A Tough Fight in West Germany

For some G.I.s with families, poverty has become the enemy

Many American servicemen in West Germany can no longer afford vacation cruises on the Rhine with their families. Others are doing all of their shopping these days at military post exchanges, where there is little variety but prices are 40% lower than at German stores. A few young G.I.s have written bad checks to keep their children in nursery schools while their wives look for jobs. Some have shipped their families back to the U.S.

Cases of financial distress have become increasingly common among the 224,000 U.S. soldiers and airmen in Germany. The U.S. dollar has been declining in value for years and since January has plunged 11% against the deutsche mark (see ECONOMY & BUSINESS). Says Brigadier General David E. Watts, 49, deputy commander of the 21st Support Command at Kaiserslautern, recalling the 1950s when the dollar bought 4.2 DMs: "Germany used to be a paradise."

The worst-off servicemen are some 16,000 low-ranking enlisted men who brought their wives and children with them. Soldiers used to say, "If the Army had wanted you to have a wife it would have issued you one." But to fill the ranks of today's volunteer force, the Army has been encouraging enlistments by young men who have wives or who want to marry soon. Nonetheless, the Army still does not pay transportation costs and living allowances for most men under the rank of sergeant; nor does it provide them with low-cost housing on military bases. On some bases in Germany, as many as 70% of the young G.I.s are married and thousands of them are living in poverty.

At Kaiserslautern, Angel Robles, 21, who earns $635 a month as a specialist fourth class, spent $1,200 to bring over his wife Ada last summer and rented a two-bedroom apartment for $290 a month. Reports TIME Correspondent Barrett Seaman: "It is a former storefront Gasthaus [bar] that was converted to living quarters. The bedrooms once were storerooms. Draped over an oil-burning heater is a blue blanket to keep soot from staining the walls and ceiling. The apartment is constantly cold, and ventilation is poor. Many couples in their situation--especially ones with children--are running up big debts. The Robleses have barely managed to break even, but will slip into the red if the dollar keeps declining."

The Army does what it can to help. In some cases, it arranges for loans of furniture, appliances and even emergency food. In the first eleven months of this year, Kaiserslautern's Army Emergency Relief office made 326 interest-free loans totaling $95,467 to G.I. families.

Senior military officers fear that many young soldiers with families will refuse to reenlist, thus adding to the Army's recruitment problems. Says Major General Lawrence Jones Jr.. head of the 21st Support Command at Kaiserslautern: "We need authority to transport and house all married soldiers." Extending these benefits to all married servicemen would cost the Army about $50 million. The Pentagon feels that its first priority is funding weapons systems. Poverty among G.I. families does not rank high on the list of official priorities. But, Gen eral Jones warns, "the alternative is to recruit only single soldiers. I doubt if we could attract enough."

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