European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 26, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday May 26, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 3top-gunning tankers aim to leave army reductions hit hard among High scorers by Vince Crawley staff writer Veteran troops from some of the top gunning tank Crews in Europe say they re jittery about personnel cuts and if Given the Chance they would Call it quits and hang up their uniforms. A the Young Guys you a be surprised lot of them Are still looking at making the army a career a said James Hunt a first sergeant in Friedberg Germany. A for old Guys the army changed its rules in Midstream. And a lot Are  Hunt said the army is drawing Back too fast. A a lot of people Are nervous. They re wondering if they re going to have a Job next week a he said. During routine gunnery this month four Crews in Hunts co d shot a perfect 1,000 score considered a once in a life time feat. A a you re usually Lucky if you see two in one battalion a he said. Another seven of his Crews were rated  the battalion 4th in 67th army regt briefly held the top average score in Europe for individual tank shooting Only to be beat out late last week by a sister unit the 2nd in in the same Fried Berg regiment. But none of the companies in the sister battalion finished with As Many perfect scores As cod a 1st army div spokesman said. A a you be really got to look inside some of the people to figure out what makes them tick a said staff sgt. Joe Kellyn whose platoon has the Best firing record in Europe although Many of the Veteran Crews Are anxious to leave the army. A a it a got to be More than just a Job to them. More than just a  when his soldiers become eligible for the Pentagon a Early out Cash offers Kel Len said he finds it hard to recommend that they stay in the army. A you can to guarantee someone a Job just because he shot 1,000 Points a said the 27-year-old platoon sergeant from Houston. A a can to really guarantee them a promotion either. Otherwise the tables would be turned. Probably 90 percent of them would stay  Kellens gunner sgt. Dale Dallmann shot a perfect 1,000. A a he a going to take the Vii sub a Kel Len said referring to the Pentagon a Early out bonuses aimed at getting career minded people to leave the military before they retire. A not because he can to shoot a tank. Because he can t get promoted a Killen said. A another sergeant who barely qualified he a Gonna get to stay in. Makes you  Vii sub is shorthand for voluntary separation incentive and special separation Benefit. Vs1 offers annual payments for several years sub gives less Money but All at once. When Hunt the first sergeant joined the army 17 years ago he said it Wasny to uncommon to meet a sergeant major with just a High school equivalency diploma. A now you can to get promoted without an associates degree a he said. Early in his career he said he arrived at a unit where the people asked him How Many articles 15 he had for minor discipline infractions. A i said a none a and they All just looked at me. They All thought i was a  these Days he said a single article 15 can kill a military career. At the firing Range a it was pretty amazing we did As Well As we did a Hunt said considering Many sergeants and lieutenants Are new to the company and Hadnot been on a tank years if Ever. Staff sgt. Jeffrey Altmeyer was a nervous As hello and got Tongue tied while issuing commands. Afterwards the graders asked Altmey Eros Crew How they thought they did. A we said a it was  a then he found out his gunner sgt. David Sherman had done his Job perfectly. Still Sherman is considering changing the plans he once had about making the army a career. And Altmeyer said a a nothing a for sure anymore. Just cot to take it a Day or month at a time. They keep coming out with new decisions on who can stay and who a got to  spec. Roy Edwards 23, from san Diego was a Driver on a 1,000-Point tank. A we see a lot of Guys leaving a lot of Good Guys leaving a Edwards said. A a it a kind of hard to shoot a tank if you done to have anybody there to shoot  second it. Steve Ludwig just joined the outfit less than two months ago and he attributed his tanks perfect score to a Good Crew and a an excellent gunner too. That Man can hit  but that Man sgt. Dennis Jones is one of the Many seasoned sergeants who wont be gunning tanks much longer because the army made him an offer he   finds his perfect score does t count by Vince Crawley staff writer sgt. Dennis Jones earned a Bronze Star in the persian Gulf War and fired a rare perfect score in tank gunnery this month but he a not the kind of Guy the army wants to keep. A i would stack him up against 90 percent of the tank commanders and staff sergeants in this battalion and hell run circles around Mem a said James Hunt the first sergeant of co d who has worked with Jones for seven years. A the army a losing something and they done to really know what they re  Jones Isnit getting booted out just shown the door. The army offered him $34,000 to hang up his uniform and Call it quits after 13 years. According to the conventional Wisdom of the Early out offers those who done to accept the Cash bonuses will be prime candidates if the army starts chopping. Nearly 44,000 service members volunteered for the Early out Cash bonuses by mid May according to Pentagon figures. Of those 27,000 Are in the army. Maj. Doug Curtis a spokesman for the 1st inf div said More than 1,000 of his divisions troops Are opting for an Early out Cash offer. An armoured division has roughly 17,000 positions but several units have been Short staffed. Co d belongs to the 4th in 67th army regt a 1st army div unit in Friedberg Germany. Jones said he considers the Early out offer an ultimatum a get out with a Little now or get out later with a Little  his career Isnit on the army a fast track. He spent too Many evenings in the motor Pool keeping his tank up to snuff and showing the ropes to co Dos younger a Al Cen to to line Irmi Init troops when he could have been attending night school to improve himself. He was a Buck sergeant for too Many years without getting promoted. And making rank is Tough these Days in the army a shrinking tank corps. If he was infantry or a cavalry scout he would have enough promotion Points a 829 out of 1,000 a to get his next Stripe this month. But Jones is a tank gunner. So in july the 31-year-old father of five is flying Home to Magnolia miss., to look for work. A a in la find a Job somewhere a he said. A a in la take anything going until i find exactly what i  shooting the perfect 1,000 score this month was a Nice Way to Cap his career Jones said. A every engagement was smooth a he said. A every engagement. That was the key. We did no to get stressed  it was his first perfect score in 11 years of shooting. Another sergeant who also shot 1,000, called it a once in a lifetime achievement. Jones said hell miss being stationed in Friedberg where he spent seven years. A a it a a Good place. Peaceful. The towns not really that Large not As wild As the big City. Kind of like Magnolia. You go outside you done to have to worry about any drive by  his wife so taking it pretty easy a Jones said. A a in a the one taking it  he a disappointed by the Way the army is choosing who will stay and who will go. A a they re not looking at the people a just looking at records a he said. His own records show a a lot tanking and a lot of teaching but not a lot of College. A if they were looking for soldiers that did no to need to be in the army instead of saying a hey you re a number and we need to get rid of this number and this number a it  be so bad a the gunner said. He earned a Bronze Star when he went after an enemy personnel Carrier and truck that got behind Allied lines threatening co Dos Supply vehicles. Jones the expert tank gunner did no to miss. If the tables were turned who would Jones kick out of the army a those Guys who spend their whole career spamming out of work. Who did everything they could to get out of the desert. Id look Over that stuff real Good. A because the next time you Calls to go to combat he said a a those la be the Guys you re  beaches mask lingering dangers of War by Neil Macfarquhar the associated press Kuwait a when the workday ends swimmers volleyball players and Jet skiers swarm Over most Kuwait City beaches. But one strip of Sand is deserted. Its outside the hotel that houses ordnance experts who Are Clearing iraqi minefields left Over from the persian Gulf War. A Small sign warns that danger remains on the beaches. The mine cleaners who have combed the beaches and much of Kuwait a capital say you never know when a storm a or even a heavy wave a could bring in a slew of previously undetected mines. A supposedly the War is Over with but i done to look at it that Way because some people Are still dying a said Don Knelleken a 31-year-old . Ambulance Driver. He Shook his head at the thought of the beaches clogged with humanity. A those people Are taking a risk they done to fully realize a Knelleken said. The toll from More than a million mines and thousands of tons in unexploded ammunition mounts almost daily. According to the government count at least 4,000 civilians and 85 ordnance experts have been killed or wounded since Kuwait was liberated from seven months of iraqi occupation in february 1991. The work is being done by teams from six countries. The United states Britain France Pakistan Bangladesh and Egypt were each assigned separate sectors