United States Armed Forces Germany

On mornings when he hasn't had to fly the night before and isn't exhausted, U.S. Army helicopter pilot Melvin Dixon has been getting up at 6 a.m. lately to catch the evening network news as it's broadcast here from the United States. "I figure it must be getting interesting, because O.J. Simpson's getting to be about No.

The U.S. Army admitted that it had misfired two training rounds, which hit and slightly damaged the roof of a southern German elementary school where children were playing in the yard. Classes were over for the day Tuesday when the rounds hit in the town of Kirchenthumbach, said Mayor Johann Kleber, and no one was injured. The town is a half-mile from the edge of the Army's largest European training range at Grafenwoehr. The Army apologized for the incident and launched an investigation.

U.S. military hospitals in Europe are quietly taking extraordinary steps to prepare for mass casualties from the Persian Gulf should war break out, but the key facilities still appear woefully ill-equipped to treat large numbers of wounded. A lack of beds, specialists and burn units have some doctors worried about plans for the three major American hospitals--all in Germany--to serve as a crucial way station for soldiers seriously wounded in the gulf.

A California National Guard soldier who was found dead last month in Germany and who became the center of an ongoing dispute between the guard and the U.S. Army, killed himself, according to an autopsy report released Thursday. Meanwhile, a separate document indicated that a National Guard official has filed a complaint with the Department of Defense Inspector General's office, alleging that three Army officers conspired to wrongly accuse the man of being a deserter.

The Army has reversed itself and reinstated benefits to the widow and three young children of a dead California National Guard soldier it had previously said was a deserter. Army and National Guard officials said this week that Fatima O'Neal, who said she was forced onto welfare a year ago after her husband's disappearance, will receive all benefits, including $200,000 in life insurance, due the widow of any soldier who dies on active duty. Army spokesman Lt. Col.

President Bush's announcement Thursday that he is sending nearly a quarter million more troops to the Persian Gulf reflects the military payoff for the end of the Cold War and 18 months of massive change in the international balance of power. No longer needed to stand guard against the Soviet Union in Europe, an entire Army corps--about 110,000 soldiers--will be moved from Germany to Saudi Arabia, cutting U.S. armed forces in Europe in half.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said Thursday that he may send as many as 100,000 more troops to join the 210,000 American personnel already deployed in Saudi Arabia to counter an expanded and increasingly fortified Iraqi force. A major element of the buildup is expected to be heavy armor units, many of them likely to be rotated from Europe, to match up against a huge force of Iraqi tanks now in defensive positions in Kuwait.

The pacifist Greens party said Friday that 100 U.S. soldiers stationed in Germany have filed for conscientious objector status to avoid Persian Gulf war duty and that another 40 American GIs have deserted. Greens in the northern city of Bremen have formed a committee called "Action Winter Vacation" with other pacifist groups to help the soldiers file applications for objector status, said Martin Thomas, a Greens leader in Bremen's state government.

In an attempt to revive Germany's battered image, Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government moved onto the political offensive Tuesday, pledging an additional $5.5 billion to support the U.S.-led Gulf War effort and unveiling a plan to tighten export controls to help halt the flow of military-related goods. He also ordered German army antiaircraft missile systems to Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, to help deter a possible Iraqi attack against the alliance's southernmost country.

U.S. military officials downplayed reports Tuesday that they do not have enough space, qualified personnel or equipment to accommodate heavy combat casualties from the Persian Gulf. Officials said they have classified contingency plans to deal with an influx of American wounded if fighting breaks out with Iraq. Bill Swisher, a spokesman for the U.S.

The Army has reversed itself and reinstated benefits to the widow and three young children of a dead California National Guard soldier it had previously said was a deserter. Army and National Guard officials said this week that Fatima O'Neal, who said she was forced onto welfare a year ago after her husband's disappearance, will receive all benefits, including $200,000 in life insurance, due the widow of any soldier who dies on active duty. Army spokesman Lt. Col.

U.S. Army investigators are looking into allegations that three male instructors at an Army training center in Darmstadt sexually assaulted or harassed female students, a newspaper reported Monday. Stars and Stripes, the unofficial U.S. military newspaper, said authorities are looking into allegations of rape, sodomy, cruelty and maltreatment of subordinates. The Army instructors, who were not identified, have been removed from their jobs at the training center, the newspaper said.

The Berlin Justice Ministry said Friday that it has arrested two people in connection with the 1986 bombing of a West Berlin nightclub, lending new momentum to a high-profile case that appeared to have fizzled until this year. The German authorities also said they had issued arrest warrants for four other people believed to be linked to the explosion, one a member of the Libyan secret service and the others former staffers of the Libyan Embassy in East Berlin.

On mornings when he hasn't had to fly the night before and isn't exhausted, U.S. Army helicopter pilot Melvin Dixon has been getting up at 6 a.m. lately to catch the evening network news as it's broadcast here from the United States. "I figure it must be getting interesting, because O.J. Simpson's getting to be about No.

The Stars and Stripes was lowered for the last time over U.S. Army headquarters in Berlin, formally ending the American presence in the once-divided city after nearly half a century. U.S. Maj. Gen. Walter Yates stood stiffly to attention as five infantrymen wearing battle dress folded up the banner in a solemn 10-minute ceremony at dusk under cloudy skies. The flag will be handed to U.S. Secretary of Defense William J.

In the summer of 1969, Alfred M. Baker was blown up by a satchel full of Viet Cong explosives. The explosion threw Baker 20 feet into air; the impact broke his back in two places, ripped off almost half his face and snapped bones all over his body. Medics deposited him in the triage section for those left to die. Before a priest began giving him last rites, Baker managed to clear away the teeth and bits of gum knocked into his mouth. "Get the f--- away," he mumbled to the priest.

On Friday, U.S. Army strength in Germany will officially drop from four to two divisions as the withdrawal of American forces in Europe proceeds apace. In separate ceremonies, the 3rd Armored Division, headquartered in Frankfurt, and the 8th Infantry Division, located in Bad Kreuznach, will be officially deactivated. From a peak strength of about 340,000 before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the number of U.S.

A California National Guard soldier who was found dead last month in Germany and who became the center of an ongoing dispute between the guard and the U.S. Army, killed himself, according to an autopsy report released Thursday. Meanwhile, a separate document indicated that a National Guard official has filed a complaint with the Department of Defense Inspector General's office, alleging that three Army officers conspired to wrongly accuse the man of being a deserter.

Nearly 2,000 U.S., French and British soldiers shouldered their rifles and marched for the last time down Berlin's monument-studded main boulevard in a farewell parade that provided a muted final chapter to the long saga of the Cold War.

About 2,000 American, British and French soldiers will march down Berlin's monument-studded Strasse Des Siebzehnten Juni this Saturday as the city of Berlin bids its final, official farewell to the Western Allies who have occupied it since 1945. The last American soldiers are scheduled to leave Germany on Sept. 8.