European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 08, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 r the stars and stripes draw Down in Europe sunday january 8, 1995 change from Page 1 carry Laptop computers. They bring Back Wood carved african masks. The . Army Europe has All but completed its restructuring from two corps with four divisions and two a Mored cavalry regiments to a Force of one corps with two divisions each wit two combat brigades according to army in Europe figures. The air Force will be left with six major air bases less than half its 1980s total. The military Overall has spent Mil Lions an estimated $69 million by the end of this fiscal year on the redistribution and disposal of equipment and supplies it no longer needs. Total draw Down costs have exceeded $500 million. The army closed 500 installations i five years. Some were major american Urban complexes some Mere Antenna Sites. The department of defense dependents schools lost More than 50 percent of its pupils in Europe said school spokesman Hal Haggard. On the horizon we re looking at stabilization he said. And we re looking Forward to military Folk Are committed to a life of mobility while they Are in the service but Many educators fell in love wit the overseas life style and dug roots deep for decades. Like other civilians who serve those who serve their country Thedra Down forced Many to make pain Ful career choices such As transfers downgrades or leaving Europe Alto Gether. _ they left Many Beautiful facilities behind and Beautiful friends behind Haggard observed. The $12 million Nurnberg elementary school in Ger Many that opened in 1990 closed three years later As one of the largest Ameri can communities in Europe started to disappear. Also caught in the winds of change was the army and air Force Exchange service Europe. In 1992, it moved its Headquarters to finder Barracks in the former Sickols army Airfield in Fulda Germany stands deserted a victim of the . Military s draw Down. Is Flo Davo Onsoy Haggard Kirdorf near Niernberg from Mcgraw Ca sern when the army pulled out of Munich Germany. Cafes had been there since1969, when the army withdrew from Munich. Three years later now that the Nurnberg Community has also been slated to go away cafes will pick up stake again by summer and move to mama Kas Tel Germany better than a three hour drive to the West. _ the picture changes you have to be flexible said Exchange service spokeswoman Carrie Higley Krowka. The Exchange service took Over the Sal of books and magazines from stars and stripes last year. It also joined with the de sense commissary Agency to create the first combined commissary and Post Exchange dubbed Cux at Robinson bar Racks As the Stuttgart Germany Community melted Down to a Shadow of its former self. The worldwide grocer added another Rex to Costanzo in Sicily near Nas Sigo Nella. It s also considering one at Aschaffenbur and Gic Belstadt both in Germany said Gerri Young the Agency s spokeswoman. The criteria on where to locate stores for milk eggs Frozen lasagna and other food items include sales population and Dis Tance to the next store. Eighteen Miles and 20 minutes driving time to oreo cookies Are about the limit. That also and weather conditions. A. J ,.vL " the commissary Agency went from 126stores in Europe before the draw Down to 71, but Only from 13 countries to 12. The Oslo Norway facility closed. Some units worked during the draw Down to put themselves out of business. Such units included the 7th medical come Sai Barbara Slifer a spokeswoman for . Medical services in Lan Stuhl Germany. The medical folks encouraged people sorely on and attempted to bolster their Faith in Host nation services. American women Learned to have their babies in for eign hospitals and acquiesce to about week s stay of fawning care. And multilingual liaisons were established to help with communications be tween patient and care giver if needed. In a recent innovation the civilian health and medical program of the uni formed services launched a demonstration project allowing Many Active duty family members to obtain free emergency and routine medical care on the Economy. But those who remember having a Mili tary Hospital in Stuttgart Home to the mul tis ervice . European come still com Plain. The health services started the draw Down Era with two medical centers arid nine hospitals. It will finish with one medi Cal Center in Lan Stuhl and hospitals in Wiir Burg and Heidelberg All in air Force on july 1 is to take Over the former army Hospital in Frankfurt As contingency Jor standby medical facility. A very Lime cd car Hospital in Vicenza Italy is to close by the end of the fiscal year but even plans on changing can changer in the fall of 1990, As people in the first wave of units scheduled to move under the j draw Down were receiving their orders Tell ing their families and packing up the kid Sand family dog an unexpected conflict in the desert intruded. Some 75,000 soldiers in Europe along with 40,000 pieces of equipment tanks tents and other such trappings rushed to operations desert shield and desert storm in the persian Gulf to oust invading iraqi forces from Kuwait. After the War was Over in 1991, nearly every unit with Sand in its boots mostly from Vii corps disappeared from Europe. That is when the draw Down moved wit Hurricane Force. Commanders set up War rooms to organize their units were covered with thousand item task lists. With True military gusto com Manders called out wagons to and beat their timetables to earn Points on their efficiency reports. Facilities closed. Service members got or Ders. Civilians got Pink slips. Mayors in bavarian towns complained that their daughters were marrying . Servicemen Ana leaving with them. German women cried As their american Tea and Tennis partners quickly departed. _ Gen. Crosbie e. Saint commander of the . Army Europe was later to lament that the rapid evacuation nearly broke the Backbone of his army. The ghosts of huge troop towns such As Berlin Munich and soon Nurnberg mean Little to Many service members and their families settling into the restructured american military communities that re main. A when they ask where they can can of Maxwell House Coffee they May Grum ble that they need a ration card but Are glad to hear that the american store is Only 20minutes 7fqr All intents and Pupps by eff1e Battien Heidelberg Bureau Heidelberg Germany the draw Down in Europe officially ends this month. The final announcements Are to be re leased by late january but for All intents and purposes it s Over said Gen. Wilh am w. Crouch who assumed command of the . Army Europe from Gen. David m. within weeks according to a statement issued by the four Star commander Usa eur will have identified publicly All units to be withdrawn All installations that will close and most of the civilian spaces that will be affected by re Engi Neering Usa eur to its 65,000 the final Cut will affect Only hundreds of soldiers said col. Dick Bridges the army s senior spokesman in Europe. Round 18 of the cuts will contain no big surprises he said. Currently the army has 72,000 troops in Europe but nearly All of the excess of 7,000 have previously been identified for return to the states he said. The air Force too has Only mop Ping up to do. We have finished All of our major announce ments said Doug Moore spokesman Crouch for the . Air forces in Europe which has its Headquarters at Ramstein a Germany. The july 1, 1993, announcement that the command would withdraw from bit Burg a Germany and Soester Borg a Netherlands was the last major action taken regarding the closure of Safe bases Moore said. Rhein main a Ger Many was identified for drawing Down i March 1994. The Navy started the Post cold War Era with 15,000 Shore based Europe and currently has 12,000. The target is 10,000, said a . Naval forces Europe spokesman it. Ike Skelton. Since 1990, the european Force has been slashed from about 330,000 to 100,000 Servic members and the total military Community including service members civilians and their family Mem Bers has plummeted from 800,000 to about 275,000. The army is so serious about changing its focus away from the draw Down that senior officials now use the phrase re eng scering Usa eur in place of the term draw Down we Are no longer going to use the word that begins with a a said Bridges. We Are doing something new he said to emphasize that the a word no longer has applicability because it s the army has turned interest to the people who Are in Europe now and wants stability for troops and their families As soon As possible Bridges said.1 still he acknowledged installations May still close and units May move As the army continues to evaluate its efficiency. At the height of the draw Down in late 1991 and Early 199.2, about 10,000 troops and their families were packing their bags and leaving each month. By contrast the 7,000 Over the next year will be just Fin Ishing up Bridges said. " in 1990,100,000 . Civilians and local nationals were employed in the army command. That number will plateau at 38,000 by september this year said Lee Goeke the director of civilian personnel for the army in Europe. For the past four years the civilian personnel office has not hired More than 250 new employees each year Goeke said. But now the office is recruiting to fill More than 1,400 jobs mostly medical and Den Tal professionals child development specialists and food service workers the problem now Goeke said is to convince people that it s
