European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 14, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 letters to the editor sunday february 14, 1993 european edition col enc e. Townsend Usan commander publisher Bernard a. 2ovistoski editor news and editorial Bill want european editor Deborah a Tow news editor Bob Wicker sports editor City editor George Manei special Section editor to write us unit 294bo apcjaep9211or.posttach.t-t 1437 6100 Darmstadt 11, Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to callus 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 a cml Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus neioel0ero, Germany Joseph Owen room 117. No Merit. 104, w4900 Heidelberg chm 419, Box 1318, Apo a 09103 Telephone d9n 370-7010 or civilian 00221-33421.  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Everything advertised in us publication mail be made available for Purchase use or patronage a thou Toga d to race color religion sex National Ong age marital stat us physical Handicap political affiliation sex any other non Merit a. Tur of the purchaser user of Patron use Force in Hosnia As i sit and watch another news report with eyewitness accounts of Muslim women and Little girls who were raped by serbs 1 can t help but think of my wife and 5-Ycar-old girl. It s enough for me. Let s go in coalition or no coalition. Let the european Community and the rest of the world whimper and wring their hands in fear and indecision. Use overwhelming Force to push the serbs Back into Yugoslavia. Let s show some Backbone. To answer the question is it Worth the lives of american troops just think about your Mother wife or Little girl going through months of daily gang rape and the answer is obvious. I la go. Sgt. Sec Van Vav. Pc Runcik Darmstadt Germany \ no one got he real Story i am writing in response to the article marines Hunt for arms after casualties Jan. 14 and the part about the Marine private first class who was killed in a fire fight in Mogadishu Somalia on Jan. 12.the article made me laugh because it Only gave part of the Story. It made it sound As if we were a Bunch of wimps. It had some of the facts like the fact that we were outman cd and that they did have More firepower than we did. We fought tooth Ana Nail for a Long time. As i be read through other newspapers no one got the real Story. No one said that we had four confirmed kills and that the somalian snipers were the ones who were beaten in the firefight. That s because they did t come straight to the source. If you want the real Story talk to the people who were there. Lance Cpl. William Roberts Somalia butt out smokers. It s obvious that the environmental Protection Agency has done the right thing declaring secondhand smoke a Carcinogen. Unfortunately it will take the defense department quite awhile to re Spond to inevitable occupational safety and health administration standards to protect nonsmokers. And of course smokers will cry foul again because their rights arc being threatened. I Don t know of any special Protection or rights afforded to someone for example who would wave around a chunk of Asbestos for others to breathe near the Entrance of a building. Besides the waste of lives the waste of Money treating smoking related illnesses in military hospitals has to be absurd. More than once i be witnessed respiratory patients outside smoking Ancl have seen them Crank up the oxygen flow on nearby bottle to Calm the Hack from that first drag. We could spend that Money on something More useful than a slow death that s a drug on the taxpayers. It s better spent on sustaining Basic medical care for nonsmoking retirees. Although an estimated one fifth of the world s population will perish from smok ing the Nash Post exchanges and commis Saries arc still in the Carcinogen business. They la recall a child s defective car scat or remove an expired item in a heartbeat. Hut tobacco stays. Some say lowered profits May degrade services in the mor ale and recreation areas. And of course the tobacco lobby who d put cigarettes in your mks if Given the Chance has great Deal with Dod sales. Money being tip Jet and getting tighter the Only far sighted Cost cutting so Lution is to eliminate sales on All bases Al together. Then Jive All Active duty people two years to quit smoking or Start paying for their own health care. If services Sui for so be it. A healthier Active duty forces More important. Most people would t enter or be ordered to enter a building posted with warnings of carcinogens but nonsmokers will still be exposed to cigarette smoke for the immediate future better Lipold your breath nonsmokers until you get past the addicts. Butt cart at your 12opclock. Master sgt. Mark Wilson Andrlik a Turkey keep it behind doors yes Many homosexuals have served admirably both in years past and today but these  Haven t reported to duty with a politically Correct Agenda for the acceptance of homosexuality As another culture group if As the activists claim what consenting adults do behind closed doors is their own business then Fine just leave it there behind closed doors. There is no constitutional right to throw one s dirty laundry in everyone else s face and Force them to agree it smells Sweet. Gun la pc Lucy Furth Germany breakdown in priorities the most newsworthy Issue of the Day seems to be whether we should allow homosexuals to be members of the military. It headlines the reports on can an news and the stars and stripes. Prime time television was even interrupted with a special report for the announce ment by president Clinton of the results of his efforts on this Issue. I am not going to take a stand either Way in this letter. My Point is that there Are far More important issues for president Clinton to be handling for the Media to be reporting and with which americans should be concerned. Americans arc starving in America. Many americans cannot afford adequate health care. Our Lack of a real Energy policy keeps us on the Brink of War in the Middle East. The interest payments on the National debt arc bankrupting Ameri Ca. A recent study that concluded More than $30 billion was being wasted annually by our government did not make Page i but was Only a passing comment Oncin. We have the Power to make a differ once on issues that really matter if we Don t allow the truly important issues to be hidden behind the insignificant but newsworthy special interest reporting. Michael j. Carpenter Frankfurt Germany it s our own fault on the homosexual Issue the problems that we in the military did it to our selves. Years of ignoring the uniform code military Justice on other Legal is sues such As adultery have created a credibility vacuum. We talk Tough but still do wrist slaps for driving under the influence. Thousands of honorable discharged americans went Back Home with those Public relations impressions tattooed into their psyches. Then we wonder Why us when it comes to homosexuality. Chaplain maj Frank j. Bruning Karlsruhe Germany Solidarity with Gays in 1981, i came from Hast Germany where homosexuality officially did no exist and coming out of the closet caused almost As much trouble As an open Decla ration of disagreement w,.h the govern ment s policies. In the same year i started working for the . Army and came out of the Clos  at my workplace i was always treated correctly and recognized by my performance. Since people arc no longer drafted to join the . Army i consider soldiers to be no different from employees working someplace else. In this status of volunteers Banning someone Gay female of male from military service is discrimination. The army is an institution of a country that declares democracy and equal rights for All and should be free of discrimination made by sexual preferences. Most Gay soldiers do a Good Job like everybody else and there Are More in the armed forces than is known by statistics. Banning them All in Case they were Visi ble would Cost the army a Good part of effective strength. As i stand for my own rights i la stand for other Gay people s rights. To show All of them Solidarity i will Wear a specific Button from now on. He Dekolb Mannheim Germany balloons were bad idea regarding the Silver anniversary of a mock . Assembly apparently the organizers of this event Aren t quite As worldly As some of its participants. To celebrate such a step Forward in the world of foreign relations by launching almost 2,800 balloons is absolutely deplorable unimaginative and let s not for get ignorant. Shelagh Johnson bad sibling Germany warning signals cuts in social Security Here it comes. Watch my lips. All new taxes. Now is the time for All Good men to come to the Aid of their country. When president Clinton starts talking about cuts in social Security watch out because the military is next. If you Are planning to stay in Long enough to retire you need to Start watching what is going on or you May Start receiving your first Check on your 66th birthday. Why pick social Security Why not just keep All tax returns for the next four years make All overseas Tours a one year unaccompanied tour Don t let the government pay for cleaning family quarters and let the Soldier Wash his own dishes. There must be at least several Hundred ways to save Money without pulling the stopper on our senior citizens William k. Carroll Gissen Germany 1 � world s Best company after Reading your article naming the top companies to work for in our country i was shocked to find the company i work for was not included on the list. It happens to be the biggest carpentry firm in history specializing in custom re finishing As each product is Given individual care and restoration from the master craftsman. Granted the work can be difficult and the Benefit of actual pay is Small and in most cases nil. What makes this company the Best is the retirement package that is truly out of this world. Of course we Are always hiring and experience is never a problem. For More information see your local chaplain. Sherry Mckinney Wurzburg Germany editor s note letters from readers expressing their View Points Are published daily on this Page. A let ters 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 include address and Telephone number. Send to let ters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480. Apo a 09211