One of the successful efforts to get surplus officers out of the armed forces and into civilian jobs is a $10 million British program to put retiring officers through an intensive four month English course. Since 1995, over 12,000 retiring officers have gone through the course, which is quite popular. Meanwhile, on the Georgian border in Chechnya, 15 rebels were killed in clashes with the army. About a hundred rebels remain surrounded by troops. There are several hundred rebels operating in the border area.