European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 10, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Artic Over a a Here or by or 9 j a Ltd -. A a it a a it a a a x. X i j 41 \ it a a v f a u v it \ v1\y,. I it a a a a a a a a it a fax / v \ a \ h a x \ a a a a it a a v cd a a x a a it it \ t Ltd a. V tvs \ a \ a of % f w it a it to it \ Ofa. In i v  it Ltd if c i s i a \ a i v .l>., v a non commissioned officer Ulf Stoerzer left and recruit Torsten Mensch on the Rifle Range at Dittersdorf Germany. Germany s unified army wrestles with new missions new faces old woes by Terrence Petty the associated press it. Carsten Ruthkowski worries whenever he approaches the big Concrete garages sheltering his German army unit s armoured personnel carriers. The Bmp-1 vehicles Are hand me Downs from East Germany s National people s army and Ruthkowski can never be sure How Many will Start in the morning Quot we have about 25 amps but some of them stopped running Long ago Quot Ruthkowski said. A Western German Ruthkowski is accustomed to efficiency in both military and civilian life so his assignment to the Dittersdorf outpost in formerly communist Eastern Germany can try his patience. The run Down Barracks and aging equipment Are relics of the cold War that left Germany divided for four decades after the crushing defeat of Hitler s third Reich. When Germany was United in october 1990, the Bunde swear took Over East Germany s military installations and weapons and gradually discharged most of the 172,000 troops of the people s army. Absorbing the remnants has t been  some soldiers come Here with stereotypes that resulted from four decades of separation Quot Ruthkowski said of soldiers at Dittersdorf. Once a Warsaw pact air defense base with surface to air missiles the Post at Dittersdorf now serves As a training Camp for draftees serving 12 months of Active duty. The 200 draftees and 50 officers and noncommissioned officers Are a mix of Eastern and Western germans. The Post commander 1st it. Ziebo Ottow is a former officer of the people s army a one of about 5,600 accepted into the bund Estehr. Quot i have More Freedom in decision making in the bund Estehr. In the National people s army you had to follow every regulation to the letter Ottow said. The bund Estehr is Western Europe s largest army created in 1955 to counter a possible invasion by the Warsaw pact. But that threat no longer exists so the German military is groping for a new Mission. To fill the vacuum Chancellor Helmut Kohl wants the bund Estehr to take part in International peacekeeping missions such As in Somalia but Germany s Constitution prevents armed German deployment on non nato turf. Many germans oppose a broader foreign role for the bund Estehr a legacy of guilt about nazi crimes in world War ii. Pacifism is so widespread that the army is having difficulty filling its ranks. More than 130,000 Young men were granted conscientious objector status last year chix ing alternate service in hospitals or nursing Homes. Many career soldiers favor a broadened International role for the bund Estehr. But draftees at Dittersdorf a from East and West a expressed an aversion to fighting someone else s Battles in former Yugoslavia Somalia or elsewhere. Quot i would t Volunteer to go into any War zones Quot said 20-year-old Michael Leonhardt an Eastern German draftee at Dittersdorf. Troops complain that army life in the East is isolated and Boring. Dittersdorf population 460, is surrounded by Farmland 118 Miles Southwest of Berlin. Quot we re Cut off from the civilized world. Living Here is like being in Siberia Quot griped Ulrich Heine a 21 year old conscript from Gottinger in the West Ottow who served in the East German army from 1982 until it went out of business in 1990, contended that the people s army was probably better prepared for War than its West German foe. Training was More demanding and East German soldiers were kept on nearly constant Alert. Ottow is used to a spartan life so he in t fazed by conditions at Dittersdorf. But he is unsettled by instances of Neo nazi sentiment within the bund Estehr. Commanders have been ordered to Root out extremists and give troops Das room instruction in democracy and tolerance. Quot we do this twice a week. Thank god we Haven t found any extremists Here but you can never be certain Quot Ottow  subject to Coffee commercial grounds for novel by Robert Barr the associated pressing London if it Sells Coffee maybe it will sell books. That seems to be the idea behind love Over Gold a novel based on a to commercial for instant Coffee. Out last month the Book takes up the Story of the Cool elegant woman and the cheerful hunk who like their Coffee Quick and hot their Romance Coy and simmering. In Britain where the product is called nescafe Gold blend the flirtation is now in its fifth smash hit year. In the United states the coup1es Coffee is called taster s Choice. The Story seems to rank Fust below Charles and Diana in Public interest. When the hunk said Quot i love you in a commercial shown in. December the news made Page one of the Sun Britain s biggest Selling tabloid. The British ads Are slightly different from the american version and and executives said recently they had not decided the Pace of the . Story line. The Quot i love you Quot segment has not appeared in the United states. The Book a which Bills itself As Quot the untold Story of tvs greatest  Quot its All done in extremely Good taste Quot said author Susan Moody. Quot there s nothing particularly explicit about  what is explicit is the commercialism. Nested and its advertising Agency. Mccann Erickson As owners of the characters Are eager to discuss film rights. The Book also includes an order Blank for a video of Alt the commercials. Moody who used the pen name Susannah James for the Book has supplied both characters with murky pasts and broken hearts when they meet in London he s drunk. On Page 60 she runs out of Coffee and knocks at his door Quot almost automatically she walked towards his Kitchen conscious of his gaze on her Back her somewhat naked Back glad without knowing quite Why that she was looking particularly glamorous that evening. He opened a cupboard took out her favorite Brand of Coffee and said 1 Hope this in t too sophisticated for your guests.1&Quot it s not too sophisticated for britons who prefer instant 10-to one Over brewed Coffee. Sales of Gold blend have increased 40 percent since the commercials started according to super marketing Magazine. Moody offered no excuses for the Book. Quot i was asked if i would like a certain sum of Money for what they said at the time was six weeks work and i said who do i have to sleep with a Quot 64s a bib of Dkl commercial writing at its finest. Wednesday March 10, 1993 the stars and stripes