European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes Friday november 18,1994 at a glance a v Newt Gingrich the House s speaker to be is passing Over several senior republicans As he chooses commit tee chairmen. See Story on Page 6. Shooter charged a Federal grand jury thursday charged a Colorado Man with at tempting to assassinate president  a a �?page4 spy sentenced a former communist mole at natos Headquarters was sentenced to 12 years in prison. A a. A a a a a a a page5 crops devastated the violent weather generated by tropical storm Gordon in Florida kitted six people destroyed dozens of Homes and damaged the nations Winter vegetable crops a page7 pay Back time Sodal Security underpaid hundreds of thousands of retired americans nearly a half billion dollars be cause of a computer glitch officials say. A Page 8 Quot be i Abby Ann Landers. 25 classifieds. 28-34 comics. 25-27 commentary .17 crossword. 25 faces a places. 14 entertainment 19-23 Horoscope 33 Jumble. 33 letters. M 6 Money matters. 18 sports. 34-40 to listings. 39 weather. 15 correction from Page 1 years ago a it remains the most capable army in the  readiness refers to a units ability to get to a War zone quickly and to fight effectively. The Pentagon uses a Complex yardstick that includes training Levels the state of equipment maintenance and the skill level of individual fighting units. Officials commenting Only on condition of anonymity identified the tank units As the 1st inf div Mech at fort Riley Kan the 4th inf div Mech at fort Carson Colo and the. 2nd army Day at fort Hood Texas. All received the next to lowest readiness Grade the officials. These divisions would reinforce rapid response divisions in a prolonged conflict. The army also has ranked two Quick response units slightly below the full readiness state meaning they cannot perform their full Range of wartime missions but Are basically sound. Both would be among the first to be called into Battle. In addition a congressional source said the army a five a Forward deployed. Divisions a two in Europe and one each in South Korea Hawaii and Alaska a also Are rated slightly below full readiness. A. Quot. A a \ in All this represents subpar readiness grades in nine of the army a 12 divisions. No immediate threat to the safety of the nation looms senior Pentagon officials said. Indeed the army says it has performed Well in recent crises in Haiti and the Middle East but if a major War were to break out these weaknesses could become More visible. _ army Gen. John m. Shalikashvil chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said wednesday that the readiness of fighting units was Central to the Clinton administration strategy of being Strong enough to fight two regional wars nearly simultaneously a in Korea and the persian Gulf for example. A were we satisfied in dealing with Only one regional Issue at a time we would in fact become a regional Power a Shalikashvil told students after a speech at Georgetown University in Washington . A and it  take very Long for our adversaries like iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein to understand when our hands were tied in some other part of the  the grading of the three armoured divisions each with 18,000 soldiers Means that the units May undertake a a Many but not All wartime missions and that they suffer a significant decrease in flexibility and increase in  the deployment of troops to the persian Gulf Haiti and Rwanda in recent months forced the Pentagon to raid accounts that were intended to pay for major training exercises. From Page 1 army in Europe has two divisions based in Germany in its Only corps v corps. They Are the 1st army div whose Headquarters Are in bad Kreuz Nach and the 3rd inf div based in of Irmburg. Hilde Patton a spokeswoman for the Europe based corps also declined to discuss specifics of unit preparedness citing Security reasons. In addition army officials at the services Heidelberg Headquarters have not responded to an oct. 18 written request by the stars and stripes for budget information. The inquiry included requests for costs for operations and training and major funding areas for the last five years. V. A. A. A a Quot it also asked about the Impact of funding on training hours and preparedness. On thursday Bridges said that contrary to what May have happened in other commands Europe based units have added training exercises to their schedule instead of dropping them. In Many cases this was done with Little More than six months notice instead of the usual 12 to 18 months he said. These included nato partnership for peace exercises such As cooperative Bridge �?T94 in Poland in september and cooperative spirit in the Netherlands in october. Bridges also said that to his knowledge the command has not suffered any significant increase in training injuries or sick Days that might indicate a Lack of preparedness. A however he said spouse and child abuse incidents were up a possible reflection of increased stress from the increased operational Tempo. Still the army a worldwide readiness has reached its lowest level in a dozen years senior defense officials disclosed this week. According to Pentagon officials the army looks at four areas when evaluating readiness personnel equipment on hand equipment serviceability and training. A a v  a the status of resources and training also includes a Mission accomplishment estimate indicating a units ability to do its wartime Mission for 72 hours. Readiness is measured on a four level a pc scale a cd a unit has required resources and is trained to undertake full wartime missions. 90 percent to 99 percent ready. A c2 a unit has required resources and is trained to undertake most wartime missions. 80 percent to 89 percent ready. A c3 a unit has required resources and is trained to undertake Many but not All wartime missions. There is a significant decrease in flexibility and increase in vulnerability. The unit would require significant compensation for deficiencies. 70 percent to 79 percent ready. A c4 a unit requires additional resources or training to undertake its wartime missions but maybe directed to deploy. 0 percent to 69 percent ready. Commanders funnel reports from platoons up the Chain of command to major command Levels and on to the depart meat of the army. The reports include projected problems As Well As current status information. England to lose units by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington two army Reserve units in Germany and the United kingdom will shut Down this fiscal year As part of a draw Down of Reserve forces officials announced wednesday. The 25-member 4th medical brigade Headquarters in Heidelberg Germany arid the 10-member 2nd Hospital augmentation based at Burtonwood in the United kingdom will be inactivated. By the end of fiscal 1995, total Reserve personnel strength will drop to 897 in Germany and 86 in the United kingdom. In Italy however a new army Reserve unit will come on line this year a the 285th trans corps det to be based in Vicenza. The 19-member detachment Wilt handle command and control of support units at terminal ports in Italy in the event of contingency operations in Europe army Reserve officials said. The detachment will join two other five member units in Vicenza the 6o3rd and 793rd movement control dets As the Only Reserve component units in Italy. Fiscal 1995 is the second year of a five year Effort to restructure the Reserve forces of All the services to meet changing requirements. Defense Secretary William Perry said. Across the services about 39,900 Reserve slots will disappear this fiscal year although the actual number of people affected probably will be fewer than that because some May Transfer to other units. Perry said cutbacks in the ensuing years of the Reserve draw Down probably will be less extensive. By fiscal 1999, the Pentagon will have Cut a total of 129,700 people from the 1,024,800 it had at the end of fiscal 1994, for an end strength of 895,100. The army National guard and Reserve will take the biggest hits Over that Span losing a combined total of 95,000 people. A variety of transition initiatives including separation pay Early retirement pay and various benefits such As continued commissary and Exchange privileges Are available to reservists affected by the draw Down. In Broad terms the restructuring Effort will see the army National guard focus on preparing for its wartime combat role. The army Reserve will keep its traditional combat support functions and assume the main responsibility for combat service support As Well. The air National guard will handle All Continental a air defense and together with the air Force Reserve assume an enhanced role in strategic mobility missions. In addition the air National guard and Reserve will assume a bomber Mission for the first time. The smaller Reserve components of the Navy arid Marine corps will see few major changes. A Story thursday incorrectly gave it. Gen. Daniel r. Schroeder a place of assignment. He is stationed in Heidelberg  from Page 1 reserves 1,800 from the army National guard 25,300 from the army Reserve and 9,100 from the Navy Reserve. Marine corps Reserve and air National guard forces will be Cut Only slightly. The air Force Reserve will be Cut by 2,900. Cuts were made with geographic equity in mind and with an Eye to trimming those units judged below Par in their operating readiness. Eliminating those units saves the Pentagon their annual operating costs As Well As extra funds that Wou Miave been needed to bring them up to Par. Members of units being shut Down or reduced will have opportunities to move to other units where possible. If there is no new position available a the i Dividu will be separated with the approx Ria transition benefits a according to to Pentagon announcement. Those enrol in the Montgomery i Bill program w continue to receive benefits. The cuts were ordered by Congress the fiscal 1995 budget passed earlier to year As part of a Long term reduction the size of both the Active duty and r serve military forces