From: bergman@AFNEWS.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: Army News Service 04/06/92 (fwd)
Date: 7 Apr 92 17:22:50 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC


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* Board considers officers for new Army Acquisition Corps
* Good nutrition improves lifestyle, by Capt. Pamela Otton
* Proper storage keeps food fresh, safe, by Sgt. Charles G. Lewis
* Mourning the "Amis" departure from Germany, by Guenther Winhauer
* Army adjusts policy for promotable senior NCOs

============================================

ARMY NEWS SERVICE - 6 APR 92


Board considers officers for new Army Acquisition Corps

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- All majors and captains in Functional 
Area 97, contract and industrial management, will be considered for 
the new Army Acquisition Corps by a qualification, validation and 
certification, or QVC, board April 20-22.
      Board members will review Officer Record Briefs for experience, 
military and civilian education, and projected and current 
assignments. 
      Officers are urged to review their records and send corrections 
to: President, FA 97 QVC Board, ATTN: TAPC-OPB-E, 200 Stovall St., 
Alexandria, Va., 22332-0411. Letters must arrive by April 20.
      Those who don't want to be in the new corps should write to 
USAPERSCOM, ATTN: TAPC-OPB-E, at the same address.
      Board results will be mailed to the majors and captains. The 
president of the board must receive appeals to negative decisions by 
June 5.
      Promotable majors through colonels in FA 97 were boarded in 
early March. Their appeals must reach PERSCOM by April 17.
      The reorganization results from an October 1991 decision by the 
Army chief of staff to incorporate the Army Central Select Procurement 
Commands into the Army Acquisition Corps. Also affecting the move was 
the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act, which "increased 
training, education and experience requirements for the acquisition 
workforce," said Col. Michael R. Jorgensen, acting director for 
contracting.
      "The current FA 97 population was developed to support dual 
tracking management," he explained. "To support the single track 
decision and the downsizing of the Army, the functional area will 
require reorganization and its population reduced."
      The board process will make sure that only qualified officers 
make up the AAC, as well providing "a viable, achievable career for FA 
97 officers," he said.
      "I am confident that these actions will prove to be beneficial 
to our functional area," Jorgensen said. "Our career field is being 
recognized to require the highest degree of professionalism and skill 
to accomplish its role in the defense of our nation; we have acquired 
congressional protection to ensure recognition by promotion boards; 
and we will have a significant increase in opportunity for Advanced 
Civil Schooling and specialized training as a member of the AAC."
      For more information, officers affected by the reorganization 
can call the PERSCOM Military Acquisition Management Branch at (703) 
325-2758 or DSN 221-2758.


Good nutrition improves lifestyle, by Capt. Pamela Otton

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- Young Americans say they care about their 
diets and health, but their eating habits say otherwise.
      A New York Times 1988 survey showed that 18-to-29-year-old 
Americans were eating more poorly than in years before. They ate more 
snacks and desserts and less fresh fruits and vegetables. For example, 
potato chips were more common than baked potatoes in their diets.
      In spite of their eating habits, 90 percent of those polled said 
they were concerned about their diet; 505 of them specifically worried 
about cholesterol.
      Diets changed a lot during the 1980s, with many factors 
involved. Young adults began eating out and buying take-out food more 
often. Many of them lived in single-person households and didn't take 
time to cook.
      If this sounds like you, take heart. You can make good nutrition 
a priority in your life, whatever the circumstances. Your lifestyle 
upgrade can be broken into four steps -- inventory, shopping, planning 
and enjoying.
      Make an inventory. Check your kitchen to see what you already 
have. Remove boxes of cereal, mixes or snacks that have saturated 
fats, such as palm or coconut oil and lard. These fats increase the 
cholesterol level, which raises the risk of heart disease.
      Move candy and dessert items to the top shelf, or lock them into 
a closet, for use only on holidays or special occasions. List the 
basic foods you lack, such as proteins, grains, fruits, vegetables and 
dairy products.
      Go shopping. Pick foods that are nutritious and easy to fix. 
You'll probably find that, ounce for ounce, the healthy foods sug-
gested below will cost less than many tempting snack items --
     -- Grains: whole-wheat bread, whole-grain dry cereals, pasta, 
rice, quick-cooking oatmeal, and plain popcorn (beware of added fats 
in microwave varieties).
     -- Protein: frozen packages of ground turkey to use like 
hamburger, frozen plain fish fillets, tuna canned in water, vegetarian 
refried beans that don't use lard, canned and dried beans, and tofu.
     -- Fruits and vegetables: buy fresh only what you can eat within 
a few days. Try using frozen vegetables that you can use and reseal as 
needed.
     -- Dairy products: fresh and powered nonfat or skim milk, part 
skim cheeses, and plain lowfat yogurt to substitute for sour cream or 
for mixing with fruit or cereal at home.
      Plan menus. Try to write out the main dish a few days in 
advance. To make dinner easier after work, let early-arriving family 
members make a salad and set the table, or do this yourself in the 
morning before work. Don't waste leftovers; if you have a large roast 
or casserole, freeze it for a future busy evening.
      In addition to the main dish at each meal, make sure you include 
fruits and/or vegetables, a grain and some dairy products. Frozen 
vegetables are handy, because they need no washing or cutting. All of 
these food groups contain carbohydrates and important vitamins and 
minerals.
      Enjoy. When you eat, focus on eating as something to be enjoyed 
by itself; refrain from watching television or reading. As you take 
the time to eat, you'll appreciate more what you're eating and the 
efforts that have made the meal more nutritious.
     (Otton works at Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii)


Proper storage keeps food fresh, safe, by Sgt. Charles G. Lewis

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- You reach in the fridge for the milk, 
pour a glassful and take a big, hearty swig. Then your face contorts 
and you race to the sink. The milk has soured.
      Sometimes it's merely unpleasant to find that your food has 
passed its prime. Other times, it's a health hazard.
      Food safety in the home is just as important as it is in the 
food industry. A few storage suggestions can help keep perishable 
foods fresh and safe.
      Perishable foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, seafoods, 
meats and dairy products, ruin quickly if they're not handled and 
stored properly. Spoilage can be slowed or stopped by keeping food in 
the refrigerator or freezer.
      Freezing slows the growth of microbes in meat and seafood, but 
it doesn't stop freezer burn. Quality is sacrificed, in favor of 
longer storage.
      When perishable food comes out of refrigeration, its shelf life 
decreases. Shelf life is the amount of time the product is expected to 
remain fit for consumption.
      Dairy products don't have a very long shelf life. Leaving milk 
on a counter or in the car will make it spoil quickly. If stored at 50 
degrees Fahrenheit, milk will last about two days. But at 40 degrees, 
it'll stay good for about 10 days.
      Potentially hazardous foods -- meats, seafoods and dairy 
products -- should be kept at 40 degrees and below. When the 
temperatures of these products rise above 40 degrees, microbiological 
growth is more rapid; the food spoils more quickly.
      Although fruits and vegetables aren't potentially hazardous, 
they will also deteriorate faster outside the refrigerator. Storing 
them at the right temperatures allows for a longer shelf life and 
better quality.
      The recommended storage temperatures vary with different fruits 
and vegetables. Some, like leafy vegetables, do well in cool storage; 
others, such as bananas and onions, require no refrigeration.
      Since most homes aren't equipped to store food at various 
temperatures, storage between 40 and 50 degrees will be adequate for 
fruits and vegetables.
      Consumers can choose among a great variety of foods. Most 
packaged items include proper storage information on their labels. 
Following these guidelines can help you benefit by maintaining quality 
products for you and your family.
     (Lewis is assigned to the Troop Issue Subsistance Agency of the 
Veterinary Service Branch, Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii.)


Commentary: 
Mourning the "Amis" departure from Germany, by Guenther Winhauer

      (Editor's note: This item first appeared in the Feb. 1 issue of 
the "Main Post" in Wuerzburg, Germany. Many American soldiers and 
their families who served in Germany during the Cold War years 
returned with warm memories of the place and its people. They should 
know that many Germans also have fond memories of the Americans who 
lived among them.)
      WUERZBURG, Germany (ARNEWS) -- Quiet is the parting, or almost 
silent. A few official speeches, mostly in the district or the county 
courthouse, are usually soon forgotten. Yet it is happening -- slowly, 
unstoppably -- the parting with "our Amis."
      "Amis" is the name we gave the first American soldiers who 
occupied Germany after World War II. It was a two-sided nickname and 
cultural description. While they didn't like to hear "Ami" at first, 
they learned to understand that this description was not meant in a 
nasty way; it was not a curse. It was a term of friendship, of 
belonging, of a complete integration into our society.
      They were never strangers in our country. They belonged to our 
daily lives, to scenes on our streets, to our society, just as we did. 
And, in addition to their political mission, they brought a lot of 
humanity into our community. 
      There is no doubt they taught us a couple of things. For 45 
years they rolled over our roads, stood bumper to bumper with us in 
traffic jams and gave us, unnoticeable yet noticeable, lessons in 
driving: how the proud Chrysler, the great street cruiser, would yield 
the right of way to a little VW Bug; how the Thunderbird would stop -- 
and only the Thunderbird -- to allow us to enter the traffic lane; how 
the Cadillac, possessing six times the power, would hold back, without 
paying any attention to the pressure from behind to go faster, and 
keep the speedometer on 50 to 80 kilometers per hour.
      How often did they show us their spirit of combat engineering, 
their willingness to help their neighbors? People should remember that 
back in the late 1940s and 1950s, some playgrounds and schools would 
not have been built if the Ami had not used their bulldozers and 
cranes, without being paid, to build them. 
      And how many lives have been saved by their self-sacrificing 
courage? Often it was American soldiers who didn't give a second 
thought to risking their lives to save Germans from burning automobile 
crashes. Theirs was the spirit that once took American settlers on a 
path fraught with many dangers, over the Mississippi to the West. 
      But now the kasernes are emptying, and the fewer Americans to be 
seen on the streets show us how it will and must be. The long parting 
has begun, and eventually the day will come when we will notice that 
something around us is missing -- our old friend, the "Ami."
      (Translated by Staff Sgt. Edgar Stitt. From the Wuerzburg, 
Germany Main Post.)


Army adjusts policy for promotable senior NCOs

      WASHINGTON (ARNEWS) -- Recent changes to the Retention Control 
Points, or RCPs, could hurt the promotion chances of some senior NCOs 
on Department of the Army selection lists. So the Army is providing 
exceptions to policy.
      The service-remaining obligation will be waived for NCOs who, 
because of their RCP change, won't have two years left on their 
enlistment after promotion. And if a promotable soldier's sequence 
number hasn't been announced before he reaches his RCP, the Army will 
promote him one day before his retirement date.
      These exceptions apply only to NCOs affected by the change in 
the RCP. The soldiers must otherwise be eligible for promotion. 
Promotion zones for future boards will be adjusted to take into 
account the RCP changes.


-- 

     __________________________________________________________________
    |            Air Force News Center (AFNEWS)                        | 
    |           Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA                       | 
    |                paperboy@afnews.af.mil                            |  
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