European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 30, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday june 30, 1994 the stars and stripes Page 3 army families moving right along by Jon Connor staff writer Mannheim Germany a silting in her nearly empty apartment in Mannheim a Benjamin Franklin Village Cindy Donatiello lit a cigarette and recalled the last time her family moved. That was a year ago when her husband Charles then assigned to the army a 1se inf div Mech at fort Riley kan., received notice that he was being assigned to Germany. She was upset she said a i never made an overseas move before. I was a Little bit scared a scared to death of now the Donatiello Are moving again this time to fort Lewis Wash. The Donatiello a Cindy 33, Charles 31, and their preschool children Amanda and Chuckie a Are just one of the Many army families moving to the Post near Tacoma in what army officials in Mannheim say is the largest redeployment of one unit to the Continental United states since the draw Down began. Charles do Natiello a unit the 1st army dives 3rd brigade combat team has 2,650 soldiers. The team made up of a brigade and a Forward support battalion that includes the 2nd in 29th Field arty from Baum Holder has been in Germany 23 years. It is sending about 400 soldiers and family members a week to fort Lewis its move is expected to be completed by september. A a a a a this move will be different from other permanent change of Stalions for military members and their families. As spec. Heath Morgan of co a 12th engr in pointed out a once you get there you re going to know a in this situation you have people looking after you to make sure everything gets dope a said Morgan who works As an operations clerk. To make the move easier the 293rd base support in which oversees the Mannheim area conducts one Stop mass Clearing operations for soldiers and their families a process that includes pet Proca amps Kon a oort the movers having come and gone Charles and Cindy Donatiello along with children Amanda and Chuckie sit on the floor of their apartment in Mannheim Germany. Their next Home will be at fort Lewis Wash. Essing for an overseas move. Business that can take soldiers up to 10 Days is taking less than a full morning. A my unit is very aware of what a going on. Very conscious a said Charles do Natiello a seven year Veteran who is a tracked vehicle Mechanic and Section sergeant with he co 12th engr in. A this unit has made everything easy a his wife added. From december to february Charles Donatiello said his unit put in Many extra hours preparing for the move. From March through May the team washed inspected and moved its vehicular equipment from storage facilities and loaded it onto barges in route to a seaport in Rotterdam Netherlands. A the was never Home Quot Cindy Donatillo recalled. Wives brought their husbands lunch and dinner at their workplaces in Mannheim she said. The new duty station the Donatiello said is one they re looking Forward to As a place to resume their lives. For Charles Donatiello off duty education opportunities will be better. He said he also welcomes meeting the Tough standards upheld by elite Light forces a rangers and special forges a at fort Lewis. His wife added that she a heard the surrounding area is Beautiful with Many recreation activities available. Her Only regret at leaving Germany so soon after arriving is that she did no to see More of the German Countryside. She also wishes shed known her family a stay would be so Short a a otherwise i would t have shipped our furniture a however she said she so a Happy to be Here and Happy to be going.�?�., French quietly increasing ties by Kevin Dougherty Kaiserslautern Bureau although cooperative efforts Between French and nato forces a and the . Military in particular a Are nothing new the relationship has grown since the persian Gulf War French military officials said. Frances participation in the War exposed some shortcomings it had when it tried to implement nato operational procedures in the heat of combat French military sources said. A we saw that in the Gulf War a French air Force col. Dominique Lanonne said. A everything we did was performed to nato procedures and we have to Cope with As a result France has increased its cooperative efforts with nato by taking part in More joint operations and exercises than it did before the 1991 Gulf War said Lanonne who is his country a senior representative to Allied air forces Central Europe based at Ramstein a Germany. France also has strengthened its ties with american forces allowing . Air Force planes to deploy to France for longer stays. A France has been leaning More toward nato for exercises for planning etc.,�?� Lanonne said. But barring a major shift in government policy it s unlikely that France will Ever again be linked into natos military command Structure. A the French government wont integrate with nato but we Are trying to work closer with nato Quot said French Navy it. Cmdr. Philippe Hunter a spokesman for the French ministry of defense in Paris. An increasing partnership a is a technical move but not a political move a Hunter added. A technically we want to work with nato and that a in the mid-1960s, at the Behest of French president Charles de Gaulle France distanced itself somewhat from nato by removing its forces from the alliances integrated military command Structure. However France remained a member of nato routinely participating in exercises and operations and maintaining a working relationship with the Alliance the United states in particular. In some ways the French Navy even enjoyed a closer relationship with the . Navy than it did with its own air Force. Hunter acknowledged. A we had two different combat and communication systems one for the Navy and one for the air Force a Hunter said. A it Wasny to difficult for the French air Force to talk to a Navy Crew but it was difficult to Send them data on what was going on in the that was not the Case with the . And French navies which had integrated their communication systems. France resolved its communication problem with its Navy and air Force about five years ago Hunter estimated. Perhaps the area where the cooperative spirit has grown the most Between the United states and France is with the two air forces. The United states like other nato countries has always had the option of Landing at a French air base to refuel or to perform a particular nato Mission Lanonne said. But sustained missions or joint exercises involving . Aircraft from French soil did not occur. That changed earlier this year when five . Kc-135 Strat tankers deployed to an air base in Southeastern France to support operation deny flight the tankers which Are still deployed were needed at is tres air base to conduct air refuelling missions for nato aircraft enforcing the . No Fly zone Over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deployment Marks the first time since the mid-1960s that . Military aircraft have conducted a sustained operational Mission on behalf of nato from France. Another cooperative Effort Between . And French air forces occurred earlier this month during a joint exercise known As Coronet Star. Eight . F-15 eagles from Langley fab va., flew to Cambrai France for a 24-Day Quot deployment for bilateral training with the French air Force a said . Col Larry Hoffman the air attached at the . Embassy in Paris. Although the deployment was part of a Large nato exercise in Northern Europe the two air forces primarily trained with and against each other. The deployment of . Fighter jets to France was a first in almost a generation though French aircraft have trained in the states for such exercises As red Flanc at Nellis fab Nev. A we Are working together As two Good Allied nations would a Hoffman said. In addition to deny flight the French Are taking part in the bosnian Airdrop Mission known As operation provide Promise. Provide Comfort and Southern watch operations that developed after the Gulf War also Are supported by French personnel and aircraft. A i think it is a function of what is going on in the world a Hoffman said. A we find ourselves As partners in various
