European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 9, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday december 9,1994 the stars and stripes Page 5 seen in Washington a the military displayed reckless disregard for the Well being of . Service members by administering experimental drugs to them during the persian Gulf War a senator says. The drugs designed to protect troops from biological or chemical weapons May have caused the mysterious illnesses collectively known As Gulf War syndrome according to a 53-Page report written by the staff of the Senate veterans affairs committee. The drugs probably did not protect soldiers against biological or chemical weapons it said. A on far too Many occasions the Pentagon has shown a feckless disregard for the health and Well being of . Service members a said sen. Jay Rockefeller the West Virginia Democrat who chairs the committee. A soldiers who Are exposed to dangerous substances without their knowledge or consent become veterans who do not receive the medical care and compensation to which they Are  according to the report the Pentagon did not get consent from Many people taking the drugs because of a wartime waiver granted by the food and drug administration. Even with the waiver however officials were required to warn people of the drugs risk but they did not the report said. Some troops were threatened with punishment if they did not obey orders to take the chemicals the report said. Many Gulf War veterans also were ordered to Tell no one about their vaccinations. Rockefeller compared use of the drugs during the 1991 Gulf War to Gas chamber experiments involving sailors and soldiers in the 1940s, radiation experiments Gulf War ills from the 1940s to the 1960s, Ltd experiments in the 1960s, and the testing of biological arid chemical agents that continue today at the military a Dugway proving ground in Utah. Defense department spokesman Jim Turner declined comment Wedgie Day saying the department had not seen the report. But the Pentagon has said the drugs were administered Only after the Fra approved their use for the War. Quot a a a a. R a a a the report said the most common symptoms reported by 150 service members surveyed by committee staffers included fatigue skin problems memory loss joint pain headaches personality changes diarrhoea vision trouble shortness of breath numbness sores bleeding and  Page 1 consistently underfunded in taking care of my soldiers a said Maddox who is about to retire after 35 years in uniform. A the diversion of that Money from. Training to Quality of life is my fault. I did it. But you need to be Able to turn the lights on. You be got to get the trash picked up. You have to pay the Utility Bills. I did not have the Money to do that and i diverted it. Am i proud of it absolutely  the disclosure comes less than a month after defense Secretary William Perry acknowledged that three stateside divisions a identified by army officers As the 1st inf. Div mech4th inf div Mech arid 2nd amur div a have slipped to c-3, indicating significant fighting deficiencies and vulnerabilities. But the army has Long tried to keep its Forward deployed units in Germany Korea Hawaii and Alaska ready to undertake full wartime missions Maddox a admission implies the strains now Felt by a military caught Between a shrinking defense department budget and a re meritless string of deployments to Somalia Kuwait Rwanda and More than two dozen other trouble spots. By the army a standards the combat divisions in Europe Are adequately trained a to undertake most wartime mis  few commanders would argue that National Security has been imperilled by the recent slippage but Many senior officers who served in the dispirited Post Vietnam a hollow army of the 1970s interpret current trends As portents of worse things to come. President Clinton announced last week he will seek an additional $25 billion in Pentagon spending Over the next six years. Army officials also acknowledged that they Hope the new Republican majority about to take Power on Capitol Hill will provide additional Short term funds in a supplemental appropriation Bill. A senior army official said that although combat divisions in Europe previously have been classified As less than fully ready a during the Vietnam War and operation desert storm for example a it was typically because crucial personnel and equipment had been seconded to another theater. This is the first time in memory that the entire european combat Force has Bee classified As c-2 because of insufficient training the official said. Readiness is a much debated topic in military circles and a difficult concept to quantify. But even with the cold War con front Congress an adequate training budget5 but Only 60 percent of the Money needed to operate the army a 370 bases and other installations in Germany Italy Belgium and the Netherlands. The appropriated sum was a absolutely not sufficient to care for soldiers and their families a at any level of decency a he said. Quot Maddox estimates he will have a $170 million shortfall this year even without undertaking any new construction or tackling a a backlog of repair and maintenance a Congress recently restricted the military a ability to divert funds without congressional approval arid Maddox said he is not certain now his successor Gen. William w. Crouch will make ends meet. They re still sticking in there with us but when a Soldier becomes convinced that we wont or can to take care of him or that we might Send him someplace where he a not competent to perform his Mission he Isnit going to stay with us. I think we re on the Edge. A Gen David m. Maddox signed to history being prepared to fight remains Paramount in the Credo of the u a. Military. Although forces in Europe Are no longer Likely to wage world War Iii against the russians the Chance of combat somewhere against some foe remains High. Should . Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina require extraction under fire for example a the 1st army div would Likely be part of a nato rapid deployment Force sent to provide cover army officials said. Maddox who has commanded the army in Europe since july 1992, said he funnelled $150 million from training funds to various Quality of life accounts in fiscal 1993 and did the same thing in fiscal 1994. In both years he added he received the subsequent Impact on training of the fund diversions in fiscal 1993 and 1994 was substantial. For example an army tank or Bradley fighting vehicle Crew in Germany is supposed to log at least 800 Miles annually in training Maneu vers to maintain Peak proficiency in 1993, the average slipped to 511 Miles and in 1994 was 560 Miles according to Maddox. Despite the woes Maddox noted that reenlistment in the past two years has been higher than at any time since 1988, with Many soldiers also requesting extensions of their Tours in Europe. A a a they re still sticking in there with us a he added. A but when a Soldier becomes convinced that we wont or can to take care of him or that we might Send him some place where he a not competent to perform his Mission he Isnit going to stay with us. I think we re on the  a further complication is the steady demand for . Soldiers elsewhere in the world. Since the persian Gulf War ended in 1991, the army in Europe has sent 22,000 troops on 51 deployments to 30 countries that is roughly double the number of soldiers deployed in the three decades before operation desert storm. Frequently individuals with technical skills a communications experts helicopter mechanics military police a Are dispatched again and Agam putting  the Soldier his or her family and the shorthanded unit left behind. A a in be got soldiers who were gone 320 Days last year. In be got a lot of them who were gone for 250 Days a Maddox said. A my View is that if you come to the United states army in Europe and you get an extended deployment during your three year tour you re of. But two or three of them a much of Maddox a tenure in Heidelberg has been spent trying to shrink a Force that in 1990 numbered 213,000 soldiers and 147 combat battalions to a Force that by next year is supposed to comprise 65,000 troops and 37 combat battalions. Not least among the army a tasks has been the return to the United states or the redistribution to other Heaters of More than 640,000 tons of excess ammunition and 24,000 pieces of Roll in Stock. A. A Maddox said the projected Force size of 65,000 should be adequate to handle the kinds of missions the army in Europe is asked to undertake. But his Public affairs officer col. Richard Bridges noted that some operations Are clearly beyond the Pale. A a a can we do another desert storm hell no we can to do another desert storm a Bridges said. A we sent 75,000 troops to saudi Arabia from Germany and we be got less than that now in All of  Page 1 _ whose profits support other morale welfare and recreation programs while commissaries Are designed to be merely self supporting. A when the number of people at a particular base gets Low it costs a disproportionate amount of appropriated funds to keep a full fledged commissary open a a Pentagon official said. If the Only options Are to close a commissary or Combine it with an Exchange and charge slightly higher prices on some items military officials Are willing to choose the latter course whenever possible. Cial about uation.�?�. Even if prices for commissary items Rise the official said they would still be lower than off base prices. A Overall its still a pretty Good Deal a he said. The combined commissary Exchange concept usually entails a higher total Cost to the consumer because the Price of a particular  an army and air Force Exchange service shop Pette for example is usually higher than it would be for the same item in a commissary. Quot military officials Are experimenting with a mix of operating scenarios to find what will work Best from the viewpoints of both management and Consumers. A to that end the two new tests in Germany will run differently from the a Acx Mart a a combined commissary Exchange facility that has existed for More than two years in Stuttgart Germany. Cafes runs the go Mart and Sells All items normally stocked by the commissaries at regular commissary prices a Cost plus a 5 percent surcharge. Other items normally stocked in exchanges such As clothing or housewares Are sold at Exchange prices. Quot the Pentagon official said it is his understanding that the defense commissary Agency will run the As Schaffenburg store and will sell regular commissary items at Cost plus 5 percent and cafes products at Normal Exchange prices. Quot _ that Model also is being used by the Navy at Nassi Gonella Sicily the official said. A in contrast cafes will run the Gie Belstadt store and will procure and sell commissary products the first 100 commissary inventory items selected by cafes for resale will be sold at Cost plus 5 percent. Other items will be sold at slightly higher prices. Cafes officials did not respond to questions about the Gie Belstadt and Aschaffenbur tests by press time thursday. A the combined 4commissaryrcxchange concept was launched by Congress in 1993 when lawmakers directed the Pentagon to test the idea at Carswell fab Texas in the Dallas fort Worth area. A a a that test originated after the announcement that the 7th bomb Wing Carswell a major Active duty unit would be deactivated and the base turned Over to air Force and Navy Reserve units. The Dallas fort Worth area has a huge Retiree population estimated to be As much As 100,000 people including family members who were concerned that the Carswell commissary would be shut Down. The a a by Mart at Carswell Sells All food items at regular commissary prices and All nonfood items a cleansers cosmetics tobacco products and the like rat Exchange service prices. _. _ ,. A second test of the by Mart concept is on tap for Homestead fab fla., and a third stateside location is under consideration. Pentagon officials Are analysing initial results from the Carswell test and should Forward a report to Congress soon probably within the next 60 Days. Contributing to this Story Stafl writer Wayne v. Hall in Darmstadt Germany