European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 21, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Page 11 Arm Landers Ann Landers is on vacation. The following column is a rerun. Her regular column will resume sept. 3. Dear Ann Landers every now and then you print a letter Tram a teen Ager who thinks she knows it All and insists she is mature enough to get mar ried. Since i am 17 and was considering marriage a Friend sent me the enclosed letter. It was written by another teen Ager who describes what it is like to be a. Married too Young. I Hope you will print this letter. Ann it was f enough to make me change my mind. It might do the same for someone else. Here it is dear in love  me Tell you what it is like to be married at 17. It is like living in this dump on the third floor. Your Only window looks out on somebody else s third floor dump. It is like coming Home so tired you feel nearly dead from standing All Day at your checker s Job in the supermarket. But you Don t dare sit Down because you might never get up. And there Are so Many things you have to do cooking and washing and ironing. But you go through the motions and you hate your Job. You ask yourself Why Don t you quit and you know Why. Because there Are grocery Bills and drug Bills and the rent to pay. And Jimmy s Crummy Little Check from the lumberyard won t cover them. That s Why. Then you Tell the Sitter goodbye and you try to play with the baby until Jimmy comes Home. Only some times you Don t feel like it. But you do it anyway because you feel guilty about being away from her All Day. Then you mix the formula and Wash diapers and you hate doing it. And would t it be awful if she knew already then Jimmy does t come Home and you know he decided to go out with the boys again and do the things he should have gotten done before he married you. So finally you cat the Lousy meal by yourself and go to bed and cry your eyes out. When he does come Home you can Tell he s been drinking but you Don t say a word because he hates to be told anything. So you try to go to sleep and dream about your parents and your Brothers and the kids you knew at school. You think about the great meals your Mother used to Cook and How Nice your room was at Home. Then you remember How she tried to talk you out of marrying so Young and you got mad at her and called her a dried up old woman and accused her of having forgotten what it was like to be in love. You try to push the thoughts of other boys out of your mind but they keep coming Back. Especially that certain boy who gave you your first kiss. He won the state science prize and is going to be a doctor. You wonder How different your life would have been if you had gone to College. You have the feeling that Jimmy and the baby Are All part of a bad dream. But you know it s no dream. It s for real. So you reach Over to touch Jimmy and he pushes you away and says something mean. So you cry yourself to sleep and Wake up with a splitting headache. What a Way to Start an other Day of hard work if you meet anyone who thinks she knows what it is like to be married at 17, please Tell her about me. Or better yet give her this  sorry dear readers i could print a letter similar to this every Day of the week but what s the use Are you listening out there i Hope so. Letters Grade promotion procedures outlined i am currently employed As Supply clerk os-4, and have been since july 1987. Last april i applied for a position through the local civilian personnel office co As a training instructor gs-7. I was rejected due to Lack of time in Grade which was explained As. Promotions May not exceed two grades regardless of employee s qualifications for higher  my understanding is that this policy applies Only to that Field of employment and not when applying to other Fields. However if this is True this Means that Ags-4 cannot qualify for a gs-9 position in another Field until she he fills a gs-6 position in some Field and then a gs-8 in some other Field no matter what her his qualifications arc since i am in the system this Means that someone off the Street has a much better Chance to get the Posi Tion. This does t seem right. I know i m not the Only one in this boat and Hope there is a More logical explanation but where do i look for it can you help Robert Stevens Nurnberg West Germany editor s note Carolyn White personnel staffing specialist. Civilian personnel us Olson office of the Deputy chief of staff personnel he Usa eur replies thanks for the letter allowing us to respond to an inquiry on the time in Grade restriction. The time a Grade restriction applies Only to general schedule is positions. The Basic rules of the restriction Are that a candidate May be advanced in a position in Grade specialist rank defended i am writing in response to the letter writer sees no need for specialist  1 believe that the individual who submitted this  Ter is failing to take quite a bit into consideration 1. Not every Soldier is Cut out to be a Leader. 2. If the rank of specialist was deleted what would happen to All of the present specialists a would All of them be made corporals arc there that Many leadership positions Avail Able -. B would some be made privates first class How would it be decided who should be Corporal and who should be a pfc.7 c or would All present specialists just re main in that rank while All new e-4s become corporals in this Case we would have for example a Corporal with two Days time in Grade out ranking specialists with two years in Grade. In some cases this might be appropriate but in most it would not. 3. The most important Point to make is that a Cor poral is an no. Please do not misunderstand and think that i m saying cos know everything or have nothing More to learn. What i am saying is that most soldiers Are not ready or capable of becoming automatic leaders. It takes time and a lot of training. Specialist is a transition period in which a Soldier is no longer just a private but not quite ready to become an no either. When a Soldier shows no potential then there Are promotion boards Ploc primary leadership development course and for those who arc outstanding Corporal stripes. It is important that everyone realize that if you arc Good at your Job and if you command respect there is nothing you can do As a Corporal that you could not do As a specialist. Spec. Donald t. Longfield sch Sobisch pm find West Germany gs-5 or below if a. The position is no More than two grades above the lowest Grade level held within the preceding year on a Don temporary appointment or  previous restriction for advancement to the Grade of the position to be filled was met at any time in the past or c. The candidate previously held a position at or above the Grade level of the position to be filled at any time under any Type of appointment. O a candidate for advancement to a position at gs-6 through gs-11 must have a. Completed at least one year of service in a position no More than one Grade lower than the position to be filled and b. The position must be in a line of work classified at one Grade intervals le., 4,5,6,7, Etc or c. When there is no position at the next lower Grade in the Normal line of promotion to the position to be filled candidates most have at least one year of sen in positions no More than two grades below the position to be filled. Candidates for advancement to a position at gs-7, -9, or -11 in a line of work classified at two Grade inter Vals i.e., 5, 7, 9, 11 must have completed at least one year of service in positions no More than two grades lower than the position to be filled. The time in Grade restriction does not provide some one off the Street a better Chance than you of being selected for a position. Internal and external applicant apply and Are considered for positions under different procedures. Although internal applicants such As your self must meet the time in Grade restrictions there Are other requirements that external applicants must meet that do no apply to you. The Bottom line on who is selected is based on who the supervisor believes is Best qualified for the position. Explaining the basis for your not being considered for the gs-7 training instructor position is difficult bailed on the limited information provided in your letter. In order for you to better understand the reason for the decision you were provided you should schedule an appointment with the chief of recruitment and placement in your local civilian personnel office. Number of arrows in id strip clarified a recent comic strip wizard of id depicts a Cross Bow that is supposed to shoot eight arrows when infant cartoonist Brant Parker has illustrated it with nine arrows. It has my lieutenants totally confused. Or is this another example of a weapons system designed for a specific Mission then foolishly adapted to fill another Mission it. Col. Thomas a. Spade Raf Ben Watera England an army artillerymen tells us that the first Arrow is a ranging round. The eight Are used to fire for effect. Always glad to clarify these things in the interest of interoperability. Editor these european edition col Jeffrey m. Cook Usa commander editor Michlel it col Suzanne a Phillips Usan Deputy comr Nender editor to Chloel Marie Komin taxi Mert Proctor Deane b. 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