European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 12, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14letters to the editor a sunday june 12,1994 the srm european edition col. Steven s. Hoffman Usan commander publisher a Bernard a. Zov1stosk1. Editor news and editorial Deborah aether news editor Bill Walker european editor Bob Wicker sports Ellior a George manat City editor to write us unit 29460 Apoate 09211 Orost Tachell 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, 262, 226, 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 own room 117, Romo str. 104, 69126 Heidelberg car 419, Box 1310, afro a 09102 Tolep Hono Dan 370-7010 or civilian. 06221-23421 Tel fax 06221-27239. Kaiserslautern Germany Kevin Dougherty John Soho in building 2899, Pulaski Barracks. Apr a 09227-3717 Telephone Dan 489-6565 or civilian 063152104 Tel fax 0631-59654. Nurnberg Germany Ron Jenson building 21. Wiliam of Darby Cavern Apo a 09222 Telephone Dan a 460-7258 or civilian 0911-712563 Tel fax 0911-717130, Wurzburg Germany Dave Melancon building 220, room .109, Faulenburg Cavern Apo a 09030 Lete phone Dan 350-6770 or civilian 0931-20c956 Tel fax. 0931-b896770. Mediterranean sue Palumbo and Marian Hamilton Naples Italy pc b10, Box 56, Fpo a 09619 Telephone Dan 625-4660 or civilian 0017624049/4547 Lete fax 0039-01 -7624049. Northern Italy j. King Cruger Aviano. Italy Telephone Dan 632-8176 or civilian 0039-434-63-Ai 70 1810-Fa 0039-434-668222. United kingdom Nancy Torner Marc Mcfann and Dave Didlo. Building 464 Cess us Raf Mildenhall Apo a 09459 Telephone Dan 238-2220 or civilian 0636-542226 Tel fax 0636-716013. A new York City Timothy Cahill room 630. 201 Varlock st., new York 10014 Telephone 212-b20-3333 Lela fax 212-620-3268. Washington . Chuck Vinch Cindy Khlon Oast a the Pentagon room 2e756 . Box 46095, Washington . 20050-6095 Telephone 703-6976695 Tel fax 703-693-6366. Business departments maj Richard k. Major Usa Deputy commander a. Dal elite newspaper operations director Fred Shell new York operations. Director Jamee Wye Ockl circulation manager Jeffrey h. Kingdom comptroller circulation toll free customer service for Homo or office delivery inquiries or delivery problems Call 24 hours. Germany Belgium Italy United kingdom Netherlands Spain Tel fax 0130-84004b 07811-8775 1670-7-3456 0-800-898854 06-022-7629 900-99-4955 06155-601436 Germany Augsburg civilian 0821-443254. Berlin civilian 030-8331046, Dan 332-3540. Kaiserslautern civilian 0631-67070 of 57079, Dan 489-7100, Tel fax 0631 -00696. Nurnberg civilian 0911-712558. Dan 480-7001. Stuttgart civilian 0711-797-7552, Dan 421-4277. 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Article a self serving e regarding your article a gift letters bump stripes from planes june 3i have already provided a response to your editorial staff but As they seem to have chosen not to use it 1 feel compelled to present that same response in the format of a letter to the editor. For the record there were indeed More important things headed to Normandy France than the 260-Pound daily ration of the stars and stripes. The newspaper was bumped either in whole or in part on several occasions. Items required for ceremonies medical supplies and Soldier mail were and remain More important on the list of priority cargo than the stars and stripes. The articles insinuation that Golf clubs were a part of that cargo is spurious. No Golf clubs were manifested As cargo on any flight. The articles mention of 1,000 copies of the stars and stripes being shipped by commercial aircraft daily to Normandy also left unsaid your use of vending machines to sell them to veterans. The army was in Normandy to Honor the veterans. Your motive in Normandy was perhaps understandably purely commercial. In Short i found the article extremely self serving. This attempt at generating sympathy for your organization at the cd pens of the same soldiers you claim to serve tries this readers patience. If the stars and stripes cared As much about soldiers As it would have us to believe Why did no to the stars and stripes deliver to the soldiers in Normandy rather than rely on army aircraft to transport its newspapers to the troops Quot a col. Richard m. Bridges director joint information Bureau task Force overlord Neptune Heidelberg Germany editors note the Only newspapers transported by army aircraft to Normandy were those purchased by the army for the troops on duty there and those provided free to Public affairs officers the writer knows such a Ama Neuvert copies Are routinely delivered to the Field by the service. Other copies were shipped by commercial airlines at stripes expense. The Story at Issue resulted from a report that on one occasion newspapers were bumped from the military flight by a shipment of Golf clubs. Contrary to the writers View stripes goal was to serve its readers a both present Day  and returning veterans a when it established a special Normandy news Bureau and staffed it with nine reporters and photographers who produced More stories and photos than any other English language newspaper including Many stories a such As one listing the name of every sol Dick from Vicenza Italy who took part in the paratroop drop a uniquely aimed at our military audience. Stripes acclaimed 64-Page a Day commemorative edition was distributed free with the newspaper and free throughout Normandy by the  Are Wun Derbar the writer of a a neighbourly germans May 14 is absolutely right. Unlike her i am not a teen Ager and Haven to been for quite some Tim and i have been in this country less than two years. When i first came to Germany i was apprehensive because i do not speak the language. I know How some americans treat foreigners and i expected the same kind of treatment from our German hosts. What a pleasant Surprise to learn most germans arc a lot More tolerant than we. This is my husbands third tour in Germany and he has never encountered any problems with German people. We think most of the problems americans encountered Here Are due to their attitudes. The Public transportation system i think is the Best. Because we live off Post and my husband uses the car every Day that a my Only Means of transportation. I have met some wonderful people during my trips into town. Many germans w to speak English invite the Opportunity to speak to americans and share with us the history of this Beautiful City Wurzburg. They also appreciate it when you try to speak their language no matter How bad your pronunciation May be. A Little humor helps too tile germans have a great sense of humor. German people1 cannot control the weather any More than we can and As far As the traffic is concerned we need to remember the entire population is squeezed into a country the size of Montana. My husband and i have travelled All Over this country and we be had a wonderful time i have met Many americans who have been Here three years who have never or Seldom left the confines of the american posts and yet feel qualified to judge the people and the country. Where do we get off judging them this is their country not ours. I Hope when we return Home i have an Opportunity to meet visiting germans. I will go out of my Way to make them feel As Welcome As they have made me feel. A Janet Adrian Wurzburg Germany a a raising another bigot this is in reference to the letter written by the woman who was ashamed to take her 9-year-old son into the stars and stripes bookstores. She makes it sound As if the Bookstore manager lies awake at night devising new and evil ways of corroding her songs morals. Besides reminding her of the fact that the original purpose of the bookstores and the army and air Force Exchange service was to serve the Soldier id like to give some easy remedies for her problem. First forbid the son to Ever enter a stars and stripes Bookstore. Deny him the other magazines published and stashed in libraries offices and such. Ban books As Well. Fiction books forget it they give a Young mind too Many opportunities to stretch out and imagine and  she Shields him from the world if she fights mightily to protect him from this horrible culture her efforts will be rewarded with a Little replica of herself a a narrow minded bigot. By the Way i assume she has already sold the television. Pm. Blanchard Kaiserslautern Germany Afes caving in the army and air Force Exchange services decision to drop the most popu Lar adult magazines and to limit such purchases to Playboy and Penthouse is typical of its disregard for the wants and desires of the customers. Rather than focusing on the problem at hand a the open display of these magazines at certain stores a they Cave in to the demands of conservative groups and ban All but the Mildest of adult literature. Some people would Call it bad business. Some would Call it censorship. I Call it both. A a Shuch Simbach a German kudos for Lan Stuhl All too often i have heard that there is a Lack of medical support for . Retirees in Europe. In a Happy to report outstanding customer service to a Retiree family member at Lan Stuhl army regional medical Center in the same Day surgery Ward. The wards air Force and army personnel went out of their Way to make my wife and me comfortable. The entire staff was courteous helpful efficient and caring. The customer service was at a High level of satisfaction. It was great to see the army and air Force working together to make the Best possible accommodations for customers. A chief warrant officer Tom Kiefer Stuttgart German yer Means equal rank a rank treatment May 25 indicated that rank determines which patients Are seen first in our emergency room. That is not True. The urgency of the medical problem is the major Factor. Patients with More urgent problems Are seen first. Those with less urgent problems Are seen in the order of arrival. There May be some variation such As when a patient is waiting for the results of a screening Laboratory test or requires a specific exam room that is already occupied. The noncommissioned officer who wrote the letter apparently did not realize that the reception desk in the emergency room also serves the adjoining outpatient clinic. The officers he thought were being seen ahead of enlisted soldiers in the or were actually patients reporting for scheduled appointments in the outpatient clinic. I have verified individual arrival times and ranks in the or and outpatient clinic logs. A col. Lynnford s. Wilson or. Commander 95lh combat support Hospital Heidelberg Germany heliport understaffed i understand the Federal government needs to Cut costs. I also understand one Way to do this is to Cut defense spending by reducing the number of military personnel it employs. I can therefore understand this affecting civilian employees working for the government. I cannot conceive this affecting an army heliport in such a Way that it no longer supports aviation. A at Ansbach army heliport the Airfield operations runs two shifts with one employee per shift with an approximate four hour overlap. The aircraft refuel Point is shorthanded and can Only maintain one eight hour shift. The Tower and radar personnel Are at minimum or emergency Manning and brigade operations have not had a continuously operational pm radio for the past couple of years. With these shortages in personnel the heliport cannot provide the assistance support or safety a a guarantees the pilots need and deserve while flying. The Only reason Ansbach has a military Community is due to the heliport. Ansbach Asp is the largest . Army heliport in Germany and it does not support aviation. A a Djana  a tier Bach Germany. A skip graphic details i am concerned about the Type and amount of forensic detail you will Nave to consider suitable for print when the trial of the Man accused of murdering Elora Mckemy begins. The acts performed that Day and the results of them do not need to be described to us. Based on the charges most of us have an already too graphic understanding of the injuries inflicted. Neither us nor our children need any More detail that the charges already Lead us to visualize. A Carmen Kolz Kapaun air station Germany c 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 Dally on this Page. All 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 6 the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Or fax 06155-601-463, Dan 348-s4g3