European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 29, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Vol. 51, no. 42 350 Friday May 29, 1992 c d 8693 aah rims virtual certainty by Chuck v1nch Washington Bureau Washington a the first air Force reduction in Force in 18 years is a a virtual certainty Quot this summer because not enough officers have signed up for voluntary separation incentives a personnel official said wednesday. With today a deadline to apply for the special separation Benefit or the voluntary separation incentive the air Force is still More than 3,000 applications Short on the officer Side said Brig. Gen. Charles t. Robertson jr., director of personnel plans. A i can to say there Isnit someone above my level who holds a Trump card i Haven to seen Quot he said. A but from my perspective i done to see any Way we re going to be Able to avoid a  Active duty officers who received Reserve commissions in 1980 through 1989 will be reviewed by a Board tentatively set to Convene july 20 at the air Force Mili tary personnel Center at Randolph fab Texas. Robertson said. The total number of officers to be considered probably will not be known until shortly before the Board convenes. 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. In essence regular commissions Are Given to graduates of the military service academics As Well As Honor graduates of Roth and officer candidate school programs while Reserve commissions Are Given to All other Roth and oct graduates. The air Force originally had set april 15 As the deadline for applying for the two incentive programs. But the number of officers taking those options was so Low that officials reopened the programs through May 29 and expanded the number of people who could see rims on Page 2board targets Junior officers Washington a amps the air Force has announced guidelines for the Board that will consider officer reductions in Force. The Board is tentatively scheduled to Convene july 20 at the services military personnel Center Randolph fab Texas. Officers eligible to be considered include a Active duty lieutenants and captains who see targets on Page 2sarajevo fighting rages despite pressure Belgrade Yugoslavia apr explosions and intense gunfire shattered Many areas of the bosnian capital of Sarajevo Early thursday despite increasing International pressure for an end to the conflict. The republics Muslim president Alija ize Begovic had called for a popular offensive against serb led forces on wednesday after at least 20 people were killed in the City by a mortar attack on a bread line. The bosnian government made desperate appeals for foreign intervention to halt the land grab in Bosnia and Herzegovina by serb fighters supported by the Serbia dominate yugoslav army. The european Community decided wednesday to impose Trade sanctions on Serbia which it considers primarily responsible for the fighting. Serbia and tiny Montenegro Are the Only two republics to remain in the yugoslav federation. The 12-nation Community also asked the . Security Council to impose an Oil embargo and to freeze Belgrade a assets abroad. . Diplomats in new York urged on by lie United states were already working on a draft Resolution. In Geneva the International commit tee of the red Cross announced after the bread line attack that it was withdrawing its remaining 16 staff members from Bosnia because of the escalating danger. A red Cross official was killed last week when a Relief Convoy he was leading came under attack dying to get into the besieged bosnian capital. . Officials also halted further Relief see fighting on Page 2 hats away newly commissioned officers of the . Naval Academy in Annapolis md., toss their hats into the air at the end of wednesdays graduation ceremonies. President Bush the keynote speaker told the 1,010 Young offi cers that the United states must remain militarily Strong despite winning the cold War. A we have yet to prove that we can Lead without an enemy on the Doorstep Quot he said. A now it must wage the  pushes russians to pull troops from Baltic Helsinki Finland apr defense Secretary Dick Cheney said thursday the United states wants Russia to remove troops still in the three Baltic republics. A we believe the troops of the former soviet Union on Baltic territory ought to be withdrawn. Foreign troops should be on the territory of another nation Only with the approval of that nation Quot Cheney told a news conference. His remarks indicated growing . Impatience with the Pace of withdrawal of former soviet troops from Estonia Latvia and Lithuania. More than 100,900 troops remain in the Baltic which won Independence from Moscow after the failed coup in August against former soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev Russia already has begun withdrawing troops from Germany and Poland Cheney said. Quot we want to encourage that process to continue but we also understand it is a complicated problem the russians Are dealing with As they receive these forces Back on their own territory a he added. Cheney a arrival wednesday marked the first visit by a . Defense Secretary to Neutral Finland. He held talks with president Mauno Koivisto and foreign minister Paavo Vayrynen. Earlier this month the government awarded a $3 billion contract to buy 64 fighter jets from the . Aerospace firm Mcdonnell Douglas corp. The Deal broke Finland a postwar tradition of buying arms evenly from the East and West the United states a highly values the increasing contacts Between the . And finnish defense departments Cheney told defense minister Elisabeth Rehn wednesday. A Finland also plays an important role from its special position on the Border of the newly Independent states of the former soviet Union. The United states and Finland share a common interest in helping these states develop democratic societies Quot he said