European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Sis Tralo by Ken George angry. I m Hurt. I m gone Fly Ken George by Allen co wan Stafl Willers it. Alberto Aldridge is Upsel with. The Arm. After eight years of service he feels shortchanged. He is All he can be. That s not enough says the army. So instead of re enl Sling in june Aldridge expects to be separated. They messed up my career Aldridge says in. Broken English. I m angry. I m Hurt. I m  this new father of twin boys has no Job prospects. Instead of a lifetime in the army hell now head Back to Elpaso Texas oin the reserves and hip hamburgers until something Batter comes along. I m upset he said. But Here s nothing i can  his problem stems from the it Al elude test he took when a enlisted. All recruits take it the score to tows them through their career unless they relist. At the Lime Aldridge spoke almost no English. Reading and writing the language was painful. Yet he had to Lake the it in English. He scored a very Low 69,. I m nol a dumb person Aldridge said. I just Hdldn l know whal they were asking. They just said take tha lest and i was  he was in. Boot Camp. Rille. Bus. Boots. Spit shines. Haircut. Assignment. The works. In tha beginning they did t say nothing to me Aldridge said. They Hdldn l care. As Long As i could do my Job they did t care i fell uncomfortable i Felt like i was doing the army no good.". For eight years his it score seemed unimportant. Forgotten. Overlooked. The Tacl it was Low did t seem to matter. I could speak English but i Hdldn l always know what i was saying and i could t  air Edge said. You take a test right and what you score is what you qualify Lor. That s How i got in. 1 did t score  he kept re enlisting. He made ii to sergeant he 15 Pho Loov Ken Geo Bott sgt. Alberto Aldridge left goes Over a manual with staff sgt. Arthur Monjarez. Multi Jailei if fluent in English and a Penith Aldridge hat difficulty with englith. Was Content. Thai ended in october when he says a Counselor told him tha some soldiers with it scores of less than 107 could t re  it seems to Aldridge thai he s on the Way out. Like other soldiers he retook the lest. He scored an. 80,Man All that geometry he said. I Hdldn l know How to do  Aldridge of i he material readiness Section he co. 94th engr in Darmstadt Germany believes his situation is nol unique. He agrees it May be unfair to place All the blame on the army. But his perception is that is and Many Tike him Are being trs aled Una ally he Aid he was never enl to language school never counselled to improve his it score never advised that his poor language skills might jeopardize his dream of an army career. My units go to the held a lot he said. They Hdldn l want to pull me out. I be never been to  there s a poignancy about the Protasio from this 26-year-old native of Juarez Mexico. Aldridge said his Early army Days were rough. He stumbled through As a Mechanic for Light wheel vehicles barely Able to communicate. I always had a hispanic to translate Aldridge said. I got an  he never went to language school. He thought it unnecessary for a Lorma education. Slowly his English improved la s not perfect nol even close. But it s belter than in was sometimes i still have Milf Cully he says. There Are a lot of people in my situation Aldridge said. You have a lot of Good people who want to work. They kick us Oul. Alter eight years you have to go and you have nothing to say Aboul in right now i am disappointed he said. I think my career is  the stars and stripes Page 15