European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes wednesday february 2,1994handling of Gulf War illnesses assailed by Cindy Killion. Washington Bureau Washington a persian Gulf War veterans Are not getting a fair shake in treating their so called a mystery ill nest a several lawmakers said at a congressional hearing tuesday. Two congressmen said they believe the departments of defense and veterans affairs Are even trying to downplay the numbers  and Active duty personnel who be been plagued with memory loss joint aches headaches rashes and overwhelming fatigue since returning from operation desert storm. A i Don t have a lot of patience nor Confidence with the military health care system a said rep. Steve buyer Rind. A we can sit Here and have a snooze party All Day Long a but the time has come for straight  he added that he did no to believe much Progress has been made since a hearing on the same subject was held in june. Buyer addressed his remarks to or. Edwin Dorn undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness and to Jesse Brown Secretary of veterans affairs. Dorn and Brown appeared before the House committee on veterans affairs to give the members an update on the agencies Progress in tracking and treating the unexplained sickness. A the real Issue today is not so much with what the a is doing but with the Dod a said rep. Joseph a Kennedy ii a mass a the defense department has a real credibility  Kennedy said he thinks Many More people Are affected than the a or Dod has reported and the fact that the a defense department chose to withhold information about the reports of chemical weapons detected during the War dam Ages his Trust in the Agency even More. Buyer agreed saying he and Kennedy get a phone Calls every Day from soldiers and their families who Are sick but can to get help from the a or defense department i done to think either Agency has a handle on the scope or nature of the  Dorn said a a Small number of people who deployed to the persian Gulf Region have undiagnosed medical problems. But buyer questioned that if something is undiagnosed How does the defense department know How Many peo pie Are sick. Kennedy said his feeling is that the defense department is a a trying to discount the number so it can sweep the whole thing under the  Brown said during his testimony that of the 13,000 veterans on the persian Gulf registry set up to track illnesses 8,000 have had a a comprehensive medical exr animations. Of that number 520 a 460 veterans and 60 on Active duty a have unexplained and undiagnosed symptoms. A what we have to remember is that Only 8,000 people have been examined a yet 650,000 served in the Gulf Region Quot he said. A i have no doubt that As More people Are examined that number is going to grow proportionally i think there Are a Tot More out there possibly people who have symptoms that Are mild enough that they done to seek  in the meantime committee chairman . A a Sonny Montgomery d-miss., said the committee a will not give up until All the a pieces of the Gulf War syndrome Puzzle Are put together. A we can to let this drag out any longer a he said. A we want some real answers by this summer. Its gone on Long enough and this will not become another agent  by sue Palumbo Mediterranean Bureau Naples Italy a the recent increase in personnel and equipment to humanitarian Relief efforts in War Lorn Bosnia and Herzegovina was a Blessing for . Service members assigned to operation provide Promise a senior task Force official said. The infusion of equipment and personnel assigned to the 435th Airlift Wing at Rhein main a Germany came when task Force officials doubled the number of daily Relief Airdrop Over Bosnia to 12 last month. Marine Brig. Gen. James l. Jones the task Forte commander said the increase meant Jess Wear and tear on personnel and More critical maintenance time for equipment. A in a year of operation not one american has lost a life or been seriously wounded which Means not Only Are we doing our Job Well but we re doing it safely a Jones said. During an awards ceremony tuesday at Allied forces Southern Europe headquartered in Naples . Mike Boorda commander of the regional Allied forces in Europe told task Force personnel that he cd pecs Relief efforts a will be going on for a Long time to come.�?�. Tote ceremony marked the first anniversary of the joint task Force that was. Set up to oversee operation provide Promise. Boorda presented the joint meritorious unit award nato suffers crisis of s car 2 a amps us Palumbo  Mike Boorda presents the joint meritorious unit award to Marine Brig Gen. James l. Jones in Naples. To about 150 people during the ceremony. On tuesday there also were other ceremonies marking the one year anniversary for task Force people in other areas of Europe including Germany Croatia and Bosnia. Jones said the operation has been a Success in All of its missions he praised the task Force Field Hospital in Zagreb Croatia which treated More than 15,000 patients Over the last year. Permission was recently Given for the Hospital to treat children and other bystanders who Are injured in the conflict. The hospitals main Mission is to serve . Forces in the area. Naples Italy a amps a two italians were kilted and one was seriously injured when their car was struck by another driven by a . Sailor a spokesman from . 6th Fleet said. The Accident occurred about 1 . Jan. 27 in Calabria a coastal town about 95 Miles South of Naples the spokesman said tuesday. The unidentified Sailor assigned to the destroyer tender Yellowstone said he had just passed another car when he struck the apparently disabled vehicle parked in the Middle of the Road the spokesman said. Neither the american Driver nor any of his three passengers also assigned to the Yellowstone were seriously injured. The sailors were first seen at the naval Hospital in Naples and then returned to the ship. Italian police questioned the four americans but later released them the spokesman said. No charges had been filed As of tuesday. Navy officials have ruled out alcohol or drug use by the Driver As a cause of the Accident the spokesman said. The four were on official duty in route to another port a till time of the Accident the spokesman said. The incident is under investigation by italian and military authorities. The Yellowstone is ported in Gaeta about 35 Miles South of Naples making repairs to the 6th Fleet flagship Belknap. By Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington nato should not think about expansion until it develops a new identity and sense of purpose that allows it to solve such regional problems As the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina Ari influential lawmaker said tuesday. With the disappearance of the soviet threat the Alliance has floundered in recent years in a a crisis of identity a said sen. Joseph r. Biden jr., a Del chairman of the Senate foreign relations subcommittee on european affairs. While natos ostensible purpose still is to guarantee european stability and Security Biden said the alliances response to the carnage in Bosnia a suggests that the phrase is in danger of becoming an empty  a the Alliance failed the first test of the Post cold War Era in Bosnia where the allies have succeeded Only in orchestrating a symphony of evasion a Biden said. If the Alliance cannot come to grips with such crises in its own Back Yard Biden said it will he difficult to explain to taxpayers Why the United states should continue to foot the Bill to play the role of the engine that drives nato. Biden made his comments in the first of a series of Senate hearings that will review a use of Force issues in the Post cold War Era. Lawmakers at the hearing generally praised the Clinton administrations partnership for peace program which was unveiled at the recent nato Summit in Brussels Belgium. The initiative offers the nations of Central and Eastern Europe a Chance to develop military and political dialogue with nato members and participate in military exercises with Alliance forces. But it stops Short of offering full membership until candidates show their a competence capabilities and vilification Quot to join the Alliance in the words of Stephen Oxman assistant Secretary of state for european and Canadian affairs. The initiative which has gained a fair amount of bipartisan support in Congress is designed As a cautious approach that grooms former Warsaw pact nations for nato membership while allaying the fears of russian leaders that an expanded Alliance poses an unacceptable threat to their Security. The czech Republic Poland Hungary Bulgaria Albania and Lithuania Are among the nations that have or intend to sign the agreement said Frank Wisner undersecretary of defense. Despite the positive reviews Given the partnership for peace initiative lawmakers repeatedly stressed the importance of getting the Alliance to define its Post cold War roles and missions More clearly than it has to Date. Sen. J James Exon d-neb., said its Only fair for the american people to ask Why the United states should get involved in age old ethnic and religious disputes that done to directly threaten  or Overall european Security. Biden said the recent move by con Gress to slash $70 million from the Clinton administrations request for the nato infrastructure account is a direct reflection of that attitude. Oxman Wisner and . Nato ambassador Robert Hunter All asked to have that funding restored arguing that it is particularly crucial As the Alliance tries to get the partnership for peace initiative up and running Wisner said Start up costs will run Between $10 million and $14 million with the United states obligated to pay about one fourth of the total. N but Biden said the infrastructure funding Cut can be directly traced to the uncertainty surrounding natos Post cold War identity. Biden warned that unless the nato Mission can be explained to the american people in Clear terms the administration not Only will fail to get the infrastructure funding it wants but it also will face an increasing chorus of Calls to Cut . Troop strength in Europe below 100,000. R