THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602200284
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Rear Adm. Klaus Schwabe is retiring - from the German navy, from NATO, from Norfolk.
Next month, Schwabe, 57, and his wife, Inge, will leave the flatlands of Hampton Roads to start a new life in Munich, near the Bavarian Alps.
Even though he is excited about beginning a new career in the field of education, the admiral ends his 38 years in the German Navy with a touch of sadness, leaving what he calls his ``second home'' in Norfolk after three tours here with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
``We've lived here a total of nine years, longer than in any German duty station,'' said Schwabe, who received the first of his three assignments with NATO in 1973. ``It is distinctly different than in Germany, paradise really, because the people here are so friendly and helpful.''
He has seen many changes in the area, as well as in NATO, over the past 23 years.
Norfolk's waterfront has been developed, there are more people, and traffic has increased. But that's not all.
``NATO has had to change to adapt to the new times,'' said Schwabe, citing worldwide political developments over the past five years, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union, conflicts in Somalia and Haiti, and the Persian Gulf War.
``NATO is needed now, not only to protect its member nations, but to help solve crises. NATO has changed in every respect, in its composition, its way of doing business, its documents, its ability to adapt. It has a security effect in the world; it is not threatening, but it brings security,'' he said.
Schwabe said that, while the 16 member nations have historically not been friends, the countries work together to solve global problems. A unanimous decision is required before any course of action can be undertaken by NATO.
Germany joined NATO in 1954, less than 10 years after the end of World War II. The organization, whose purpose was ``to deter aggression and safeguard the peace of the Atlantic community,'' began in 1949.
Schwabe's current position as deputy assistant for operations for the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic - SACLANT - means he works closely with NATO's operations in war-torn Bosnia, and also the exercises that train soldiers for the proposed yearlong peacekeeping mission there.
SACLANT is the senior military authority for NATO forces in the North Atlantic area, and the only NATO command headquartered on American soil.
The admiral has strong personal opinions about the Bosnian Peace Treaty and NATO's 60,000-troop commitment to keep the peace.
``I agree with the provisions of the treaty - so far, so good. The results will show in a year,'' Schwabe said. But the problems are so big: The war has brought about new hate, new bills, new revenge, new borders.
``I believe the U.S. places a higher value on the moral question than do other nations. To go into Bosnia because it is morally right is illusionary. I am more realistic: The war in the Balkans needs to be contained.''
Schwabe said that, while the (Adriatic) sea embargo was well done, a complete embargo around the borders of the former Yugoslavia would have hastened a treaty.
That wasn't done, he said, because some of the countries surrounding it ``are still fighting battles from World War I. It was a very poor performance from the world community.
``In the end,'' he said, ``it was easier to send in 60,000 troops than to solve the problems politically, and I am opposed to that.''
Schwabe said he will miss Norfolk and the NATO community because ``it is a place where we work together every day, not just the militaries, but the wives and children, too. It is a real opportunity for multinational contributions.
``It's not what NATO was designed for, but it is its most precious result.'' MEMO: NATO MEMBERS
The founding members of NATO are: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,
Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal and the United States.
Greece, Spain, Turkey and Germany became members later.
While France was a founding member, it withdrew from NATO's military
command in 1967. Although it is no longer part of the integrated
military structure, France is still politically part of NATO.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA, The Virginian-Pilot
Klaus Schwabe, a rear admiral in the German navy and deputy
assistant for operations for the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic,
is retiring. Schwabe says he will miss Norfolk and the camaraderie
of the NATO community.
by CNB