European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday May 6, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 9americans finding a changed Kuwait by Neil Macfarquhar the associated press Kuwait a for american civilians returning Here after the persian Gulf War the flashbacks to being used As human Shields or sleeping in air conditioning ducts Are now less vivid but Many Are finding the Kuwait they return to much less hospitable. A when you Are forcibly evicted from a country you just have to come Back. Its part of the Healing process a said Don Latham a 31-year-old defense consultant from Albuquerque . Latham a diary from four months in hiding during the iraqi occupation describes stomach wrenching incidents such As emptying the garbage in full kuwaiti dress and having to return a Republican guards greeting. Latham said that when he first returned last fall every noise sent him scurrying to the curtains to see if the iraqi checkpoint at the intersection 100 Yards away had returned. Overall though he feels rejuvenated a skinnier More in love with his wife Maria and More confident. A it was a Small Triumph but still a Triumph not to have been picked up a he said. Those captured before iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein released All foreigners in december 1990 had the opposite experience. Jerry d. Willis 43., of Johnson City tenn., was held As a human shield at dams on the Tigris and euphrates Rivers in Northern Iraq. A when i got out i was really distraught. I lost All my self Confidence a he said. Getting Back to work installing Telephone systems helped restore him. Hotel executive Keaton Woods who slept in an air conditioning duct for four months snapped awake recently on an air plane when a Seatbelt cracked shut thinking someone had just chambered a round. A afterwards you realize some of the things that Are running around in your mind a he said. Most returnees found their Homes looted and tried to Salvage whatever Memorabilia they could from the wreckage. Some Are still paying off stolen cars and living with borrowed furniture. Americans estimate their losses from a year or More without paychecks and from looted personal property at some $50,000 to $200,000 each. The . Embassy puts the american population in Kuwait at 5,000, the same As before the War with no statistics on How Many Are returnees. But there Are far More single men due to a ban on bringing in families a ban resented by expatriates. In general returnees find Kuwait a Shadow of its former self. They worry about possible terrorist activity and internal political upheaval. They say prices have skyrocketed school standards have declined and labor is hard to find. Mines keep the desert and beaches off limits. A a in a afraid to get off the pavement in Kuwait a said Ann Olmstead 56, of Houston Texas principal of the american  abuse linked to Post combat stress i Washington a a study of Vietnam veterans suggests that childhood abuse May raise the risk of developing Ost traumatic stress disorder after comat a finding that May help in treatment. Veterans who sought treatment for the stress disorder sometimes called pts were More Likely to report having been sexually or physically abused As children than were veterans without the disorder the study found. Co author or. J. Douglas Bremner stressed that the disorder is caused by the combat itself rather than childhood abuse. Nearly three quarters of those suffering from it reported no history of such earlier abuse he noted. The finding just suggests that childhood abuse May make a person More vulnerable to a later stress disorder from combat he said. The study included a relatively Small Sample so further research should be done to see if the result can be confirmed he said. If so the insight May help in designing treatment and prevention he said. Bremner is a Yale University psychiatrist who also works at the National Center for Post traumatic stress disorders division of clinical neurosciences at the West Haven veterans affairs medical Center in Connecticut. He spoke in an interview before presenting the study monday at the annual meeting of the american psychiatric association. Not everyone agreed with his interpretation. Charles Figley director of the psychosocial stress research program at Florida state University in Tallahassee said the results May simply reflect the Well established relationship Between childhood abuse and adult psychiatric problems in general. Or he said they May mean the veterans seeking treatment for the Post combat stress disorder were More willing and Able to recall childhood abuse than the veterans they were compared with who sought Only medical treatment. In a Telephone interview Figley also cautioned that the Small Sample of Vietnam veterans was restricted to those seeking help from a hospitals a group that May not represent Vietnam veterans As a whole. Still the results Are intriguing enough to justify additional research he said. Although previous studies have rejected the idea of predisposing factors for most pts such factors May play a role in some cases he added. The disorder can appear months or years after a traumatic experience such As combat a natural disaster or an air plane crash. Symptoms include sudden vivid reliving of the experience night mares that can make a person awaken screaming and intense distress from events that symbolize or resemble the trauma. Some people with pts remain on constant Alert for danger. A 1988 estimate said about 15 percent of Vietnam veterans had the disorder at that time. The new study compared 38 Vietnam combat veterans seeking help for pts with 28 Vietnam combat veterans seeking help for medical problems. Based on a questionnaire and an interview 29 percent of the pts group reported having been physically or sexually abused or both As children. Only 7 percent of the other group reported the childhood problems. When scientists adjusted the findings to account for differences in combat exposure which is known to affect risk of the disorder the association with childhood abuse remained just As Strong Bremner  Pawn of defeat la. Pets of Quincy my u co Lortz a by bulb 8, we Grce or . Btu ther William alter losing a Tough Cheas match. Lea tournament at Dea Sarto High schoo Burger bar in Augsburg target of armed robbery Augsburg Germany a amps a German and military police Are looking for a Man Between 6 feet 2 inches and 6 feet 4 inches who robbed the Burger bar on Sheridan Cavern Here Early monday. Police officials say that a Man carrying a gun and wearing an army Raincoat Battle dress uniform pants a mask and gloves entered the facility about 5 30 . Monday and left with Between $4,000 and $6,000. The manager who was preparing to open the facility when the Man entered was found lying on the office floor around 6 15 . By another employee. The managers hands and feet were tied and his eyes and Mouth were covered with masking tape. German and criminal investigation come officials Are investigating. Anyone with information is asked to Call the criminal investigation come at ets 434-7545 or 7579, or civilian 0821-448-7545 or 7579.Lakenheath store manager fired in aftermath of audit Raf Lakenheath England a amps the civilian manager of a morale welfare and recreation facility at Raf Lakenheath was fired last thursday following an audit of store records according to a base spokesman. The audit by the air Force office of special investigations revealed irregularities in electric avenues records according to tech. Sgt. Rick Shick. He would not elaborate. Electric Avenue is an mar store of sales and rentals of videotapes compact Ces sories for electronic equipment. Shick also said he could not provide other details such As the managers name or nationality because the information is protected by the privacy act. The investigation is Over As far As Lakenheath authorities Are concerned Shick said. Specializing in t discs Ana a