European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 23, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12letters to the editor wednesday december 23,1992 thes european edition col Gene a. Townsend Usan commander publisher Beraho a Zovistoski editor news and editorial Sam Walter european editor Deborah Aba her news editor Bob wac car sports editor Paul Cozby acting City editor George Manet special sections editor to write us unit 29480 Apo a 09211 or Postrach 11 14 37 6100 Darmstadt 11, Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-8 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237, 255, 282, 226, 326. Sports ext. 225, 269, 263, 332, 321, 221. Features ext. 230, 245,341. Letters to editor ext. 208. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus Kaiserslautern Germany Kevin Dougherty John Bohmer Steva scholar building 2899, Pulaski Barracks Apo a 09227-3717 Telephone Dan 489-6585 or civilian 0631-52104 Tel fax 0631 -50696. 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Physic a Handicap political affiliation or any other non Meul Laylor of the purchaser user or Patio Naf program punitive there Are a lot of important issues going on in today a military but this is my Soapbox and i want my say for All the big Guys in the air Force. The air forces new Cycle Ergo meter is an excellent program. Leading sports and physiologist experts have used this test for years and finally the air Force has come on line. Combat fitness is an important part of our jobs. It makes us work out regularly. However the air forces weight management program is garbage. Its based on a test that no one in the medical profession uses because its so inaccurate. And its extremely punitive in nature. No promotion no pcs no boards administrative action. Wake up air Force. A Large percentage of americans Are considered overweight but they arc extremely productive motivated and healthy. Because of an inaccurate body fat measurement i can be categorized and my career put in jeopardy. Get into the 20th Century. The weight management program is wrong and a study from the Institute of Medicine proves it now. Air Force fix it. A tech. Sgt. Rusco c. Lewis Ramstein a Germany i Brake for police in a a retired army medical specialist living in Germany. In 1946, when i was 18, i did no to Stop for an . Policeman who was chasing me. I did no to Stop because i was two blocks from my Home in Southwest . The officer stopped at my driveway and told me that next time i could get shot for what i had done. No ticket but he got through loud and Clear. From that time on i never worried about How i might be treated when stopped by the police because today its not abuse but possible death that one faces. Through the years thanks to to and movies our society has been reprogrammed to believe that running from the Law is the Way to go. I done to get into what a right and wrong anymore but i pay attention to what works and what does no to. Paying taxes for police Protection and then rejecting the efforts of the police reflect a society that a not healthy. Every Servic member has been trained that order works and disorder does no to. Wherever i May be in the world and the police Stop me ill not have to worry about being abused for not stopping regardless of the circumstances. A Richard w. Moulton Frankfurt Germany a a some Barracks abuses As someone who lived in the Barracks for six Long years in a glad to finally see improvements. However i see and hear a lot of negative things. I was assigned to several combat Engineer units. In one i had a commander who might As Well have been a dictator. Each room was displayed exactly the same personal items including stereo systems had to fit in the personal Section of the Wall locker without interfering with your Wall locker display. You did not have a Wall locker  uniforms and one for civvies there was Only one for All purposes. The infamous a they you roster continually usurped the single soldiers free time while married soldiers were exempt from All details. Today a soldiers have it easier. They be got better Barracks and More Freedom. But with better Barracks comes greater responsibilities. Since the commands involvement is at a minimum the soldiers must govern themselves. Common areas still need to be maintained. Also stories of wild parties loud music and members of the opposite sex living in the a dorm Ito Riesz disgrace Many commands. If a married Soldier violates housing regulations the commander can have his quarters pulled. Why not the single soldiers Barracks committees Are Fine but commanders still need to be in control. The single Soldier who continues to violate the rules should be denied the privilege of dormitory housing. And All the niceties that go with this privilege a sgt. Warren Wingard Heidelberg German editor s note letters from readers expressing their viewpoints Are published daily in this space. All letters must be signed. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. Letters should be signed and include address and Telephone number. Address letters to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. A a a letters requesting information or assistance Are answered in a feature called readers action line which normally appears every Day except thursday and sunday. Letters should be signed and include address and Telephone number. Address such letters to readers action line the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211.americans do it too Good grief. Done to blame the British for the Lack of merchandise in your pm. Blame the source a cafes. Done to begrudge our allies a shopping trip in be seen plenty of americans go through the British Canadian and French exchanges like a Hoard of locusts. Be. Drummond Rhein main a Germany counselling for condoms id like to make some suggestions about condoms in schools. There Are a lot of sexually Active teen agers. That a a fact. While its True that we As parents need to stress abstinence what about the teen agers who Are already sexually Active they Arentt going to Stop having sex. We need to get a decent Compromise. This is my idea. Make condoms available in schools for those older than 16but Only through the school nurse. The first time a student comes in for a condom he or she should go through a counselling session. The topics should include the advantages of waiting the choices of pregnancy the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and the treatments for them if any. Also the effects they could have on someone a life. The myths about sex should also be talked about. Many teen agers believe you can to get pregnant if you have sex standing up or if its the first time Etc Etc. These myths need to be Laid to rest after this session if the student still wants condoms he or she should be Given some. His or her name should be on a list of students who have been through counselling and allowed condoms. There should be follow up counselling every other month or so. 1 Hope this would Stop sexually transmitted diseases in our youth and Cut Down on teen age pregnancies. Give it some thought. We have a responsibility to our children to help them in this a Jeanette Amos Hahn a Germany praying for the mail during my years of Active duty in the army i have received my mail either opened slightly opened or pm ply and sometimes months later. Now that i n i civilian i still receive my mail that Way. I recently received a Box that i had sent to my Nephew for his birthday in february 1992. It was opened and sure enough his old clothes were in there but none of the new stuff was. Since i was very Young my Mother told me great stories about How she kept in touch with her family when she was away from Home by using the . Postal system. But hey in a luckier. In be got even better stories to Tell my kids about the . Postal service. Do you think it is fair to have to Pray for your mail to get to its destination a Catherine Gonzalez Firth German giving Money to others every time i turn on the to or hear the news i always see that the United states is giving some country millions of dollars. In a a . Service member and if i received a no pay due i could not go to my finance office and say a i got a no pay due and i need $3,000, and i want to pay it Back when i get  we All know what the answer would be. My Point is that America takes care of everyone else before it takes care of the people in the United states or the . Service members. I feel taxpayers should have a say on what our tax dollars Are spent on. A spec. Johnny Seawright kit Zingen German Gays done to belong in be been in the army for 10 years. Before i met my wife i was a single Soldier living in the Barracks. During that time i had problems with homosexuals. They asked for favors and propositioned me. This took place stateside As Well As overseas. What do you think would have happened if we had been in a foxhole on the Battlefield people who say that a a it a their rights just done to know. I done to know about the majority but i certainly see a major difference in harassment from the opposite sex and a homosexual. If these people were to place themselves in my shoes their views on this Issue would change dramatically. No question about it a homosexuals do not belong in the military. A sgt. C. Johnston Kuwait Dollar Chart worthless what is the use of your sunday Dollar watch column a simple comparison of Exchange rates does Little to Tell the consumer about the purchasing Power of the Dollar. For example the italian lira Exchange rate cited nov. 15 exaggerated the recent devaluation of the lira and ignored the significantly higher inflation rate in Italy which has eroded the lira a buying Power for years. Instead Why not give a graph showing relative purchasing Power in percentages Over the same period of time better yet take a common a Basket of goods and services and show the Dollar Cost of local currency needed to Purchase the Basket Over the same period. Either would yield a much More accurate impression of How much a Dollar will buy compared to the past. A 1st it. Robert . Munden Friedberg Germany