I use Debian GNU/Linux on my workstations, and
when I ssh into the ASL, my TERM variable is set
to "xterm-debian", and there is no termcap file
for it on the ASL. I suggest adding the following
to "/etc/profile", right below where TERM is set
to "linux" if it is empty:
if [ "$TERM" = "xterm-debian" ]; then
TERM=xterm
fi