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4th Armored Division
(Page 3 - Division Trains/Division Support Command)
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

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Div Trains

Support Command
Related LInks

126th Ord Bn

4th QM Bn

46th Med Bn

504th S&T Bn

 
 
Division Trains

Cooke Barracks (late 1950s) - home of 4th Armd Div Trains (Cooke Barracks Photo Album)

Organization of an Armored Division Trains in 1958
(Source: STATION LIST, 31 December 1960)
ORGANIZATION (1960):
UNIT LOCATION COMMENTS
HQ/HQ Det Div Trains Goeppingen  
4th Quartermaster Bn Goeppingen
HQ/HQ Co Goeppingen  
A Co Goeppingen  
B Co Goeppingen  
46th Medical Bn  
HQ/HQ Co Heilbronn  
A Co Heilbronn  
B Co Heilbronn  
126th Ordnance Bn    
HQ & A Co Neu Ulm  
B Co Fuerth  
C Co Crailsheim  
D Co Erlangen  
   
(1) 504th Admin Co Goeppingen  
 
(1) According to doctrine for the period, the Administration Company should have been organic to Division Trains. However, some sources indicate that the 504th Admin Co was a separate company under HQ 4th Armd Div. Can anyone provide details?
4th Armored Division Trains DI
1962
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Jan 3, 1962)
The mission of Division Trains is to expedite and ensure the delivery of logistical support to the division.

Division Trains is made up of:
126th Ordnance Battalion
4th QM Battalion
46th Medical Battalion

CO of Div Trains is Col John S. Gerety. (Webmaster note: Gerety would later go on serve as the 4th AD Chief of Staff and then (c. June 1963) assume command of the 7th Army Training Center in Grafenwoehr. He was succeeded in the Div Trains CO position by Col David B. Goodwin.)

In wartime, Div Trains must be capable of supplying more than 600 tons of ammo; provide rations, gas and oil; and set up medical facilities and supplies for each combat command. Trains is also responsible for third- and fourth-echelon maintenance on vehicles and weapons.
 
Division Support Command
 
 
 
4th Quartermaster Battalion
 

Cooke Barracks (1982) - former 4th QM Bn billets (?)
 

Organization of an Armored QM Battalion in 1958
 
4th Quartermaster Battalion DI
 
 
 
126th Ordnance Battalion
 
126th Ordnance Battalion DI
1958
(Source: Email from Walter Mossner, Hq & A Co, 126th Ord Bn)
I discovered your very informative website only recently and like the way you put it together. It brought back pleasant memories of events that are now over 46 years old.
 
I was a draftee from Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Of my two-year commitment (9/1958 - 9/1960), I spent the first six months training in Fort Dix, New Jersey, Fort Knox, Kentucky and Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. In April 1959 I arrived at Headquarters & Company "A", 126th Ordnance Battalion, 4th Armored Division, Cooke Barracks, in Göppingen, West Germany, where I spent the remainder of my military duty. I was discharged at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York, in September 1960.
 
My recollections of that time period are summarized in the attached "4th Armored Division 1958-1960 - Memories of A Veteran". Please feel free to publish parts or all of it on your web site. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who served with me.
 
46th Medical Battalion
46th Medical Battalion DI
1962
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Sept 20, 1962)
4th Armored Division started a week-long field training course for medics in 1959 (conducted by the 46th Med Bn?). It is the only division in USAREUR that conducts this 10-phase medical training. The seven-day course covers all phases of medical training, equipment operations and the basic requirements of a field soldier.

The Department of the Army is currently considering a request from the 4th AD asking to authorize an expert medic's badge for those who complete successfully the course.
 
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