European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes saturday november 5,1994army limits tuition Aid to 9 by Jimi Jones education writer the . Army Europe once again has modified its College tuition assistance program this time cutting eligibility from a maximum of 15 semester credit hours a year to nine. The air Force also has initiated tougher standards for tuition assistance users . Air forces in Europe officials said Friday. Just last january Usa eur expanded the tuition assistance program raising the number of semester hours a Soldier could take to is and increasing financial Aid from 50 percent to 75 percent of tuition fees. Eligibility also extended to warrant officers and enlisted soldiers taking graduate level courses. A but in an announcement thursday Usa eur said the latest revision which took effect oct. 1, reflects a new army wide policy that limits soldiers to nine semes Ter hours per year for the 75 percent tuition help. The release said the new Rule was initiated to a provide consistent tuition assistance funding for soldiers As they move within the  soldiers still can use other funding sources such As Pell Grants and the Montgomery i Bill to pursue collegiate work above the nine semester hours ceiling. Other army restrictions such As the Rule that states tuition assistance cannot be used for lateral degrees courses from unaccredited schools or Post masters degrees have not changed thursdays news release said. Air Force and Navy education policies Grant 75 percent tuition assistance and 15 semester hours per year to service members. F Quot the army Standard is nine credit hours per year. We re looking at ways to do More if we re going to do More if we can do it legally Quot said col. Dick Bridges Usa eur Public affairs chief. _ under the army a new polity the command May not use other funds to finance tuition assistance officials said. Also tuition assistance funds now Are controlled at army level. Usa eur was allowed roughly $4.5 million for tuition assistance for the first half of the fiscal year. Although the command estimates its annual tuition assistance budget at $9 million officials said funds for the second half of the year will be determined by an army midyear review based on Soldier demand. Under the air forces new tuition assistance standards students must attain at least a c Grade in undergraduate courses and those doing graduate work must receive at least a b to qualify for the financial Aid. Previously those grades were d and a respectively the change was effective oct. 1.army from Page 1 lege which administers both programs said the decision probably Means the end of the schools operations overseas after More than two decades. Although the school also offers courses in emergency medical technical training management and unit Supply the funds it receives for head Start and fast subsidize the rest. Big Bend employs 400 people in Europe mostly part time. Sixteen people work at the Headquarters in bad Kreuz Nach. A a it Waters said the decision was a financial one. It will save the command $1.3 million a year. A Money is tight. We be had to make some hard decisions Quot said co. Dick Bridges the Usa eur Public affairs chief. A a. A he said the decision allows usar eur to use its available education funds a in the place where the majority of people Are pursuing their education a and that a tuition  a a today a Soldier is a Heck of a lot smarter. They re not interested in looking Back which is what fast is. They re interested in moving Forward which is what r tuition assistance is a Bridges said. However As of oct. 1, the army also slashed its tuition assistance. Soldiers now Are entitled to tuition assistance for up to nine semester hours a year a decrease from 15 a year. Usage urn a fiscal 1994 budget allocated $20.5 million for education pro Grams including $10.6 million for tuition assistance this year the command has allocated $17.32 million. Usa eur was allowed roughly $4.5 million for tuition assistance for the first half of the fiscal year. Although the command estimates its annual tuition assistance budget at $9 million officials said funds for the second half of the year will be determined by an army midyear review based on Soldier demand. The balance of the cont and a current budget a about $8 million a covers personnel costs supplies temporary duty testing and other costs Waters said. Fast and head Start were funded Only for the first Quarter. Fast teacher Martha Liebig warned that without the program some soldiers wont get the help they need to avoid separation from the army. A if you re going to Cut someone i guess the ones who Arentt academically Strong Are the Best candidates a a Liebig said a but in the Long run this is going to catch up with the army. Everybody can to be a chief. You need some indians. They might not be the Best test takers but they May be wonderful mechanics or leaders of  said the fast program has lost significance because soldiers Are better educated. A today almost 100 percent of people have High school diplomas and done to need additional help. Bridges said. A in the event that a Soldier needs help there Are other avenues for the Soldier. Bridges recommended that those soldiers visit the education Center. Leland Farley the european director of big Bend Community colleges said Friday that head Start and fast Are the Washington based schools biggest accounts. A a. A a barring some Miracle where we get funding to sustain us Over a period of time we re effectively shut Down a Farley said. \ a. About 3,500 people Are involved each month in the two year schools courses. In addition during the last 23 years 43,000 soldiers have graduated from big Bend with a High school diploma from Washington state Farley said. The school is also the primary Trainer for linguists who want to remain proficient or to Advance in their respective languages. The numbers taking the fast courses have dropped precipitously with the draw Down. From the first Quarter of 1990 to the last Quarter of 1994, enrolment plunged from 26,089 to 5,388. A this is the program for people not quite ready for College who Are trying to catch up and raise their it general test scores said Bill Humphreys a big Bend Field representative in Kaiserslautern. A a in a extremely sad to deprive the troops of these  Jackson said a it Means that the soldiers will be at a disadvantage for promo Tion Points self improvement Ana career advancement. A a i thought the army was committed to helping soldiers improve themselves which makes a stronger army. A healthy mind and a healthy body go  the head Start program is an introductory language program soldiers take when they arrive in Europe a this affects most soldiers because they take head Start when they arrive in country either German italian turkish French in Belgium or dutch in the Netherlands a Farley said Jackson said the structured program. Starts people learning the language. A it gets the individual involved in an unfamiliar lifestyle a Jackson said. However Bridges said that a soldiers who realty want to learn German language Only get the Bare minimum out of head Start. A a a f. A. A there Are still students who need to learn the language where they Are stationed and to get the skills they need to read their technical manuals for their jobs a Farley said. A the need for the programs Hasni to gone  Point kicks West Point . A three army football players were kicked off the team Friday for the rest of the season for touching the breasts of female cadets during a Pep rally last month. Two other football players were cleared in the oct. 20 incident for Lack of evidence . Military Academy officials said. The three cadets whose names weren t released also were being restricted to Campus for 90 Days and ordered to walk with a Rifle for five hours at a time for 80  also were Given 35 demerits each. Accumulating demerits can bring More punishment. No other cadets Are expected to be disciplined. A clearly if additional allegations did arise they would be dealt with a West Point spokeswoman Andrea hamburger said. A there is no indication that in sex complaint Are any other  the incident occurred when about 600 cadets ran through a cordon of 200 varsity and Junior varsity football players at Michie stadium. Academy officials rejected comparisons to the Navy a Tail Hook scandal in which dozens of women were molested by Drunken aviators who formed a Gauntlet in a Las vegas hotel hallway during a 1991 convention. West Points ritual thursday a spirit Quot runs before football games began about three years ago to boost team morale. Fifty one women were among the cadets making the run. Eighteen reported that their breasts were touched though three said they thought it was accidental. _ the. Women said they  identify the players who touched them.1 of the five players involved three came Forward and said they had brushed against the women inadvertently. Two others were turned in by their teammates. It was not Clear if the three who admitted their involvement were the three who were punished. The punishments were meted out by col Alan a. Fox brigade tactical officer at West Point following disciplinary hearings. Six Hundred of the Academy a 4,000 cadets Are women. The school has graduated about 1,200 female officers since 1976. Earlier this week the Las vegas Hilton and its Parent company were ordered to pay $5 million in punitive damages for failing to protect a former Navy lieutenant from Drunken aviators at the 1991 Tail Hook convention. To be honoured for regulation work Debra Sage by the stars and stripes Debra Sage May have the hardest Job in the . Army Europe making regulations easy to understand. For her efforts the Secretary of the army will present Sage with the 1993. Army editor of the year award thursday in a Washington ceremony. A editing to make policy Clear and effective is a demanding Job Sage said. A a it a one thing to make sure information is accurate but making it easy to read and understand is a real  Sage a civilian writer editor with the . Army Europe a information management division in Heidelberg Germany won the award for a upholding the standards of the army readability program and ensuring a the effectiveness of the publications she edited from May 1993 to april 1994, the statement said. The award Marks the fourth time in nine years that an editor in the Usa eur information management division has been named the army editor of the year the statement said. Sage is married to 1st sgt. David l. Sage of the Usa eur band and chorus in Schwet Zingen germany.., British warships leave Gulf hot spot Suez Egypt a the British frigate Cornwall and the . Aircraft Carrier George Washington which had been dispatched to the persian Gulf last month to counter an iraqi troop buildup passed through the Suez canal on Friday in route to the Mediterranean. Both were sent to the Gulf after Iraq moved More than 70,000 troops toward the kuwaiti Border