European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 b the stars and stripes saturday june 13, 1992commissary suppliers up in arms merged military Agency can t seem to pay its Bills on time by Chuck v1nch Washington Bureau Washington computer problems and Plain old human error have held up payment of hundreds of millions of dollars to commissary suppliers Over the past eight months Industry representatives charged thursday. At a hearing of the House armed services committees morale welfare and recreation panel military officials faced a barrage of criticism Over the inability of the defense commissary Agency to pay its Bills on time since three military commissary systems merged oct. 1. A a in be heard a lot about How deca has met the a challenges of merging the service commissary systems a said Colette Nelson an official with the Small business legislative Council a coalition of 100 Trade and professional associations. Quot let me Tell you what Challenge really is a she said. Quot for a Small business its waking up on monday with $3,000 in the Bank knowing you have to make $2,000 in Matching payroll deductions on wednesday and meet a $10,000 payroll on Friday while deca is holding $25,000 of your  she also said deca has tried to Dodge interest penalties on late payments owed to contractors and to intimidate Small contractors who Call congressional representatives about payment delays. Commissary patrons enjoying longer store hours and wider merchandise selection since the merger would never know it but the situation has led to a rift Between deca and the businesses it deals with. Small businesses comprise 17 percent of decals suppliers and Are More vulnerable than most Large corporations when they Are not paid promptly Nelson said. Panel chairman rep. H. Martin Lancaster d-n.c., said he has been Quot besieged by complaints from Industry adding to the problem Dreska said the air forces commissary computer system Quot Flat broke Down As deca came into being. Air Force commissaries make up 46 percent of sales but the services automation turned out to be incompatible Sis bureaucracy gone awry and chaos at its worst a rep. H. Martin Lancaster about unpaid Bills and unresponsive deca personnel. Lancaster charged deca with major violations of the prompt payment act enacted 10 years ago and revised in 1988 to Force government agencies to meet their business obligations. A this is bureaucracy gone awry and chaos at its worst a he said. Rep. Herbert h. Bateman r-va., also chastised Agency officials for not informing Congress about the problems when they arose. Bateman said lawmakers Learned of the situation Only after the Pentagon inspector general got involved and complaints began flooding in from commissary contractors. Maj. Gen. John p. Dreska director of deca acknowledged the Agency was caught unprepared for the magnitude of automation problems that began when the commissary merger took place last year. A we just did no to anticipate that a he said. With the rest of decals computerized Billing system a which meant no air Force commissary invoices could be processed. Another automation problem has involved devising a computerized system to Send accurate Price quotes from manufacturers to commissary stores. Richard Murray chief of the american logistics association said decals system is supposed to be set up so manufacturers can funnel prices to a centralized Point in each commissary Region to be passed on electronically to stores. Quot but to Date none of the regions have this capability a Murray said. Quot so there have been Many instances of a receipt being reported by a store at one Price and by the manufacturer submitting an invoice at a different  Dreska said devising new Bill paying procedures and training deca personnel in the More than 250 stateside stores in those procedures also contributed to breakdowns in the system. He also said the Industry has had problems training Billing personnel on invoice procedures. But Nelson quickly attacked that assertion saying deca changed essential elements of its invoice procedures without telling contractors who continued to submit what they thought were Correct invoices until five months later. Despite the Billing Nightmare that has plagued decals first eight months Dreska said the Agency has Quot taken a very proactive and aggressive role in resolving the  Agency personnel have been diligently working to reduce the invoice backlog he said. Over the past four months they have Cut the value of unpaid invoices by More than half a from More than $400 million to under $200 million. Dreska said he Hopes to reduce the backlog to $75 million by August and to $25 million to $40 million by october targets he called Quot realistic and  implementation of a streamlined software package called the deca interim business system Over the next two months will help he said. The Agency also has intensified training in proper Billing procedures for its own personnel and contractors. A we Are still not where we want to be but we have turned the Corner on our Bill paying Challenge a Dreska said. Lancaster vowed to hold another hearing late this summer to Check on decals  decision on War crime trials Washington apr the Bush administration has not yet determined whether to move ahead with War crimes charges against Iraq involving allegations of torture or abuse of . Prisoners of War a Pentagon spokesman said. While the . Government has tried to document violations identifying individuals is very difficult and in some cases impossible spokesman Pete Williams said thursday. Other problems he said include gaining custody of potential suspects in Iraq and the question of where to prosecute a in an International tribunal the United states or Iraq. Williams was questioned in Light of the latest report that one of the two female . Prisoners of War was sexually assaulted after her helicopter was downed in Iraq. The incident involved maj. Rhonda l. Cor num a physician who has been quoted As saying she considered the episode a an occupational Hazard of going to  group helps veterans voices be heard in Halls of congress1st Canadian div fwd sets repatriation ceremony Lahr Germany a amps a 1st Canadian div fwd the principal Canadian army unit in Europe plans to Mark the end of the army a operational commitment on the continent with parades and repatriation ceremonies at the Lahr Airfield at 4 . Today. During the ceremony Brig. Gen. Clive Addy will relinquish command of the divisions chief subordinate unit 4 Canadian Mech brigade to col. Bob Meating according to the forces. Addy also is commander of the division which will cease to exist july 1. The division had about 4,200 troops when it was reactivated in Lahr on nov. 30, 1989. Canada now is withdrawing All its forces from Europe and the plan Calls for the lust army troops to leave by september 1993. By Ron Jensen Niernberg Bureau Bamberg Germany a the veterans of americans wars Are claiming another Victory. The lobbying efforts of the veterans of foreign wars helped defeat the Rural health care initiative which would have opened veterans hospitals to non veterans in some Rural areas. A we thought it was ludicrous to have a Veteran a say a paraplegic a lying in bed next to a draft dodger Quot said Bruce Withers 52, a Retiree who lives near Kitzinger. A theoretically that could have  the Bill lost 91 to 3 in the Senate this Spring and the vow which mounted a letter writing Campaign among its 2.2 million members is taking some of the credit. Members of the vow in Europe Are meeting this weekend in Bamberg in Hopes of targeting specific legislation for the same Type of lobbying efforts. Bill Pierce 69, a past commander of the european vow said Friday that besides the 2.2 million members there Are 1 million members of the wives auxiliary. A a that a 3 million votes. We do have clout a said Pierce who now lives in Michigan but returned for the 15th annual convention in Europe. The vow which was created in 1914, has been Active in Europe since 1977. There Are about 4,000 members in Germany France England and Italy said George Eby 64, the european commander who lives near Grafe Wohr Germany. The members Are mostly veterans of the Vietnam War and spent enough of their military time overseas to feel at Home outside of America. But they Are very much aware of the benefits they earned while in uniform and Are Active in ensuring those benefits continue. They fear the current pressure in Congress to Cut the budget which May mean cuts in their benefits. A most of us feel that we be been deserted or lied to a said Richard Kennedy 52, who lives near Mannheim Germany and is senior vice commander. Kennedy said As a Retiree he is last on the priority list when he seeks service at the military dispensary. Eby has a similar complaint. �?o1 did 34 years in Uncle same a service a he said. �?o1 can to even go to a veterans  he has no service related ailment he said so he is not allowed treatment. However he added that was not the Rule when he signed up for the service. Being discussed this weekend by the 220 delegates is for example a Resolution to allow veterans living overseas to receive benefits through the civilian health and medical program of the United states past the age of 65. They reason is that they have no Access to the same Type of medical care As their Peers in America. A a that shot on the list a Eby said. Tom Thomure 49, who lives near Kitzinger said a for us Guys it would be a great Benefit. But for the most part the concerns of these veterans Mirror those of their partners living in the United states. A list of 69 resolutions includes several concerning health care one regarding exposure to herbicide and one opposing homosexuals in military service. Of the several organizations for veterans such As the american legion the vow is the Only one with its own political action committee. The vow lobbyists keep tabs on lawmakers votes regarding issues of interest to veterans. A those who Are doing nothing for veterans affairs Are not going to get an endorsement a Eby said. European members Are not Cut off from the issues Eby said. He is sent information by fax about three times a week from the United states. A this one came just before i left Home a he said displaying information about the balanced budget amendment. The information expressed concern that a balanced budget amendment May require cuts in veterans benefits. By the end of sunday the delegates will have approved a number of resolutions that will be sent on to the National Headquarters in Kansas City to. Those and other resolutions approved by state chapters will be voted on at the National convention in Indianapolis in August. From there the memberships concerns will be delivered to lawmakers. A a lot of congressmen Are not veterans a Pierce said. A they Are not aware. They think we Only Wear silly