European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 9, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday november 9, 1992 the stars and stripes i Page 3 an weather forecaster Salinda Lara Bee gives the experimental air Force uniform plenty of exposure. Air Force Brig. Gen. George t. Babbitt or. Says he finds the new uniform comfortable. A amps John Bohnec chief master sgt. Robert w. Bailey misses the . Insignia which distinguished us As United states. Views on air Force outfit for from uniform by Chuck Roberts staff writer thousands of viewers see an weather forecaster Salinda Larabee each night so the technical sergeant thought she would be an Ideal lightning Rod for comments on the air forces experimental uniform. She was right. People started calling in with comments As soon As Larabee donned the prototype jacket officially known As experimental garment no. 2650. An continues to get Calls complaining about her a a improper uniform despite occasional announcements that Larabee is participating in a test. One caller is an air Force chief master sergeant who says he will personally come to the studio in Frankfurt Germany and put on Larabee a name tag and Collar brass a items exempt from the experimental jacket a if she does no to shape up. Larabee is the Only woman among eight airmen in Europe modelling the uniforms that the air Force might adopt. About 800 airmen Are involved in the test worldwide. The uniform review Board will begin receiving feedback this month and could release some results by january. The final versions of the uniform will be issued to Basic trainees in 1995. Wearing the new uniform will be optional for All airmen in 1994 and mandatory in 1999. Model airmen in Europe have received both positive and negative feedback but a few constants keep appearing. People say the jacket looks comfortable but is too Plain and they done to like the missing . Insignia on the Lapel. For instance most women soldiers have told Larabee they think the new air Force look is Bland compared with the army uniform and its Many emblems an outfit some describe As an a attempt to make everyone look like a bolivian  but army sgt. Teresa Felmey does no to agree with criticism of the revamped air Force uniforms. A i think they re better a said Felmey who works behind the scenes at an As director of television and studio operations. A they done to have All those decorations. To worry  Larabee likes the larger stripes on the sleeves of the prototype service jacket which she finds More comfortable than the current More tailored version. The new Model also includes a pocket that helps women align their ribbons More easily than the current method of lining them up with an imaginary line from the Center buttons. Brig. Gen. George t. Babbitt jr., who wears the new uniform As Deputy commander of logistics at the Headquarters of the . Air forces in Europe at Ramstein a Germany May have Given the jacket the ultimate compliment. A i would sit at a table with this jacket on Quot Babbitt said. �?o1 probably would still unbutton it but i d feel comfortable a the general who became involved with the testing in san Antonio before being reassigned in Germany said he does no to Wear the current jacket too often because its too uncomfortable. New jackets wrinkle More easily he said because they Are a blend of polyester and Wool instead of the current jackets 100 percent polyester. However the new jacket is dry cleaner Friendly because there Are far fewer items to remove. A i done to find it much different than a business suit Quot Babbitt said. Some people have compared the version he wears to an airline pilots uniform or to a coast guard jacket. A Button on the air Force test outfit revives the Emblem used by the army air corps. A some people just done to like it i guess either they truly done to like it or they just done to like change a the general said. A younger people newer to the air Force Are much less resistant to change. Folks that have been wearing the uniform for 20 to 30 years arc More resistant to change Quot said chief master sgt. Robert w. Bailey us afe s senior enlisted adviser. And Bailey himself is one air Force Veteran who likes some things from the current uniform that have been excluded from the new version a i miss the . Insignia Quot he said. A it distinguished us As United  staff photographer John Bohmer cont Buthod to this report former czechoslovak Leader Dubcek Dies Prague Czechoslovakia api a Alexander Dubcek the former czechoslovak Leader whose failed attempt to loosen communism tight grip on his nation became known As the a Prague Spring Quot has died at 70, doctors said Dubcek a life symbolized doomed ideals and failed aspirations. The death of the former War hero came less than two months before the Federated Czechoslovakia he had believed in was to split. Dubcek died of heart kidney and lung failure from multiple Chest and spine injuries suffered in a sept. 1 car Accident Milan Rocen chief surgeon at Prague san Homo Lee Hospital told the state Csuk news Agency. Dubcek had been operated on three times since his chauffeur driven Bow skidded off a rain Slick Highway 50 Miles Southeast of Prague and plunged into a Gorge. Dubcek who is survived by three sons was to be buried in his Hometown of Bratislava on Friday a source at the czechoslovak Federal parliament said sunday. Born nov. 27, 1921, in Uhro vec Dubcek joined the communist party at 18 and was wounded twice As a partisan fighting the nazis in world War ii. He became Czechoslovakia a party chief in 1968. Succeeding hard line communist Boss Antonin Novotny. Dubcek