14 hours per session in september according to documents Gerson filed with the court of military appeals. Sands described the interrogations in a letter to . Officials requesting their intervention in his Case while he was in saudi Arabia. A i am terrified that at a future interrogation session the saudi police will torture me in order to extract a confession. As a result of the previous threats against me i have been living in constant anxiety and fear a Sands wrote. Although there have been three autopsies on Sands wife Gerson said he does not believe there is persuasive evidence to implicate his client. He questions the qualifications of the saudi officials who conducted the first autopsy. The absence of organs removed in the first autopsy restricted later efforts to findings of a presumed strangled a Gerson said. Sands retired from the army in 1984, with 27 years of service. A the retired at fort myer a one Day and went to work managing a club at Quantico a Marine corps base in Northern Virginia the next a recalled his son Roger. He said Sands transferred to Riyadh in january 1990, and his wife of 11 years a computer specialist followed about six months later. Bradley join anti aircraft ranks As replacement for aging Vulcan Bradley fighting vehicle by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau Wurzburg Germany a army Short Range air defense units in Europe will be the first to replace their Vulcan anti aircraft guns with what is normally considered a ground combat system a the Bradley fighting vehicle according to an officer in Kitzinger. Members of the 4th in 3rd air defense arty in Kitzinger received 30 Bradley on tuesday said battalion executive officer maj. Jack Faires. The unit which supports the 3rd inf div is the first of its kind in the army to receive the vehicles he said. The 1st army div headquartered in bad Kreuz Nach is scheduled to receive Bradley for air defense next month he said. Air defense units in the . Army in Europe turned in their Vietnam Era Vulcan anti aircraft guns in May and june of last year Faires said with the aim of replacing the self propelled guns with Bradley left Over from deactivating units. Top army officials approved a plan last fall to replace self propelled Vulcan with Bradley in its heavy mechanized divisions he said. Smaller towed versions of the Vulcan will remain in the inventories of the army slight divisions he said. Two versions of the Bradley the infantry fighting vehicle and cavalry fighting vehicle were first fielded in the mid-1980s. Faires said his unit and others to follow will Call it a Short Range air defense or Sho Rad vehicle. And instead of infantry or cavalry troops the shored will be manned by three vehicle crewmen and a two Man stinger surface to air missile team who will be looking out for Low level enemy aircraft. Using Bradley will help soldiers survive and Man Euver on fast paced modern battlefields Faires said. A we have always identified a need to place stinger gunners in some Type of Armor Protection when they move with  stinger Crews traditionally Rode in my 13 armoured personnel carriers which he said were slower than Bradley and Abrams tanks and had Little Armor Protection. The self propelled Vulcan anti aircraft guns were mounted on the same my 13 Chassis. Faires said the shored vehicle will be used Only until the army Fields the air defense anti tank system which is being developed. That system will also be mounted on a Bradley Chassis he said. There Are drawbacks to the switch however Faires said. For instance although the 25mm Chain gun on the Bradley has greater Range than the Vulcan a 20mm cannons the Bradley can Only fire 200 rounds per minute compared with the 3,000 rounds per minute from the Vulcan he said. A but wed rather have have 200 rounds per minute with the Guys mane vering than 3,000 rounds per minute with somebody Back in the rear that  keep up plus the fact that the Crews Are much better protected a he said. The Bradley a 25mm gun does not Point As High As the Vulcan a and the Vulcan has on Board radar that combat weight 24 tons Width 10.5 feet height 10 feet Max Road Speed 42 Mph Max water Speed 4.5 Mph armament main 25mm Chain gun armament 2-tube Tow launchers sources Jane s Armour and artillery a amps Wes Booher helps gunners direct their fire at fast moving Low Leve targets. A the Bradley does not have anything like tha and its a shortcoming a Faires said. Faires said shored Crews will Monitor air defens Early warning radio networks from airborne Warnin and control system aircraft and Patriot and Haw missile Crews a a people with big radars that kno what a coming into the area. So Well be Able to provid air defense and Early  several modifications in storage and ammunition a planned to convert Bradley into shored vehicle Faires said. He expects his soldiers to conduct the first live fire exercise in  rejects suspension of general facing crash probe Rome apr military officials on Friday refused to suspend a general who is under investigation by a Senate panel that believes officers May have withheld or tampered with evidence from a mysterious 1980 plane disaster. The decision angered Senate investigators who questioned whether Gen. Zeno Tascio should have Access to files that could help explain what caused the explosion of the Domestic italia airline do 9. The Accident claimed 81 lives. There has been Broad speculation on the cause including charges that the plane was mistakenly shot Down by a . Or French aircraft. French american and nato officials have denied any military activity near the Island of Ustica where the plane plunged into the sea on june 27,1980, while in route to Palermo from Bologna. Tascio and 12 retired air Force officers including nine generals were told last week they were under investigation. Defense minister Virginio Rognoni told the Senate panel that Tascio would be transferred from the logistics division to the office of the air Force chief of staff. Rognoni said Premier Giulio Andreottis government would cooperate with the probe but said no action will be taken against suspects until they Are proven guilty. Italian air Force officers have Long been suspected of manipulating hiding or destroying evidence such As radar tapes in i Case. But it was the first time High rank officers had been identified. Magistrate Rosario Priore who is Lead the judicial investigation has made two cent trips to the United states to talk to n itary officials. Italian Media reported to Priore was told that italian military offic informed . Embassy officials in to about the explosion but did not Tell the ii Ian government