European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 19, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday april 19 2007 stars and stripes pages air Force shift in funds May affect payroll in i by Seth Robson stars and stripes Grafe Wohr Germany the air Force said wednesday that it might not be Able to pay its airmen in the coming months if the Pentagon is forced to shift some million to the army to fund the War in Iraq the army announced this week that it will slow spending and prioritize repairs to equipment As it Waits for Congress to re View emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in addition the Pentagon has asked Congress for the of to shift billion in funds meant for the Navy and air Force to pay the army operating expenses according to an army news release that shift of funds could affect the air Force in several ways according to maj Morshe Araujo an air Force spokeswoman the air Force believes this is a prudent measure and expects that the funds will be restored quickly so that military payroll will not be disrupted Araujo said in an email response to stars and stripes some cos reduction actions Are already under Way and options under review in clude delaying or limiting participation in Pentagon asks to redirect billion from Navy of to pay army operating expenses training exercises delaying personnel Hir ing and delaying much needed facility maintenance projects a protracted delay in passage of the supplemental budget May trigger yet other actions such As reductions to peacetime flying training and defer ment of aircraft inductions to depots Bottom line we need the Bill to be passed quickly to avoid any further impacts to readiness she wrote when asked to clarify if that meant air men might not get paid Arauyo said by Telephone that is the air Force state ment for its part the army is telling com Manders that it needs to stretch the Money it has and to slow spending in cer Tain areas so that War related activities and support to families can continue Accord ing to an army news release the Bush administration has requested an additional billion in War funding but the request has stalled As Congress tied those funds to a deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq president Bush has vowed to veto such a Bill leaving the army with Little funds to carry out its Mission in Iraq among the Bel tightening measures being considered by the army Are a freeze on new civilian hiring from outside the army and laying off temporary employees the statement said it is unclear How the funding shortfall might affect army units and families in Europe said it col Elizabeth Hibner a us army Europe spokeswoman we Are currently assessing the Poten tial spending impacts that May be mandated by the army the Impact if any cannot be known at this time she said in an email response a spokesman for installation manage ment command Europe echoed her state ments no decisions have been made concern ing income Europe personnel or services As a result of the message but we will be working closely with i com Headquarters and the senior Mission commander to assess the possible scope and extent of future impacts in Europe he said according to the army statement begin Ning in mid april the army will slow the Purchase of repair parts and other sup plies relying instead on existing inventory to keep equipment operational priority will be Given to repair and refurbishment of immediately needed War fighting equip ment while training and other no Mission critical equipment repair will be deferred officials said in addition the Purchase of Day today supplies with government charge cards will be restricted nonessential travel will be postponed or cancelled and shipment of equipment and supplies will be restricted or deferred altogether unless needed immediately for War efforts the statement said the army estimates that even with these spending restrictions and the possible shift of billion from the air Force and Navy funds Are sufficient to keep operations running Only until the end of june Navy officials in Europe have received no direction no tasking and no change in the anticipated budget said it cmdr Wendy Snyder a spokeswoman for Navy Region Europe stars and stripes reporter Sandra Jontz contributed to this Story email Seth Robson at commander announces stars and stripes move to Kaiserslautern base by Kevin Dougherty stars and stripes Griesheim Germany european stars and stripes will move its Headquarters next year from its longtime Home near Darmstadt to Kaiserslautern As part of the latest actions involving the restructuring of military forces overseas in a memo to employees air Force it col Stephe Oconnor stars and stripes theater com Mander said us army Europe will inactivate the Darmstadt Mili tary Community As part of its Fis Cal 2008 Force Structure changes that action will necessitate mov ing stripes Headquarters and the site chosen for stripes new Home is Kleber Kaseane in Kaiserslautern transforming Usa eur is a very challenging process Oconnor wrote we ask for everyone support As we undertake this very important Mission which will result in appropriate forces stationed in the right places to meet the challenges facing our nation the memorandum was disseminated at a staff meeting wednes Day similar gatherings were held also tin wednesday for ser Vic members and civilians in numerous other communities prior correction an april 18 Story about pfc Mario Lesesne facing court martial on premed Tat a murder charges should have stated that Lesesne is As signed to is army medical activity Heidelberg Germany coming Friday a list of us army Europe fiscal 2008 transformation moves to thursdays official announce ment on base closings unit moves and other actions As a result of these unit actions Oconnor stated there will be a reduction of approximately 1720 soldiers 3300 family members 480 us civilians and 530 local National civilians in Germany in Italy the us army population will decrease by approximately 62 soldiers and 93 family members stars and Snipes Learned of the actions last week but agreed to withhold the Story until army officials notified German officials and Community members which has occurred Over the past two Days the daily newspaper an unofficial publication of the defense department has been based at the Airfield in Griesheim for nearly 60 years Over the years the com Pound has attracted its share of notables from Joe Dimaggio and Eddie Fisher to Rick Nelson and Bing Crosby in Exchange for a bottle of Gin jazz Singer Sarah Vaughn dropped by in 1958 to per form a two hour concert for news employees prior to the us military arrival the Airfield was used by the German air Force and before that As a base for zeppelins around world War i Manfred von Richthofen also known As the red Baron purportedly used the Airfield Ernail Kevin Dougherty at Soldier who refused second Iraq deployment is released by Mark Stclair stars and stripes Agustin Aguayo the army private who jumped out of his bedroom window to avoid a Sec Ond deployment to Iraq was released from military prison wednesday found guilty of desertion and missing movement at a March 6 court martial at Leighton bar Racks in Wurzburg Germany Aguayo was sentenced to eight months confinement but was credited with 161 Days served having been incarcerated at Mannheim confinement facility since late september Abuayos release came just a Day after the Pentagon announced the deaths of two 1st battalion 18th infantry regi ment soldiers and the Day be fore a memorial ceremony in Schweinfurt for three others in his unit so far the unit has suffered nine fatalities since deploying in August and september if Aguayo had deployed he would have been serving in the 118 As a combat medic aside from confinement Aguayo 35 was also Given a bad conduct discharge which he has since appealed it col Elizabeth Hibner a us army Europe spokeswoman said in a Telephone interview wednesday according to Hibner because of the Appeal Aguayo has two decisions either stay As a member of his unit until the process is completed or request voluntary excess leave from the army and go stateside to his Home of record leave requires approval of the regional court martial Conven Damian army pc Agustin Aguayo a us army medic who had refused to return for a second tour to Iraq was released from a military prison ing authority the commander of 7th army joint multinational training command in Grafe Wohr Germany As of wednesday Aguayo has not re Quested any leave As of now Hibner said stays with the unit until he files for leave hell be on Normal Active duty status with the same standards As All the other soldiers in the unit if Given permission to go Back to the states Aguayo would be on Active duty status until his regularly accrued leave expires at which time he would no longer receive any pay Hibner said email Mark Stclair