European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 18, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 is vice Crawley of t. Rob Cortenay of 2nd in 1 St Field arty re who is enrolled in an accelerated management course pores Over a Book during a class Al Pindar Barracks. Gung to College study pays off for cos by Vince Crawley Nomberg Bureau a Turnberg. Wesl Germany set. Veronzo Hodge a 24-year-old heavy equipment Driver for an artillery regiment is in charge of six soldiers and spends Between 120 and 150 Days a year on Fiel training exercises. The rest of the time you get off work at 6 o clock. Maybe. And Lalk about going to school at night be real. You be still got to have a  sergeants in Nurnberg say they work so hard and Are in the Field so often that they Don t have time fortnight classes. Bui the army says they need College degrees if they want to get promoted. Solution deploy them to the classroom. Hinder Barracks a Field artillery Cavern in Zirn Dorf sends its Best and brightest sergeants to mar athon College courses hat Slart Early sunday and run All Day for eight consecutive Days. Eight hours a Day eight Days a week says on teacher who has to endure the same schedule As the students. It sounds sort of Gung to the Way rambo might study. Lynda Iliili Lson a Central Texas College Europe instructor who has taught several of the hyper Accel rated management courses said her stud is Are motivated dedicated cos accustomed to the Rig ors we demand. That All sounds gloss but if you could be in these classes you d understand what i m talking about actually she s talking about to a things Earnest Young leaders who want m stay on he combat arms last i rack and older cos who joined an army with different values 15 or -0 ears ago when combat truss and Nutini Ghl Oil at the motor pools were Thebes ways to make rank. Today s  posters stress brainpower More often than brawn. Clone Are the Days when you could quit High school join up and become a sergeant major without Ever seeing a textbook again. It s no longer Good enough to be John Wayne and Field strip your m-16. You be got to have an associate s degree As Well said Louis Endsley who runs the finder Barracks education Center. Although his Job is to get soldiers into classrooms any Way he can Endsley said there is nothing watered Down about the eight Day courses. They Are All based on classes taught at the Central Texas main it s no longer Good enough to be John Wayne and Field strip your m-16." Louis Endsley Campus and Sample Grade sheets show that the aver age student who has above average motivation gels a 8. College deployment actually called the accelerated applied management program has been Avail Able for most 1st army div units since november. But none has jumped onto it with quite the same gusto As the soldiers at Pindar who seized the pro Gram like a piece of enemy turf. There battalion sergeants major sift through training and deployment schedules in search of eight spare Days in a Row then Call the College and say they want a class. So far More than 130 Pindar cos. Roughly one in four have participated in a College deployment. It was James Roppo Nurnberg education officer who surveyed departing cos and found thai those from combat units did t think there was enough Lime to be both a Good Leader and a Good student. He asked local colleges to come up with some thing and Central Texas developed the streamlined business management courses. Different times were kicked around but com Manders decided that any Soldier can be missed for week and that it beat having half a Soldier going to class half the Lime for two weeks. After volunteers arc enrolled they go to an hour Long Friday afternoon orientation where they meet the teacher arc Lent textbooks for the duration and Are told to Brace themselves. Nine Days later on sunday morning class begins. Students Wear civilian clothes and units agree be forehand to leave them alone keep them off duty rosters ignore them during alerts and generally pre tend they re on leave. The  Roppo said is the Soldier s got to be exempt from duty that week. His Mission is to learn. If you Send him to a go party Barracks cleanup after class you be sold the Soldier out. He s got to study. Every  after not quite 200 hours of cat sleep study the soldiers graduate and go Back to their units with three semester hours under their Bells. It hurts the unit to lose key players. For a entire week said staff sol. Leonard Andrews tacit Cal communications chief for an artillery Battery. Bui in the Long run it helps because we re getting hands on tools to make the units More  commanders insisted Hal the classes Leach subjects that would apply in Day to Day operations usually management. Some battalions would t give you time off for  said 1st sol. Donald u. Ferguson an 18-year Veteran who s about to finish his two year , a self described gun Bunny for All of his career never had to think much about College until now. I wish they d put the emphasis on in when i was coming  he said. Back then i shot base one Best gun so hey never let me go anywhere. They said i was too important to let go. If they d have a few years Back i d already have my degree. I d have been squared