European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday May 18, 1993 the stars and stripes b Page 3 perfect for a tour of duty Nav personnel get Good Chance of experience City by Meridith Winder . Bureau London London is visited by thousands of tourists each year eager for a firsthand look at everything from Buckingham Palace to Fleet Street. But . Service members assigned to naval forces Europe Headquarters there s a simpler Way to describe the City on the thames it s Home. The location is excellent said Navy it. Roland Levesque. You re in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. The experiences that you run into throughout your tour Here. You can t beat Levesque is among about 340 Navy personnel As signed to the seven Story Navy Headquarters building in the heart of the City s shopping District about a mile from Piccadilly circus. Life in London presents the americans with Many of the problems found in any Large City but most of the americans appeared to give the experience a thumbs up. the most visible drawbacks is the traffic. I catch the tuber subway or bus and would t think of driving to work said Petty officer 2nd class Detra re Cdr. I have a car and i still would t drive. There s too much traffic and nowhere to Park just like new it. . Ann Leonard also finds the traffic unbelievable. In the states you just jump in your car drive to work or the store and a few minutes later you Are there she said. But that s not the Case Here. I be sat for hours just to go a couple of Leonard 25, hails from la Crescent Minn. She lives about five Miles from work but finds the tube the fast est Means to get there. It takes 20 to 25 minutes to arrive at the office by subway by car it takes More than hour. Re Cdr 29, a Washington d.c., native has lived in London about 18 months. She said parking spots arc few near the building that houses . Navy Europe and those that exist Are accompanied by parking me you d have to keep going out once in a while to feed Money into the meters she said. And my under re Cdr Jones. Is Davo Dudlo it. . Ann Leonard checks her map near Hyde Park in London. She is one of about 340 . Navy personnel assigned to the Navy forces Europe Headquarters. Standing is that if you find a garage it s pretty expend but traffic in t the Only problem for those who work at the Navy Headquarters. For example transit strikes and Security alerts can be daily headaches. And while the strikes May cause them to seek alter native travel routes Security alerts prompted by Irish Republican army can cause entire areas of the City to be blocked off and traffic re routed. I usually wait around for a taxi or wait until things open up again Leonard said. I be Only gotten stuck two times and it is a hassle. All the streets Are blocked off and traffic is backed up. You just have to wait it but re Cdr said the alerts arc something you Don t dwell on. You just Bear housing also can be a Challenge because while there arc Many places to live it s Tough to find one that is affordable. I had to adjust to the Small houses Here said la Vesque who s been in London two years. That was t much of an adjustment because i was used to the Small rooms in but because Levesque is administrative assistant to the chief of staff at Nav eur he must live close to his workplace in Case he s called in on Short notice. With his rank he could Only afford a Small place two year Sago. But since they arc paying us a higher housing allow trimmer acc i can afford to get a larger place he said. Levesque 29, is married with no children. He lives in what an american would Call a in bedroom apart ment although the British consider it two bedrooms. It s quaint and in a Nice location he said. But i could use a bigger Leonard who is not married has a larger place a Little farther away. Her two bedroom apartment costs about $1,200 a month. A three bedroom apartment near Raf Lakin Heath and Mildenhall costs about half that much. It s expensive but with the Money we receive for Cost of living it s not that bad she said. Yet despite the traffic and the prices most of those assigned to the Navy Headquarters believe they re fortunate to be assigned to London. I be always wanted to come Here said chief Petty officer Jeffrey Jones who has been in London just three months. It s a Challenge and something different from the other 18 years i be served in the when it comes to the Job most people find it re warding. Working Here is such a learning experience Levis que said. On previous assignments you just took or Ders and did your Job. But Here you Sec How the orders arc made the decisions that go behind them and All the politics involved it s All the things that affect a and when it comes to relaxing there s something for everyone. During your first year Here you kind of visit All of the tourist attractions like Windsor Palace and West Minster Reeder said. But after that it sort of Var Seaman Christopher trimmer likes to visit pubs and. Discos and meet the people who frequent them. I find it More fun because you can meet people from other places in the world the 20-year-old St. Petersburg fla., native said. "1 Don t know How Many times i be gone to a club and talked to people from Germany or most of the people volunteered to come to England while others were selected As part of the regular assign ment process. But despite How they got Here few seem to regret the move. The actual Job Here is As hard As any other Job la Vesque said. The Day can be 12 to 13 hours Long. But after you re finished there s All kinds of things to do. I love it big shortfalls found in inherited Dod budgets Byra Crowden Washington Bureau Washington a panel of Finan Cial experts reported monday that de sense department budgets inherited from the Bush administration contain shortfalls of $12 billion to $15 billion. The majority of the shortages $9 Bil lion to $11 billion result from overestimating the effect of improved financial practices from controversial defense management report of 1989 according to the defense science Board task Force report. Defense Secretary Les Aspin commissioned the report in february. We wanted outside experts to look at the books when we took Over just As new corporate management would order an audit by an outside firm Aspin said in a statement. The shortfalls will not Lead to new cuts in defense department programs Aspin said. Instead additional funds will be added to future budgets. The panel credited the 1989 manage a font overhaul with-$40 billion to $50 Bil lion in savings in fiscal years 1991 to 1997. The Bush administration projected $70 billion in savings through j999 and Cut that amount from the defense budget projections. The Clinton administration included $10 billion in the budget it submitted to Congress this year and will add another $5 billion in future budgets Aspin said in a letter to House armed service com Mittee chairman Ron Dellums a Calif. Aspin indicated the review should re Lieve the fears fed by some critics that shortfalls of $30 billion to $50 billion might result from optimistic projections from the 1989 management overhaul. While shortfalls do exist we do not face a problem of that magnitude lie wrote in his letter to Dellums. The panel was headed by Phillip o and included Jeffery h. Smith and . Pete Aldrin Cage or. They Stu died the defense spending plans extend ing for fiscal years 1994 through 1999. They also reported shortfalls of $2 Bil lion to $3 billion in weapons costs and $1 billion to $1.5 billion in estimated environmental cleanup costs. The panel also cited needs for Quick action to avoid problems of a projected Bow wave of procurement costs for the turn of the Century. Aspin said his much to Ouid Bottom up review will address the Bow wave problem of major weapons systems expenditures slated for about the year 2000. The panel signalled that if procure ment plans now on Are unchanged we would have a Bow wave that could swamp our program after the turn of the Century Aspin said. The panel also warned that the rapid defense draw Down May Lead to higher prices for Many items the Pentagon Pur chases
