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94th
Air Defense Artillery Brigade |
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| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960 - 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
94th ADA Brigade
DI |
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| In the early
days, 1960 - ??, HQ 94th Arty Group operated their AADCP () on Hill
479 (Langerkopf). The Group's Aviation Section operated out of Sembach Air Base (a USAFE airfield). HHB, 94th ADA Brigade, Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, 1970s HHB of the 94th ADA was officially inactivated effective 15 MAY 1998 at Kelly Barracks, Darmstadt, Germany. The brigade's two battalions (1-7 and 5-7 PATRIOT) became a part of the only remaining ADA Brigade in Germany - the 69th ADA Brigade, US V Corps on 16 MAY. COL Dave Casmus, Commanding, was the 94th ADA's last Brigade Commander. |
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| (Source: Email from Jim Smith) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Just a small correction to the entry on 94th Air Defense Artillery. I served with 5th Missile Battalion, 6th Artillery 11/1969 - 8/1971. We never wore the 7th Army insignia - the "Seven Stairsteps to Hell" as it used to be called. We wore the 32nd AADCOM shoulder patch and the 6th Artillery unit crest. |
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| 94th Group AADCP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Rick Logan, 94th ADA Gp, 1960-62) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I got to this website in a roundabout way. I was playing around with Google Earth and decided to look for Hill 479 and Langerkopf in Germany, both of which I was stationed at in 1960-62. I found Hill 479 and another site which I believe to be Langerkopf. After that I decided to search for both in Google and ended up here. My involvement with the 32nd ADA Brigade began in January 1960 when I was sent to Fort Bliss right after basic training at Fort Ord. Upon arrival there, I was assigned to the group at Site Monitor where I trained along with about 20 other troops fresh out of basic as an operator on the RDPC. After about six weeks, we were given a 30 day leave and orders to report to Fort Dix for transport to Germany. As I recall, a couple of the guys were to report to Bay St Louis, MS, to accompany the MSG-4 system to Germany. After 7 days at sea aboard the USNS Simon B. Buckner, we arrived at Bremerhaven and were taken by train to Kaiserslautern. We were originally billeted at 32nd Brigade HQ at Vogelweh and then moved to Kleber Kaserne, being assigned to the 94th ADA Group. The first few weeks we were there were spent traveling every day to a depot at Pirmasens where the MSG-4 system had arrived. We assisted in preparing it for transport to Hill 479. When I first arrived at Hill 479, it had just been completed. The MSG-4 system was not yet set up so we spent a good deal of time finishing up the site- painting, laying tile floor, etc. Since the MSG-4 system was new, there was a lot of work to be done integrating it into the air defense network and working out details. Consequently, as a Private E-2 RDPC operator, most of my time was spent doing everything but operating. One of my jobs at the time was driving a deuce-and-a half transporting shifts back and forth between the hill and K-town. In the winter of 1960-61, I was transferred to the SRS-II at Langerkopf. A class on the maintenance of the SRSII system was conducted by Hughes tech reps and I attended that class. I don’t recall how long the actual class was but subsequently, we were assigned to maintain the SRS-II system working round the clock shifts. I spent probably a year at Langerkopf, then was transferred back to the 94th Group. I remained there until I was discharged in October 1962. Upon arriving home, which was near Fullerton, CA, I (naturally) applied for work at Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton as an electronics technician. I was hired and, in February 1963 I was sent to Wuerzburg, Germany as part of a modification team to update the MSG-4 system located at Giebelstadt Air Base. I spent 4 months there, returning home in July1963 when the project was completed. I have since returned to Germany a few times. During a trip in 1986, I visited Kleber Kaserne in Kaiserslautern, which at that time was occupied by multi-national NATO troops. In 2004, I passed by the town of Bann on an autobahn that wasn’t there in 1962. In fact, it was the Bann off-ramp that alerted me to where I was. I was traveling with other people so I did not get a chance to stop and look for Hill 479. I can supply a few names I remember from my time over there. Some of the people who went over with the packet from Fort Bliss and were stationed at Hill 479 were: Dean Bigler, (?) McElroy, Ed Drew, Larry Canoy, Dwain Hardin, (?) Mathis, (?) Fitch, (?) Bayles, Royce Babbs, (?) Millsap, John Michelin, (?) Wedgeworth. Some others who were not part of the packet were: Foster, Selden, Boss, Jim St Ours Some of the names I remember of the Army personnel at Langerkopf were: Ed Simon, Jim Lamphere, Lewis Wood, (?) Albee, (?) Koskela, (?) Jenkins. It has been very interesting visiting this site and learning some of the background regarding the initial deployment of the AN/MSG-4 system and how it tied in with the SRS-II. I would be very interested in contacting some of the people who were there. I have maintained contact with Dean Bigler from the original packet and Ed Simon from Langerkopf. I noted an e-mail from Lewis Wood in this narrative. I remember that he, Ed Simon, Koskela, and I used to hang around together. We used to block off the latrine in the barracks while we were using it to develop our 35 mm Ektachrome slide film. Keep up the good work. |
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| Missile Control Center | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Roger Williams, Langerkopf MCC, 1964-1965, and Freising MCC, 1965) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Email moved to Missile Control Centers, Overview Page, Air Defense section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Michael Reed, 94th Gp MCC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Email moved to Missile Control Centers, Overview Page, Air Defense section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Bill Brandt, HQ 94th ADA Group, 1973-74) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Email moved to Missile Control Centers, Overview Page, Air Defense section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kasernes & Tactical Sites - 94th ADA Brigade units | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Webmaster Note: looking for anyone with more details on the NIKE sites operated by the 94th.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: Email from Richard Tracy, 2-56th Arty BOC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 94th ADA Group
(NIKE-HERCULES) Battalion Operations Center sites.... 1) The 5/1 Artillery (N-H) BOC probably was collocated with the IFC closest to HHB -- A/5/1 near Wackernheim. 2) The 4/6 Artillery (N-H) BOC was collocated with the D/4/6 IFC near Balesfeld (per Rolf's photos of that site). 3) The 5/6 Artillery (N-H) BOC was collocated with the C/5/6 IFC at Baumholder (per Rolf's photos of that site). 4) The 2/56 Artillery (N-H) BOC was collocated with Charlie's IFC on Hill 486 (now Grosser Mueckenkopf) south of Salzwoog. 5) The 1/67 Artillery (N-H) BOC was collocated with the C/1/67 IFC near Hardheim (per Rolf's photos of the site). 6) The 3/71 Artillery (N-H) BOC probably was collocated with the IFC closest to HHB -- A/3/71 (Kornwestheim). [5/1 and 3/71 BOC locations are "best guesses": the firing battery IFC was only a short "commute" from HHB...] Most of the BOC buildings were built to a "standard (NATO?) design," from what I was told, and have seen since. |
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| 63rd MSL Bn -- 5th MSL Bn, 1st Arty -- 2nd Bn, 1st ADA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: Email from Bill O'Connor) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I
found your site while looking for the defunct 94 Grp site. From April
1969 through Dec 1970 I served in 5th Bn/1st Arty. My first assignment
was as IFC platoon leader at C/5/1 in Quirnheim. I lived in the BOQ
in K-town except when our battery was "hot" when we stayed at the
unit. After that I was attached to HHB as transportation platoon leader
and lastly one of two officers staffing the BOC. Worked 24 on and
24 off. Got three days in a row off every three weeks. The BOC was
at McCully Barracks in Wackernheim but not collocated
with the B/5/1 IFC platoon. During the time at HHB and BOC I lived
in the BOQ at Mainz. Enlisted men at BOC lived on base at Wiesbaden.
I travelled regularly to our firing batteries since I was EMAS control
officer and also rotated as paymaster. I don't know which was wilder,
driving the German countryside with nuclear action code envelopes
or all that money!!!! I was glad to find your site as I couldn't remember
the place names for A, B, or D/5/1. Bill O'Connor |
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| (Source: Letter from Ray Bice, B Btry, 5th MSL Bn, 1st Arty) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was stationed
at B Btry from 1960-1963 in Dexheim. I have made contact with five
people from my unit and we all have pictures that we would like to
post. We would also like to know how we can obtain a Battery Roster.
I would like to dedicate these pictures to all the men of B-5-1. 95% of these picture were donated by Lester Paquin, the rest were donated by Ronald Payette and Ray Bice. Hopefully, more pictures will be posted when other missile men from B-5-1 visit this site. A little about myself: I spent seven years in the Army, achiving the rank of S/Sgt. The three best years of my service was while station at B-5-1. My two best friends were Lester Paquin and Jack Griffin. We had outstanding officers and NCO's. Two years ago Lt. Ron Payette found me on the internet. I started looking for other members of our unit and was able to locate Ed Hills, Lester Paquin and SFC David Fall, and we comunicate regularly. With the help of Lester Paquin, I located SFC William Emlinger, but unfortunately he passed away in 1995. SFC Fall gave me Sgt. Britts e-mail address but he hasn't answered any of my e-mails as of yet. But we remain hopeful. I had so many memorable moments while stationed at Anderson Barracks but if I had to pick just one to talk about it would be the time I relieved Pfc. Adams on the switchboard and he gave me his 45 pistol. After about one hour I was getting bored, everyone else was asleep. I pulled the pistol out of the holster and was aiming it at everything from the computer to the ewpb. I opened the hatch to get some fresh air and pointed the pistol at SP/4 Dan Robles who was setting in the guard shack. I moved the sites over a few inches and aimed at the cross plate on the main gate. Pulled the hammer back and squeezed ever so gently. The pistol buckled in my hand. The noise was so loud that I thought everyone would surly wake up but they didn't. I got on the headset and called Robles. He was highly pissed to say the least. I cleaned the weapon and got hold of a friend that work in the arms room and replaced the round. After I was relieved on the switchboard and Robles got off guard duty we tried to figure out where the round ended up. Incidentally, I hit the cross plate dead center. We pulled daily checks on all the radar's to make sure they weren't damage. Everything checked out OK. Where did the round go? I forget the armors name but he got worried about giving me the round and told his Plt. Sgt. In turn he told Capt. Cole who was Battery Commander at the time. I was called up on the carpet. I explained to the Capt. that I didn't know the gun was loaded and started laughing. He ask me what was so funny. I said that I never ever dreamed that I would ever be in a situation that I would be saying something as stupid as "I didn't know the gun was loaded." Capt. Cole informed me that he could put me out of the Army if he wanted and ask me what I thought he should do. I told him that I would respect any decision that he made but I felt that I learned one valuable lesson and I was truly sorry. Capt. Cole ask me what I was aiming at and I told him the cross plate on the gate. He said that it was one hellva shot since the gate was 50 yards from the BC van. He gave me an Article 15 and had me try out for the Battalion pistol team, which I never qualified. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. |
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| (Source: Email from Bill Larsen, HHB, 5th MSL Bn, 1st Arty, July 1966 - Dec 1968) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Within the 32nd AADC the 5th Missile Battalion, 1st Artillery (later "Missile" was dropped) published a newspaper called "Countdown." To my knowledge this was published from before 1965 through at least 1968. I would expect that every battalion in the command published a newspaper during that period. The Army, in its great wisdom, had a position in the TOE as "information specialist" (71Q20) during this period and were getting trained military journalists from the Defense Information School in Indianapolis, Ind. As to the patches of the 32nd AADC. The 32nd Artillery Brigade moved to its site in Kaiserslatutern in 1957 (Seventh Army patches). In May 1966, the 32nd was given the status of a major command and was redesignated the 32nd Army Air Defense Command. As I recall, the 32nd AADC patch came into use in late 1966. Hope this is some help. |
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| 25th MSL Bn -- 4th MSL Bn, 6th Arty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 45th MSL Bn -- 5th MSL Bn, 6th Arty -- 5th Bn, 6th ADA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: Email from Col. Lambert) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We
were organized as Overseas Package #5
at Ft Bliss, Texas -- sent to Kaiserlautern in Oct 1957 - Nov '57; sent
to Idar Oberstein -- HQ Btry, A Btry and B Btry were assigned to Strassburg
Kaserne; C Btry and D Btry to Baumholder. All sites were located in
Baumholder -- all launcher sites were at the end of the runway of
Baumholder Air Field; A and B Btry IFC were together on one hill top
and C and D on another. C Btry became a Nike Hercules battery and moved to its permanent site in late fall 1959. When I left in June 1960, all other btrys were still in Baumholder. |
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 162nd Ord Det (Guided Missile)(Direct Support) Pocket Patch |
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| (Source: Email from Morey W. Fuqua, "C" Btry, 5th Msl Bn, 6th Arty, 1959-61) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I left Ft. Bliss in July 1959 with Overseas Package #8. We formed the permanent Nike Hercules site at Baumholder -- "C" Battery, (5th Msl Bn,) 6th Arty. I was there until May 1961. We were always "C Battery", however, if my memory serves me correctly there were changes in batallion and/or other command units.
We originally wore the USAREUR patch and that later changed to Seventh Army. I only know the location of one other person I served with. But I am interested to know about others. My MOS was 225 and I was a SP-5 when rotated back to "the land of the round door-knob." My knowledge of the temporary (Nike-)Ajax unit that existed in Baumholder prior to my arrival is somewhat limited. In retrospect I feel somewhat sorry for those guys. I will try to explain why.
I first heard about Overseas Package #8 early in 1959 when I finished 225 school at Ft. Bliss. A friend gave me the name of a major who had something to do with assignments. I broke a few rules and barged into his office while his secretary had stepped out. I ask if I could be assigned to the package. What followed was a world-class butt chewing which, among other things mentioned the chain of command and my waiting for his secretary to leave. After standing at attention for what seemed like hours the major ordered me out of his office. He also said something to the effect, “Oh by the way, you are going to Germany. Give you name, serial number, etc to my secretary.” She had returned in the interim.
The next few months were a great experience. We formed an entire working unit from scratch. All of the members of O/S-8 had just graduated from the school of their specialty or transferred in from other units, mostly from Bliss. Our entire command structure was formed at that time. I remember some of the names:
We trained extensively until June 1959. Our firing exercises were at McGregor Range in New Mexico and were very similar to our Annual Service Practice when we later returned from Germany to Ft. Bliss and McGregor. I think one difference was that during the first trip to McGregor Range we might have fired Ajax as well as Hercules missiles. Later we only fired Hercules. During the O/S-8 training we became a very tight unit and this relationship lasted until the first of this group started rotating back from Germany. For this reason many the men that manned the prior/temporary Ajax battery probably felt they were overshadowed by this new group of loud-mouthed hotshots. Almost all of their command structure and technical personnel were replaced and their main job was to wait for rotation back to the States. Notice that I said “many” of the prior people. Some of that earlier group did in fact fit in very well.
Our new group arrived in Germany over a period of a few weeks in the summer of 1959. The new permanent site was being constructed by German contractors and was completed a few weeks after our arrival. Then the fun began. The Germans had nothing to do with the missile equipment installation. This was our job together with Army Ordinance. Once again, many of the prior personal felt left out because they had never seen the new equipment.
One on the SNAFUs we faced, and, one that only the military can orchestrate, dealt with security clearances. All of the O/S-8 personal had proper security clearances back in Ft. Bliss, even as they applied to special weapons. When we arrived in Germany USAREUR had its own ideas about security. We wasted considerable time being recleared so that we could work on the same equipment we had worked on in the U.S. I guess you can’t be too careful. The temporary Nike site was located right on the Baumholder base. I think it was near the airfield. I was only there on a few occasions. To get to the new site you had to drive a few kilometers from the Baumholder base. It was near a village, the name of which I’m not sure. It may have been Heimbach. Our main barracks were on Baumholder but we did have sleeping facilities on the site.
What I remember most was the heavy workload. We were severely under-manned and before the remainder of the sites in the battalion were completed it seemed we were on the highest level of alert status all the time. In addition, as you well know, security requirements on a special weapons site are high to the point of being unreal. I did not have to pull guard duty, but we had so few NCOs that the launcher maintenance personal (mostly SP-5s) had to pull Sergeant of guard duty at the same time they were on 24 hr maintenance shifts, which was about every third day. The poor guards had horrible schedules. For example it got so bad that they were pulling 3days on, one day off, 2 days on, one day off, then one day on followed by one day off. When that was over they started all over again. Despite the work and long hours it was one of the best times of my life.
I was on the ASP crew that returned to McGregor Range during the summer of 1960. At that time I was allowed to take a 30-day leave. The guys that remained in Germany were not happy with me for some time after my return.
We did have Nike Ajax on the permanent site; however, the emphasis was clearly on the Hercules capability.
As much as I wanted to get back to the U.S. and get on with my civilian life, I do remember some sadness when it was time to leave Baumholder. That was in May of 1961. I still remember the tightness of the unit that arrived in Germany to build a new missile base. During those early times many of us thought of it as our site in which the Army was only incidentally involved.
At some time during my stay, our shoulder patch was changed from the USAREUR to 7th Army. We were part of the 32nd Artillery Brigade at some time, if not all of the time. Maybe you can shed some light on this.
Before I left, Capt. Beaudry was promoted and transferred. Capt. Leonard F. Allen replaced him.
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| (Source: Email from Frank Contreras) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 95th MSL Bn -- 2nd MSL Bn, 56th Arty -- 2nd Bn, 56th ADA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 67th MSL Bn -- 1st MSL Bn, 67th Arty -- 1st Bn, 67th ADA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: Email from Wayne Gutshall, "A" Btry, 1st Msl Bn, 67th Arty, 1962-65) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was stationed at A Battery, 1st Missile Bn, 67th Arty (Griesheim 1962-65) and was billeted at Kelly Barracks, Darmstadt. I was in fire control and was a computer operator. The Nike site at Griesheim was Ajax and Hercules and we worked 24 hours on and off 24 and during the Cuban missile crisis we were on red alert with options of ground-to-ground or surface-to-air missions. We were a mobile missile site and would go to Worms annually with our missiles, radar, launchers, generators etc. It was a lot of work and we always had lots of mud to contend with. In 1964 we were the top unit at ASP at Ft Bliss, Texas for European units. I wish I could locate some of my old buddies from this unit. I ended up in Vietnam and retired out of WRAMC in 1976 with 17 years service. I also served in the N.Y., Omaha, & San Francisco defenses. |
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| 196th Ordnance Detachment (Guided Missile Direct Support) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Allan W. Swank, 196th Ord Det, 1963-65) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm signed in your guestbook. I served in Worms, 6/1963-6/1965, 196th Ordnance Detachment, Nike missile maintnance and support. I am flooded with personal recollections. Great site! Lot of work, kudos. Regained a lot of forgotten information. I traveled a lot in the line of duty and learned German pretty well, so I think I had an "untypical" view of Germany.
Here is some of the tale of the 196th Ordnance Detachment. It's been a long time so some of the details may be a little fuzzy but I'll give it as strait as I can. The 196th was a Nike missile Odnance support unit attached to the 1/67th Artillery Batallion with their HQ in Werthheim, about 80 miles away from our home base in Worms. We seemed to be pretty much on our own. Our rank was handed down from Artillery (they wern't all that generous) and the Artillery brass was not enthusiastic about journeying to the boondocks to visit or inspect, so we had only, at most, one annual batallion inspections, typically. The shop was a complete service unit. That is, we serviced Nike internal guidance, auxillary power, hydraulics, and launcher (mechanical, hydraulic and electronic) sections. Most maintenance was done in-shop, the repaired subsystems/components then ferried to and installed at the site. Site work was mostly to service the several radars and the launchers. In the shop was the orderly room, of course, and tech supply, manned by, usually, 3-5 men and separate areas for the other sections. The shop, itself, was a stuccoed cement block building about 75' X 150' (give or take) located inside a 6-foot high fence which surrounded the asphalt motor pool which was usually full of APC's, a couple of tanks and one humongous tank retriever. I'm guessing they were armored cavalry. The shop was only a half block out the back gate, away from Taukkunen Barracks, in Worms. My section had the responsibility of maintaining the personnel heaters in all the instrument vans at each of the 1/67 ADA radar sites. There must have been 3 at each site. Times 4 sites. Those dozen heaters alone kept us busy. But doing that, along with the normal launcher service kept someone from our launcher section almost always at one site or another. Another frequent duty which kept someone busy on site was the installation of modifications to the equipment. I was sure Western Electric originally designed a good system but then went back and changed some things so that, down the road, they could sell modifications to the Army for a little more cash. One example: the launchers were always exposed to the elements (our surface sites, at least) so it seemed reasonable to expect the several exposed cable connectors to draw moisture, compromising the power, control and communications signals going through them. But it wasn't untill years after their deployment that we came to install the weather-proofing, presumably purchased from Western Electric. The 1/67 ADA included four Nike Ajax/Hercules missile batteries: "B" Battery was altogether different. Bravo was associated with the town of Mainbullau. The ~60 mile trip to Bravo was always an adventure. One took winding roads through the woods and over a mountain. The site was on the top of a mountain (no surprise) which, in good weather was a postcard journey but in deep winter, could be a death-defying challange. You could always count on a breath-catching vista looking out over a deep valley. There was a German grass air strip nearby often with gliders in the air. Occasionally I would look DOWN from my truck to see a glider flying below me up the valley. Magnificent! Bravo's officers (especially Lts. Reiley and Adams) were the easiest officers I ever met in the Army to get along with (except for one full bird colonel - but that's another story), even if the enlisted men stationed there wouldn't agree and many didn't. "Charley" battery was a hoot. Here the NCO's were the high feature. They didn't hesitate to assist or compliment us Ordnance grunts. It was easy to feel like real people at "C" Battery. It sure didn't help their image when it was discovered that one obsolete Ajax missile they had sent back to the states was uncanned with the warhead still in it. Not armed, but still.... This was the longest drive from home (except for the trip to batallion HQ, about 80 miles), about 75 miles. Located near Hardheim (recent aerial view), I always expected to spend the night when I had to go to Charley. Nice drive, though, over much the same route as to Bravo but further. "D" Battery was unique. These guys were clever and resourceful. They only called us for things they were, by regulation, not permitted to do, and not always promptly then. I delivered replacement cables to them to correct a communications glitch. To avoid having the battery off-line, the maintenance guys crossed unused conductors in the cable (a no no) to stay operational. There was a USAF base somewhere nearby. Once, while working inside a bunkered section of the launcher area, I heard a high-speed bogie approaching. Then, like an explosion, wham!, this jet flew over just above the bunker and gaining altitude AND UP-SIDE-DOWN!. Unaffected, the site cadre guy simply shrugged and said, "oh, yea, they do that all the time. I think they're pissed 'cause somebody reported some pilot's wing number ID for buzzing the site. Now they still buzz us but inverted so we can't copy their ID". I loved the ~45 mile drive to Delta. From Worms we went south through Heidelberg (past the famous Heidelberg Castle) then wound , again, through the woods but, this time, over and along two rivers, Neckar and Mosel, finally to the town of Dallau. Since this site was so capable and self-reliant, I didn't get to visit there nearly as much as I would have liked. Let me explain a little here. Back in Worms, all the APC's were gone from the motor pool, off on their winter manouvers. One of our favorite sports was grabbing onto a vehicle's back bumper and skiing just on the soles of our GI boots. Worked great! I still don't see any real danger in it but we cought hell after the honchos saw all the tire and ski tracks in the snow. However, this day, all that goof-off practice paid off. Fred finally decided that I was right, he would not be able to run the whole way up the mountain, so he tried my way. He did pretty good for about half the distance but, for some reason, he wasn't happy with the arrangement. He saw ahead of us that the road made a long, gentle swing, circling around a small medow-like area. (All under snow, of course. No way to tell how deep the snow or how treacherous the terrain). But he decided to run across that open area and catch up with the cab of, at least, one of the trucks. I tried to discourage him but he wouldn't be talked out of trying it. Well, he did give it a go. He was soon waist-deep in snow. He, sure he had absolutely no chance to pull off his scheme, wallowed his way BACK his trail, then had to run like mad to catch us up again. The rest of the way up the hill, he alternated between skiing and jogging, all the while, cussing me for my ha |
193rd Ord Det (GMDS) 
2nd
Bn, 1st ADA - 
