European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 2, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a the stars and stripes thursday april 2, 199213 sailors face ouster in Gay inquiry by the los Angeles times san Diego a two sailors have been court Martiale and 11 others will be discharged for alleged homosexual activity at the . Naval base in Yokosuka Japan officials said tuesday. Civilian and Navy sources said As Many As 40 More Navy enlisted men and officers Are being investigated including two commanders and three lieutenants. Officials from the san Diego veterans association a support group for Gay veterans and Gays still in the military called the investigation a Witch Hunt claiming that officials at first found Only two sailors but pressured them into giving the names of other possible homosexuals. Although the inquiry began with allegations of homosexual activity sources said investigators also Are looking into charges of fraternization Between male officers and enlisted women and Between female officers and enlisted men. A it s a major major investigation a said one Navy source. Navy spokesman it. Cmdr. Bob Anderson in Hawaii said that at least one officer is under investigation for alleged homosexual activities but he was not sure of the officers rank. Anderson said he could not confirm the number of sailors who Are under investigation or whether women sailors Are also targets. However Anderson did say that two sailors pleaded guilty to a committing sodomy and indecent acts and were court Martiale. The two sailors were sentenced thousands pay their respects to the battleship Missouri at tuesdays decommissioning ceremony in Long Beach Calif. Mighty to retires again by the los Angeles times Long Beach Calif. They said a reluctant goodbye tuesday to the battleship Missouri. There were Public officials a politicians such As . Rep. Ike Skelton of mo., on hand in 19s6 when the venerable 58,000-ton dreadnought was returned to service and who was the principal speaker at tuesday s decommissioning ceremonies. And there were sailors from its past a men such As Bob Schwenk who was on the ship when it survived a Kamikaze attack Oft Okinawa and a few months later on sept. 2, 1945, when japanese officials signed the surrender documents on its deck. Quot its sad a Schwenk said softly blinking away tears. The last battleship built by the United states the Missouri was launched Jan. 29, 1944. Five months later equipped with nine 16-Inch guns that could hurl 2,700-Pound Armor piercing shells More than 20 Miles the Missouri took part in some of the closing Battles of world War ii. It was also the ship on which Gen. Douglas Macarthur accepted the japanese surrender in 1945 to end the Pacific portion of world War ii. In 1950, it was the Only battleship ready for service in the korean War. Five years later in Bremerton wash., the ship was decommissioned and mothballed. There it remained for 31 years serving Only As a tourist attraction. But when president Reagan decided on a military buildup after the United states was embarrassed by the takeover of its embassy in Tehran during the Carter administration in 1979, the Missouri was recommissioned in 1986. Now in an Era of cutbacks the Missouri is headed for Mothballs once again. Bob Schwenk 65, who served on Missouri wipes away tears. To four and five months respectively of hard labor but under a plea agreement each will end up doing 45 Days. In addition each was fined $523 per month of confinement and each was reduced in rank. In addition the men received bad conduct discharges Anderson  other 11 sailors charged in the investigation a admitted to being homosexuals or were identified As homosexuals and will receive administrative discharges Anderson said. Administrative discharges Are considered non punitive. Navy officials said the sailors who have been charged Are based at Yokosuka and assigned to the Carrier Independence and the command ship Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge is the flagship of the . 7th Fleet. House probes lost Indian Trust funds Washington a taxpayers May have to reimburse some indians and tribes whose Money is missing from $2 billion in Trust funds run by the Bureau of Indian affairs investigators say. The bureaus a continuing mismanagement and incompetence. Present a Clear danger to the american taxpayers a according to a draft report by the House government operations committee. No one knows How much Money is missing from the Trust funds because auditors have just started reconciling the 300,000 accounts. Dozens of audits by the general accounting office and the Interior departments inspector general have cited chronic problems with the Bureau of Indian affairs handling of the fund. The problems include an unreliable accounting system lax Security and incompetent personnel. One audit found up to a $7 million in errors in a $250 million account owned by the Sioux nation. The Trust funds include income from Indian lands payments of claims against the government and royalties from Oil Gas and minerals. The report said that the Interior department has a tolerated the deepening  Eddie Brown the assistant Secretary of Indian affairs a has failed to provide either the leadership or supervision necessary to Correct the longstanding management problems a the report said. Brown said in an interview that he had not seen the report but was not surprised by its conclusions. The report said the Bureau has failed to take Steps needed to Correct its management. The Bureau of Indian affairs hired a California Bank to manage the funds in the late 1980s, but Little was done before the contract was cancelled last year and the government wasted nearly $1 million the report said. The report said Congress should give the Bureau of Indian affairs six to nine months to Correct its management problems before the funds Are transferred to another government Agency. Pentagon pushing Brilliant pebbles program from wire reports Washington the Pentagon is moving ahead on developing the strategic defense initiatives a Brilliant pebbles program Over the objections of c ingress a report shows. A Brilliant pebbles is needed for High Confidence Cost effective . Homeland and theater defences a the defense department said in a report to Congress. The missile defense act of 1991 said space based interceptors for destroying incoming missiles such As Brilliant Peb Bles should not be included in the initial strategic defense system commonly known As a Star  Congress envisioned a limited defense system that would emphasize ground based interceptors Over the More exotic space based weapons. But the strategic defense initiative organization the Pentagon division that oversees the ski program said in its report that the Bush administration a will continue to develop options for deployment of Brilliant pebbles by the end of this  based on its interpretation of the missile defense act the Stdio said the Law established a separate space based interceptor program whose primary objective is research. The report will Likely be an Issue As Congress begins crafting a defense budget for the fiscal year beginning oct. 1. Ush As pr0p0sed spending $5.4 billion on ski in 1993, a 30 percent increase. The Pentagon plans to spend about $90 billion Over the next 15 years on ski making it the single biggest item in the military budget. In a rare Public Jab at the leadership o the ski a senior army general said tuesday that it was a mistake to exclude a set of missile tracking a a eyes from the planned ski system. A i think they re wrong a said it. Gen Robert d. Hammond commander in chief of the army a strategic defense come. The three Star general a remarks made at Andrews fab md., were unusual Foi their pointed criticism of recent decisions by Henry Cooper director of the Penta gon Agency that runs the ski project