European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 26, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 c the stars and stripes thursday March 26, 1992 Amsterdam with its canals history Art and free spirit has something for just about everyone. For a look at some of the most interesting aspects of the dutch City see stripes Magazine de icing solutions sought . Airlines Are increasingly worried by crashes that May have been caused by tee on aircraft  Page 4 Congress is. Bush the head of the Senate armed services committee has proposed cutting the Pentagon budget by $80 billion to $85 billion Over five years setting up a Battle Between Congress and president  Page 5 despair among Indian teens nearly one in six Indian adolescents has attempted suicide a rate four times that of other teen agers a study  Page 6 nato studies facility use the cold War s end has left nato scrambling to determine whether its new strategy requires keeping Alliance facilities vacated by Allied troops and if so How it can afford to maintain them. A Page b cosmonaut ends Odyssey a russian cosmonaut who blasted off from the communist led soviet Union 10 months ago left the space station Mir and returned to a different world  Page 9 japanese cars head list consumer reports is telling Auto shoppers they should ignore a buy american sales hype because car manufacturing is a global Industry but japanese brands dominate the Magazine s rankings of Best  Page 18 i Index Abby Ann Landers 15 comics.15-17 commentary.13 crossword .15 faces a no places .14 letters .12 Money matters.18 sports. 19-24 to listings.23 weather .11 French German plan for corps won t Hurt nato panel told by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a the commander of natos military forces told lawmakers tuesday he is satisfied that efforts to build a French German corps will not threaten the Alliance. A in the Long run if that initiative is properly managed it will work out a Gen. John r. Galvin supreme Allied commander Europe told the House armed services committee. A we want to encourage the europeans to take on More of their own defense  the october announcement by Bonn Germany and Paris that the two nations would Field a bilateral corps caused much consternation not Only in Washington but also in european capitals a particularly London. Some officials who opposed the move feared it would Mark the beginning of the breakup of nato which Galvin called the a most successful Security organization in  but Galvin said he has received assurances from the French and germans that although the corps would fit into the Western european Union a the emerging Security framework for the european Community a it would also have an important role to play in nato. A they have assured me that nato would have pre Eminence that the corps could be employed under my command a Galvin said. A in fact there Are plans to move the Headquarters of the we to Brussels Belgium a from London to permit closer coordination with nato officials at the alliances Headquarters  from Page 1 families and increased the costs of repairing and maintaining the facilities a he said. Military construction accounts Are also being squeezed even though the european come request for fiscal 1993 is pared to the Bone totalling just $43 million for five projects at bases the United states will definitely keep after the draw Down is Complete. For example he said the German government has told him that the Landfill at the Grafe Wohr training area in Germany must be fixed or it will be closed. A i can to get the funds to fix it a he said. A i have Barracks that i done to want our troops to be in and i can to fix  Galvin said it is a a embarrassing for the United states to make its military personnel live in facilities As shabby As some of the ones used today in Europe. He offered the greatest detail to Date of the five military construction projects his command wants to pursue to fiscal 1993. They Are a an $11,6 million expansion of the sanitary Landfill at Grafe Wohr. This project will expand and upgrade the Landfill which will be used not Only by the Grafe Wohr military Community but also the nearby Hohenfels and Vilseck communities for at least the next 15 years. A a $7.4 million upgrade to the Grafe Wohr elementary school and a similar $13.5 million upgrade to the Hohenfels elementary school. The existing facilities in both communities will be renovated and More space will be added a 35,000 Square feet at Grafe Wohr and 64,000 Square feet at Hohenfels the extra space is needed to accommodate projected increases in the student populations at those schools that will result from army base consolidations. A a new $3.1 million sewage treatment facility for Rhein main a Germany one of the principal . Military transportation hubs on the continent. Galvin said the old Plant can no longer handle the volume of sewage generated by the base and fails to meet various German environmental standards. A a $7.6 million facility for Bachelor enlisted quarters at the Navy base in Souda Bay Crete. The three Story facility will total 48,000 Square feet and House 140 serv ice members. Galvin said the building is needed to replace the current substandard Structure As Well As to provide space for additional personnel transferred to Souda Bay from Helle Nikon a in Greece which has been  from Page 1 its findings reviewed the Survey methods prior to publication and found the methods  articles in the series and graphs accompanying the text showed that sales agents for Chrysler general motors and to a lesser degree Ford were offering cars to customers at prices that would violate a 7 percent ceiling imposed by contracts Between cafes and . Automakers. Ford officials were not immediately available for comment. According to Gardner the use of the word a overcharged Quot in one of the graphics indicates that the company Sells cars at prices that violate the contracts. A when you use the word a overcharge a that is not an interpretive word. There is a specific meaning to that word and it Means that somebody paid More for something than they should have a Gardner said. The prices listed in the stripes Survey reflected quotes Given to reporters and not final sales. Gardner said this was a where the process broke  Gardner criticized the series for not giving More attention to a the programs benefits a he also said that the series erred in stating that customers Are not Well served and inaccurately portrayed the program As having Only cursory supervision. Gardner cited responses to comment cards mailed to every customer who accepts delivery of a new car from the company. On a scale of one to five Gardner said the average customer satisfaction rating was above four. Military Legal officials were quoted in the series As saying that cafes had sole Power of discipline Over the new car companies. Gardner took particular Issue with comments made by capt. Margaret Murphy a military attorney then serving As a Legal adviser to the armed forces disciplinary control Board which oversees the conduct of businesses that regularly Deal with military people. The Board represents military people in disputes with on and off base businesses Murphy told the stars and stripes. However she said cafes concessionaires including the new car sales program Are off limits to the Board. Gardner said she is wrong. He said military car sales officials appeared before the Board in 1981 to discuss complaints which he linked to articles published in the stars and stripes. A when we presented All the facts to an impartial Board they agreed with us a Gardner said a just like they re going to agree with us this  from Page 1 Ina Ted from Here Rhein Mai but they were More local a she said. Slater confirmed that the program is an Extension of an existing itt function. Most of the bases involved have longstanding policies of setting up local Tours. The new wrinkle she said is the coordination among the individual offices. Although itt tour buses Stop Only at the seven participating bases a any of the Safe itts can sell the trips As Long As they re the clients willing to come to one of those bases a Slater said. Upcoming trips include an april Tulip tour to the Netherlands a May tour to Italy with an italian cooking course a june tour to Lego land in Denmark and a july tour to a medieval jousting tournament near Munich Germany. Gisela Haugen manager at the Ramstein Vogel Weh itt office said the aim is not to compete with bus tour companies. A its intent is to be special away from the Ordinary Tours a she said. Slater said that sometimes itt will work with a bus tour company to Orcan ize one of its trips. The Netherlands tour was set up in conjunction with too Tours a company in Kaiserslautern Germany but Haugen stressed that itt was still the tour organizer. Brigitte Colantonio owner of Tod Tours said it makes sense for itt to work with her company because a we get better rates from the hotels because of the volume of  Colantonio said because the Netherlands tour was set up of ,4 some extras in Iltha the others Don t  Slater said the itt extras include a boat ride through the dutch Lake and Windmill country during the nether Lar tour. Slater said the destinations in limit exclusive tour prices Are a about on part with offerings of bus tour com Nies. A in some cases we re even Lowe she said. Colantonio said she does not View i itt move As a threat to her profits would say the Basic idea that they Are Fenny is special events that Are not tired by the vendors. They Are not pm Ning a and i have this Assurance a to into Competition with  Michael Fluhr assistant manager enjoy Tours another Kaise Slaute based company said a basically it is i a Competition for our  he said he does not think there is a i problem with delays at the Transfer Poi 1 would say 98 percent of All the Toi Are running according to schedule Fluhr said