European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Camels Are raced More than 12 mlle with Home spectators accompanying them by four wheel drive. Good times Are Over for saudi a ships of the desert out of shape camels May end up on the Barbecue spit by Neil Macfarquhar associated press the Gulf War left behind a lot of fat camels and those one Zirtie ships of the desert now Are either working out at the Racetrack or ending up on the Barbecue. The racetracks were closed during the War and Noble Dro medaries turned into desert dumplings. Nearly a year later some Are still Sand Dune potatoes. Quot they got fat Happy and Lazy. Some can t even race anymore Quot said Breig Mubarak 25, a Camel jockey in Jana Driya saudi Arabia. A Good racing Hump should be about As wide As a Man s hand is Long. By War s end some camels had humps As Broad As the length of a Man s forearm. The Day the War ended the races resumed. And through the hot summer months the Camel owners came up with a solution for getting rid of the flab a workouts at Midnight when the desert temperatures Are Cool. Jockeys and owners say the Camel elite were up to Par for the recent three Days of races that open the annual Jana Driya cultural festival organized by the country a National guard. But they notice a lot More Galu Phing toward the end of the 12v�-mile races a they re running 50 minutes instead of the Ideal 30. A Camel that gets out of shape risks More than losing some races. These onetime ships of the desert can wind up on a barbeque spit if they done to prove useful. But a Young Camel that wins races three years in a Row can fetch up to $530,000 at auction. The races attract notables from saudi arabians Royal family which includes about 3,000 princes. King fahd was on hand for the season s first race. Some princes Are Content to watch from deep couches in the stands. Others clamber aboard buses fitted with padded armchairs to Chase around the track keeping Pace with the runners so they can watch their prize beasts. Some resent the Royal privileges and Camel racing is not immune to griping. Quot some princes might not like me saying this but they keep Many people from getting visas for jockeys from Sudan. They  be Able to control this Quot said Saad Al Jafar an accountant who spends about $3,000 a month on his racing Hobby. There a also concern that some princes Are dabbling with steroids a new phenomenon in the desert to enhance their camels Speed and  action linear denies its retirees Are a dumped at port it a for the first time i feel the air Force has let me Down when i needed it the most. My problem is the High year of tenure Hyt changes for senior cos and retirement at port. I am an e-8 who pcs permanent change of station to England in july 1989 for a three year tour. Shortly after arriving in theater the Hyt for e-8s was changed from 28 to 26 years. My Deros Date eligible for return from overseas was supposed to be july 1992, but was changed to january 1993 which is my Hyt Date. Because i go Over 26 years in january 1993 and do not have the 12 months retain ability to be reassigned i will be retired shortly after arriving stateside or dumped at port As we usually say. So within one year i will be dumped onto the Job Market that i have very Little Access to because i am overseas. I have talked to my unit Capo consolidated base personnel office and in about getting the people in my situation grandfathered like the army is presently doing but they said Short of writing Congress they did no to know what else i could do. I realize we have the personnel and budget cutbacks to worry about but if the army can take care of its people and they have a larger Force Why can t the air Force give us the one year retain ability we need to be reassigned Back to the states so we can get settled and then retire. Is that too much to ask for after 25 dedicated and faithful years of service senior master sgt. Lawrence Stolk Raf upper Heyford England Ecol. Michael e. Mahler chief enlisted plans and policy division directorate of personnel plans he . Air Force replies first i would like to provide you some background information. The air Force made adjustments to the enlisted Hyt program the maximum number of years which enlisted service members May remain on Active duty in 1990. These adjustments As indicated below were a necessary part of the air Force s approach to balance personnel losses across the various segments of the Force. E chief master sergeant e-9 extended 33-year program deleted a senior master sergeant e-8 from 28 years of service to 26 a master sergeant e-7 from 26 years to 24 a technical sergeant e-6 from 23 years to 20 these changes Are generating additional losses from the retirement eligible portion of the Force. This coupled with fewer new recruits tighter first term re enlistment controls and a 10-year Hyt Point for e-4s, provides the air Force with a More balanced and equitable Force reduction program. In addition the recently announced voluntary separation incentives by Congress have provided the air Force More flexibility in achieving necessary personnel reductions. In unison these programs will help mitigate future Quot hollow Quot inexperienced forces As Well As providing a measure of Protection for our career service members who Are not yet retirement eligible. The writer refers to an army policy of Quot grandfathering Quot people in similar situations. A Check with army personnel managers reveals that they have adopted the same policy As the air Force. Both policies state that individuals serving overseas who reach their Hyt will have their Deros extended to match their Dos Date of separation from military service provided they do not have enough retain ability for a stateside assignment. These members will then separate at a conus Continental United states port an overseas location or their Home of record. However this does not translate into being Quot dumped at port Quot As indicated by the writer. Over the past several months the air Force has established a worldwide network of transition assistance offices to Aid members and their families leaving the military by providing a myriad of services. These sen ices include Job Banks and helping in writing Job resumes. I might also add that someone retiring at Loring fab Maine faces Many of the same situations that someone overseas does if that person wants to retire in California. The air Force realizes the Hyt changes Are causing some service members to alter their retirement plans both in the near and Long term. This decision and its Impact on our people was not taken lightly. The final decision to lower Hyt was Only made after extensive _ study and deliberations at the very highest air Force Levels. In the final analysis it was concluded that sharing the sacrifices across the various enlisted Force segments would help to protect the career aspirations of our mid level cos with lengthy service but who have not reached retirement eligibility. This principle has been advocated by both the Senate and House armed services committees. To write us readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers