European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 14, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 stars and stripes saturday april 14 2007 Jason of the us Navy aviation Boatswain mate handler 3rd class Jerry Lowe of Demopolis Ala directs an mv22 Osprey in for Landing on the flight deck of the Landing helicopter Dock ship uss Essex marines to deploy Osprey unit to Iraq by Leo Shane m stars and stripes Washington the marines will deploy a Squadron of mv22 Osprey aircraft into Iraq in september the first combat Mission for the troubled Helicon Terai plane hybrid service offi the ospreys will give command ers in Iraq More flexibility in mis Sions since it can Fly further and faster than the ch46 sea Knight helicopters in use and provide better Protection for marines travel ing throughout the combat zone the ch46 is almost 40 years old it was introduced in Viet Nam said it Gen John Castel Law Deputy commandant for Avia Tion what we have Here is an air Craft that goes twice As fast three times As far and is six or seven times More survivable than the aircraft it replaces the deploying drum til Rotor Squadron 263 based in North be in Iraq for seven months and be based in Al Asad air base the unit has 171 officers and 10 mv22b ospreys Castellaw said the aircraft can carry 24 marines in full Battle gear and will be used in a variety of missions but mostly to Fly marines in and out of direct combat the aircraft has been under development by the Pentagon for More than 20 years it can take off and land vertically like a helicopter but can also tilt its win mounted rotors Forward to cruise like a fixed Wing air plane in 200023 marines were killed in test flights of the aircraft and As recently As february most of the corps Fleet was grounded for several weeks because of soft Ware glitches corps commandant Gen James Conway acknowledged those setbacks during fridays deployment announcement but said the quantum leap in techno ii what we have Here Sals hrs to the fight will prove invaluable to marines in Iraq Castellaw said the Osprey has been tested in desert conditions and the times More is an aircraft that goes twice As fast three times As far and is six or seven survivable than the aircraft it it Gen John Castellaw marines Deputy commandant for aviation squad deploying has extensive training for the complications Sand and dust May create he also said software hydraulics and training improvements Over the last few years have made the Osprey a safer Choice for com Bat than the ch46s the hybrid is quieter in flight than the helicopters giving ene Mies less Advance warning and is less vulnerable to heat seeking missiles because its infrared Sig nature is lower he said it also flies faster and higher than the ch46s if youve Ever gone Rabbit Hunting you know if s harder to shoot a Rabbit that s running than one that is sitting still he said this allows us to reduce the time marines Are exposed to the threat in the air Castellaw said he has already received requests to deploy the Osprey to support missions in Afghanistan the Horn of Africa and throughout the Pacific but no decisions have been made on if or when those areas will see the air Craft email Leo Shane at Europe school closings wont affect registration by Allison Batdorff stars and stripes Darmstadt Germany the closing of nine schools across Europe this summer wont affect next years Pupil registration school officials said thursday the process is the same whether parents Are in districts that Are contracting expanding or disappearing department of defense dependents school Europe spokesman David Ruderman said locally All of the administrators and parents know what is going on Ruderman said they know if the school is closing or expanding and when to Register portals opened this month to allow parents to enrol children for the 200708 school year parents have a couple of options Start the paperwork online at the Doddle web site and finish at the school or attend one of the mass registration events being scheduled parents Are doing their Chil Dren a favor by registering As soon As possible because it Al lows for the most rational Alloca Tion of resources Ruderman said it helps Doddle assure that theres a teacher a class stars and stripes teacher Liz Walters talks to Darm Stadt Middle school pupils in november 2006 Dodd Europe officials will hold registration drives this month in Hopes of getting accurate enrolment Fig ures for tiie next school year room space and the necessary books and other materials for every child present when school opens at the mid dle school is being consolidated into the elementary school next years numbers Are still up in the air which makes registration important for planning said Laura Lynn Elgin assistant Prin Cipal of the elementary school who also will be assistant Princi pal at the consolidated school its really important to get registration Early so we have the Cor rect staffing she said the school already has received online registrations especially from parents who Are mov ing to Darmstadt from the states she said the school will Host a mass registration event april 20 but so far Elgin said the consolidation Hast prompted any More questions than usual i think weve done a Nice Job of communicating to parents about the consolidation Elgin said weve had meetings and our parents Are aware of what s going on schools slated to close Are Gies sen elementary and school Butzbach elementary school Darmstadt Middle school Wurzburg Middle school Volkel elementary school lon Don Central school Livorno High school and la Maddalena elementary school schools slated to Combine Are Darmstadt school and Wurzburg elements school the 200708 school year begins aug 27 Ruden Nari said email Allison Batdorff at to streamline school registration Start online starting the department of de sense dependents school Seu rope registration process online can save time but parents need to know two things before they Start 1 pressing Send Doest mean their child is registered parents still have to visit the school to Complete the registration 2 the web site is organized by not Community so parents have to know which school their child is use it glitches occur when people new to the area Register online without knowing where their child should be enrolled Dodd Europe spokesman David Ruderman said in Small communities where theres one High school or one elementary school that s not a prob Lem but in the kaisers laut Ern Ramstein area for instance where there Are two elementary schools two High schools Etc parents have to determine their residence before knowing which school their child or children will attend Ruderman said also because the transformation in Europe is ongoing Doddle chief of transformation John Crongeyer encouraged parents to Check with the military units on questions about school closings a lot of tilings Are still in plan Ning Mode and Haven been announced yet Crongeyer said getting in touch with the unit is the Best place for parents to Start after submitting the online por Tion of the registration parents still need to Complete the process in person at the school Ruder Man said the Benefit of doing As much As possible online in Advance is that it saves the time of waiting in the school office to fill out the bal Ance of the paperwork Ruder Man said one of these Days the process will be More automated and centralized but were not there yet Ruderman said to Start the enrolment pro Cess visit Batdorff save 10