European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 8, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14letters to the editor wednesday december 8, 1993 european edition col Steven s. Hoffman Usan Coli Wandar Pubis he a 1. Bernard a. 70v1st0ski editor news and editorial Dabah Azahaf net editor Bill wan european editor Bow Kkt spots editor Georg Man City editor to write us unit 25480 apoae09211or Postrach 11 14 37 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-8 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237,255, 282,228,326. Sports ext. 225, 269,263, 332,321,221. Features ext. 230,245, 341. Letters to editor ext. 208. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus Heidelberg Germany Joseph Owen room 117, mfr Gentr. 104, 4124 Mamou Btag car 419. Boa 13ib. 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Govern nent die department of defense or the . European command. The appearance of advertising in this publication including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense or the stars end stripes of the products or services  reality Check apparently there is a myth among some Active duty military personnel that they will strike it Rich once they enter the civilian Job Market. Let me fill you in on the realities of the civilian world. First i would venture to guess that most military personnel who join the civilian world will not even match their current financial situation. An example a College graduate with a Liberal arts degree and about three years work experience not government work a they earn More with All the benefits will make about $28,000 per year if they even earn that amount. A person with the same degree and time in service who joins the army As a 1st it. Will be making $28,299 in salary $6,684 in housing allowances tax exempt$1,673 in subsistence allowances for a total of $36,656 and maybe even a Cost of living allowance adjustment. If the $9,000 per year difference still does not convince you then remember health insurance rent and utilities All have to be paid for in civilian life. Ninety nine percent of . Companies do not have such luxurious retirement packages of a Mere 20 years in service nor 15 paid holidays per year with one month vacation annual leave for you non civilian types. Nor do . Companies have Veteran loan programs discounted travel and accommodations subsidized meats outrageous re enlistment bonuses of tens of thousands of dollars Etc. It also does not matter what rank you Are comparing. A sergeant More than Likely will not Cam More than $25,000 per year in the a real world unless he or she Nas a four year degree or own their own businesses. Some of the ones who May match a or even beat a their current financial situation Are those who have degrees in physical sciences or engineering . Bachelors master s or doctorate or own their own businesses. I favor everyone trying to attain their financial goals but Don t be misled into thinking the military does not pay Well. Think about your civilian options before you head to the pot at the end of the Rainbow a the government has already emptied it. A Edward flaming Frankfurt German Power of knowledge one of your readers wrote to say that she would keep her children Home from school to keep them from bearing from author Deborah Nourse Lattimore and her a animistic religious  she also complained about a to cultic techniques a imagination tasks which clearly were exercises in  based on this recommendation i looked up some of these books then read them to my children As bedtime stories. Is. Latti More graduated from the University of California at los Angeles with degrees in Art history and egyptology did some impressive Post graduate work and has written books that Are accessible to children on egyptian mayan Marioan and chinese mythology. Our teachers Are already shackled with too Many bizarre regulations that prevent them from properly teaching our children. We done to need any More feeble minded restrictions about materials on other cultures. One Way to understand a society is to study its religion whether you Are dealing with a Jude Christian culture or something More exotic. And there is nothing a occult ice about yoga even if it was first practice by the hindus another gasp non Christian society. Knowledge is Power. Done to Stop them from learning. Don t try to ban books. After they finish burning books they move on to Eoj Etc. That s history look it up a in a a staff sol Bill Lyn Nelch Span Dah Tern German Gao reports flawed regarding the general accounting office report concerning lawmakers arguments that assignments to Europe should be on an unaccompanied basis the arguments made by the Gao concerning unaccompanied Tours were seriously flawed. A Large majority of military who live stateside live on inc Economy. Their children attend Public schools they use Public facilities and they make use of Public social services such As Day care facilities. Their tax dollars be it property tax or Revenue generated from safes taxes support Many of these services. As Many spouses work when stateside. They often have private or supplemental medical plans which their families make use of. So what docs this Cost the defense department certainly significantly less than what it costs Here in Germany. The comment a that the alternatives May not provide Cost savings Over the current system requires a much better explanation. The department of defense spends Large chunks of its budget moving families to Europe significantly More than a typical move in the United states. Not Only is there the Cost of moving the goods but also the temporary living allowance that is paid to these families. How can the Gao say Money  be saved when one considers the thousands of dollars that Are paid to the families in the visiting officers quarters who have been there for Long periods of time 60, 90 and More Days because of a shortage of housing that in t paid to families in the United states so How can Money not be saved the excuse that families would be required to move More often is a poor one. Most military families once they have settled some Short term roots would prefer to remain in a location for an extra year White the service member is away than to Load the moving truck. Maybe the Gao should talk to some real military families. The Gao released this very biased report because it realizes the uproar that would be heard nationwide if families were kept stateside. I am deeply disappointed that what in supposed to be an Independent Agency in the government has hidden behind the department of defense in order not to stir controversy. A Doris Marlow Stuttgart German innovative attitude in response to a recent front Page article on the army Community of excellence program winning acre is not an Issue of paint jobs and Eye Wash. Winning is an Altitude. Excellence is a derivative of Quality and Quality is not a commodity easily measured especially in a time of reduced resources. To win acre requires a change in the Normal Day to Day operations. The local base support battalion bib is responsible for implementation. If your Community Hasni to won acre ask at the town Hail meeting what a been done to prepare. To i n acre req u i r is t he Appi i cat Ion of total army Quality tax the army version of total Quality management by dam ing. It requires a systematic analysis of each program s operation and elimination of redundant programs. To achieve excellent results in Quality requires each Community. Program be thoroughly integrated with each associated program. This May require co locating related operations to reduce travel Lime to the customer. Quality and excellence a re not factors of the bureaucrat in Sal i faction but the results of the bureaucracy As viewed by the customer. Anyone who condones the old saying a a that a the Way we be always done it a or a the regulation says a Are part of the problem. Americans h ave always been revolutionaries. The Laws and decrees of British Rule pushed us to revolt. When the Community does win the Money must be committed to what the customers want. At Grafe Wohr we solicited input from the Community and received Over 1,000 ideas from a Community of 1,200 military and 3,000 civilians. Once the suggestions Are screened. And selected the Community is told Why and what will he done with the Money. Innovation is the key like rising contract operations which costs the Community nothing to Ope rate but provide a percentage of the income Back to the Community it s a win win situation. Winning. Acre requires an attitude Community. The Community As a whole must believe there Isnit a Law regulation or policy that s been written that can to be modified changed or overruled if they talk to the right person. A master sgt. Raymond a. Anderson Grafe Wohr German donate Christmas cheer tis the season once again a a time of giving and sharing. A perfect time for those of us in the throes of the draw Down As Well As those not affected by it to spread a Little warmth and cheer. Clear out those closets and storage rooms gather up old clothing and blankets and donate them. Whether they go to the people in Bosnia or service members and their families in your Community everybody win most bases have drop off Points for these articles or information on where to bring your donations. It s your Chance to make Christmas . A Ingrid Kaugars Fulda Germany editor s note we encourage our readers a especially those who have never submitted a letter a to write to us. Letters expressing readers viewpoints or opinions Are published daily on this Page. A1j letters must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Preference is Given to Shorter letters so that More can be published in a timely manner. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Send to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211