European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 13, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 letters to the editor Friday january 13,1995 european edition col Steven s. Hoffman Usan conf Namdor publisher Bernard a. 20vist0sk1 a a editor a a. News and editorial Deborah Absher nows . Bill Wal car a  Bob Wicker sports editor. George Manaa. City editor to write us unit 29400 Apoate 092t1. Or Postrach 11 14 37 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to Call us dial 06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-6 plus Extension As follows news ext 237, 255,282, 226,326. Sports ext 225,269, 263, 332,321, 221. Features ext. 230,245,341, letters to editor ext. 206, 400, business news ext. 326. News bureaus Heidelberg Germany Effia Bathan room 117, r6mersir.104, 691 is Holdenberg Telephone Dan 3707010 or civilian 06221-23421tblafa 06221-10554, Kaiserslautern Germany Kevin Daugherty and Idyla Thalman. 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Irresponsible pet owner i believe the owners of the Rottweiler a dog ordered out of housing after attack on girl a Jan. 3 should take full responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences for what their pet has done to the Little girl. The wife was acting irresponsibly in the first place by leaving the dog alone with her own 3-year-old child for even one minute. No matter How much Faith they have placed in their dog they should be aware of the fact a Rottweiler is Well known As a potentially aggressive fighting dog. No matter How mild mannered the dog May seem rottweilers Are still very Strong dogs arid could easily turn on them or one of their children just As easily As it has already turned on someone else. If it is True they did not even apologize to the family of the Little girl they should at least Stop for a minute and consider the fact the Little girl will carry the mental and physical scars of the assault for a Long time to come. Not to mention most of the families living in the housing area Are probably now afraid to let their children outside without an adult around to fight off this neighbourhood menace. I wonder what kind of training they have Given this dog if they arc allowing it to be the a few minute baby Sitter of their children. This whole episode raises the questions concerning discipline of pets kept in a family housing area. Should the military authority set rules arid require mandatory training for families living in the housing areas on How to control their pets and protect themselves from dogs such As this one should they also consider placing restrictions on what Breed of dogs can be kept in a housing area this May be a Shock for the owner of the Rottweiler but muzzle or no muzzle by a 125-Pound dog can still inflict lasting harm on a child. Spec. Gayla s. Johns shape Belgium does no to consider teachers essential personnel thereby not providing delivery. Why did t the writer retire in Ameri Ca Patricia Mossop Frankfurt Germany c to our readers a at the mercy of the mail in reply to a recent retirees lament about loss of a a personal mailboxes at Rhein main a i can Only speak for myself a but no teacher at any of the four Frankfurt schools has Ever had a personal Mailbox. We instead Are at the mercy of Mil com. These Good people Arentt usually mail clerks. Often our mail languishes for Days until someone principal Secretary Supply clerk can retrieve it. Although i have orders the army let us know what you think we encourage our readers a especially those who have never submitted a letter a to write to us. Letters expressing readers View Points or opinions Are published Dally on this Page. All letters must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Send to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Or fax country code 49 06155 601-395, Dan 346-8395. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. A military update 1 subsistence allowance due for revision it a some traditions deserve to die. Pioneers of american football for example set goal posts on goal lines where for years they broke players Bones. Finally somebody wised up and moved them Back. Now say Pentagon officials its time to neutralize an element of military pay that for years has bruised morale and raised lumps on the logic of the conv sensation system. The offender is the asic allowance for subsistence a tax free meal allowance paid monthly to most service members. Pay officials Arentt bothered by its Cost a More than �3 billion annually what rankles is the disparity the allowance creates Between officers and enlisted serv ice members deployed and no deployed troops seagoing and land bound members and Barrack dwellers arid people living with families. By the end of this month the Pentagon will Tell Congress what options it s studying to modify or eliminate the 45-year-old allowance. One option gaining favor if budgets allow is to merge the allowance into Basic pay. More modest reforms include a establishing a single allowance rate for officers and enlisted members. A readjusting the allowance to reflect actual food costs. A standardizing allowance entitlement and recoupment policies among services. A eliminating a dining Hall surcharge that makes the allowance More difficult to track. A most services favor Bas Reform Quot said a senior pay official. A we want to Cost out the options and give people in the Field a Chance to see what the better system  the threadbare theory behind the allowance is that the military is obliged to feed the troops. When it can to ant puked Start Mth 50 tips its obliged to provide Cash so troops can buy their own meals. The  wet when ranks were filled with draft induced bachelors who usually ate in mess Halls. But since the Advent of All Volunteer Force the military has grown older More married and More reliant on the food allowance to stretch the family budget. The allowance for enlisted serv ice members is usually $209 a month officers receive $146. That disparity alone is a clue to How convoluted food allowances have be Tom Philpott come. It jolts morale therefore when the allowance is Cut off. That happens when enlisted members Are assigned to ship or Field duty. A recent disparities in the pay Merit of the allowance during joint duty assignments have fuelled fires for change. Marines sent to Aviano Italy for bosnian Relief operations found themselves serving Side by Side with air Force members who Drew hundreds of dollars More per month in allowances. The air Force protects the pay of its members by having them deploy under temporary duty orders. The allowance not Only continues but members also become eligible for per diem. The Marine corps prefers a afield duty for its troops which typically Means tents no allowance and Little or no per diem. President Clinton last fall signed an executive order giving the services authority to pay the allowance during deployments even when meals Are provided. The change did not Benefit shipboard personnel however and  the Marine corps has failed to take full advantage citing budget constraints. In Avi Ano marines still lose the allowance although they now receive a partial per diem of $3.50 a Day half what they lose in the allowance. Merging the allowance into Basic pay would protect All service members from a pay loss during deployment including sailors. Even marines in Aviano would Stop subsidizing part of their own opera Lions. The Pentagon might not go As far As Canada the United kingdom and Australia which provide free meals to deployed forces. These countries View it simply As the Cost of doing business. But even if service members have to buy their own meats aboard ship or in the Field the actual Cost would be Only $140 or so a month leaving enlisted members to pocket almost $70 More a month than they do now. While it All makes sense. Pentagon officials do. Worry about the Cost. Providing the allowance to cd Miyone would add $380 million to the defense budget. On top of that shifting tax free allowance Money into taxable Basic pay would kill a tax advantage for members. That would have to be made up by raising Basic pay an extra $35 to $40 a month a total of $50 million a year. Finally there Are retirement costs to consider. Retired pay is determined by a fixed percent of the retiring members Basic pay. Whatever allowance Reform option the Pentagon embraces will be turned into draft legislation and sent to Congress Early next year services members could see an improved allowance a or see it finally disappear by the fall of 1996. Readers comments and suggestions Are welcomed unil to 0 Edi,0f�?~ the Safe �?�n-6�ripe�. Rig Tamay with a of course. \