European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 9, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                An weather forecaster Salinda Larabee gives the sex air Force Brig. Gen. George t. Babbitt or. Says he finds Primenta air Force uniform plenty of exposure. The new uniform comfortable. Chief master sgt Robert w. Bailey misses the . Insignia which a distinguished us As United states. Views on air Force outfit far 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 a 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 its. 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 a Babbitt said. A i probably would still unbutton it but id feel  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 a Babbitt said. Some people have compared the version he wears to an airline pilots uniform or to a coast guard jacket. A Battel of the afar Force teat Oit flt revives the Emblem used Fay 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 Are More resistant to change a said chief master sgt. Robert w. Bailey us Afes 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 a he said a it distinguished us As United  staff photograph John Bomar contributed to Thlu report lockout ends in Schweinfurt without night  Doke assistant City editor a lock Down ended saturday morning for soldiers assigned to cob 1st in 15th inf regt in Schweinfurt Germany who had spent most of the last two weeks searching a training area for a missing pair of night vision goggles that never turned up. A co b Soldier who asked that his name not be used said the company which has 101 members was released at 9 . Saturday. He said that soldiers stopped searching a training area tuesday for the an/pvs-7b Nigil vision goggles but that some soldiers believed unit officials did not receive permission to release them until Friday. He said company members then were confined to Conn Barracks in Schweinfurt overnight. A 3rd inf div spokesman said saturday night however that the search continued until Friday a when it was determined that a further search was impractical. Bravo co was recalled from the Field on Friday and directed to conduct a 100 percent inventory of All equipment and to clean and properly store All  that a Normal procedure after a trip to the Field said maj. Michael Mckinney the 3rd inf pts spokesman. The area searched was about 5 Square Kilometres or 3.10 Square Miles Mckinney said. A we searched by Day and pretty much Hung out at night a said the co b Soldier about the units stay in the Field which included sleeping in tents. After the search ended tuesday he added a we just sat there for the remaining  goggles disappearance was noticed on the evening of oct. 24 m an inventory of sensitive items during a Field exercise that had begun a week earlier. The battalions soldiers were confined to Conn Barracks in Schweinfurt beginning oct. 25. Four of the battalions five companies returned to Normal duty monday. The goggles Worth $4,584, Are considered sensitive items because they enhance images to increase night vision and their use by hostile elements such As terrorists could cause harm to . Soldiers and their families