European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 19, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 19, 1994 the stars and stripes Page 3 by Dave Melancon Wurzburg Bureau Schweinfurt Germany the 10th engr in is the first unit in Europe to Field the latest in mine laying equipment. The Schweinfurt based unit dem. Of nitrated the Volcano mine emplacement system for fellow Engi cers and officers from the 3rd inf div on thursday at a Conn Barracks Range. A. A. A. A it is the quickest Way to Emp lace a. Minefield using minimal personnel said staff sgt. Jeffrey Murphy of Volcano platoon. The Volcano system is easier to move has a quicker response time is less expensive and More lethal than hand Emp laced mines Murphy said. Two engineers can Emp lace More than 960 mines Over an area of 396 feet by 3,663 feet in less than 20 minutes said sgt. Keith Jackson. It would take a 10-member squad 25 hours to Lay a similar Field by hand. The mine emplacement unit can be mounted on an m548 tracked cargo Carrier or on a Large All terrain cargo truck he said. The platoon christened two of its be hides mount St. Helens and Vesuvius. Two panels hold 160 canisters of mines and Are mounted in the rear of the vehicle facing opposite directions Jackson said. The canisters Are fired by a control unit carried in the cab. The controller and firing mechanisms Are self testing Jackson said. Each canister contains five magnetic tally controlled anti tank mines and one anti personnel mine that fires four 40-foot-Long tripwire \ the mines Are randomly inserted into the canisters. A nobody knows where that antipersonnel mine is a Jackson said. A typical divisional Engineer battalion would Field six systems he said. After firing the mines automatically Arm themselves and also determine which Way is up so that the charge fires in the right direction Jackson said. A they say to themselves a hey am i a amps have Mola icon pfc. Ucang Pouch loads a training round into the Volcano mine dispensing system in Schwein flirt Germany. Working a a he explained. A no matter which Way these mines fall its saying to itself a this Side is up and this Side is  its a very smart  it takes 20 minutes to reload another 960 mines he said. A i was a Little scared that something might hit me a said spec. Cameron Hall who watched the demonstration from the gunners position of the track. A the mine laying pattern is Good. 1 would not try to Cross that  in  army schooling by Wayne v. Hall staff writer for a russian officer who helped develop the training plan for the recent  peacekeeper �?T94 exercise the event brought Home lessons Learned on american soil. It. Col. Andre v. Morin to was the first russian officer to graduate from the . Army a command and general staff College at fort Leavenworth Kan. During the peacekeeper exercise in to Skoye Russia Morin to a now the senior training and operations officer on a Quot tin t Nee from june 1992 to june 1993. 2>cii1u1 uoiiiu15 a the general staff of the russian army a recalled his experience at the . School Morin to a graduate of russians command and general staff College As Well said that although the schools have the , they Are not alike. A the russian course lasts Only three months and has Many lectures a he said. A there Are not Many seminars but More often there Are practical exercises in the Field and Oral examinations a on the other hand the yearlong american course has Many seminars and requires a written essay every month which proved difficult for the experienced officer even though he has a Good handle on English. A for me the essay is a seven step process a said the 39-year-old officer referring to his need to translate everything. While for the american officers in the class it is a amps Wayne v. Hail it. Col. Andre v. Morin to was the first russian officer to graduate from the . Army a command and general staff College at fort Leavenworth Kan. No  on the personal Side the experience was sometimes frightening because of the cultural differences especially for his wife Dina who joined him later in the states. His heart was still not Able to rest easy even after dinars arrival because his two children were still in Moscow. It was the first time that Morin to had been separated from his now 15-year-old son Kirell and daughter Kata who is now 11. The prohibitive Cost of plane tickets made getting his children to the states difficult he said. But Many people helped him organize the children strip he recalled gratefully. This in itself became a joint exercise which involved everyone from leaven Worth a commander and Deputy commander to Morin Kos a fellow officers in his staff group in Moscow As Well As friends and colleagues in the american embassy in mos. Cow. A a a. A a. \ after three months of hard work they raised enough Money for plane tickets to reunite the Morin to family in the United slates. One trip that proved particularly fulfil Ling to Morin to was to the fort Irwin National training Center in California. For years the . Army has trained there using russian style equipment and tactics As the opposing Force. During his visit Morin to an infantry officer Well versed in russian doctrine was asked to do a consultation with the centers opposing Force unit. In establishing the training plan for peacekeeper �?T94, Morin to found one of the most difficult obstacles was some Peoples belief that a joint exercise was  Quot a but All the same right now we made the first step one year ago to hold the exercise which will become the first Steps for further cooperation.,�?� he said. A Man who a proud of his 22-plus year stint As an infantry officer Morin to said he would like to return to the United states for any joint peacekeeping exercises held there. In voted Best Large store by sue Palumbo Mediterranean Bureau Naples Italy Imelda Ferrante gives the Naples Navy Exchange High Marks for Friendly helpful employees. Her husband Petty officer 1st class Tony Ferrante says merchandise selic Tion in Naples is better than what he found at the Navy exchanges in Japan. Apparently managers and employees at the Naples store arc doing something right and it has paid off after rebounding from an $800,000 annual loss two years ago to. A $1 million annual profit the Naples Navy. Exchange has received top honors in a worldwide Competition Exchange officials said. Friday. A Quot a a a a us a a. A. A a a a a serving about 10,000 people in the Naples area the store was named the Navy a Best in the Large facility category for annual sales just under $45 million. The Naples store was among seven Navy exchanges a out of 136 worldwide a that received Bingham awards recognizing excellence in customer service. Operations and management said a Navy Exchange service come news release. The Competition was based on inspections by Navy Exchange Headquarters personnel from Virginia reviews of customer suggestion cards advisory Board comments and random customer inter views. A a a general manager Gary Shirley said the Naples facility has undergone Radical changes Over the last two years. These changes have included extensive remodelling to Garner More sales space a More customer Friendly policy for merchandise returns and a reorganization of personnel and facilities. A Over the last two years we went from losing $800,000 to making $1 million in profit a Shirley said. The heftier balance Sheet was not attributed to More sales but to a streamlining of personnel management he said. Many of the specially shops such As the Baskin Robbins ice Cream outlet video rental and electronics repair were contracted out to individual italians. Those who previously worked for those stores were either absorbed into other departments rehired by the contractors or opted for an italian policy that guarantees them jobs in the italian government. A just by contracting out our payroll we saved $80,000 a year a Shirley said. In addition to helping revive the stores financial Well being Shirley instituted a refund policy that accepts almost All returned merchandise. A the Money the Exchange makes goes to morale welfare and recreation anyway a Shirley said. A Why should i try to save Money by being hard line at the expense of the customer id rather ave satisfied customers who feel they can return something without being treated  but for Elise Chisholm the award winning Naples Exchange still has room for improvement. A a it a gotten a lot better in the 10 months since in be been Here a Chisholm said. A my main complaint is that they really have either really really cheap stuff or really expensive stuff but nothing in the Middle. A the shoe department needs help and there Are no crafts a she added. A but this is nothing like it used to be. They expanded a lot. There is a lot More than there used to