European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 25, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday april 25, 1992 the stars and stripes Page 3 a amps Murl doth Winder dancers from throughout the United kingdom audition at Raf Chicksands for the . Air forces Europe showcase. The tour runs june 6-july 7 at air Force bases in  showcase tryouts get people on their feet a amps Murdith Winder sgt. Alvin Crowell of Raf Lakenheath s 48th Security police so auditions As an instrumentalist. By Meridith Winder . Bureau Raf Chicksands England a military people in Europe who seek the limelight took a different route this year to get in front of the footlights of air Force Talent shows. Fifteen people tried out at Raf Chicksands recently for the . Air forces Europe showcase. A we got off schedule last year because of desert storm so we elected to do the open audition system rather than through the Talent system contests said Joann Mellon chief of Safe entertainment. This year the showcase is holding tryouts separately from base regional and command competitions. In the past the showcase cast was selected from competitors vying for positions in the air Force worldwide Talent contest. The air Force entertainment rearranged the Competition schedules last year because of the persian Gulf War and chose to continue to keep the competitions separate this year said a Safe morale welfare recreation and services spokeswoman. An air Force entertainment staff selects performers at the worldwide contest to participate in tops in Blue the air Force entertainment troupe that travels to air Force bases worldwide. Chicksands provided the venue for auditions in the United kingdom. Ramstein a Germany where 30 people tried out hosted auditions for the rest of Europe to fill slots in the 24-person show. The cast will Likely be made up of six male and six female vocalists five to seven band members a master of ceremonies or comedian and technicians. The showcase tour runs from june 6 through july 7 at air Force bases in Europe. A a in be never been in an open audition so it gave me a Chance to see How it works a said senior airman Nanbu Fullman a Singer from Raf upper Heyford England. A we went through an interview session one on one vocal warm up and then a vocal session to see if All of us could  people who have experience performing Are cd Petca to do More than just sing or dance Mellon explained. A a that a the hardest thing a working with new Talent Quot she said. A we have to make them into performers a Mellon said. A most of them at this Point have Talent. They can sing dance and play an instrument but they done to know a lot about performing. That s where we come  staff sgt. Lane Mccray a choreographer from Hahn a Germany conducted the dance audition. A we want to put everybody together and see their moves a Mccray said. A we try to put them at ease and select a choreography that s not too difficult but enough to Challenge  Mccray said that it is pretty obvious from this Type of audition to figure out who has danced and who Hasni to. A but you will probably find out that there Are a lot of people selected for tops in Blue or the showcase who cannot dance a Mccray said. A but they get taught. And when you see them you can to believe the  he said that the training Camp is equipped to work with people like this and get them prepared for the shows. Once the people have been selected they have to go through a grueling four week training Camp at sem Bach a Germany beginning May 8. While there Mellon said they will be working As much As 18-20 hours per Day. A at first singers will lose their voices and people will be taxed to their limit a Mellon said. A but they can to do 300 per from these people. It takes a lot of giving and they Are this if they Are not dedicated. We need percent going to get a lot of criticism from their  Fullman was undaunted by the Challenge. He has been singing nine years and was a member of the strategic air come showcase in 1989.Vietnam opens up prison to Senate s Mia team by Mary Kay Magistad the Washington Post Hanoi Vietnam a in an unprecedented Concession from Vietnam . Senators were allowed this week to tour a vietnamese prison on the outskirts of Hanoi that once housed american prisoners of War. �?o1 think its very significant that on an hour and a half notice we were Able to walk in Here and look around a said sen. John f. Kerry d-mass., chairman of the Senate select committee on pow Mia affairs. A i believe we were All satisfied that we got to see something that has never before been seen by official american visitors. The senators said they found no a smoking gun at the Thanh Niet prison and did not necessarily expect to find american prisoners there. A this was a Way to test a Promise and it shows the Way we can work to allay the fears and suspicions of conspiracy theorists a Kerry said. A it is Only a first step but it leaves us encouraged that the vietnamese desire to give us Access is  on wednesday communist party general Secretary do muoi and Interior minister be Minh Huong promised the senators that . Teams could go anywhere in Vietnam on Short notice to Check on reports of americans still being held captive. Do muoi also promised greater . Access to vietnamese archives and to prison officials and others who might know what happened to pos and americans missing in action. A it was a dramatic breakthrough a said sen. Hank Brownr Colo. Do muoi a gave us a Flat unqualified commitment to total Access this  but . Investigative teams will still have to contend with bureaucratic and communications snares As the senators found during their two hour wait for permission to tour the prison nine Miles Southwest of Hanoi. A we chose to visit this place on Short notice because we had received reports in 1984, 1987 and 1989 that american pilots were still being held Here a said sen. Robert c. Smith . A these were accounts from people who said they a been in the prison who accurately described the  earlier this month vietnamese officials refused a request by the . Mia pow office in Hanoi to visit the prison. Even wednesday the prison director col. Nguyen Cong Nhuan walked at the senators request to tour the entire facility. Nhuan relented after almost two hours of Calls to the Interior ministry which controls prisons. Nhuan who has worked at Thanh Niet prison since 1961, said about 10 american pos were kept there during the War but none since. A we saw dozens of cells a Kerry said. A there were prisoners in some and any locked cell that we wanted to see was unlocked in our presence and we were Able to go in and look around. A by going into areas where they did no to expect to take us it added a sense of credibility to that part of the visit Quot he said. Some of the White plaster Walls were full of Graffiti and sketches. In cell 1, someone had written a a Happy new and another word that had faded with a Pencil sketch of a bottle and two Champagne glasses. The Date on the picture read a Jan. �?T89,�?� but Senate pow Mia committee staff members said the style of handwriting did not look american and other writing in the sketch was in vietnamese