European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 b the stars and stripes saturday april 11, 1992nato naval Force to launch Mission by j. King Cruger Mediterranean Bureau Naples Italy a natos new immediate reaction naval Force will be activated april 30 when eight ships will Start flying the alliances Flag in a Public ceremony in Naples. Germany Greece Italy the Netherlands Spain Turkey the United kingdom and the United states Are contributing ships to the inauguration of the standing naval Force Mediterranean said . Air Force it. Col. Mike Callen a nato spokesman in Naples. A by constantly flying the nato Flag the Force will provide a visible Symbol of natos Solidarity and determination to defend against maritime threats and to preserve the free use of International Waters a a Callen said. The standing Force will be available to the supreme Allied commander Europe succeeding the nato naval on Call Force Mediterranean he said. The on Call Force has been activated 43 times Over More than 20 years Callen said. Activations typically lasted several weeks. The longest occurred during the persian Gulf crisis with a deployment that lasted from september 1990 to March 1991. Callen identified the ships that will make up the standing Force on april 30 As the German destroyer Bayern the greek destroyer Sac Touris the italian frigate aliseo the dutch frigate Pieter Florist the Spanish frigate Ballares the turkish frigate and Fleet flagship Turku Treis the British destroyer Glasgow and the american frigate Boone. The spokesman said the Force will follow an intense training program that has been planned and will be directed by the commander of Allied naval forces Southern Europe italian adm. Carlo Alberto Vandini. Various Allied nations will contribute naval and air forces plus port facilities to support the training program. Command of the Force will rotate among participating countries. Turkish Navy capt. Lutfu Sancar commander of the naval on Call Force Mediterranean during its last activation Between last september and november will command the new nato Force during its first deployment. The standing Force will be an integrated one Callen said made up of surface combatants from various Allied nations training and operating together As a collective whole. There Are no plans for the standing Force to have a Home port Callen said adding that he does not know How Long individual ships will participate in the warns against drastic cuts in Pacific by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington the top . Military commander in the Pacific warned Congress on thursday that at least five a Power centers a could move to fill the vacuum that the United states would leave if it disengaged from the Region. Adm. Charles r. Larson chief of the . Pacific come told the House armed services committee that although his command is planning to draw Down 32,000 troops by 1995, further cuts might open the door to potential threats to . Security interests in the Region. Larson said that in his travels around the Pacific the nations gave him different views of what they perceive As potential threats. A but from my perspective i can see five potential Power centers that could arise if the United states was not the the most troublesome near term potential threat remains North Korea Larson said calling it a an isolated and paranoid nation seeking to be a regional communist and possibly nuclear the Peninsula is at a Fork in its Road with one Branch leading toward peace and unification and the other leading to a continued state of divided confrontation Larson said. Although South Korea has been working to increase ties with its Northern neighbor while also bolstering its there in the Pacific a Larson said listing Russia Japan the korean Peninsula China Ana India. A in a not saying they Are enemies nor am i necessarily saying they would become direct threats to the United states a he said. A but if the United states is not there in a Lead role some asian Power Center would emerge in some form Down the Road that could threaten our interests a he said. A we have a lot to lose by disengaging from own defense forces Larson said Lon term rapprochement is not possible until the Issue of North Korea s nuclear program is resolved. That Issue recently led defense Secretary Dick Cheney to halt Lanned . Troop withdrawals from Outh Korea Larson said. A there has been very Little Progress and a lot of stonewalling by the North koreans a Larson said. A until this is resolved in a Way that is acceptable to us that pause is very he said North koreans actions Over the next couple of months will be an important indicator of whether a they Are serious about living up to agreements or whether they re just buying time until world pressure is off Force to target Reserve commissions by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a air Force officers who hold Reserve commissions will Bear the Brunt of any reduction in Force that the service is forced to take officials say. Congress last year relaxed longstanding restrictions that had barred the services from dismissing officers with regular commissions to give the services a mainly the army a flexibility in managing their officer cuts. But the air Force has decided to adhere to longstanding policy and protect officers with regular commissions from a reduction in Force said col. A1 Schroetel air Force chief of officer plans and policy. Schroetel emphasized that the air Force is not doing anything different in its reduction in Force policies. A Reserve officers have always been if eligible and regular officers have always been protected a he said. An officer who comes in with a Reserve commission has to compete to become a regular officer and the ones the air Force would consider under a reduction in Force Are those who have had the Opportunity to become regular officers but have not made it Schroetel said. Reserve commissions have nothing to do with serving in one of the Reserve components such As the air Force Reserve or the army National guard said Pentagon spokesman it. Cot. Doug Hart. In essence regular commissions Are Given to graduates of the military service academies As Well As Honor graduates of Roth and officer candidate school programs while Reserve commissions Are Given to All other Roth and oct graduates. Differences Between the two types of commissions Are reflected mainly in tenure. A if you hold a Reserve commission you basically have no career guarantees a Hart said. On the other hand officers with regular commissions who Complete an initial five year probation can be separated with less than 20 years of service Only for one of three reasons a misconduct being passed Over twice for promotion and now under the new congressional guidance a reduction in Force. Air Force officials have said they need 7,500 officers to leave under one of the two voluntary separation pay plans a the voluntary separation incentive or the selective separation Benefit. The deadline for applications is april 15. As of april 7, 2,470 officers had applied. Of those 1,978 have had their applications approved. About 11,400 Reserve officers would be vulnerable to a reduction in Force if one becomes necessary this year a Reserve captains commissioned in 1980 who have been passed Over for promotion once Reserve captains commissioned from 1981 to 1985, and Reserve captains and lieutenants commissioned from 1986 to 1989. About two thirds of those officers Are not eligible for the voluntary separation incentive and selective separation Benefit under air Force criteria and would receive Only involuntary separation pay. That pay is Worth far less than the voluntary incentives if they were Cut in a reduction in Force. The reduction would be based strictly on Quality not officer Manning Levels within particular skill Fields officials said. A a we re doing everything we can to avoid a if but it looks like a virtual certainty unless something drastic happens with the number of officers who Volunteer to leave a Schroetel said. The two commission system recognizes the fact that the Academy programs Are More rigorous than Roth and oct and that Academy graduates usually must commit to longer terms of India service. All officers automatically convert to regular commissions when they Are promoted to major or in the Navy lieutenant commander. A if you make it to that rank you be got tenure Quot Hart said. The army which faces larger cuts than the other services is making use of the new congressional guidance by considering regular and Reserve commissioned officers together for any reduction in Force a personnel official said. 21st theater commander plans to retire this month it. Gen. William s. Flynn it. Gen. Paul g. Yeijan Kaiserslautern Germany it. Gen. William s. Flynn commander of the 21st theater army area come in Kaiserslautern is retiring on april 22 after nearly 35 years of service. It Gen. Paul g. Yeijan the current Deputy commander of the . Army Europe will assume command of the 21st on that Day. Cerjan will not relinquish his position As Usa eur Deputy commander in Heidelberg said Millie Waters a Usa eur spokeswoman. The general will a maintain an office in both locations and commute Between the two Quot she said. Flynn assumed command of the 21st in november 1989. Yeijan became Deputy commander of Usa eur in August 1991. Before coming to Europe he was the commandant of the . Army War College at Carlisle Barracks a
