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| Soldiers Teach College Courses in OIF |
| 2004-02-20 |
| Some soldiers have discovered they donât need to put college plans off until after their Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment. Whatâs more, their teachers are also soldiers, often credentialed âin the fieldâ as college professors by major universities. Soldiers with a masterâs degree can teach undergraduate courses after they have been accredited to teach, said Capt. Michael Malone, adjutant for the 368th Engineers Combat Battalion, a Reserve unit from Londonderry, N.H. When home in the Silicon Valley, Malone is the vice president of software integration for Star Technologies Inc. College has had to be put on hold for most soldiers deployed for OIF. Although the Camp Doha education center offered courses, usually taught by civilian instructors, most soldiers couldnât get there. Malone, a software expert from San Jose, Calif., researched how to get classes running for soldiers stationed at Camp Arifjan and found out about the teaching program. âI called the Camp Doha education center and found out what it would take to teach. Basically, it took a masterâs degree and filling out a form, which was sent to a satellite branch of the University of Maryland in Germany for accreditation,â Malone explained. Malone also needed to find a place to teach. Since he was in an engineering unit, it wasnât hard to find some soldier craftsmen to put together some tables and benches out of plywood. After a tent was procured, all that was left was to set up some classes and get soldiers signed up. âWe worked with the University of Maryland to set up registration in the community center,â Malone said. âThe first semester it was 99% our battalion. We had about 100 students. This semester we posted flyer and got about 200. Weâre putting on ten classes this quarter. Weâve also recruited other teachers. Capt. DeFeo is teaching a course on ethics and criminal justice this semester.â Capt. James DeFeo, an intelligence officer with the 368th Engineers, is a police officer in his civilian career and has a masterâs degree in criminal justice. Most classes are worth three credit hours. They last eight weeks, and classes are held twice a week for three hours each. Classes are also being set up at other bases, such as Camp Udairi recently, near the border with Iraq. In addition to filling the night hours and broadening the mind, teachers are also paid by universities for their work, as long as it is not in conflict with duty hours. EFL |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |
| #1 Very cool. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-2-20 9:59:00 AM |