European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 25, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 22, letters to the editor sunday september 25,1994 european edition col Steven s. Hoffman. Usan. Commander publisher Bernard a. Zovistoski editor. News and editorial Deborah Abner news editor Bill Walker european editor Bob Wicker sports editor George Manet City editor to write us unit 29480 apoae09211 Orost Facell 1437 64278 Darmstadt Germany news Tel fax 06155-601416 to callus dial06155-601 plus Extension or Dan 348-8 plus Extension As follows news ext. 237,255,282, 226,326. Sports ext. 225,269, 263,332,321,221. Features ext. 230. 245, 341. V letters to editor ext. 208,400. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Business news ext. 326. News bureaus Heidelberg. Germany Effie Bathen room 117. Rome str. 104, 69126 Heidelberg Telephone Dan 370 7010 of civilian 06221-23421. Kaiserslautern. Germany Kevin Dougherty John Tohrner and Doyle Thiman. 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No Effort by officer recently a first lieutenant from wies Baden wrote to complain about the High Cost of College classes and frustration with the overseas education system. In this Case tuition assistance was not adoption because the officer wanted to take German classes but was not applying them toward the completion of a Bache Lor s degree. That meant the total Cost for the courses came to $1,340, plus boo fees. His conclusion was that officers were not supposed to learn the Host nation language and that the University of Maryland thinks officers Are made of Money. Vav ,. The University of Maryland is staffed by intelligent Nard working and dedicated people making Many of the same sacrifices As the soldiers they serve. The tuition assistance policy that Maryland must follow comes directly from the department of defense. This officer s Lac of knowledge and his attitude do not be come someone in a leadership position. There Are Many opportunities to be come immersed in the culture to learn arid improve German language skills. Inthe classified Section the stars and stripes lists language instruction Avail Able. Military Community weekly newspapers list language classes available at the local Community centers. These classes Range Between $10 and $15 in our Community. There Are also German and american Kontak clubs that meet weekly at a local Gasthaus. These Are Community social groups with exchanges involving a mix of spoken German and English. Then therein the Scholastic Community education program based at the american High school in Pur Community. It involves Var ious evening study courses including guided Tours and trips of local historic and significant Host country interests. There Are even on duty language courses available that our commanders Post quarterly. Finally there Are the Community bookstores that offer German language learning workbooks along wit cassette tapes. My set Cost me $35. If All of the above options prove neg editor s note to our readers let us know what you think we encourage our readers especially those who have never submitted a letter to write to us. Letters expressing readers View Points Are published Dally on this Page. All letters must be signed and include address and Telephone number. Setd to letters to the editor the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. Or fax country code 49 06155 601-395, Dan 348-8395. We Reserve the right to edit letters for clarity length and taste. Signed officer who believes in finding away for my soldiers to meet their needs and goals. By the Way the above information can be obtained for 50 cents and a few phone Calls. Sgt. Michael j. Noble Heidelberg Germany Active in your Community then do not de Spair. You can simply Call your education Center. Beginning German i and i Dantes subject standardized tests Are offered. Our education Center has eve contracted a civilian instructor in the past for a three part six month course in conversational German. The classes were held at the Center in the evenings. The Cost for the course and materials to the students were free. The University of Maryland foreign language department May even have a Point of Contact on the Economy for classes. If not the Goethe language Institute is in the German phone Book. I find it hard to believe that an officer in today s army would not be informed on these various alternatives to learn the Host nation language available to his sol Diers. After All head Start is conducted atthe education Center so your foot is Al ready in the door there. Only nine semes Ter hours will be available using tuition assistance this fiscal year. Imagine the difficulty in learning German by taking courses at those prices on a specialist s or private s pay. To further blame the University of Maryland for a Lack of Effort to find out what other German classes and training Are out there is a poor example. I am not a Counselor instructor or administrator. I am simply a noncom is thanks to Samaritan i would like to take this Opportunity to express my thanks to a special lady. I failed to catch her name but she de serves a bit More than just a  recently my wife and i were travel into Friedr Insdorf North of Frankfurt on the a-5, and our engine blew. And a towed our car to the next exit in this Case Friedberg. After parking our car my wife and i headed for Friedrichs Dorf on foot because it s just up the Road. It was a Coo Day probably not Over 65 degrees. We realized about Halfway to our destination that the trip was a bit longer than we anticipated and began to get cold. Against our better judgment we tried to catch a ride with passing Ameri can cars. We were shocked to see that out of More than 25 cars we stopped counting at 25not a single one even slowed Downto see what the problem was. We were wearing clothes that pegged us As obvious americans so it was t like we were a couple of terrorists or something. After we had walked about 30 More minutes along that Roadside this lady pulled Over to see what we needed an gave us a ride to Friedrichs Dorf. To her i say thank you one More time. To this i d like to add that the Ameri can service members Are All Over Here for the same purpose from the same Home country. We should All be looking out for each other on these Busy highways an not hesitate to take an extra second or two to see what the trouble is. Who knows someone May be experiencing a life threatening emergency. Doug Cudaback Mannheim Germany commentary Brady 2 offers sensible gun control rules by Sarah Brady go by the Capitol reflecting Poland you la see an unusual sight thou Sands upon thousands of pairs of shoe placed around the water s Edge. It s part of what we Are calling the silent March plea by thousands of americans from All Over the country for Congress to do something to reduce gun violence. There Are some 38,000 pairs of shoe sin ail representing the number of Ameri cans killed by guns in one year. The shoe shave been placed around the Pool by hundreds of volunteers who have grouped them by state according to the numbers of gun deaths in each. For years my husband Jim and thought we were part of a minority who Felt that this country s Lack of gun Laws defied common sense. But after passage of the Brady Law and the assault weapons ban believe that we Are part of a majority. Gun control works that is Why americans Are demanding tougher Laws. After former president Bush outlawed the import of certain types of assault weapons the number of those weapons traced to crime dropped by nearly 40 percent in the first year. And the Brady Law is a proven Success. In the first month More than 23,000 possible felons were stopped from buying handguns Over the counter. Last february on the Day the Brady Law went into effect handgun control inc., the organization i chair introduced the gun violence prevention act Brady 2." this plan overhauls the Way guns Are bought and sold in this country. We must treat guns As the dangerous u can have my 0urv Vixen Vidu Prygou dead firm flu of new ears weapons they Are. Guns and gun owners should be subject to the same common sense restrictions  place on cars and car owners. While cars kill Only by Accident they Are heavily regulated one must take a training course pass a proficiency test have a License. Cars must be registered and the Driver insured. And automobile manufacturers Are subject to stringent safety regulations. Guns Aren t. Brady 2 will not Stop a jaw abiding citizen from possessing a firearm. It Sim ply requires the buyer of a handgun to get a License pass a safety test and record any subsequent Sale. Brady 2 will not Stop a Law abiding citizen from buying a gun for self Protection. It simply requires that those who buy handguns know How to handle them and understand their responsibilities. And this Bill does not Stop manufacturers from making handguns. It simply requires that they make guns that meet minimal safety standards. Brady 2 will save lives. The american Public supports stronger gun control measures. I Hope Congress is listening. Sarah Brady is chairwoman of handgun Conj tool inc special to the Washington Post