European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday january �9, 1993 Somalia 1 the stars and stripes Pago 11u.n. Takeover sought in Somalia Mogadishu Somalia apr . Special envoy Robert b. Oakley accused the United nations on wednesday of Quot dragging its feet Quot on taking Over military command in Somalia from the United states. He said the United states and other nations were pressing . Score Taffy general Boutros Boutros Ghali to name a respected Independent mediator to help Somalia s warring factions reach a peace. Quot there a a quiet collective push to get or. Boutros Ghali to do for Somalia what he seems to be comfortable with in Bosnia Quot said Oakley. Boutros Ghali appointed former . Secretary of state Cyrus Vance in August to seek a negotiated settlement to the War in Bosnia. Vance is working with lord Owen a former British foreign Secretary who is the european Community mediator. Quot it does no to have to be Vance and Owen but someone of Independent stature Quot Oakley said. Quot it would make the United nations a lot stronger. And it would fit very nicely with the idea of having a military commander flying the .  the United nations has had two special envoys to Somalia a Post now held by Ismat Kitani an iraqi. It was not Clear whether Oakley meant to criticize Kitani. Oakley a former . Ambassador to Somalia was brought out of retirement by former president Bush to help oversee operation restore Hope launched to feed Somalia a starving people. Many Relief officials astr believe a commanding International figure is crucial to bringing a lasting peace to Somalia. An Independent mediator would help allay fears among Many somalis of another . Takeover of their country which was a . Trusteeship from 1950 to 1960. Oakley Quot i am All for it because i believe its too big a Job for the Quality of . Personnel that Are Here Quot said Mike Mcdonagl Field director for the Irish Relief Agency concern. Oakley said the United states had restored enough Security since the marines arrived dec. 9 for a . Commander to begin taking Power. He said he believed president Clinton endorses this View. Quot but. The United nations is dragging its feet Quot Oakley said. Boutros Ghali who rarely responds to reporters questions could not be reached at the United nations on wednesday regarding Oakley a charge. He has made no secret that he will resist deploying . Peacekeepers until he believes it is Safe for them to operate. On tuesday Kofi Annan the . Undersecretary said Only Quot the planning for the transition to the United nations is going  Washington asked the . Security Council last week to consider a new Resolution to turn Over responsibility for the humanitarian operation to the United nations. The United states told the Council that together with its coalition partners it had made significant gains in securing key towns ports airports and roads. But it stopped Short of saying it had established an entirely Safe environment. Oakley said the United states also told the United nations that a . Force should operate throughout Somalia. The .-led coalition is restricted to the More famine wracked Southern half of the country where an estimated 2 million somalis Are threatened with  Mission Worth the risk maps say by Gary Miller and Steve scholar staff writers Mogadishu Somalia for tech. Sgt. Daniel e. Mears the Best part of his Job is also the worst. Mears is one of More than 20 Germany based . Military police who have deployed to Somalia to provide Airport Security and customs inspection training As part of operation restore Hope. Other Germany based military police Are working at Moi International Airport in Mombasa Kenya. A this is the real thing. Its dangerous but Airport Security is important. The safety of the aircraft and people is our top priority a said Mears Wmk is assigned to the 569th Security police Force in the Vogel Weh District of Kaiserslautern Germany. The constant begging of the somali children is the worst part of guarding the Airport s Entrance Mears said. Quot they re always looking for food or Money. In a probably approached by at least 60 or 70 kids during a 12-hour shift Quot he said. Another pitfall on the Job Mears has Learned is being targeted by somali children throwing rocks. Quot it seems to be a rite of passage for Young boys. They have to do something violent to prove they re becoming a  sgt. Tricia Parrish a Ramstein Security policewoman normally assigned to Vogel Wehus 569th, said she a used to the strange looks she gets from somalis and sometimes other coalition forces. A i guess the somalis Arentt used to seeing a woman in uniform. Sometimes they just stare at me Quot she said. So too does the pakistani contingent of the coalition Force. Quot i know its a cultural difference. It does no to affect me. In a Here to do a Job and they respect that a she said. Whether male or female though Gen Der is never an Issue when a shot rings out. A it usually does no to bother us because its in the distance Quot said senior airman Garrett Maynard also of the 569th. Quot but we re always ready to  Maynard said he and fellow Security providers Are authorized to use the minimum Force necessary to control any situation. Other military policemen form part of a Farewell committee at the Airport. They re a customs agents training team. Staff set. Jim Smithson of the 14th my brigade from Mannheim Germany is a military customs adviser with a nine person training team that includes soldiers from such locations As Kaiserslautern Hanau Frankfurt and Karlsruhe. Their Job Smithson said is to set up a departure Point to Clear troops who Are leaving Somalia for return to the United states for checks there by . Customs and the . Department of agriculture. The. Recent return of More than 200 marines from the 3rd in 9th Marine regt to their Home at Camp Pendleton Calif., was the first big test for the students of the military customs instructors. So far the Germany based maps have trained 183 soldiers according to maj. Peter Champagne the training teams commander. However training has been just one aspect of the teams Mission Champagne said. At first they were forced to practice the techniques they preach. Quot we hit the ground running and immediately went to work processing the first 500 marines who redeployed a Champagne said. Whether providing Security or customs training the military police Are anxious to get Back Home. Quot we be heard a somali police Force will be forming soon Quot Mears said. A a that a Good news for  Sis Vic Crawley a new Battle axe Petty officer 3rd class Steve Ellis 24, shows off a four string guitar he whittled out of scrap Wood while in so. Malia. The Steelworker a native of grand rapids mich., is based at port hueneme Calif. By Craig Martin staff writer. Mogadishu Somalia a Lance up it i. Johnnie Traughber found himself face to face with bandits working for the two most powerful warlords in Somalia within a week of his arrival dec. 15 in the african nation. As a motor transport specialist from the 1st Marine expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton Calif Traughber drives soldiers marines and american dignitaries through Mogadishu Somalia a Lawless capital. Most of the time says the 21 year old its a Boring Job. But sometimes he drives through places and situations hell never forget. One such occasion came on a december morning when he escorted military officers and some Cia agents to talks at the residence of somalian warlord Mohamed Farah aided. The warlord s chief rival a Mahdi Mohamed was there Loo. Each brought his own armed guards called a technical a a aided a a compound was surrounded by 10-foot Concrete Bullet Ridden Walls with Sharp shards of broken Glass aimed skyward that would mince anyone trying to scale the Walls. The compound had several one Story buildings and a two Story mansion. Mercedes Benz cars were parked in what was left of the driveway. Several guards patrolled the area armed with everything from .50-caliber machine guns to Semi automatic rifles. A we drove into the compound Quot recalled Traughber a and everybody had weapons. 1 saw Crew served weapons mounted on Toyota pickups it looked like anti aircraft weapons but they were bigger than .50-caliber.&Quot Crew served weapons Are at least .50-caliber and usually require More than one person to operate. They usually Are mounted on tanks hum Ces or other heavy military vehicles. Gunmen Traughber also was surprised at the Range of weaponry belonging to the technical. Quot i saw people armed with machine guns and ak-47s. I saw people with m-16au. I was told they also had czech rifles but i done to know what kind they were for sure a he said. Quot they were new to me a Traughber Wasny to a seasoned combat Veteran at the time nor were most of his fellow marines he said Traughber with a slight Southern accent. But he said he Wasny to scared. �?o1 was pumped up Quot he said Traughber said he and his companions that december morning weren to anxious for trouble considering the somalis weaponry. A Between us the marines and the Cia we had 15 to 20 weapons but we were seriously outgunned. In our vehicle we had a tank killer rocket and grenade launcher Quot he said. Quot that Wasny to much. A kid under 12 had an ak-47 on him. He was just a. Little kid. I knew if the shooting started we were  but Traughber and the marines in his a Lukvec decided that if shooting started their Side  be the Only one to suffer casualties. As it turned out the meeting ended without incident. But Traughber said hell remember that Day forever. Since then Traughber has been shot at Many times during his drives through Mogadishu. But he a not in a hurry to leave. A i gotta stay Here until March 15,&Quot he said. A a that a when i qualify for my overseas deployment