European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 31, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12letters to the editor sunday july 31, 1994 to gets the european edition col Steven s. Hoffman Usan commander publisher Bernard a zov1stoski editor news and editorial. Deborah Abs Ter nows editor Bill  european editor Bob watcher sports Eador Georg Minei City editor to write us unit 29480. Apoate 09211 a or Postrach 11 14 37 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155 601 plus Extension or Dan 348-3 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237, 255, 282, 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 Owen room 117, Rome rate 104. 60126 Holdel Furg car 419, to 1310, Apo a 09102 Tel Phon Dan 370-7010 or civilian 06221-23421 Tel fax 06221 -27239. 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Including inserts or supplements does not constitute endorsement by the department of defense or the Star and stripes of the products or services  for the clubs your recent Story quotes the . Army Europe chief of morale welfare and recreation As saying that 45 percent of the commands 85 clubs could be dosed if their financial posture does not improve. Having been with Usa eur clubs from 1974 to 1993, including a three year stint at he Usa eur please allow me to share the following comments a food operations in most operations that where the losses really Are and the Only Way to reverse them is with volume business geared to attract soldiers and families during Leisure time activities. Do not compete with existing local fast food operations and restaurants. Concentrate efforts to bring wholesome american meat poultry and seafood selections on the menu and table train Cooks to prepare properly and provide a Friendly cheerful staff to serve. Last but not least establish a profit sharing plan allowing those who work hard to share the benefits. A bar operations if it loses Money close it. Normally the markup is sufficient to sustain them. However High labor costs with expensive night weekend and Holiday pay differentials can really Hurt an operation. Closure on slow nights could solve problems. A administration Are the existing office front desk clerks masters at arms Etc work Force really affordable dues Are normally not sufficient to offset these labor costs draining profits generated in other activities. A entertainment provide patrons with the Type of entertainment supported by them. Get military organizations to sponsor disc jockeys bands and other live entertainment through support in advertise ment and where possible invite local nationals to participate. A club managers Are they so overcome with daytime meetings and administrative details that supervision of nighttime activities during Peak operation hours is impossible a manager whose front doors do not open until late afternoon should not be at work at 8 . And turn the keys Over to a part time employee at 5 . Community officials can and should initiate viable work schedules for their managerial staff commanders can assist clubs and other mar activities by Active involve ment in receiving monthly or bimonthly briefings on All aspects concerning safety sanitation Security and actual income expenses incurred. Personally i disagree with the statement that profits generated should not go into losing clubs. Especially in draw Down communities.1 Quality of life activities Are a big morale Factor and should be Analysed thoroughly and decisions made looking at All aspects not Only profitability. Club profits should be reinvested in upgrading clubs allowing future generations of patrons to also Benefit from modern facilities and continual upgrades. How valid Are the current mar updates and Are they still realistic As we enter a new Century for Over 30 years a department of defense mar command has been in discussion. Maybe now the time is Ripe for our. Policy makers to take a renewed interest in this possibility a Oscar Drei Kom Stepha Skirchen German proud of Berlin i have been a member of the Berlin command for five years and it has been a distinct pleasure to have served Here. The command climate has been nothing Short of outstanding. The training has been realistic and Tough. We have deployed on numerous occasions to places such As Kenya Turkey Iraq saudi Arabia Kuwait and most recently Macedonia. A our soldiers Are the worlds finest and recently the commander in chief stopped by to Tell us that a in person. We were honoured by the association of the . Army for the period sept. 30 1993-sept. 30, �?T94, and yes we Are drawing Down. Gone but not forgotten. Recent comments about Berlin soldiers failing to meet standards and that discipline Pride and conditioning were draw Down casualties could not be further from the truth. It sounds to me that perhaps the major is disappointed in that he has not been a part of this Fine brigade during its contingency missions or better yet maybe the major is upset Over the fact that even though he served in Berlin he was not authorized the Ausa for the period he was Here. A sgt. 1st class Richie r. Thomas Berli Lack of understanding with sadness i read the letter a Oberlin casualties july 20. Sadness not for the soldiers who were unfortunate enough to fail to maintain the writers interpretation of High standards but sadness for any Soldier who must work under the command of such a person. What a Lack of understanding he demonstrates. We All know that there Are soldiers in this army who sometimes fail to live up to accepted standards because they simply do not want to apply those standards to themselves. However the majority of soldiers always try to do their Best. In the Best tradition of american Justice a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. I too am an army officer. I started in this army As a private and the one pledge that i made to myself is that i would always try to be a better Leader than those who led me and that i would not forget whence i came. The writers attitude demonstrates that he May have forgotten what it is like to do the things that soldiers must do every Day. A Daniel j. Kearney a. Babenhausen Germany no embarrassment As a Reader of the stars and stripes since arriving in Germany in april 1992,1 have never Felt More compelled to respond than to the letter from the major who extends his so called opinion in a failing to meet the  i am sure that it was not the intention of these soldiers to a Embarrass our  As a nurse i can say heatstroke is a serious condition not an embarrassment. Of course sitting under the covered podium like the major i am sure he never once Felt like passing out. As the wife of an enlisted Soldier i can say with Pride that my husband recently participated in a change of command ceremony. He was on the color guard and As such he was required to stand at attention for one hour or so with the colors on level with his face. He did not Embarrass his uniform or the Kevlar he had to Wear in the scorching heat. Perhaps if we Are Lucky what we can expect from the army in the future is better support and understanding in our leadership. In the future when such events take place in inclement weather soldiers might get Lucky and the event May be held indoors. This Way maybe the Good major will not be so embarrassed. A Lorene Ordal Darmstadt Germany done to blame customers in response to a Baa fest unseen Side Quot july 24k i find it humorous if not pathetic that the army and air Force Exchange services customers create an atmosphere of a sour  is it not the employees Ever diligent duty to not Only strive for customer satisfaction but also for a positive Friendly Demeanour when did the tables turn so that the sour customer produces the Rotten grapes speaking As one who has held jobs under less than favourable conditions i find it appalling to think that negative customers would be justification for the behaviour of rude or apathetic employees. The True entrepreneur Boss would never tolerate this lapse in character. Perhaps this explains the difference Between socialistic systems that offer few incentives for advancement with Little or no Competition and capitalism. By the Way Wal Mart has a satisfaction guaranteed policy no time limits for exchanges or Money returns no receipt necessary no questions asked. A Stephanie Brittain Rhein main a Germany not Joe Mccarthy Rush Limbaugh is As he admits an entertainer who talks about politics and social issues. He is not a True gadfly because he wants to be liked and is very likeable. He can of course draw blood from the thin skinned like Gays feminists and Bill and Hillary Clinton. The Clinton have been a godsend to Limbaugh they represent everything that offends Limbaugh a conservative midwestern soul. It is however their remarkable ineptness that has Given him his audience. Their foreign policy has been disastrous. The tabloid revelations of his womanizing of the venality of Arkansas politics Ana other things that would have been minor irritants to a successful administration have served to discredit a failed one. Now medical Reform the Centrepiece of his ambitious Domestic program is in danger. No wonder the president has blown his Cool. In the Wake of that strange Embar passing phone Call fairness and accuracy in reporting fair suddenly emerges to set the world straight on Limbaugh s errors. Limbaugh a style is Stream of consciousness. He blends prejudice fact and fantasy in varying proportions. But the a a errors cited in the article do not establish Rush As the second coming of Joe Mccarthy. In any Case Limbaugh is substantially Correct about a couple of these. Take the amount of Forest acreage. He was denying that America is engaged in deforestation. He should have said we have More acres of Forest than we had 100 years ago before the conservation movement began. Regarding . Troops under foreign command he is right to say that this is contrary to traditional american policy. The United states has conducted its wars in the 20th Century As partners in grand alliances. In world War i Gen. John j. Pershing fought successfully to keep the american expeditionary forces together under his command and largely succeeded. In world War ii the United states was the predominant partner and the theater commanders almost always american. In Korea where the United rations served As the political basis of such an Alliance an american general was in charge. Where is the Douglas Macarthur or Matthew b. Ridgway to give focus to the . Operations in the Balkans a John Schuh Ramstein a Germany editors 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. 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