European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 stars and stripes thursday april 5 2007 stars stripes Thomas l Kelsch publisher Richard Braun Genera manager Europe it col Stephen Oconor commander news and editorial Robb Grinostaff Doug Clawson executive editor managing editor Europe Sam Amrhein Europe Bureau chief Joseph Giordono Mideast Bureau chief Mami Mcentee assistant Bureau chief Washington do assistant managing editors Mary Bender news Sean Moores sports Brian Bowers features Christopher six Patrick Dickson news editor Joe Gromelsky web editor addresses us Mal unit 29480 Apo a 09211 International mail Postrach 133064345 Griesheim Germany fax Dan 3498416 Civ 0 email news letters Central office 529 14th Street new suite 350 Washington do 200451301 phone Dan 3127630900 or Civ 202 7610900 fat 7610890 editorial director 529 14th St new suite 350 Washington do 200451301 phone Dan 3127630945 or Civ 202 7610945 How to Cal 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fax Civ 202 7610890 email printed in Germany by Hurr yet As  Deutsc Mand printed m Italy by de Trice Tel Estampa stars and stripes Dps 017252 is published Dairy except Christmas and new yeas for 50 cents daily and sunday by tie stars and stripes Central office 52914th St new suite 350 Washington do 200451301 periodicals postage paid at Washington do postmaster Send address changes to european stars and stripes unit 29480 Apo a 09211 ombudsman David Mazzare iia the stars and stripes ombudsman protects the free flow of news and information reporting any attempts by the military or other authorities to undermine the newspapers Independence the ombudsman also responds to concerns and questions from readers and monitors coverage for fairness accuracy timeliness and balance the ombudsman welcomes comments from readers and can be contacted by email at or by phone at 2027610945 european and Pacific stars and stripes 2007 stars and stripes web site  letters to the editor ensuring rations Field rations failing gis Chicago Tri Bune article March 26 Mideast edition new Field rations up calorie count Europe edition is misleading combat rations Are developed and tested thoroughly to ensure War fighters receive adequate calorie Sand nutrition to Complete their Mission War fighters in combat missions typically do not eat their entire ration because they Cany everything with them War fight ers make Tough life death decisions most will choose to take More ammo than food on missions they Fields trip meals read to eat to lighten their Load because every ounce is precious to a War fighter in Stead of consuming three full makes daily 3900 War fighters typically con sume 16002400 calories per Day though their bodies often require More Energy this is generally a transient Condi Tion during deployments but can contrib Ute to modest weight loss that is Wel Toler ated by healthy people we have studied this extensively and Mere is no evidence that excessive weight loss is prevalent among War fighters deployed to Afghani Stan in fact among 10th Mountain Divi Sion soldiers studied during a nine month deployment in Afghanistan during 2006 body weight loss averaged about 3 pounds one solution is tile new first strike ration which provides 3000 calories and reduces weight by 49 percent and cube by 55 percent compared to three makes during Field testing of More than 7000 frs Warf fighters consumed nearly 100 percent of the ration ensuring they were getting both caloric and nutrition requirements based on War fighter feedback 83 percent preferred the fsr Over a Fields ripped Are consequently the office of the surgeon general approved the fsr and it was placed on an accelerated procurement pro Gram for fall 2007 availability our dedicated team takes the combat ration Mission very seriously we will continue to ensure our world class War fighters receive world class combat rations Gerald Darsch director Dod combat feeding directorate Natick Soldier research development and engineering Center Natick mass offer different types of res after Reading the article that it Dave Moore a Navy medical officer finds meals read to eat contain too few Calo Ries in wondering if the general asked the troops what percentage of those res they actually consume perhaps the answer lies not in adding More calories to the res but changing what s in them to make them More Appeal ing my experiences with soldiers who Are Given res to eat and attempting to con sume them myself show that very few eat everything in the package if those sol Diers Are in fact eating everything in Tell us what you Tomik stars and stripes welcomes your comments on editorials and columns that Are published in tie newspaper and values letters on topics of importance in the lives of our readers ail letters must be signed and must include the writers address or base and Telephone number please limit All letters to 300 words we Reserve the right to edit letters for length taste and clarity Send your letters to us mail stars and stripes unit 29480 Apo a 09211 International mail stars and stripes Postrach 1330 64345 Griesheim via country code 0 Dan 3498395 email their res then perhaps the answer would be to have different types of res High calorie for the extractive Soldier Low fat local for the average Soldier Low fat local Hig fiber for the mature Soldier capt Kathleen Ryland Masad air base Iraq where responsibility belongs i feel regret and sorrow for the families of anyone injured or killed during our country campaigns in the Middle East it is grossly negligent of the us govern ment not to account for the number of civil Ian contractors who have died while serv ing Here Bidden War dead article March however i have to say that holding or the us military in any Way responsible for those deaths or expecting compensation from them is out of line before anyone can apply for a position with Abr that will cause him to serve in the area of responsibility he is aware of the risks even if he were a ridiculously sheltered person i cannot imagine anyone would not at least suspect that working in a War zone could be just a Little dangerous every Job posting on Kors web site for position in the Middle East states it should be understood that employment May be located in potentially dangerous areas including combat or War zones this might involve the possibility of suffering harm by dangerous forces or Friendly fire these dangers Are inherent to working conditions in a dangerous environment did the family members not know they were going into a War zone if they Felt they were not adequately protected Why didst they quit they were there for the Money not out of some sense of patriotism or duty Why else would someone want to come Here working As a contractor and not As a military member for a six figure an Nual income with the first tax free As opposed to the third of that amount the military personnel Are getting is the answer doonesbury sorry if i seem cold hearted but they Are Here for the Money they accepted the risks the responsibility for tragic consequences should be Laid where it belongs tech sol Kenneth Beard Balad air base Iraq contractors on Money Trail i feel sorry for the families these private contractors left behind bid Den War however they know and knew the dangers of what they were get Ting into no one ordered them to go to Iraq and find employment the simple and hard truth is they followed the Money Trail whether someone is a truck Driver or a private Security contractor for Blackwater for he is getting paid far better in a War zone than he would if he were working in Columbus Ohio these individuals know it is dangerous in certain that when they Are handed a helmet and some Type of body Armor they figure it out rapidly this is the same Rea son a truck Driver is being paid Between a year to do what would normally be Worth in the states in deeply saddened that their families feel they Are owed some Type of recognition but this is just not the Case private contractors Are not soldiers airmen sail ors or marines and should not be afforded the same honors capt David Powell Baghdad spots Are for veal volunteers shame on those who Park in the Volun Teer of the month parking spots who Are not real volunteers first of All they  act like they didst see the sign right in front of their car then they  cover up their shame by lying that Treyve left their Volunteer car tag at Home i live in the Wiesbaden Germany Community and most of our programs would not survive without our volunteers my own children Benefit from the boy scouts girl scouts family readiness group Booster club Parent teacher association spouses club and youth sports not to mention their teachers who put in extra hours for special programs these selfless volunteers dont earn an extra paycheck Many of them even use their own personal leave time from their Day jobs and family to serve our Community about the Only things we can give to these wonderful people is a certificate and the great frontline designated parking space at our Post Exchange and commis sary we cant give them Back time or Money we can at least try to show them How important they Are with their special parking spot so the next time someone is tempted to use that spot think again be an honest and conscientious citizen and do the right thing Park somewhere else Chris Christensen Wiesbaden Germany by Garry Trudeau say it at so governor rom gym health the on look 15 How i look Haj 60w6to chah6z