European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 stars and stripes monday april 16 2007 Thomas t Kelsch publisher Richard 3raun general manager Europe it col Stephen Oconnor commander news and editorial robs grids of Doug Clawson executive editor managing editor Europe Sara Anrhein 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 or Orzelski web editor addresses us mail unit 29480 Apo a 09211 International mail Postrach 1330 64345 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 fax 202 7610890 editorial director 529 14th St new suite 350 Washington do 200451301 phone Dan 3127630945 or Civ 202 7610945 How to Call us 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stars and stripes welcomes your comments on editorials and columns that Are published in the newspaper and values Fetters on topics of importance in the lives of our readers Ahi Etters must be signed and must include the writers address or base and Telephone number please limit All letters to 300 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 pos Faeh 1330 64345 Griesheim via fac country code 0 Dan 3498395 email pregnancy is no excuse i agree with pregnancy has its place getter april i have not experienced such a thing in my Community but when i was at fort Hood Texas they had these parking places the clinic issued a Spe Cial parking pass that was clearly visible if you were a High risk pregnancy and Only then were you authorized those places the places were very limited though i thought when a woman is pregnant she should get As much exercise As possible pregnancy is not a disease or illness it is a temporary condition i am a Mother of four i have never found it necessary to use that excuse to get a bet Ter parking place i was Active duty for three out of the four pregnancies and still participated in battalion level runs with a special belly strap i am not saying that pregnant women need to run a Fourmile run every week but come on is it that hard to walk the extra 100 feet to a building Entrance in my opinion they should have reserved parking Only for the handicapped period As far As parking spaces for other things that should be eliminated parking is scarce enough Here Erica Calderon Mannheim Germany parking no picnic either Way in response to pregnancy has its the reserved spot for expectant mothers makes sense the parking privilege  be abused and in sure integrity will prevail one thing to think about though even if All the reserved spots were opened to every one it would still be hard to find a parking space especially front door service master sgt David Underwood Hickam air Force base Hawaii gender segregation wont curb assaults Deavours by second it Robin Deavours As a female and an officer in the us army i am beyond appalled by the blatant disregard to the a mys equal Opportunity program in Kathleen parkers april 3 column relaxed rules have stoked sexual conflict in War zone the column addresses sexual assault in today Mili tary i concede that not All of her findings Are without Merit first she states that there Are cases in which women file false com plaints of sexual As Sault to include rape and that some women exaggerate sexual As Sault stories the fact is the majority of claims Are backed by supporting evidence and according to the Fri about 3 percent of reports for rape Are same percentage As other major crimes the military has focused significant time and Energy into prevention and awareness programs for sexual harassment and sexual assault there is also mandatory drug awareness training and nuclear Bio logical and chemical Abc training does this imply that no one will do drugs and that every person will react properly in the Case of a chemical attack no it is my belief that the military makes a greater Effort to thwart alcohol and drug abuse As Well As sexual assault and harassment than any other organization in the United states the column then states that men commonly hold resentment toward women in the armed forces and that men Are forced to pretend that women Are equals and men know there not implying that this resent ment leads to aggression toward females i agree that men and women Are not always viewed As equals specifically in the Field or with physical fitness requirements this however does not excuse behaviour As vile As assaulting females to relieve this particular frustration perhaps raising the female army physical fitness standards and height and weight requirements to higher Stan Dards would be the first step in achieving True Equality As a female and an equal Opportunity representative for my company i understand better than most the problems women face in a predominately male environment do i agree that the solution is to violate the Wom ens rights and not allow them to serve in the military no do i agree that women should be kept out of the eve changing com Bat zone no do i agree that gender Segre gation of the armed forces is what the Mili tary needs to improve its performance absolutely not the military defines sexual assault As any actual or attempted sexual touching without consent the civilian sector does not com pile statistics based on this Broad definition the military also has problems with prejudice discriminatory behaviour and extremist organizations these problems Are similar to our civilian counterparts in us culture regressing to the segregation of the armed forces is not the solution Parker then mentions that gender Segre gation of the armed forces would help re Duce the rate of divorce following world War n the divorce rate significantly in creased when returning soldiers found things rather different from How they had left them or were themselves tremendously changed by War separation is hard for even the strongest marriage and the fact that women and men work together has not created a plague of i doonesbury Vorce within the military the military re wards soldiers when they marry there is an increase in the Basic allotment for hous ing soldiers Are then allowed to move out of the Barracks and there is an increase in Basic allowance for subsistence in addition if a Soldier is deployed he or she is entitled to a family separation allowance Many soldiers marry with these incentives in mind to insinuate that segregating women from men will solve the problems with the High divorce rate would be equivalent to eliminating All fast food restaurants from the us to solve the country High Obe sity rates people make choices and should hold themselves accountable for them Parker says that with a military segregated by gender commanders and fighting men could focus on the business of War rather than tending to gender skirmishes that distract commanders i Haven been in the states since August 2006 but i Hope gender roles have not regressed to the Days where women were Only expected to Bear children and clean House women Are involved in these Heaters of War in almost every aspect and deserve appreciation for their efforts and sacrifice people like Kathleen Parker who has never served in the military offer unrealistic totalitarian solutions to improve our Basic principles and foundations As Long As there Are people in the military working in stress Ful situations there will always be conflict of some kind a solution to the number of As saults on women in the military is to sup port harsher punishments for those few of fenders Lef s not blame the Pentagon and others who have capitulated to feminist pressures to insert women into combat but rather blame those who commit such horrendous acts against women serving in today military second it Robin Deavours is a signal officer currently stationed at bal act air base Iraq she has spent eight months in country by Garry Trudeau dear anyway tub gom5back to the 61nwahpimov5p1d Cost Arica tqm5p5r squally