European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 4, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 c the stars and stripes Friday october 4,1991gl preacher facing court martial Gulf War no denies charges by Luke Britt Slaff writer ludwigs Burg Germany an army sergeant faces a court martial oct. 16 on charges that he says were concocted because he refused to Stop preaching to soldiers in saudi Arabia. Sgt. Robert d. Wise of c co 51st signal in in ludwigs Burg was relieved from duty and restricted to the battalion Headquarters in saudi Arabia for allegedly being absent from duty without authorization on april 2, according to court martial documents. Wise a Telephone repair technician contends he was repairing faulty Telephone lines during the time he could not be found. Wise claims the reason he is being court Martiale is that angry chaplains in his battalion and at the Vii corps level Quot came after him Quot because he resisted their attempts to Stop the evangelistic Lay ministry he had developed during operation desert storm. Pressure from the chaplains the sergeant said has led his company commander to make a series of untrue allegations against him. Two chaplains in the command and Wise a company commander have denied the sergeants claims. Quot in one month i went from being a respected Soldier to some sort of undesirable according to them Quot Wise said. Wise a company commander capt. Debbie Linton would not comment on the circumstances surrounding the pending court martial. She denied however that the charges were linked to a controversy that developed in saudi Arabia Between Wise and command chaplains. Wise deployed to saudi Arabia with his battalion dec. 1, 1990. While the unit was in the port City of dam Mam saudi Arabia Wise said he established two churches for the battalion. He described the churches As Quot a protestant service and a gospel  when chaplain capt Oscar Stone the battalion chaplain arrived two weeks later he took Over the protestant service and allowed Wise to continue the gospel service both Wise and Stone said. Quot the two services were like night and Day a Wise said. A the protestant service which i did not Lead was rigid and subdued. The gospel service was loud with a lot of singing hallelujah and amens a Wise 29, has been with the 51st signal in since april 1989 and a member of the . Army in Europe since december 1983. He was ordained As a Christian minister in August 1984 and was certified by the army in 1986 to conduct services in the Goppinger Germany military Community. His services Border on what is commonly considered pentecostal Fervour Wise said. He believes Stone or the Vii corps Deputy chaplain chaplain it. Col Calvin Sydnor did not approve of his evangelistic ministry. A chaplain Stone came to me on feb. 16 and told me i could not preach anymore a Wise said. A the told me that the order came directly from a new army  Stone denied telling Wise that he could not preach and said what he actually told Wise is that he could preach if he were certified for the desert storm theater. Stone also denied discussing Wise a preaching with the soldiers commander. However a letter from Stone to Linton dated april 10 says Wise was Given a a verbal directive not to preach or teach any Bible studies or conduct any kind of religious  in an undated Handwritten letter to Linton Stone also wrote that Wise was disobeying the orders of a both a Captain and a lieutenant  in both letters Stone states that he was acting on behalf of Sydnor. Neither letter mentions that Wise could preach if he were certified. Sydnor said be told Stone to order Wise to Stop preaching but claims he was implementing a command policy that prohibited Lay ministers from conducting religious services. However according to the Central come chaplains office there was no policy prohibiting Lay ministers from preaching in saudi Arabia. In a statement responding to questions from the stars and stripes the command chaplain father it. Col Vincent in Inghilterra stated that a play ministers were utilized in the theater right from the beginning to the very  several other Lay ministers under Vii corps control said they were conducting services near the 51st signal in Dur a amps Luke Brit sgt. Robert d. Wise ing the time Wise was told he could not preach. Four Days after the order to Stop preaching came from Stone Wise said be met with Sydnor to discuss the Issue. In that meeting Sydnor told Wise that he could continue to preach without being certified if a military chaplain was present at each service Wise said. Two other cos claim to have been in the room when Sydnor made this statement. Army regulation 165-1, which governs the chaplain corps states that uncertified Lay ministers can preach to military congregations if they Are sponsored by a military chaplain. Maj. Mike Bentley a chaplain in the California National guard assigned to the 2nd corps support come in saudi Arabia told Wise that he would sponsor the Lay minister to fulfil Sydnor a requirement but withdrew the offer a few Days later the guardsman said. Less than two weeks after Bentley a refusal to assist Wise the Lay minister closed the Church in the 51st signal in area but continued to preach in services being held in another battalions area Wise said. A Handwritten statement signed by spec. Latisha Peoples of the 332nd task Force evacuation brigade states that on april 2, Wise was repairing telephones for her unit and was a seen by several people in and around the area during the time he is accused of being away from his tace of duty. Another Handwritten statement signed by the 51st signal in operator sgt. Tad Anderson states that Wise contacted him before leaving to conduct the repairs. On april 22 Linton offered Wise a Field Grade article 15, the most serious form of non judicial punishment for the charges against him he said. Wise refused the article 15, opting to face the charge in a court martial. On april 26 Linton recommended that Wise not be allowed to re enlist according to an army form 4126 a bar to re enlistment  the Captain wrote on the form that Wise has a record of a lateness equipment below standards poor attitude and failure to advise his Chain of command of his  an no evaluation report was written on Wise in saudi Arabia one month before Linton submitted the bar to reenlistment. The report gave Wise an Overall rating of Superior and stated that the Telephone repair team he leads was Given Superior ratings in battalion competitions. The report also states that his equipment was maintained in a a High state of readiness.�?�. The report dated March 22, was written and endorsed by three of Wise s supervisors. Although Linton a name was not on the form Wise said she was aware of its contents. Wise also showed the stars and stripes a memo written by Linton about a month before the controversy began in which she praised his work with the words a your systems Are in they Are reliable a what More could i ask for a a conviction in the court martial would Likely end Wise a career military Legal officials  Force May Force 1,250 officers to retire by Chuck Vinci Washington Bureau Washington a As Many As 1,250 air Force lieutenant colonels and colonels could be forced to retire after a selective Early retirement Board meets in january service officials said wednesday. The 1992 Board will Mark the third time in the past four years that the air Force has convened boards to select officers who already have at least 20 years for Early retirement. The air Force also held such boards known As serbs in 1989 and 1991 to help meet reduced personnel Levels mandated by Congress while minimizing the Impact on the mid career Force those with Between six and 20 years service. The 1992 Board to meet Jan 6, will review the records of about 1,675 lieutenant colonels and 2,500 colonels and could select up to 30 percent of those officers for Early retirement. Current plans Call for the Board to review Only line officers. Quot line officers serve in operational jobs such As pilots and navigators while a non line Quot officers Are those in one of the air forces seven corps. The air Force is broadening the criteria used to determine who will be reviewed under this Hoard officials said. Line officer lieutenant colonels who have been passed Over for promotion at least once by the time the Board convenes and line officer colonels with at least two years time in Grade As of oct. 31 Are eligible for review. Under previous Early retirement boards lieutenant colonels must have been passed Over for promotion twice while colonels needed four years time in Grade to be considered. A criteria for non line officers will be released if it becomes necessary to include them in the serb a an official said. A a we re not planning on that at this  in another major change resulting from the fiscal 1991 defense authorization act officers who had been considered for Early retirement under the 1989 and 1991 boards will also be eligible for review under the 1992 Board. Previously officers who had been considered for retirement were not eligible for review again for five years. About 60 Days before the january Board meets eligible officers will have a Chance to write a letter to the Board to offer any pertinent information which May not be in their records. Officers selected by the Board will be Able to choose their retirement dates although they can be no later than the first Day of the seventh month after the Board results Are approved. The broadening of criteria to allow this Board to consider a wider Range of officers for retirement than in the past reflects the pressures to reduce manpower Levels that face All the services Over the next few years. The air Force has been making determined efforts to Cut Back reducing strength by More than 5,300 in the month of August alone. The latest figures show that As of aug. 31, the service had 515,953 people on Active duty. The fiscal 1991 defense authorization act directed the air Force to have no More than 510,000 people on Active duty at the end of fiscal 1991, which closed out sept. 30. When personnel figures for september Are released in a few weeks they Are expected to show the air Force under or very close to that level. The same figures should show the services collectively dipping under 2 million Active duty personnel the lowest level since 1950. But pressure to further trim Active duty Rolls will remain for at least four More years. The air Force is due to Cut 23,000 More people in fiscal 1992, another 29,000 in fiscal 1993 and a total of 21,000 Over fiscal years 1994 and 1995. By sept. 30, 1995, the air Force is due to have no More than 437,000 people on Active duty