European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 04, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Up for the Drasdo Mytr by Kenneth Shepard the following is presented for in formation Pur poses Only. It was brought to our offices by a Small shadowy figure who seemed to want to avoid Atten Tion. He placed the document in our distribution tray then he slipped out without saying a word. It was Only by Chance we were Able to see him make his delivery. Although we would recognize him again in an instant he need not fear we will make that identification Public. Draw Down policies guidelines for Community commander " Fop so Crit -. Draw Down and Community closures Are times when an Alert and creative Community commander can make real career advancement a time of great Opportunity for the right person the following suggestions should help make Community draw Down policies uniform across Europe. The guiding Prin Ciple in planning for draw Down is to make Community residents feel they Are a part of draw Down to make draw Down seem real to them. Anything that _ brings draw Down to their attention on a daily basis isto be encouraged. Pm suggestions As the number of customers reduces the selection in the pm needs to draw Down accordingly. Customers need to be reminded of the draw Down status so make sure their selection of merchandise is limited. Send any extra merchandise to the warehouse reduce the number of sales representatives and Cashiers to maintain Long lines As before. In conjunction with this remember that reducing the hours the pm is open will help maintain the illusion that the pm is As full As it Ever was and be sure to close off sections of the parking lot if at All possible. Customers will be so Happy when they finally find a parking place they will forget any inconvenience they encounter inside. Thus the pm will draw Down in four areas merchandise selection j on the Drav Down by Christian Fuhrer he draw Down will finally be reaching it Send in Europe in late 95 while it May continue unabated in other parts of the world namely the United states. After cute of More than 30 percent the remain ing Force is supposed to be a credible deterrence to political and military adventurism instability arid outright civil War. But Are the . Armed forces Given he High mor ale of their soldiers and the first rate equipment they use really capable of fighting and winning two major regional conflicts simultaneously i am afraid they Are not not even with dedicated Allied support which anyway would be half hearted As evidenced curing the persian Gulf War let me take the successful pre draw Down Campaign against Iraq As an example to highlight my Point. -._._. _ defeating Saddam Hussein s warriors required according to the Center for defense information roughly 280,000 army troops 50 percent of All main Cali Buenos Aires Argentina a 1993 cartoon tit t of attn syndic " " clerks shopping hours and parking places commissary suggestions the Alert com Mander will realize without being reminded that Many of the pm suggestions will apply to the commissary As Well. But the commissary is a bit different and the commander can make a real difference in a r few additional areas of operation. A tidy sum can be saved by purchasing produce of second Quality claiming that reduced purchasing Power caused by draw Down is the reason we realize Many commis Saries Are already doing this and these enterprising communities can save even More by reducing the Quality further still. R \ a step Many commissaries Overlook is that by no longer stocking items also carried by the pm the v commissary inventory can be simplified. At the same time the Community As a whole Prosper because customers Are forced to pay the higher pm Price. Remember that pm profits Are recycled to the com unites commissary profits arc not such items As batteries Light bulbs and snacks Are Ideal for this strategy. Another income producer for the Community is to have the baggers Institute their own draw Down poli cies. If each Bagger puts Only half As Many groceries in each bag As before the draw Down known As grocery draw Down in the bag twice As much Money in tips will be earned from each customer i note baggers seem More than willing to help out in this Way. If your Community has Many local National baggers this will go a Long Way toward improving re lations with the local Community. And so we have three additional ways commissaries can do their part during draw Down Quality draw Down inventory draw Down and grocery draw Down in the bag. Class six stores surely you May be tempted to think we Are squeezing All the Money we can out of our class six customers now that Kajfes is in v charge of liquor sales. But higher prices and reduced selection Are not the Only ways we can improve this facility. The More variety in our merchandise Selec Tion in the class six store the More customers will come in and spend on our higher priced liquor if your Community has not already done it try these / strategies. Stock your class six with snacks of All types put video rentals in the store and make the store More attractive to our younger customers. Re member the kids of today Are the drinkers of Tomor Row if not tonight. Be sure pop drinks wine Cool ers Are prominently displayed near the snacks and videos not in the Back with the higher Quality Stock. Thus Revenue enhancement not draw Down is the key concept in the class six stores. The additional funds generated Are available for Community projects that the Community commander selects. General Community issues More Money can be saved for the Community or for your own Pri vate project by extending the time Between Community maintenance projects or eliminating them Alto Gether. Stop painting stripes in the parking lots. Don t replace damaged or missing traffic signs. Pick up trash half As often As you do now. Don t mow grass until it begins to go to seed. Lucky communities May Well never have to mow again if their Resi dents can be made to tolerate mess. These Are just a few of the Many techniques that can be used you will be Able to think of so Many More. You see that Many Means Are available to the creative Community commander to see his never her Community through draw Down. At the sometime the commander can preserve valuable funds for favored projects As mentioned above. As an additional incentive for commanders to get their communities through draw Down we Are offering 30 Days leave in Honolulu and priority placement for the commander next promotion window. This offer will be extended to the top 10 Community commanders in Europe As judged by Lack of complaints from their communities. Good Luck commanders 7 Kenneth Shepard works in Furth Germany. =.".- Battle tanks More than two Complete Marine Divi Sions six aircraft Carrier groups and three fourths of All Active duty tactical air planes. The result of this awesome modern warfare array was an unexpected Low Casu airy Victory that will probably enraptured the time of military analysts and historians for decades to come. " / no doubt the draw Down is a heavy Drain on the military manpower Pool in both Quantity and Quality As uncertainty declining career prospects and reduced Quality of life programs in the communities affect the average service member s life in addition the reduction in personnel has led to the much feared hollowed out army with most of its 12 Divi Sions two of which Are already slated for inactivation reporting below Par strength just this past summer the 1st armoured div in Germany lost the equivalent a full brigade formerly deployed to my Hometown. Furthermore the Navy is desperately scrambling for More ships to meet worldwide commitments while aircraft in All services Are grounded for Lack of fuel.-. ". I would like to encourage the newly elected con Gress to show More responsibility for those who serve in uniform and to reverse the downward spiral of cuts combined with More and More overseas Nis Sions. In detail my suggestions Are yes i am not a certified expert on military affairs _. " 1. Restore 12 or slightly More Complete army and three Marine corps divisions at least 12 Active Carrier groups and As Many Active duty fighter wings As the strained budget situations allows 2. Provide for extensive Supply support and trans port units to beef up frontline troops. 3. Do not consider soldiers As Globo cops. Rather underscore the military s traditional objectives this Well defend.-,."-remember the line and define a Clear Cut strategy for overseas deployment. 4. If military Force is required abroad use it in sufficient numbers i.e., Superior strength to ensure maximum Security for those who do the Tough  5. Stop the cuts in Quality of life programs. Forc ing Quality people out is relatively easy. Getting them Back in is not. R 6. Encourage your allies to do likewise. Even with out a Fulda Gap cubans in Africa soviets in Afghanistan and nukes in North Korea the world is  place. _ my proposals Are not designed to help curb exist ing and future budget deficits. And please do not  me. I am not a Borer again Hawk indulging in cold War nostalgia and praying for the coming of some unshaved Middle East cur to keep us Busy. But we must be aware that every Dollar saved through defense cuts May endanger american and Allied lives in future conflicts whoever predicted the Kuwait crisis before it started and should be a heavy Burden on the minds of those responsible for the gradual reactivation of America fighting machine. Christian Fuhrer lives in Mannheim Germany pages sunday december 4, 1994