European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                July 1985 the stars and stripes Page 11 letter dear Ann Landers i clipped this let Ter to the editor from the Orlando senti the message is one that should be read by will you print please Parent who has seen it All dear Parent thanks for a Superb contribution to this Here it is much has been made in the news about the shocking increase in the Sui cide rate among but lets face the facts if you were reared to believe that cer Tain standards of behaviour and Faith were necessary to become a useful and then one Day you were suddenly aware that your father or other adults you admired were having illicit love your friends at school were taking and Selling your sports heroes were arrested for assault and trafficking in your father was arrested for Drunken your Best friends father was indicted for child two of your pals were in jail for killing a Gas station attendant during a your favorite ballplayer had signed a contract for million for five years and he can barely read or that Heaters and to movies show maniacs who attack their victims with Chain saws and you too might be your teenage sons and daughters Are not naive or they Are just More dear Ann Landers please Tell your readers that a non smoker should never marry a i thought i could persuade my Bride to that was 19 years now she smokes More than her hair and clothes smell like a dirty the House smells like a Pool she has burned holes in our furniture and the car no matter where i her smoke is in my she coughs during the Day her coughing is nerve at night it is we have very Little sex since it is difficult to make love when she is coughing in my i used to worry that her smoking would cause some terrible now i wonder Why it is taking so sign me and disgusted in Glens dear tired the lesson to be Learned is this if something bothers you during a courtship it will become unbearable after thanks for providing More dear Ann Landers tonight i am trying to write a thank you note to a woman who sent me a subscription to a religious Magazine that i will never in i am offended by where do people come off trying to shove their religious beliefs Down other Peoples throats i am torn Between telling this Friend off and being a hypocrite and thank will you please recommend that your readers be a bit More thoughtful when they select gifts nonreligious person who likes it that Way dear nonreligious the gift giver May have used poor judgment but in sure she did not mean to offend i suggest you write a gracious note and toss the magazines in the waste c news America Syndicate Ann Landers More info on changes in army promotion system i would like to add some Points of my own to the recent letter about the army new promotion am an e4 waiting to add that Stripe to my like the other writer i nearly maxed the promotion qual fied expert with the and scored quite Well on the one of the things this writer failed to mention was the Section of the new Points system dealing with civilian according to the old a Soldier was granted 70 promotion Points if he was a High school graduate prior to entering the and Given some Points if he achieved a ged while on Active with the new a Soldier who was a graduate before entering the service gets while one who gets a ged after he joins is Given Points toward in my this Means that All the soldiers who stuck it out and went the Complete distance in High school Are left out in the the quitter who dropped out before graduation and ill just use the i dont need school is now granted this revision is considered highly unfair among just about everyone i know at least 90 percent of and certainly is not what i would Call a morale the Only thing this decision has done for the pre military High school graduate is Knock him one step further away from making the decision to and speaking to friends of mine in reenlist ment percentages Are Way i feel Safe in saying for All promo table this is a very poor decision and something should be changed the new promotion system has done away with Points for time in Grade and time in this strikes me As a very unbalanced that Means that if a specialist four with almost four years in the am up for and a Colleg graduated Pri vate first class with six months in service who soon gets promoted to e4 is com Peting against my experience and knowledge of the military dont count for i think that the Scales just tipped right off the i joined the army because i could accomplish things that the civilian world  through the i have Learned firsthand respect for and How to get the Job done quickly and very in my it would Nave taken years to acquire this and mature into a leadership i have nothing at All against soldiers who come in wearing a Stripe or i am presently Only months away from my de Gree i do not think that a Soldier with six months or a year in service is As knowledgeable As one with several years their civilian education May be but they just Haven been Library praised i would like to express my appreciation to the staff of the Pattonville Library in they have enrolled More than 350 Chil Dren in their summer Reading making it one of the if not the in they have scheduled Field movies and my thanks to them for their contribution to this Large com their efforts Are appreciated withheld Stuttgart pen pals i am an 18yearold girl who would like to Corre Spond with everybody from every my Hob Bles Are playing collecting Stamps and listening to slow music and i speak English and Belaid 57 Rue All Khosla Bordell Kuffan Algeria around the military Long enough to have Learned the ins and instead of doing away with the specialist ranks my suggestion would be to keep the specialist four rank solely for an e4 with less than two years in once he surpasses the two year Active duty he should be Given corporals stripes to Wear and have a definite distinction Between the a Corporal is an actual noncommissioned entrusted with supervisory a specialist four is a Junior no or a Leader in training so is a eventually he will be a if specialist ranks Are done away there Are going to be a lot of corporals out there who dont have the experience to handle the like Van it just Doest make and it certainly int fair to its getting to be that you can be All you can be As Long As youre Between 59 and weigh no More than 200 dont drink or smoke and have red Ink flowing in your is this the army or has it become the cloning Corpora Tion withheld Germany editors note Duncan 1st of promotions replies although your letter Doest ask a specific allow me to explain some of the issues that you you Are Correct in stating a Soldier was granted 75 promotion Points for High school or ged completion under the old these additional Points were Given to All soldiers who had completed a 12th Grade education or its equiv provided they had done so by the time they appeared before the promotion these Points were awarded regard less of whether the schooling was completed before or after entry on Active at no time in the past was anyone awarded Points solely for completing ged while on Active under the new everyone May accumulate additional Points in the area of civilian education a Soldier who enlists in the army without High school or ged but strives to attain that level of education while on Active duty will receive 10 additional but so will the Soldier who completed High school prior to coming on Active All you have to do is Complete at least one semester hour of College or Complete any pos secondary course or test while on Active not Only will you then receive 10 additional secondary Points for educational but you will also receive Points for each semester hour of credit the idea is to encourage you and All soldiers to continue to pursue your civilian Educa Tion regardless of the level presently at Beer convention do you collect any item that is Beer re lated would you like to meet others who at a centralized location in to have a or Trade convention i personally collect Beer if interested Contact Phillip Sutton psc3boxlll8 Apo 09633 Doest like Berri i sincerely Hope the administration directs the immigration department to re Voke the Green card and related documents required for Nabih Berris admission to the United god Only knows what this gentleman would do under the Guise of diplomatic in William Young Netherlands with regard to your comments on time in service tis and time in Grade Tig we Are beating a dead what some soldiers fail to realize is that tis and Tig have always been prerequisites for promotion to any the practice of awarding Points in this area has been your Contention that the system would or could promote a Soldier with less tis than but with a College is but with the army system of promoting based on its the Best qualified within career management Field or military occupational specially the possibility of this happening has always this should present no real because a Soldier who does get promoted will already have completed at least two years a Soldier except under very special circumstances involving Only a select number of have at least 21 months tis before can even appear before a Board for promotion to Grade somewhere along the line some one has determined that the Soldier is eligible for and deserving of regardless of the a recommendation is still required for promotion and in this both the company and battalion commanders must agree that the Soldier is the decision to eliminate the specialist ranks has been made and will affect Only soldiers currently in grades e5 and additional As Well As implementing will be Forth coming through command the  european edition capt Dale us editor in chief cmdr Jeffrey us Deputy editor in chief Blackwell Proctor Mcdermott production manager managing circulation manager this newspaper is an authorized unofficial publication for members of the military services contents of the stars and stripes Are not necessarily the 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