European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 12, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Sis Dave Casey Craig Urban from Schinnen to Orlando was recruited As a local hire As a coach. Unlike Many homesteaders who Are hired in the states by the department of defense or its school system Bennett does not have a housing allowance a a Benefit that keeps Many overseas. Still he said a i have the Choice to live in both worlds. As an american i done to try to be a european. I enjoy american things like watching a game on to. But i m not homesick for his family is scattered in California Maine Missouri Illinois and Virgina. He spends s2,000 a year in air plane tickets and he sees members of his family More often than they see each other. Quot that s the advantage of being a teacher with three months vacation in the summer a said Bennett who is single. Quot when i get Back i enjoy coming Bennett had intended to return to the United states to live but each year he put it off because he had a team or an athlete whom he wanted to see get a trophy. He counts More than two dozen Champi steering again through the american Way by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau touching Down in the United states after several years overseas americans tend to experience similar think that the 55-Mph Speed limit is Only for people who have never qualified on an autobahn. They Wear out their Remote controls Channel surfing through the Ever expanding Cable to universe. They re intrigued by the thought that they can buy a Good Zucchini at 3 . At an All night supermarket. But sooner or later a sense of creeping ennui sets in and the repatriates wonder if life really is better in the Good old . Of a. The habit of driving fast is quickly kicked Afi Erthe third speeding ticket. Having 100 to stations in t such a thrill when half of them seem to be variations on the Home shopping network. Just because you can go food shopping at 3 . Isnit enough reason to actually do it. A a a there a a definite feeling of euphoria in the first few weeks after you come said air Force on ships for his Giris volleyball and basketball teams. A graduate of Heidelberg a class of 1966, he joined some 350 other grads at the 1990 reunion. He figures a Quarter were living and working in Europe. One person who decided he could no longer live with the draw Down uncertainty was Craig Urban who until a few weeks ago was the director of logistics at Schinnen Netherlands. The draw Down a Quot instability Quot convinced him to go Home says the retired army warrant officer and Supply technician Tio also spent three Tours in Germany. Urban a wife is what kept him in the land of canals and windmills he said before leaving. When they married he said Quot we decided it would be Back and Forth. But she knew eventually wed move to the he intended to leave his House in nearby Brun sum Fly to Orlando Fla and do Little for a while. Quot in a going into the dark. In a not worried. Ill find a Urban admitted his wife will miss her family but he told her the gang could Fly stateside on visits. If he had his druthers he would move to California. But he said Quot California is too expensive. You can to live on a cw4 retirement in California. Quot this is the time to move. This is the time to do former Navy radioman Wylie Miller of Naples Italy thought the same Way in the mid-1960s. Almost 30 years ago he married his italian Girlfriend Rena la left the Navy and moved Back to California. Quot but after about three months i got homesick for Europe and my wife a family a Miller said. He went to his local air Force Recruiter and signed on with the air Force so they could return. That added 10 years in the air Force to the 10 years he had served in the Navy. That Means decent retirement checks for Miller 56 and fluent in italian. It also meant being stationed in France Germany Turkey and the Stales As Well As Italy. Today he works As a financial planner for an american insurance and investment company. Despite Naples reputation for crime Miller says he feels secure living w Ith his extended family and surrounded by neighbors who care about each other. Quot violence is anywhere. If a person wants to find it they will Quot Miller said. What else keeps Miller in Italy Quot italians work in real time Quot he said. When he tech. Sgt. Gregory Moore who has spent almost half of his 15-year career overseas in England Germany and most recently Crete. Quot you go a Little wild flipping through All the to channels. You drive around to All your old haunts feeling great about being Home a said Moore who now works at Bolling fab in Washington . A but the thrill wears off Quot i was anxious to get Back Quot said it. Col. Vicki Beard who returned a year ago from a four year Germany tour in Rhc Inberg Mannheim and Schwet Zingen. A but there s no doubt that reality does set in very Beard who works for the army Deputy chief of staff for personnel said one of her biggest challenges was adjusting to stateside crime particularly in Washington which has one of the highest murder rates of any . City. Quot you get a false sense of Security in Europe a Beard said. A obviously there is crime overseas. But if you can to read the newspapers or understand the television news you re not really As aware of it As you Are Quot my apartment in Germany was burglarized and the weather on the night it happened was wet and Rainy a said maj. Bruce Gillman who recently returned from his first overseas assignment a five year tour in Kaiserslautern and Berlin. A the burglar must have taken his shoes off because the apartment was spotless.�?�. Gillman said that Small act of consideration certainly does no to forgive the thievery itself but it does highlight the fact that crime usually Isnit As Wanton As it is in the states. A i Felt safer in Germany because there a a lot less crime against people a he said. A the criminals Arentt takes his car for a project like rotating the tires the italian Mechanic asks him Why he wants to have something repaired that is not broken. A Miller also enjoys running errands. Typically he goes to a shop to have his shoes fixed. Then he stops at separate shops to buy fish and lettuce. Later he relaxes at a cafe with a cappuccino. In America he said �?o1 Don t think there s a place where you can be Friendly with the Fisherman or the Guy who Sells you lettuce. Americans do a lot not to get into Contact with people. Italians never would buy into a life which takes people away from people. They re Ahvay looking for excuses to get the Millers Haven to do Cidad whether to spend the rest of their lives in Italy. Renata Miller likes the idea of having a Little place in America and spending time in both countries. Wylie Miller simply asks where else can he have a 91-Ycar-old grandmother Cook the whole family sunday dinner each week. A Courtesy Rich Bennett Rich Bennett staying put in Heidelberg Germany. So Brazen. You done to Sec the kind of random attacks that happen every Day in addition to the higher crime rate returning to the states after an overseas tour requires other psychological adjustments. One common reaction a at least for those who come to Roost in the self important atmosphere of the nations capital where your time is infinitely More valuable than the geeks in the car next to you a is the sheer never ending Bustle whether it be on the roads at work or in the shopping malls. Quot i liked the Pace of life in Europe Quot Moore said. A everyone is so rushed in the states even when they re doing things that Aren t important. Europeans seem to be Able to slow Down and enjoy life More a you can to get a cup of Coffee to go in Germany a Gillman attitude there is if you done to have time to sit and drink a cup of Coffee you done to have time for a cup of . Its not even about making More Money because the Standard of living in Germany is readily comparable to that of the United Stales he said. A germans just themselves to the limits of exhaustion the Way so Many americans seem to a Gillman said a there everything is push push push go go others like Bill Swisher an army civilian at Walter Reed army medical Center who has spent 17 years overseas and recently returned from an eight year stint in Frankfurt and Heidelberg say they done to see much difference in the Pace of life. A big cities Are big cities although Washington does have those drive by shootings to make life that much More interesting a he said wryly. 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