Armed Forces

MOSCOW -- A fierce debate over the Communist Party's continuing control of the armed forces, KGB and police came to a head yesterday in the Soviet parliament, blocking passage of a landmark bill giving a legal basis to the new multiparty system.Many deputies argued that the party units that have traditionally overseen every move of the army and security services must be dissolved and party activity banned to prevent party bosses from using troops to preserve their power."The army should be outside politics," declared Col. Vilen A. Martirosyan, 50, one of a group of progressive army officers in the parliament.

Aberdeen Proving Ground will celebrate Armed Forces Week with a variety of events including a golf tournament, veterans luncheon, and a museum open house. The celebration will be held Monday through Saturday, according to the APG Public Affairs Office, but most events will be concentrated on Wednesday when school bands will play, veterans will be honored and the APG will have an open house showing the public what goes on at the military facility. The public is invited. For more information about the events, call 410-278-4500.

WASHINGTON -- In the most complete court defeat yet for the government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a federal judge in New York ruled it is unconstitutional for the armed forces to treat homosexuals differently solely because of their sexual activity.U.S. District Judge Eugene H. Nickerson of Brooklyn, ruling in a case that may go to the Supreme Court, said the military services may not impose "unequal conditions" on homosexuals based on their sexual behavior."It is not within our constitutional tradition for our government to designate members of one societal group as pariahs," the judge said.

A man is in custody after he allegedly robbed a cab driver at gun point shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday and forced the driver to take him to various locations, including a Glen Burnie convenience store that the man also robbed, police said. Following the robbery at the Dash In, in the 7800 block of Quarterfield Road, the suspect told the cab driver to transport him to Glen Burnie before he eventually got out of the cab., police said The 24-year-old male driver contacted police.

It's the cable that's supposed to go through the roof, not the rate.Bill wants the armed forces to be ready for two wars simultaneously, one against Grenada and the other with Nauru.

The number of poor is soaring. Most don't vote. If they did, it would be for none of the above.U.S. armed forces, flush from victory in the Persian Gulf, have occupied South Florida, where they will remain past Election Day.Macho baseball owners don't want a commissioner named Fay who is no patsy.

IN VICTORY AND DEFEAT, the armed forces have occupied a special place in the hearts of ordinary Russians. Even after the Bolsheviks systematically destroyed bourgeois institutions, the armed forces represented a link to the pre-revolutionary past -- from the military innovations of Peter the Great to the heroism of Alexander Nevsky, A. V. Suvorov and M. I. Kutuzov.Six years after the collapse of communism, however, the once-vaunted Russian armed forces are on the ropes. Many officers have not been paid for months and have to survive by taking menial moonlighting jobs.

FIVE YEARS after the collapse of communism, Russia's vaunted armed forces are disintegrating. Many officers and soldiers have not been paid for several months. Nuclear submarines are not being properly cared for, raising the specter of disastrous accidents. The question being asked today is whether long-unpaid soldiers will mutiny -- or simply take their guns and run?This would be worrisome under ordinary conditions. With President Boris N. Yeltsin pending heart operation, the stakes are higher.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- In a show of strength that consolidates its control over the remnants of the Haitian armed forces, the government of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide announced a purge of the military yesterday that virtually wipes out the country's senior officer corps.All four of the Haitian army's generals, including the military commander in chief, Gen. Bernardin Poisson, and 39 colonels and majors were affected by the order, according to a Haitian government statement and local newspaper and radio reports.

Harford County had the first Maryland chapter of the nationally affiliated American Women's Voluntary Services, a social service organization that provided material aid, assistance and information to American armed forces and civilians during World War II. The Harford group was active from June 27, 1941, to June 27, 1947. Members were trained in ambulance driving, evacuation, mobile-kitchen operation, first aid and other emergency services. The entry of the United States into the war increased the number of volunteers, and training in automobile mechanics, cryptography, switchboard operation and other skills was added to the program.

For the second time in just over a week, a Friendly's restaurant in Anne Arundel County was robbed, police said. Police said that early Monday, a man with a handgun held up an employee who was about to enter the Friendly's restaurant in the 2600 block of Annapolis Road in Jessup. The man, who pulled the hood of his jacket over his head leaving only his eyes and nose showing, forced the worker to take him into the restaurant and give him money, police said. He then ran away. Police spokesman Justin Mulcahy said in an email that detectives will check for similarities between this robbery and others, including the one that took place Oct. 2 at another Friendly's.

Swimming 5 Olympians to appear at Kimmel Center Olympic swimmers Craig Beardsley , Janel Jorgensen , Brenda Borgh Bartlett , Alex Meyers and Patrick Kennedy will visit patients at the Pediatric Oncology Unit at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at 4p.m. Saturday on the eve of Swim Across America's second annual fundraiser in the Baltimore area. The Olympians will meet with patients and learn more about the research being conducted at the Swim Across America Lab at the center.

Harford County and the city of Aberdeen have always appreciated the military at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Ever since 1917, when the U.S. Government purchased the land for the post" it has been embraced as an important and vital member of the community. This year, the annual celebration has been especially memorable! The APG Armed Forces Week began May 16. A golf tournament was planned for that day at Ruggles Golf Course, followed by a veterans luncheon on May 17. May 18 was the big Armed Forces observance ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Two armed men wearing ski masks forced an Abingdon woman to drive to a bank and withdraw money Friday morning, Harford County sheriff's deputies said. A 52-year-old woman told police she answered her front door in the 2600 block of Smallwood Drive around 10:30 a.m. when she was confronted by the men wielding a handgun and demanding cash. She did not have cash and was forced to drive her own vehicle two miles to a bank at the corner of Emmorton Road and Bel Air South Parkway, police said.

BB&T Classic MASN to give 1,500 tickets to members of armed forces MASN will donate 1,500 BB&T Classic tickets to active and retired members of the U.S. armed forces. The 16th annual tournament tips off Dec. 5 at 2:30 p.m. when American meets Florida. Navy will face George Washington at 5p.m., and Maryland plays Temple at 7:30 p.m. Military personnel should visit MASNsports.com to print a ticket voucher for four complimentary tickets. The tickets can then be redeemed at the Verizon Center box office beginning Tuesday with the printed voucher and military identification.

Continuing a strong relationship between the Ravens and the U.S. armed forces, approximately 500 uniformed members attended the team's Military Appreciation Day at Wednesday's training camp. After practice, the Ravens invited the military personnel to encircle their huddle. "We thank you for everything you do," Ravens coach John Harbaugh told them. "We can't thank you enough." Last year was the first time the Ravens held this event, and it drew about 50 military members. This year, the team saw about 10 times as many turn out, enough to fill a couple of bleacher sections.

GALLANTRY abounded last week when Violeta Chamorro made the rounds in Washington, a year after she became president of Nicaragua.President Bush extolled her "exhilarating victory" over the Sandinistas. After she addressed Congress, a California Republican called her "a miracle in the Western Hemisphere."It's embarrassing that Washington has disbursed only $207 million of $541 million pledged to a democratic regime that honors human rights and seeks economic reform.Some American conservatives ungallantly fault Chamorro's decision to retain Humberto Ortega, brother of the former president, as armed forces chief.

Open letter to Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Dear General Pace: Tomorrow marks the 33rd anniversary of my enlistment in the Air Force. That fact probably doesn't mean diddly to you, but in light of the heat you've been taking lately concerning your remarks about gays and lesbians in our armed forces, I thought you might like to hear from a veteran. And not just any veteran, mind you. I'm a member of that group of vets who might be called the "Bottom of the Barrel Crew," meaning that our armed forces really scraped the bottom of the barrel when they let us join.

Picking wrong time to repair Bay Bridge It is unbelievable and sad but true. The geniuses in the Maryland Department of Transportation have decided that it is so important to reinforce the guard rail on the eastbound Bay Bridge that they are closing one eastbound lane over the Labor Day weekend ("Bridge narrows," Aug. 27). It is not uncommon for the state Transportation Department to close portions of major highways during holiday travel periods. It has done so frequently. However, this action is almost beyond comprehension.

Recently at the Naval Academy, there has been a lot of focus on America's being "a nation at war." This emphasis is shared at the other service academies and at military training bases. Drill sergeants use the phrase "nation at war" to heighten the awareness of recruits as they go about the process of training and preparing young American servicemen and women for their shared destiny: Most will soon be in combat. The "nation at war" concept, however, fails to resonate or meet with much enthusiasm outside the military.