European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 4, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14letters to the editor thursday March 4,1993 thestil. European edition col Gene e. Townsend u5af  of Ubbo of a Bernard a. Zovistoski editor news and editorial Bill Wolkar european editor out Wrath a Tfir Nawi editor t Bob Wick to sports editor Paul Cerby City editor y Gorga Man spacial sections editor to write us unit 29460 Apoate 09211 or Postrach 11 14 37 6100 darn stall 11, Germany news Tel fax 06155 601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 346-0 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237,255,202,226,326. Sports ext. 225,269,263,332, 321,221. Features ext. 230,245, 341. Letters to editor ext. 200. Education Jim Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus Heidelberg Germany Josaph Owen. Room 117, re Marat. 104, w-6900 Heidelberg car 419, Bon 1318, Apo a 09102 Telephone Dan 370-7010 or civilian 06221-23421. Kaiserslautern Germany Kevin Dougherty John Bohmer Steve scholar build Long 2899, Pulaski Barracks Apo a 09227-3717 Telephone Dan 489-6585 or civil ten 0631-52104 Tel fax 0631-50696. Hurn Bero Germany Ron Jensen building 21, William o. Darby Cavern Apo a 09222 Telephone Dan 460-7256 or civilian 0911-712s63. Wurzburg Germany Call main office in Darmstadt. Mediterranean Gary Miller and Marian Hamilton. Naples. Haty Asa Boa 58, Fpo a 096t9 Telephone Dan 625-4680 or civilian 0039-61-7624049. Northern Italy a King Cruger Valano Italy Telephone Dan 632-6176 or civilian 003434-66-6176. United kingdom Mur Totth Winder Nancy Tomer and Dave Zidlo. Building 464 Cess us Raf  Apo a 09459 Telephone Dan 236-2226 or civilian 0636-512226. Brussels Belgium Rosemary Sawyer a a . Pm Bessy. Pc 82. Box 002. Apo a 09724 Telephone civil ten 0032-22380967 Tel fax 0032-22309068. New York cite Timothy Cahill room 638, 201 Varick si., new York 10014 Telephone 212-620-3333. Washington . Chuck Vinch Bey Rowden oa5d-pa, the Pentagon room 2e756 . Bon 46095, Washington . 20050-6095 Telephone 703-697-6695 Tel fax 703-693-6366. Business departments Christopher a. De Donga general manager Dale eaten newspaper opera Iona director a a me Wya Ockl circulation manager Marie Kohl Nickl Robert Crawley production manager acting comptroller. Fred Shelmer director new York operations circulation toll free a customer service for Home or off co delivery inquiries or delivery problems Call 24 hour Germany 0130-040040 Germany Belgium Italy United kingdom Nethe Retanas Spain up te1 Lemax 07811-0775 1678-7-3456 0-800-890854 06-022-7629 900-99-4955 06155-601436 Germany a. Augsburg civilian 0621 -443254. Berlin civilian 030-8331648, Dan 332-3548. Bremerhaven civilian 0471-85168, Dan 342-Bt 19. Kaiserslautern civilian 0631-57070 or 67079, Dan 469-7100, Toi Tau 0631-50696. Nurnberg civilian 0911 -712558, Dan 460-7001. Stuttgart civilian 0711-729-4283 or 4277, Dan 4214283 or 42 77, Italy. Naples civilian 0039-81-7244b0, Dan 625-4800, Tel fax 0030 81-7244489. Vicenza civilian 0444-515358. Dan 634-7545, Tel fax 0444-300-641. Spain Madrid on 665-5607, civilian and Tel lax 00341� 6561465. Turkey Istanbul civilian 0090-1-272 48 43, Tel fax 0090-1-274 32 09. United kingdom Cirencester civilian 0285-713-637, Dan 247-4445. Advertising display Germany 06155-601247 or 601309, Dan 34s-8247. Classified Germany 06155-601349, Dan 348 6349. Advertising Tel fax 06155 601412 a please Recycle tee this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication air members at the military services overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes do not necessarily reflect tha official views it or an Dorseman by. The . Government the department of defense or the . European command. Lii appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense or the stars and stapes Olathe products or services advertised. Everything Odvert Sod in this publication shall be made available Lor Purchase use or patronage without regard to rate color religion sex. National origin age mantel status physical Handicap political Ali Lution or Eny other non Rutan Lector of die Pun Haser user or pation. Army is a floundering docs the profession of arms suffer from a terminal illness in be served for More than 14 years and in the last several i have seen a steady decline. In a not talking about the decline in the number of people but an Overall free fall in professionalism. Soldiers play All kinds of music when where and at what volume they choose. Profanity is worn on clothes and spoken at every gathering no matter who is present. Courtesy by to or for fellow soldiers is rare. It is common practice to Pas the Buck say no or just put someone on hold until they hang up. Rules and privileges that were commensurate with rank and position no longer apply while at the same time standards that should apply to All physical fitness testing weapons qualification leave sign in procedures Are Only in forced on a  working soldiers arc not promoted or Given special consideration above those who just get by because a a it a not  senior leaders can to or wont make decisions so they staff it. Micromanagement is now the preferred leadership style. Heaven forbid that a Junior Leader make a decision. Our army is floundering. It has no understandable Goat. The commanders intent is nonexistent. Crisis management is the Norm. Ego trips and favorite Bones take up the preponderance of staff and unit Energy. Yet More with less appears to be the watch words to hide behind rather than defining the Mission truthfully stating what can or cannot be accomplished to leaders and subordinates alike. The enlisted evaluation report and officer evaluation report system has evolved not to rate efficiency but to screen personality. This in turn is Breeding a a yes people who clone into group think perfect performing careerists. This a no defects system destroys initiative and stifles growth by playing it politically Correct. My intent is not to whine or snivel but to articulate the frustrations Many Are feeling but arc keeping bottled up. The profession of Arim is an honorable one put if we do not examine ourselves Rogu arly and make adjustments we run the risk of rotting from the inside out. Red Smallwood Heidelberg Germany a a. A taxpayers did no to do it president Clinton s Basic economic plan now seems All too Clear we taxpayers should support higher taxes As a matter of patriotic duty. Furthermore we should be prepared to endure this and other sacrifices for As Long As it takes to make America right again let s set the record straight. We taxpayers did not make the current economic mess. We taxpayers did not run up a $4 trillion debt. We taxpayers did not systematically loot the Federal Highway fund or the social Security system of billions of dollars for other than the intended uses we did not endorse endless congressional Perks and pay raises or countless government give away programs nor did we deregulate the savings and loan Industry with its resultant $50t billion bailout and nausea. The Learned gentlemen and ladies of the . Congress managed that All by themselves. Their Gross mismanagement Borders on criminal neglect and has probably done irreparable damage to the economic engine of America. 1 would suggest that since the Congress has gotten us into this mess they get us out of it but that a about As unlikely a possibility it As a tax break for the working Middle class. A Geoffrey w. Jones a Wiesbaden Germany a a we can to take control the question Quot who a air Force is this anyway Quot exposes the insidious attitude that buttresses much of the a a nay opinion of the Gays in the military debate the opinions and self perceive co rights of military members should outweigh those of the country we serve. This is our military Only inasmuch As we Are members of the institution. It Isnit ours in that we do not define the nature of this institution the people of the United Stales of America do. As military members we Are sworn to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United states our vows were not contingent upon some premise that the Constitution a or popular interpretation of it a would never change. Flexibility is what makes the Constitution the Backbone of our democratic government. As privileged and select members of the military institution our opinions should and do matter but it is imperative that we do not contrive to take control of the military away from those to whom it is responsible. We should not attempt to Frame National debate but to Deal with its result. Therefore we should not ask a will we allow it to happen Quot but a How can we Best implement the will of our nation a a master sgt Andrew f. Pierce Bury St Edmonds England. A a. A wants columnist Thomas i miss the Wisdom of insight of Cal Thomas column. In a used to Reading it every week Back Home. If you need More room in the stars and stripes How about dropping doonesbury to i done to read it i done to understand most of it and when i do its not funny or enlightening. A a Wallace Frey Kaiserslautern Germany a a a a i lard to take precautions i have been stationed Here in Germany for eight months. I see commercials every Day about How we should get to know our Host country and blend in with our environment. This past weekend a Friend and co worker went to Amsterdam Holland with her husband. They parked their car and left Only to come Back and find a broken window and some very valuable items taken. I can Quot understand that theft is a very prominent crime everywhere. What 1 done to quite understand is that their vehicle was in a parking lot next to a lot of very expensive cars and they own a Small old car. The Only difference Between their car and the other cars besides the make and Model is the . License plates and the . Sticker. Is this a coincidence As . Citizens we Are especially susceptible to acts of terrorism and should take every precaution available but that is hard when you have your vehicle plastered with  and stickers. A i  Clark Wiesbaden Germany Why not just go in response to the writer of a deserving a free Holiday feb. 16since the writers husband a is an e-7 and the nightly Cost of a room is Only about $30, Why done to they just go Oft their own sure some of us have Quot gone on the trip and our husbands did no to serve during desert shield storm but it was up to the sponsors unit to offer the trip. So my suggestion is to Stop complaining to the stars and stripes find out when the next trip for the unit is and get their name on it. A a a a. Comstock Parma sons Germany. A in defense of cartoonist in response to recent criticisms of ., Charles Kaufman has a Well developed and educated sense of wit and he demonstrates this in  By doing two  by keeping abreast of current military issues especially those concerned with Quality of life he Sable to provide comic Relief from the Many headaches associated with being a i in Europe. Furthermore he does this in an easy to understand nonpolitical format that the enlisted majority of his readers can identify with. Second because he a not subject to command pressures he Sable to make  issues in a Way Many of us enlisted folks can to. In doing this he brings us together letting us know we re not alone in the Way we feel about these issues. By doing these two things Kaufman provides a valuable boost to enlisted morale most Welcome during these times of change. A sgt Peter c. Riddell Raf upper Heyford England suggests stripes move i  believe my eyes. The stars and stripes has raised the Price from 35 to 50 cents. For the past five years Down Here in Southern Europe we be had to Deal with a paper that More than half of it does no to apply to us. In Spain we had to wait until after 6 . To get a a today a Quot paper. Now Here in Turkey we have to wait until the next Day. People in Germany could never make it. Tell a a what move your whole operation Down Here to Turkey the Dollar is doing great and you can lower your overhead at the same time. A staff sgt. A Contreras in Ciurlik Turkey editor s note j letters from readers expressing their viewpoints or opinions Are published daily on this Page. Alt 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 include address and Telephone number. Send to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apoate 09211. It thru it Pinpon your  Sado remix pts class  Lasty amp it. Amp in 67. I pop a Luton it in 88 amp a  turf work anpmap6 twp  class. Amin up i Hap a sfr18s amprwp8 the up a class. Win Elul m just pork us min class a satins i m not Wawn amp. Sir Coull Eero Bof 7ho6sco0c of which r