| If you do
NOT see the Table of Contents frame to the left of this page, then
Click here to open 'USArmyGermany' frameset |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
56th
Field Artillery Brigade |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brigade History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963 - 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Sources: Pershing Cable, Orientation Issue 1982, 56th Field Artillery Brigade, Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
56th Field Artillery Bde DUI |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
What
to expect
A tour with the 56th is as challenging and demanding as it is personally rewarding. Because of its vital mission, a high-level of performance is required from each soldier. The hours are long, the work tough, and the conditions are often less than ideal. However, it is this selfless dedication to mission accomplishment that keeps the brigade on an ever-ready alert status. Each firing battalion has one of its batteries out at its Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) site. There are three of these sites in Germany. When the battery goes out, they realize they will be out there for at least three months. While here they rotate between the missile site itself and an administrative area where they perform maintenance on vehicles, with time out to return to garrison for a few days. Field duty is often a companion to the Pershing Soldier The entire brigade participates on a yearly winter and fall field problem. In addition, each battalion must go through a Tactical Evaluation (Tac-Eval). Slogging through the mud, they must prove to NATO evaluators, as well as themselves. that they can be battle ready if the time should come. Performance earns trip back to States As the biting winter of Germany sets in, the memories of home in the summer seem that much brighter. You warmly remember lying on the beach, watching people walk by, swimming and just taking it easy. Those days are gone. Now you're in Germany working with the Pershing missile. Your days are spent in the field or at the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) site rather than on the beach. Those days have to wait until the spring. Perhaps not. Each year a hardworking battery is picked to pack up their missiles and go to either Cape Canaveral, Fla., or White Sands Missile Range, N.M., for an actual firing of the Pershing missile. The missile crews, all recognized for their professionalism and outstanding performance, are chosen to participate in the Follow On Test (FOT) "shoot." The FOT is an extension of an evaluation that begins here in Germany at the unit's QRA site. However, the FOT portion of the evaluation includes assembling, erecting, and firing the ac tual missile. Particular attention is paid to their in-flight reliability and accuracy. All the hard work spent at the ORA site and in Florida is all worthwhile when the ground trembles and the mighty missile roars skyward and you receive word on how close "your" missile came to hitting the target. Even after the missiles have been launched, there is still work to be done. The ELs have to be sanded and painted for their return back to Germany. The professionalism you displayed got you to Florida. The idea was to work hard, do your job, and then enjoy the benefits of a job well done. Florida offers plenty of opportunities for long awaited "fun in the sun" during off-duty hours for hard-working soldiers. There are trips to Disney World; Sea World; the Kennedy Space Center; the Martin Marietta Plant, producers of the Pershing missile; and journeys home to visit family and friends. NCOs learn to toughen their act The Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC) is just one more feature which could make your Pershing tour full of memorable challenges. The school, organized and sponsored by the 56th FA Bde., is located at Neu Ulm's Nelson Barracks. It is a demanding 28-day course which only the best potential Non-Commissioned Officers are invited to attend. According to SFC Robert Hill, Assistant Commandant, its purpose is to "prepare NCOs and future NCOs to return to their units and assume leadership positions. But most importantly, to lead by the example they set." One of the school's main features is a tough, but concerned, staff of cadre who insist on a military appearance and attitude at all times. "Spit, polish, and appearance receive a lot of attention here," says Hill. "A high standard is necessary when you consider the image the leader is giving his subordinates. Thus, it's got to be above what he expects from his troops." PLDC is much more than starched uniforms and highly shined boots. A 'white glove inspection' is performed daily with costly demerit points hanging in the balance. From the moment of their arrival, students are in a carefully controlled environment. For the remainder of their stay, they will live, work, and dine with their peers. Whatever rank the student had prior to attending the course comes off, temporarily. From there the class becomes a unit within itself. Commanders, first sergeants, and squad leaders are appointed. Ideally, during their stay, each student will be asked to perform in some leadership position and graded on his or her performance. Situational problems are placed before them and the watchful eye of the cadre note their responses. A vigorous physical training program challenges their endurance, while constant practice at drill and ceremony sharpen their ability to march others. A four night stay in the woods tests their ability to survive there, and in-ranks and wall locker inspections provide challenges to garrison skills. Finally, to add to the cram course atmosphere, is the time spent in the classroom. Here, students are taught basic military skills and how-to of giving a block of instruction themselves. As much as it may sound to be, PLDC is not Basic Training revisited, nor is it a rubber-stamp for E-4s and E5s enroute to the next rank. It is a good representation of what the 56th FA Bde. has come to expect from its NCOs. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If you have more information on the history or organization of the 56th FA Group/Brigade/Command (or any of the subordinate units), please contact me. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Annual History, USAREUR & Seventh Army, 1966) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pershing and the Quick Reaction Alert a. Background. According to the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) concept, elements of SACEUR's nuclear strike forces were to be on continuous alert and assigned to cover critical, preselected targets earmarked in the SACEUR Scheduled Program for Destruction within a few hours of the release of nuclear weapons. As early as 1964 the Pershing system -- designed for the general support of the field army -- had been under consideration for employment in the QRA role. During March and April 1965 USCINCEUR had conducted a Joint Environmental Test (JET) of the Pershing system that had simulated QRA conditions. The next step had been to conduct a series of operational tests to fire the Pershing system under QRA conditions. USCINCEUR had delegated this responsibility to CINCUSAREUR. The first phase of the operational test program, designated Demonstration and Shakedown Operations (DASO), had started in October 1965, when a battery of USAREUR's 4th Battalion, 41st Artillery, had returned to the United States and fired three missiles.Subsequently, in March 1966, the Secreatry of Defense approved plans to expand the Pershing QRA program, and in April the Department of the Army established QRA as the primary mission for the Pershing. b. Concept BRAVO. USEUCOM's
Concept BRAVO called for employing an 8-launcher Pershing battalion in the QRA role. One 4-launcher battery with two programer test station/power station combinations was to be on field alert status (FAS), two 2-launcher batteries on garrison alert status (GARS), and the personnel of one battery -- its launchers and programer test station used to augment the FAS battery to a 4-launcher configuration -- were to be on maintenance status with maximum leaves and passes. This concept required additional personnel and, pending their arrival in the fourth quarter of 1966, USAREUR's three Pershing battalions -- the 4th Battalion, 41st Artillery; 1st Battalion, 81st Artillery; and the 3rd Battalion, 84th Artillery -- assumed the QRA mission, each with a 2-launcher battery on field alert status. (The concept under which USAREUR assumed the QRA mission -- termed Concept CHARLIE -- differed from Concept BRAVO only in the 2-launcher configuration of the FAS battery. The 4/41st Arty, the 1/81st Arty, and the 3/84th Arty assumed QRA status on 1 December 1965, 15 January and 15 April 1966, respectively.) In October the augmentation personnel needed to implement Concept BRAVO began to arrive, and USAREUR asked the Department of the Army for authority to reorganize its Pershing units under a modified Delta-series table of organization and equipment (TOE). (USAREUR's Pershing battalions had been under TOE 6-615T.) In the interim USAREUR authorized the issue of the additional equipment needed for the expanded QRA mission and currently available in the theater. In December the Department of the Army authorized the reorganization of USAREUR's Pershing battalions; each of the three battalions was to have one 4-launcher battery on field alert status by the end of March 1967. c. Programed Changes. As approved by the Secretary of Defense, the Pershing QRA program called for developing improved ground support equipment and erector launchers scheduled for delivery in the second half of 1969. Each firing battery would receive 9 improved launchers so that the modified battalion would have up to 36 launchers.CINCUSAREUR emphasized the danger of presenting so lucrative a target as a 36-launcher battalion. He noted that peacetime stationing of a 9-launcher battery at a single location would invite covert enemy action at times when hostilities seemed imminent, and even the deployment of large covering forces could not preclude clandestine mortar attacks. The Department of the Army acknowledged the increased vulnerability of the modified battalion but indicated that the 36-launcher battalion appeared to be the best solution to provide the desired firepower for the QRA mission. d. Pershing Operational Test Unit. In 1965 USAREUR had organized the POT unit under a separate table of distribution (TD) to conduct the 10-year operational test program. While ballistic missile operational tests were not a standing requirement for field armies, the POT unit functioned as an integral part of Seventh Army's artillery staff. As a result of the consolidation of headquarters, USAREUR relocated the test unit to Heidelberg and integrated it into the Artillery and Special Weapons Directorate of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, on 1 December 1966.e. Field Alert Status Verifications. To provide reliable data on the Pershing in the QRA role, USAREUR tested each battery on field alert status. Designated Field Alert Status Verification (FASV), the test consisted of a complete evaluation of each battery's functions from USCINCEUR 's release of a simulated release-hour message until the simulated firing of two missiles.During the Joint Environmental Test in early 1965 the Pershing batteries had scored mean reaction times of 54 minutes for the first missile and 106 minutes for the second missile. In late December USCINCEUR reported that mean reaction times derived from tests conducted since 1 December 1965 -- when the first Pershing unit had assumed the QRA mission -- were 29 minutes for the first missile and 61 minutes for the second. Pershing QRA Facilities In December 1965 USAREUR's Pershing units had assumed the QRA role assigned by SHAPE. The 16th Slice (NATO Common Infrastructure Program) had included a project for 15 firing battery positions -- 9 field sites and 6 sheltered sites. Each field site would have a cleared and graded area, concertina barbed wire fencing, access roads, and power and sanitary facilities. Each sheltered site would have missile shelters, custodial and alert guard buildings, a ready building, a generator shelter, hardstands, security fencing, and internal and access roads. USAREUR's proposal for the 18th Slice called for expanding these facilities to provide for 12 Phase II kaserne-type firing positions, at which construction would be of a much broader scope than that planned in the 16th Slice for the 6 sheltered sites. Each of the 12 firing positions -- located 20 to 30 kilometers from headquarters and service elements of the Pershing battalions and at a similar distance from other installations and possible nuclear targets for enemy forces -- would have a cantonment to support 200 military personnel. Construction would include billets, sanitary and security facilities, dayrooms and messes, motor maintenance shops, ready rooms, hardstands, utilities, and extensive site preparation. The justification for NATO funding was that the project supported the NATO Nuclear Strike Plan and would reduce reaction time and increase the target coverage area. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Letter from 56th FA Bde Public Affairs Office, early 1980s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 56th Field
Artillery Brigade is composed of three Pershing battalions, one Infantry
battalion, a Chemical Decontamination detachment, a newly formed Maintenance
battalion (which includes forward support companies stationed with
each Pershing battalion and an aviation company) and the Headquarters
and Headquarters Battery 56th Field Artillery Brigade. The Pershing battalions are one of the largest battalion-sized units in the United States Army, with nearly 1200 personnel assigned. Each battalion is comprised of four firing batteries with nine launchers in each battery, and a Headquarters and Service Battery. This gives the Brigade a total of 108 launchers. Additionally, there 72 launchers assigned to the German Air Force's (Luftwaffe) two Pershing wings. The five battalions in the 56th Field Artillery Brigade are stationed at three primary locations: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Each Pershing battalion has one battery on QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) status at all times. These batteries on QRA status are located at the following sites: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Infantry companies of the 2nd Battalion 4th Infantry provide security for each of the Pershing battalions and are stationed throughout the Brigade area - Neu Ulm, Heilbronn and Ludwigsburg. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Chapter 8, Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1988) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev formally ratified the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in Moscow on 1 June 1988. It eliminated Soviet and U.S. nuclear weapons that have a delivery range between 300 and 3,400 miles. The Soviets maintain 133 INF sites located in the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia. The U.S. operates facilities at 31 sites in CONUS, West Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy. Soviet missiles marked for elimination include 80 SSCX-4 cruise missiles and the following ground-launched ballistic missiles-650 SS-20s, 170 SS-4s, 6 SS-5s, 726 SS-12s, and 200 SS-23s. The U.S. must destroy 442 ground-launched cruise missiles along with 170 Pershing 1a and 247 Pershing II ballistic missiles. The INF Treaty contained several verification provisions. In addition to an exchange of data on the missiles and their locations, it allowed on-site inspections by each country to validate the data exchanged and to verify both missile destruction and cessation of further production. The treaty further provided for short notice on-site inspection at INF sites during a three-year reduction period and ten years thereafter as well as verification by national technical means such as satellite imagery. The Defense Department activated the On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA), an interagency organization, in Washington, DC, in January 1988. It tasked OSIA to conduct INF Treaty inspections in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and to coordinate U.S. activities associated with Soviet inspections in the U.S. and Western Europe. An Army brigadier general heads OSIA, assisted by deputies from the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the State Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). His staff consists of about 300 personnel, 150 permanent and 150 temporary, with a ratio of about 65 percent military to 35 percent civilian taken from the armed services, the Coast Guard, and other federal agencies. In September 1987 the U.S. And the Soviet Union agreed to establish Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers (NRRC) to lessen the possibility of war between the two countries by accident or misunderstanding. The White House directed that the NRRC, activated at the State Department in March 1988, would transmit communications between U.S. And Soviet officials regarding INF inspections. Soviet INF inspectors can enter the U.S. at two points-Washington, DC, and Travis Air Force Base, California. Army Pershing sites in CONUS that the Soviets may inspect include Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Pueblo Army Depot Activity, Colorado; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Dugway Proving Ground, Utah; and the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant, Texas. As for destruction of the missiles affected by the INF Treaty, Soviet officials indicated they would burn most of their weapons in pits but also may launch some for disintegration in the upper atmosphere. The U.S. Air Force planned to fly its cruise missiles, deployed in Europe, to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and cut them apart with chain saws. The Army decided to transport its Pershing II missiles, deployed in Europe and stored in the U.S., to two Army installations located in the U.S. for destruction-the Pueblo Depot Activity and the Longhorn Ammunition Plant cited above. It will destroy all of the Pershing 1a models at their present location, the Pueblo Depot Activity. The destruction procedure calls for burning the solid fuel propellant and crushing the motors and other portions of the missiles with bulldozers. The Air Force and the Army will transfer the nuclear warheads from their destroyed missiles to the Defense Nuclear Agency for storage. The treaty also requires destruction of missile launchers, so the Army developed a plan to destroy Pershing launchers located in Europe at Hausen, West Germany. OSIA supervised the first destruction of Pershing rocket motors at the Longhorn Ammunition Plant on 8 September 1988. Implementation of the INF Treaty required a conventional force adjustment by the Army. It proposed to restructure its four Pershing II battalions -- the 1st, 2d, and 4th Battalions of the 9th Field Artillery, 56th Field Artillery Command, in West Germany, and the 3d Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 214th Field Artillery Brigade, at Fort Sill -- into a field artillery brigade. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th Bn, 41st Field Artillery / 1st Bn, 41st Field Artillery | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: 1st Bn, 41st Field Artillery Information Brochure, early 1980s) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery DI1. THE REASON FOR US FORCES PRESENCE IN EUROPE: The United States is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). As a result of this alliance, the US has had military personnel stationed in Europe since the end of World War II. This large force serves as a pledge of our sincerity to defend the free European countries and other members of NATO. Our forces also serve as a deterrent to aggression by the Warsaw Pack nations since any armed invasion of Europe would immediately involve them with the United States. 2. THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF NATO: The most important aspect of NATO is its military alliance, which states that all member nations will defend any nation that is attacked. NATO has been an instrumental factor in preventing an armed conflict in Europe since 1945. NATO also serves other functions of an environmental, economic and cultrual nature to help the member countries understand and cooperate with each other in all ways. 3. THE MISSION OF THE US ARMY, EUROPE: To provide NATO with land combat forces to help successfully defend the free countries to Western Europe from Communist aggression. 4. BATTALION MISSION: The battalion has a dual mission: a. To maintain a
portion of its missiles on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) status as a
part of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe general strike plan.
b. To provide general
support to the Commander, Central Army Group, (COMCENTAG), allowing
him to shift decisive fire power over a large portion of the battlefield.
5. BATTALION ORGANIZATION: The 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery consists of one Headquarters Battery, one Service Battery and four Pershing Firing Batteries. There are 1,400 officers and enlisted men authroized. The Pershing battalions are the largest, most powerful and most responsive battalions in the US Army. 6. TRAINING CYCLE: The mission training for firing batteries is broken down into four phases or periods. Each firing battery rotates through these phases in the following sequence. We have begun with the Combat Alert Status (CAS) phase, but you may enter the cycle at any of the other phases depending on where in the cycle the battery is operating: a. CAS
Phase: The CAS period is normally 12 weeks in length. The
battery on CAS deploys to the CAS site which is approximately 100
miles south of Schwaebisch Gmuend. Initially you will undergo approximately
a week of change-over activities with the battery that is coming off
CAS. Your battery's missiles will be kept in a firing postion 24 hours
a day. When you are not on "hot status" you will be performing vehicle
and section equipment maintenance in the battery administrative area.
While at CAS you will be performing the first of the two primary tactical
missions assigned to Pershing - that of Quick Reaction Alert (QRA).
b. GARS
II: Upon completion of your CAS phase and your return to
Schwaebisch Cmuend, you will enter the GARS II training cycle. During
this phase your battery will train and exercise for the second tactical
mission of Pershing - General Support. During this training phase
your battery will deploy to a local training area and using cover
and concealment, emplace the battery equipment in a field location.
You will gain field experience in such areas as Reconnaissance, Survey
and Occupation of Position Procedures, Security, Nuclear, Biological,
Chemical, Convoy Operations, Emergency Destruction and Survival. c. GARS
III: During this phase the emphasis is on learning how
to maintain the battery's equipment. The majority of your working
day will be devoted to maintenance. The battery commander will generally
authorize the maximum allowable number of leaves during this period.d. GARS
I: During this phase the emphasis will be on missile crew
training in preparation for CAS. This technical proficiency training
of individuals and crews in missile operations is terminated with
certification by the Battalion Standardization Team. In addition to
crew training, missile equipment maintenance is stressed during this
phase in order to further prepare the battery's equipment for the
CAS period. e. Although they
don't participate in the training cycle directly, Headquarters Battery
and Service Battery, have the vital tasks of supporting all firing
batteries throughout each phase of the remaining cycle. During field
training exercises, Headquarters and Service Batteries move to the
field and become fully operational, supporting the battalion mission
form the field location. 7. THE USAREUR ALERT SYSTEM: This unit consistently participates in various alerts and readiness tests to insure that it maintains a high state of readiness. Some alerts require that the entire battalion deploy to the field for 12 to 48 hours, while the most common tests pertain to solely the battalion operations and the CAS Battery. 8: BATTALION HISTORY: The 4th Missile Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, was activated by General Order 428, 14 January 1963. The battalion strength was 33 Officers, 12 Warrant officers, and 568 Enlisted Men. The 4th Missile Battalion, 41st Artillery, composed the first deployable Pershing unit. Organization Day for the 4th Battalion, 41st Artillery, was held on 20 July 1963, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. On the following day the unit colors were presented.to LTC Fitzpatrick. A rigid training program began as the men were introduced to the intricacies of a field artillery missile unit and concurrently reviewed many operations and tactics learned in previous training perimeter guard, CBR operations, road marches, blackout maneuvers, squad tactics, etc. Live practice firing began on 14 November at Fort Wingate, New Mexico. At the completion of the firings on 5 December 1963, the 41st returned to Fort Sill and began preparations for its eight-day journey to Germany on 3 April 1964. On Sunday, 11 April, at 0100 hours, the MSTS Simon B. Buckner carrying the 4th Battalion 41st Artillery, docked at Bremerhaven, Germany. The following morning the men boarded a train for their new duty station, Schwaebisch Gmuend, FRG. The 4th Battalion, 41st Artillery was de-activated on 29 September 1972 by General Order 1033. The 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery was activated on the same day arid has continued the 4th's great tradition in Schwaebisch Cmuend as the battalion with the motto, "Mission Accomplished". |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Chris Heist) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I have pics from 1969 to 1971 of Bismarck Kaserne in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany. My father (Sp4 Warren R. Heist) was stationed there. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st Battalion, 81st Field Artillery | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st
Battalion, 81st Field Artillery DI |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Gene Smania, A Btry, 1st Bn, 81st FA, Neu Ulm, 1971-1972) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Roger Heskin, 1st Bn, 81st FA, July 1964 and January 1965) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st Battalion
81st Artillery I was in this unit between July 1964 and January 1965 at Wackernheim, Germany. I think they called it McCully Barracks. I was a surveyor for the Pershing missiles. We surveyed in potential firing points. I am looking for the address of the First Sergeant Poffenburger. This battalion formed up sometime around August of 1963 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. We trained until sometime in July 1964. Everyone went on leave and those East of the Mississippi reported to Brooklyn Navy Shipyards, or something like that. Those West of the Mississippi had to report back to Ft Sill and travel with the equipment to New York. I reported to Brooklyn Navy Shipyards and as such I came to New York early and attended the Worlds Fair that was in progress at the time. The day I had to report to the ship I took a cab from downtown Brooklyn and we stopped at a red light. I looked out the window and three guys were harassing one guy and yelling at him. I asked the cabby what was going on and he said: “that is a scab and the three guys are keeping him from getting into the union hall to get a job.” I boarded the USS Buckner along with 900 (there may have been a lot more than 900 however our unit was about 900) other GI’s from the 1st of the 81st. We set sail and stopped in Southampton, England. Down in the hole of the ship there was nothing but bunks. I think they were three high (maybe four) and next to you was another three high. So when someone climbed up to the top bunk he stepped on each bunk like a ladder. Lucky for us the hole was not filled; so we had room to spare. When we left Southampton we had a special pilot that guided us through the English Channel to Bremerhaven, Germany. At Bremerhaven we boarded a troop train that took us to Rhein Main Air Base. When the train pulled in to a station it was about 6:00 AM and there were two young ladies standing on the platform waiting for a train to take them to work. We pulled in and 900 GI’s got off the train and formed up ready to get into trucks to take them to the base. I remember the look on the face of those girls. They were standing there all alone at 6:00AM; and all of a sudden 900 guys came off the train. They kind of shuffled their feet and looked around like “Oh my God what is going on?” We finally got to McCully Barracks in Wackernheim. This was south of Mainz near Ingelheim. The barracks that we lived in had been built during the Hitler administration. The walls were made of a soft cement like substance that were about 2 ½ to three foot thick. The streets were of cobble stone and the septic tank ran over from time to time and really stunk up the street especially in front of the mess hall. I remember it was Thanksgiving and we had the day off. I had my civilian cloths on and I ran down to the mess hall and because of the septic tank was over flowing I came right into the mess hall. The mess sergeant told me to get my ass out side and get a dress uniform on if I was going to eat in his mess hall. So I went over to the snack bar and had a hamburger. The first time we went off base in Wackernheim we went to a small bar outside the gate. Some farmers hung out there and they came over to our table and talked to us. They bought us some cognac to drink with our beers. The cognac cost 10 cents a shot. The tray of drinks was 10 shots at a time. We were drinking German beer and shots of cognac. I remember going out the door and heading for the front gate. When I woke up in the morning I had lost my shoes and I was sleeping in a room at the other end of the barracks from where I was suppose to sleep. I remember the cognac tasted something like gasoline. When we went off base the Germans were really nice to us. We would go into a bar and some German would come over and sit at our table and talk to us and buy us beers. They always referred to us as “Comrade.” We are comrades. In fact we referred to Germans as comrades. We would say; “Here comes comrade.” This attitude was not prevalent in Europe however. When I flew to London and got off the plane the German stewardess (who was a male) went over to the grounds keeper that was putting blocks under the wheels of the plane and started to talk to them. They waved there arms in his direction that indicated that he was to get the hell away. They did not want to talk to him. This same attitude prevailed in Norway when I went to visit my relatives. I was trying to speak Norwegian and I accidentally said a German word (guten tag). Everyone stopped talking and looked around the room. The old man said: “Where did you learn the German?” The mark was worth 25 cents and we would buy bottles of beer for one mark. We went to a wine festival and they had a big tent. They had a band that played music in the tent and wine was three marks per bottle. We sat at wooden tables and sang songs all night. I spent 75 cents and had a ball. I think I was singing in German when I left the tent. There were three of us and we each bought one bottle of wine. The German families reserved a table for themselves for the whole week. I came over to a table and the German invited me to sit at his table for the evening. I was downtown Frankfurt one day and a German started to jay walk across the street. The policeman saw him and yelled something in German. The man turned around in the middle of the street and ran back to the sidewalk. He came over to the policeman and took his hat off and stood there while the policeman chewed his ass out. I do not know what he said but it was a real ass chewing. When we had been there long enough I got leave and I bought a train ticket to Rome. The train left at 8 or 9 o’clock PM. I was sitting in the train station in Mainz and two policemen came walking through the station. They had long overcoats on that hung down to their ankles. They had the service caps on so they looked the part of the real German police. They each had billy clubs in their hands that they were spinning around as they walked. They came up to me and asked me if I had a train ticket. I showed them my ticket and they thanked me very politely, and moved on. There was a drunk German sleeping on one of the benches. They stopped by this guy and one policeman smacked him on the bottom of his shoe with the billy club. The guy woke up immediately and the policeman told him to get his ass out of the train station. I did not have to understand German to figure this out. We went out on a field problem and were training to set up the missile and etc. I was on guard duty and it was Sunday morning. There was a little town next to where we were training. A boy about 10 or 12 years old came by after his Sunday school class. He was dressed in a suit and tie. He came up to our guard post. We were sitting with a 50 cal machine gun in a hole as a perimeter guard. He asked if he could talk to us. We said sure come on over. So he came over to us and he told us that he knew all about the machine gun that we had. I had a info pad that had all of the statistics of the machine gun and he stood there and recited the whole thing word for word. He told me the effective range, the maximum range, the rate of fire; all of the stats of the 50 cal machine gun. Then he said; “Is that correct?” I looked him in the eye and told him that he was wrong. I said you are completely wrong. However he was completely right. I was amazed. When my enlistment came to an end and I was ready to ship out I reported to the Mainz train station in uniform. I checked in with a sergeant and he told me that I was in charge of this private that had gone AWOL several times and was being shipped home with a general discharge. (maybe it was dishonorable). The sergeant told me that if the guy runs away do not try to stop him just report him as AWOL. So when I got on the train with this guy I looked him in the eye and told him that if he wanted to get home he better just stay on this train. When we got to Frankfurt we had a two hour lay over. I told him that I was going over to a mess hall and getting a cup of coffee. He said he was not going to any mess hall and that he was going up town. So I told him “Great I will see you at the train.” I really did not care if the idiot ever showed up again. Anyway when I reported back to the train he was there ready to board the train. I guess he figured out that nobody really cared if he went to hell or not. Maybe that was the problem that everyone was chasing him around and worrying about where he was. When I came into the Mainz train station in uniform a German standing up on a high stair case gave me a German (Hitler) salute, with his arm stretched out. I was not going to return a salute like that so I ignored him. As I was walking up the stairs an old lady came running up to me and apologized for the guy. She said: “He is drunk do not pay any attention to him he is drunk.” Apparently she did not want to get him into trouble. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Photos
were taken by Jim Doppmann, A/1/81 1970-71, and submitted by Gene
Smania) Jim Doppmann was the first friend I made in the unit when I arrived at Wiley. He was recuperating from hernia surgery (or appendix, or at least it was some kind of major operation) and assigned to hang out in the barracks until he was released to go back to work. He took us new guys under his wing, got us settled, found us bunks, lockers, etc., and broke the ice for us with the other guys in the unit. He was already a short timer when the 5 month drop came out in December 71, so he was gone probably by the end of December. We have sent cards at Xmas all these years, and when he got my information on my wife's and my mother's deaths he called one night. We had a nice talk and have since talked a couple of more times. Gene Smania |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: 1985 Yearbook, 1st Battalion, 81st FA (PERSHING)) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd Battalion, 84th Field Artillery | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd
Battalion, 84th Field Artillery DI |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Unit History, 3rd Bn, 84th Field Artillery Information, 1 Jan 1974 - 31 Dec 1974) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
DEPARTMENT
OF THE ARMY
HEADQUARTERS, 3D BATTALION, 84TH FIELD ARTILLERY APO NEW YORK 09176 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
UNIT
HISTORY
From 1 January 1974 to 31 December 1974 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Arab oil
crisis which began in October 1973 still hampered Battalion operations
in the New Year. While units were not strictly prohibited from "going
to the field," most of January was spent preparing for the upcoming
AGI. The 56th Brigade Command Inspection held during the week of 19-23
February provided a sound indication of how far the Battalion had
progressed in the previous year. In the final out-briefing, the Team
Chief, Colonel Rennebaum, Brigade DCO, commended the leaders and men
for an exceptional effort and predicted a fine performance when USAREUR
inspected. His prediction came true during the first week in April
when the USAREUR AGI team termed the entire Battalion "able to perform
its mission." In an effort to maintain a high level of expertise infield operations, a Command Post Exercise (CPX) was held in February. All units deployed to local training areas with BCC's, PCC's, SSB's and AN/TRC 80's. Message play was extensive in both routine ad administrative areas as well as in the area of EMAS. A second CPX was held in March in which problem areas were analyzed from the previous CPX and subsequently corrected. After years of promises, major site renovation was begun at Kleingartach Field Site on 19 March. All personnel and equipment were evacuated with D Battery assuming target coverage with one platoon in the Neckarsulm Ammunition Storage Area (NASA). Plans for the KG Field Site financed by NATO funds called for a new ready building, a new lighting system, a new cyclone fence for both the limited and exclusion areas, and re-structuring berms for better defense positions. On 23 April the Pershing Operational Test Unit (POTU) from Heidelberg selected two firing platoons from Delta Battery to return to Cape Canaveral, Florida. Since Kleingartach was closed, the entire Battalion moved to the local training areas on a Blackjack 1A exercise, and D Battery was "tapped" in the field. The test was a resounding success with the Battery shooting "four for four," thus earning all personnel directly involved in the operation a gold Pershing Professional Badge. A change of command occurred in April in Bravo Battery as MAJ Laster was succeeded by MAJ Carl M. Clark. A major training event in May was the nuclear accident-incident exercises conducted on successive weeks under Battalion, Brigade, and Corps level supervision. Stressing control of public information, traffic control, and separate headquarters areas of responsibility, the exercises provided valuable training for both supervisors and soldiers. May also represented a high point in community relations with the annual German-American Friendship Week. Marked by such activities as an Artillery Kaserne Open House and a Volksfest at the Heilbronn Army Airfield, the week greatly improved rapport between Heilbronn and the American military community. 27 June was celebrated as the 1974 Organization Day with a Pass-in-Review with all six batteries at Artillery Kaserne in the morning and a picnic with athletic events at the Airfield in the afternoon. On the basis of parade and athletic event competition, B Battery was declared the winner of the Commander's Trophy. July was Technical Proficiency Inspection month for the entire Battalion. From 8-12 July HQ, Service and A Batteries underwent an announced USAREUR TPI, and from 15-19 July B, C and D Batteries underwent a surprise, unannounced USAREUR TPI. While results were disappointing as HQ, Service and Charlie failed, all received immediate reinspections which resulted in satisfactory ratings and continuation of the mission. The Kleingartach Field Site reopened on 1 July with A Battery reassuming the Battalion's portion of the QRA mission. A final event was a VIP show for approximately 40 cadre of the British Academy of Military Science at both Artillery Kaserne and Fort Redleg. August was a period of intense preparation for the trip to Grafenwoehr. Staff members prepared a detailed OPORDER for the MTA period, and battery personnel worked to insure all equipment was ready for both the trip to and operations at the Training Area. The morning of a August was the initial portion or Phase 1 of the annual NATO Tactical Evaluation. An EMAS message moved the Battalion to the field under close scrutiny of 56th FA Brigade inspectors. Things ran smoothly the entire day, and a "1" was awarded on the basis of this performance. On 15 August, the new USAREUR Deputy Commander in Chief visited for an initial briefing on the role of Pershing, given by BG Key, Commanding General of the 56th FA Bde, and members of Bravo Battery. Finally, command of Delta Battery was turned over to MAJ William Godina by MAJ Robert Bruce, who was reassigned as S-1, 56th Brigade. Immediately following Labor Day the Battalion began the long road march to Grafenwoehr. After settling into Camp Algiers a period of battery FTX's began which were evaluated by members of the Battalion staff. In the third week a full-scale Battalion-level FTX was evaluated by the 56th Bde PERFECT team as preparation for the Phase II of the NATO Tac Eval. As a result of this inclusive and strenuous training program, all units were well prepared for the Phase II. Though in suspense up until the final moment, the cards fell right and a "1" was awarded for the Phase II. Coupled with the "1" from the Phase I, the Battalion thus earned an overall rating of "1," the highest score achieved by any Brigade unit in recent years. Earlier in the month an event of long-term significance occurred: a new full-criteria QRA site was begun at Ft. Redleg at the airfield with completion date scheduled for September 1976. Returning from the MTA on 1 October, the Battalion settled into a routine of garrison life. Delta Battery certified for CAS by mid-month and replaced Bravo Battery which had remained at Kleingartach from the end of August through the Grafenwoehr period. A VIP show for MG Groves, the head of the USAREUR Engineer, provided an opportunity to acquaint USAREUR not only with the improvements made at Kleingartach, but with the amount of work still required. On 22 October two intricate operations were performed. In the morning a VIP show at Kleingartach gave the new Army Chief of Staff, General Frederick Weyand, a first-hand look at the Pershing missile system. Key personnel such as the Battalion Commander and Battalion S-3 then hurriedly returned to Neckarsulm for a ceremony in which LTC Samuel J. Ady turned his command over to LTC Stephen E. Rash. November provided a distinguished visitor to Artillery Kaserne and Kleingartach: General Alexander Haig, Jr., the new Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. He arrived in Neckarsulm by helicopter in the early afternoon, toured the newly remodeled Charlie Battery billets, and spoke with young soldiers before departing for KG. At the CAS site General Haig observed the pad demonstration and BCC briefing by members of Delta Battery, then concluded his visit with a panel discussion with a dozen senior NCO's in an attempt to impart his philosophy of leadership and gain an insight into problem areas on the NCO level. On 15 November MAJ Donald W. Doerfler relinguished the command of Charlie Battery to MAJ Jerry R. Jeffrey. December was a calm month mared only a changeover at CAS between Delta and Alpha Batteries and a beginning by all units to prepare for the 1975 AGI. Realization that all units in the Brigade were over-spent in fiscal budgets portended problems in training and acquiring repair parts for 1975. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Bob Hunnicutt) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Calvin Bridges, D Btry, 3rd Bn, 84th FA, 1972-73) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Refer to the 3/71st ADA Nike Page at www.goerigk-jever.de/kleingartach.htm. There is some great pictures of the early days with the Nike Hercules in the 1960s.
Check it out - the 3/71st ADA got a new Kleingartach site; the 3/84th Pershing 1A took over a "used" Kleingartach site; and the 3/84th Pershing II got a new site at Fort Red Leg (Waldheide). I don't know where Fort Red Leg got it's name and what it was originally built for. In 1972 it was an old site next to a Army airfield up in the hills above and southeast of Heilbronn. The air field was basically for helicopters. There were some ammo bunkers there but I don't remember them being used while I was there. The Fort Red Leg site was cleared off and a new Pershing II missile pad was built. This was at the time that the 3/84th switched over from Pershing 1A to the Pershing II. I was living in Charleston SC from July 1973 to July 1976. The 3/84th changed out sometime during those years. Someone on this site mentioned going during a REFORGER exercise to the Kleingartach site while Pershing II was there. I was with a Hawk Missile ADA in Bamberg when I visited the Kleingartach site in 1978. (Photo #1) All of the windows were broken out of the Admin Barracks. I'll have to dig up the picture I took of the barracks later. The 3/71st web site shows where a veteran visited it while it was being wrecked out. Check the map below - I sketched of the Kleingartach site layout. There were three areas: Admin Barracks area which had sleeping quarters for all of the non Pershing personnel, Mess Hall, NCO Club, Operations office, Switchboard, PX, Barber shop and medic station.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
I only went to the missile pads and straight to the Command area and to my SSB radio van. I would go to the Mess area for meals, to the BCC, my generator trailer and the Teletype Van. A memo came in today from the Pershing web site (Pershing Yahoo Group) with a letter from an old SSB operator who lays out the Commo setup much better than I can.
Note that the Amunition Dump with the guard towers are not at Fort Red Leg (Photo #9). That is the 3/84th small arms ammo and nuclear warhead storage area north of the Neckarsulm Kaserne. Follow the road out and across from main gate of the Neckarsulm Kaserne, bear right at the swimming pool complex and on up the right side of the mountain with the iron cross at the top of it. There is a trace of the old Ammo dump noticeable on Google Earth. The Ammo Dump pictures there were taken from a guard shack while on guard duty. Fort Red Leg was a walking guard setup with Baseball bats. That is until the NCO club in Frankfurt got bombed. They brought up M16s with ammo that night. I was on guard at Fort Red Leg when it came down! Note the ammo bunkers at Fort Red Leg were locked up with no guards on them. Appeared to be not used. I was told by the Pershing Crewmen that each battery has three firing Platoons. Each Platoon has three mobile Launchers with one missile each. I don't know of any other missiles in storage. Each firing platoon had one power generator and control box. There was one BCC, one TRACK-80, one Teletype and three SSB vans. I understood that the Pershing 1A had a pre-programmed GSA stage. The designated targets were predetermined and programmed into the GSA by who ever was authorized to do it, and I never knew who or how many were knowledgeable of these targets. The War Room in Heidleberg had the known targets and who had the missile with it, I guess. Anyway, once a Pershing A1 was launched, there was NO TURNING BACK (no aborting) The missile was on it's own, and we had a life expectancy of seven minutes if one flew. That's how long we had before a retaliation strike came back to us! I believe that the only place a Pershing was ever mated with a nuclear warhead was at the missile pads (not on field locations or even at White Sands, New Mexico during live fire exercises.) So the 3/84th always had three Pershings at ready at Kleingartach at all tim |
2. 2. Lehmgrube (KB)
5. Lehmgrube (KB)
