Wed Mar  6 02:40:09 1996

HEADLINE: Star Trek star treks to Bosnia to boost troop morale
BODY: By Mark Rice-Oxley

   BRCKO, Bosnia-Hercegovina, March 5 (AFP) - It was just like being back
on the Star Trek set.

   Bosnia. The final frontier. Beamed down to bleak, treacherous territory,
potentially hostile factions on all sides. Mission: to seek out army troops
and offer encouragement, to boldly go where no celebrity has gone before.

   For Gates McFadden, alias Dr. Crusher in "Star Trek -- the Next
Generation", her five-day tour of US bases in eastern Europe might have
felt like just another session filming the popular television series.

   But as the versatile actress, director and choreographer explained, the
chance to come to Bosnia to boost troop morale was almost as enticing as
Captain Kirk himself.

   "The United Services Organisation (USO) had been on to me for about 18
months asking me to do a tour," McFadden told AFP.

   "When I saw the pictures on television of the first troops in all that
flooding, my heart went out to them," she said of the initial deployment at
Zupanja in southern Croatia. "And besides, there are a lot of Star Trek
fans in the military."

   That much was obvious from the reception given to her impromptu "show",
which comprised a basic stand-up set, a few gags, and a question-and-answer
session during which she let out a few closely-guarded Trekkie secrets.

   Yes, William Shatner is actually a nice guy; yes, it had been hard to fight
for bigger roles in the series; and yes, it is hard to keep a straight face
amid all the techno-babble and ridiculous ears.

   The crowd was a little slow to get warmed up, with many star-struck GIs
behaving as if they had just seen something from outer space.

   But the questions started flowing after the intergalactic medico offered a
replica doll of Dr. Crusher for the best query from the 100-strong audience.

   "You can even comb my hair on a little down-time," McFadden joked with
drooling ratings at the camp just south of Brcko in northern Bosnia.

   For the Trekkies in the audience, the glimpse inside the Starship
Enterprise was just what the doctor ordered.

   "It's a breath of fresh air," said Captain Kevin Campbell of McFadden's
whirlwind stopover. "It lets us know they're still thinking about us back home."

   McFadden's morale-boosting tour was organised by the United Services
Organisation, a private, non-profit organisation based in Washington D.C.
which is funded by a host of corporate backers.

   USO persuades celebrities from across the entertainment spectrum to give a
little of their time to boost the morale of US soldiers serving overseas, be
they in Haiti, Somalia or the former Yugoslavia.

   And on the pending list for Bosnia is a possible visit from soft rockers
Bon Jovi, pencilled in for June 6.

   "It's really to let everyone know we haven't forgotten them and we
appreciate what they're doing," said Mauri Wagner, a USO tour operator
accompanying McFadden on her visit.

   "They love it -- we've had wonderful turnouts," she said of previous
gigs in Kaposvar, Hungary, where McFadden's tour began Saturday at the US
army's centre of logistics support for the 16,000-strong force deployed in
Bosnia.

   McFadden is due to take her road show to other US outposts Tuesday before
returning to the United States on Thursday to prepare for the filming of
the new Star Trek movie, to commence in Los Angeles in April.

   "I had no idea what a beautiful country this is, or at least could be,"
McFadden said of Bosnia. "I think it's great that you are here," she told the
troops.

   But no such enthusiasm from the lithe and lively Dr. Crusher for the
insipid meals-ready-to-eat rations.

   "I have tasted better chicken breast," she said. "I pity these poor guys."

   mro/bm
   AFP