7/26/2019 The Pershing Cable (Apr 1989)

1/2

ershing

Vol

27 No. 7

ble

56 h Field Artlllery ommand

Aprfl

1189

Update FYI

Happy anniversary

New check limit

HEIDELBERG,

West

Germany - Soldiers living on

the economy can cash checks

for

up 10

$ 1,000

in

ex

change for foreign currency at U.S. Army, Europe,

finance offices beginning Feb. I.

USAREUR

is

conducting a one year test

which

allows the increased limit according 10 Cpt. Pamela

Douglass, USAREUR office

of

the deputy chief

of

staff for resource management. The normal check

cashing limit is $

745.

To qualify

for

the new limit a soldier must

take

his

current l

eave

and earnings sta

tem

ent showing basic

allowance for quarters and overseas housing allow

ance

entitlements and net

pay in excess of

$ 1,250

monthly to the

finance

office. The soldier can th

en

write one

check

for up to

$

1

,000

in foreign currency

to pay

for

rent and utility expenses.

Th

e increased limit is only available on the end

of

month payday and five working days thereafter.

Soldiers on the dishonored check list are not eligi

ble. Also soldiers writing checks on military banking

facilities cannot take advantage of the increased limit

if

they are within

30 days

of separation

from

the

service. f checks are written on a stateside bank,

soldiers cannot be within

6

days of separation.

Speed 1/mit raised

HEIDELBERG, West Germany - USAREUR

non-ta.ctical vehicles (NTV) now have the go-ahead

10 drive somewhat faster on autobahns and primary

roads in West Germany.

Non-tactical

veh

icles arc motor vehicles used in

support of general transportation services. They arc

used for the transport of personnel, supplies and

other

-cargo,

and for

faci

lities and equipment main

tenance functions that require

speci

al

design vehicles

n_o

directly connected with combat or tactical opera

tions.

Speed li

mits

for

NTV (MPH/KPH)

NTV

NTV w/trailcrs

Bus

w/passengers seated

Bus w/passengers sranding

Trucks up to 7.5t

GVW

(EUR-

release)

Cities Auto- Other

bahns roads

31/50 65/105 60/100

3 50 50/80 50/80

3 50 50/80 50/80

31/50

Not Not

auth. auth.

3 50 50/80 50/80

Services extended

To provide a better service

10

U.S. Forces per

sonnet, the

42nd

MP Group

has

extended its cus

tamer service operations to

all

major military com

munities

in

Germany. "This means people no longer

need to drive to Mannheim to clear their personal

imporutions," said Cpt. Jeanne Burden, 42nd

MP

Group's customs operations officer.

42nd MP Group's Customer Service Office on

Taylor Barracks, Mannheim, however, is closing its

doors to walk-in customers on April

I,

1989. lnstead,

if

yourc in Schwabisch Gmi.ind you can now receive

a

ll

the same services from your local customer service

office located in Building 306 on Cooke Barracks,

Goppingen. Soldiers in Heilbronn can go to Building

two

on Wharton Barracks and

in

Neu-Ulm the office

is

located on Nclson-Kasernc, Building 304. These

services include approving import permits, permits to

transfer, authorization for re

latives

to operate a POV,

and retiree registration.

(42nd

MP Group)

By

John K. D'Amato

NCOJC

Public Affairs Staff

196~. Lyndon Baines Johnson is President

of

the

United States. Cassius Clay becomes the heavyweight

champion of the world and the Beatles are a hit in

their first movie, "Hard Day's Night." Martin

Lu1

:hcr

King

is

chosen

as

the youngest

win

.ner ever

of

the

Nobel

Peace

Prize, and North

Vietnam

ese gunboats

fire

on

U.S. ships

in

the Gulf

of

Tonkin. Following

the incident, U.S. troop

levels

in Vietnam escalate

from

20,000

to 190,000

in

the next year.

Half a world away, the main party

of

1st Battalion,

41st Field Artillery board the USS Buckner for a sev

en-day cruise. They will arrive

in Br

emcrhaven on

April 11, and travel to Schwabisch Gmiind, West

Germany, where they will share Hardt

Kasernc

with

the 56th Field Artillery Group.

With Pershing 1 missi l

es,

which have replaced the

old RedStone missiles, the small force represents a

new nuclear deterrent for NATO. A short time later

they are followed by the st Battalion,

81st

Field

Artillery in Wackershcim (which will move to

Neu-Ulm

in 1968),

and the 3rd Battalion, 84th Field

Artillery

in

Neckarsulm.

1'69 . Richard M. N ixon is the 37th President

of

the United States. The country

is

still recovering

from the assasination of Martin Luther

King,

the cap

ture

of

the USS Pueblo, and the seigc

of

Khe s~nh.

Neil Armstrong steps from his lunar module

Eagle

to

become

the first man to walk on the surface

of

the

moon, four days after the launching of Apollo

11

Sharon Tate is killed in part of a grisly murder that

will later implicate Charles Manson and followers

of

his cult. A music festival at Woodstock draws more

than

300,000

young peopl

e,

and anti-war demonstra

tions split the country.

Celebrating their 5th anniversary in Europe, Per

shing soldiers

see

the

first

P-IAs arrive. The upgrad

ed

system featuring a replacement

of

tr

acked

launchers

by wheeled-erector launchers, gives the new units

in

creased mobility and survivability.

197.f. After a torturous year

of

nationally

-b

road

cast hearings and threats

of

impeachment over "Wa

tergate", President Nixon resigns his office. Potricia

Heam,

granddaughter

of

publisher, William

Randolph Hearst is kidnapped from her apartmcn t

in

California, later to be

seen

in a bank holdup

as

one

of

the robbers.

It

is the 10th anniversary of Pershing units in Eu

rope. Outnumbered by Soviet nuclear weapon's sys

terns

and conventional forces, Pershing units have be

come the cornerstone

of

the NATO defense.

1979. Disco is King and the movie 'Alien'

is

the

blockbuster hit

of

the summer. A radioactive leak

occurs at Three Mile Island and throws most

of

the

country into a panic over nuclear safety.

Anwar Sadat, Menachcm Begin and President

Jimmy Carter sit down to work

out

a Middle East

Plan between traditional enemies Egypt and Israel.

John Wayne dies, Margaret Thatcher

is ele

cted first

woman

Prime

Minister in British history and the So

viet Union invades Afghanistan.

Pershing

has

been in Europe for

15

years. The So

viets, however, tip the nuclear balance by continuing

to deploy SS-20 intermediate-range

nuclea

.r weapons

with multiple warheads .

NA

TO sees

the threat

as

e;irly

as 19

78, and adopts

a Twin Track Agreement, calling

for

negotiations

with the Soviets for the removal of the SS-20s, and

deployment

of

a new Pershing

missile

system if

ne

gotiations are unsuccessful.

In 1980, the U.S. offers to negotiate with the So,i

ets on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF} and

the Soviets refuse. By the end of the year, the Sovie,

Union has deployed 200 SS20 s with 600

nucl

ear

warheads.

1984. Gymnast,

Mary

Lou Retton captures the

Olympic Gold Medal and

U2 is

considered one of

the best new acts

of

the decade. Following the death

of Andropov, Number 2 man in Moscow behind

Chernenko, Mikhail Gorbachev visits Margaret That

chcr for talks in Britain.

Glenn, Hart and Jackson

make

bids for the Presi

dency, and the Democratic ticket

of

Mondale-Ferraro

is

overwhelmed by Ronald Reagan, seeking his

se-

cond term. A

gas

leak at a Union Carbide plant

in

Bhopal, India kills

2,500.

t

is the 20th anniversary

of

Pershing, and a critical

year of the NATO alliance. The Soviets have ,valked

out

of

the Geneva talks on reducing Intermediate

Nuclear Forces, but have deployed 360 SS 20's ,vith

1,080

nuclear warheads.

Two months pri

or

to the start

of

1984, a ne"

Persh

ing

missile, the

P-11, is

deployed

in

accordance

with the Twin Track Agreement.

See 25 years

on

page 7

j

I

I

~

The llrat Perahl

ngs

required yards of heavy cables

that h

ad

to be manhandled when the missiles were

emplaced

for firing

. The

PII

not only has fewer cables

but also a range of more than a thousand m ies and a

new guidance aystem.

7/26/2019 The Pershing Cable (Apr 1989)

2/2

Winter ports

feature

hotshots

By

Rosalyn R. Coleman

Pershing Cabl e Staff Writer

This has been a busy year in sports

for the 56th Field Artillery Command's

sports enthusiast.

Last month the Command held its

double-elimination basketball champi

onships at

Hardt

Gym. The competi

tion was fierce

but

the team from Ist

Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, who pla

ced first in the Men's Open Champion

ship, proved without a

doubt

that they

are the Command's finest.

Halfway through the competition

on

ly three teams were sti

ll

unbeaten,

1-9, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Batta

lion and 38th Signal Battalion.

In the first game, 38th Signal and 2/4

Infantry battled. The grunts dominat

ed

most of the game, easily handing the

communicators a third place finish.

Then came the showdown between

1- 9

and

2 4. 1-9 controlled most of

the game, beating

2 - 4

68-62, accord

ing

to

I - 9's coach, Sgt. Ernest Moses.

In the Women's Open Basketball

Championships, 2nd Battalion, 9th

Field Artillery captured the first place

trophy with a win over the Headquart-

ers and Headquarters Battery, 56th Fi

eld Artillery females. HHB 56th held

on to second and 55th Support Batta

lion finished third.

At

the VU Corps Junior boys

Basketball Championship in Munich,

last year's champions, the Schwiibisch

Gmiind junior boys, upset

Neu Ulm by

the score of 69- 49. The team also went

to

the USAREUR finals in Gra

fenwohr, where they gained conrrol of

the game against Gelnhausen with less

than two minutes left. Final score

60 - 52 Schwabisch Gmiind.

Neu -

Ulm s

bantam team edged

out

Schwiibisch Gmiind in overtime during

the VII Corps Bantam Championship

tournament held

in

Schwabach.

Schwiibisch Gmiind was in the lead by

two points in the last minute of the

game. With three seconds

on

the clock a

Neu Ulm player made

a

desperation

shot and scored two points to squeak

by

Schwabisch Gmiind 26- 25.

In bowling, 38th Signal

s

men took

first place in the 56th

FA CMD

Bowl

ing Championships held in

He i

lbronn.

The team from 55th Support Battalion

placed second and 1st Bn., 9th FA fi

nished third in the competition.

Pvt PAC asks

PVT

PAC asks:

My

battalion

has

a lot

of Pershing

MOS

soldiers (21G, 21

L,

lSE, 46N), who are wondering what is

going

to happen to t

hem after

INF?

Cpt

F. Peddler says: All Pershing

MOS soldiers are encouraged

1

submit

preference statements to DA. Field

Artillery and Ordnance branches re

cently sent GI lists of those soldiers

they interviewed for reclassification.

Those interviews were conducted in

January 88, so we have plenty

of

new

soldiers who haven't told their branch

what

MOS

they wish to reclassify into.

The process for us is easy. The soldier

needs to

go to

his battalion PAC, where

a preference statement can be printed

on TACCS, indicate J MOSs

on

that

form, sign it, and the battalion sends the

sutement to Gl. Gt will consolidate all

requests and send them directly to DA.

Pershing soldiers need to make their in

tentions known to their branch. If not,

they

may

be reclassified according

1

the Army's needs and not their own.

Reclassification preferences need to be

at DA at least 6- 12 months prior to

their DEROS. DA starts coordination

for schooling and reclassification during

that time frame.

PVT PAC asks: Last month you

told me

I

couldn t

pick up the soldier I

was sponsoring since he was flying

into

F

rankfurt

and could ride the

sponsor

bus. Now my sponsoree is fly

ing

into

Stuttgart;

can

I pick him up

there?

CPT F.

Peddler says: No. Effective I

May 89, the Sponsorship bus (S-bus)

will transport all soldiers, with pinpoint

assignments to

ou

r units, from the

Stuttgart Airport ro Schwabisch

Gmund, Neu Ulm, and Hcilbronn.

And

ail Pershing soldiers L

TC

and be-

low and battalion level CSM and below

will use the S-bus for transportation

from either Frankfurt

or

Stuttgart.

PVT PAC

asks: I see alot of

NCO

ERs

and

I m

not

real

sure

what

ju

sti

fi.es excellence

ratings;

would

you

give

me some examples.

CPT F. Peddler says: Of course. I've

consulted MSG Inkblot, my

NCOER

expert to give me some examples

of ex

cellence.

0

scored 290

on

APFT

0

scored

9 4 on

SQT

0 60%

of

his soldiers in his squad re

ceived EIBs

0

his areas of res,Ponsibility all received

commendable ratings during last Ci

0

under his guidance, three of his

NCOs

were selected

as NCO

of the

Quarter for the battalion

0 maintained 98.7o/o communications

reliability over five CMD

fTXs

and

three NATO TAC Evaluations

0

his section received forty-eight com

mendable ratings on the recent Com

mand Inspection

0 is section has had no vehicle acci

dents or alcohol or drugs incidents

PVT PAC ub

Lately I've had alot

of my actions returned from

Gt

be

cause

of

missing documents; what

preventative measures can I take to

ensure that my 41871 arc completed

before being

returned?

.

CPT F. Peddler says: As a minimum,

all requests require the following data:

DA

Form

2A;

DA Form 2-1;

DA

Form

4I87 signed

by

soldier and commander

if voluntary - signed

by

commander if

involuntary; and an endorsement by the

battalion SI. For each action, different

documents are required bur the stronger

you make

your

case, the better the

chance for approval.

55th Spt Bn. captured the women's

bowling tide, while 2nd Bn, 9t.h FA pla

ced second and 4th Battalion, 9th Field

Anillery came in third.

Sfc. Steve

Cook

of Alpha Company

55th Spt Bn., finished second in the

Vil

Corp

Bowling Championship. Cook,

who

also placed sixth in the USAREUR

competition in Grafenwohr, was selece

tcd to try-out for the All-Army team in

the United States.

At the Command's Cross Country

Championships, 2nd :Bn, 4th Infantry

ran away with fi

rst

plac.e in the men's

competition. 38th Signal came in sec

ond,

beating third place HHB 56th

by

five seconds.

55th Spt. masters and women's team

seized first place honors in both the

master's and women's categories.

At

the recent Vll Corps Ski Champi

onships, Spec. Lisa Marchant,

HHC

25 Years

The new system increases PH's range

over the old

PIA

from 400 10 1,100 mi

les, and fewer cables allows quicker em

placement and displacement by firing

crews. A new terminal guidance system,

allowing the use of smaller warheads,

gives the system an almost unheard of

accuracy rate and allows the use of

warheads with a smaller nuclear yield.

Protest demonstrations attract hun

dreds

of

thousands of anti-Pershing/

anti-nuclear forces across the country.

At one point, a human chain of de

monstrators stretche5 fro m Neu Ulm to

Mudangen. Almost exactly

on

the

twentieth anniversary

of

Pershing in

Europe, another demonstration results

in four demonstrators ibreaking through

perimeter fences at Mutlangen and three

warning shots being fired.

Pershing

so

ldiers, already tasked with

fielding the new weapon's system arc

stretched to the breaking point when

called to pull round-the-clock guard

commitments to safeguard the equip

ment

Despite the challenges presented with

the fielding of the system in the

face

of

continued demonsrrati-ons, all three of

the battalions ore at

op e

rational readi

ness status

h

the end of 1985.

By July 1986, the string

of

successful

Pll

launches have stretched

to

28 of 31,

to include the 3 on July 26th from Cape

Canaveral. Two months later, an an

nouncement is made that General sec

retary Gorbachev and Pre sident Reagan

will meet in Reykjavik, Iceland for a

summit meeting.

Less than a year later, the record of

launches has extended co 44. On March

25, 1987, six Pershing missiles arc

down-range from

th

e Cape, the most in

a single day.

Three weeks later, Secretary of State

George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Min

ister Eduard Shevardnadze have reached

and agreement

on

Intermediate Range

Nuclear Forces.

The

essence of the

agreement is a verifiable elimination

of

all systems

on

both sides, the same ze

ro-zero option President Reagan

put

forward

on

November J I, I981.

38th Signal, finished third

in the

slalom

and 4th in the giant slalom in Berchtes

gaden.

Another skiier, Chad

Wert

s placed

9th in the slalom at the USAREUR Ski

Championships.

In other action, Major Fred Lydick,

Command Provost Marshal qualified

for the USAREUR Racquetball

championships

to

be held at a

la

ter date.

Schwiibisch . Gmi.ind recently hosted

the

Vil Corps

14.1 Billiards champion

ships. The only competitor from the

Schwiibisch Gmiind area was eliminated

early in the competition. The men's di

vision winner Venancio Rodriquez,

from the Munich military community,

cued-in

on

his opponents weakenesses

and was presented with a first place pla

que from the 56th FA Commander,

Gen. Roger

K

Bean.

1989 George Bush is the

41

st

Presi

dent of the United States. The Reagan

legacy is an Intermediate Nuclear Fo r

ces Treaty signed on December 7 1987

and ratified

by

the Senate the following

summer.

Pershing celebrates its 25th anniver

sary in Europe. In 1986 it had become a

Command and added the

38th

Signal

Baualion, a restructured 55th Support

Battalion and the 193rd Aviation

Com

pany

to

this command structure.

By the end of 1988, Soviet inspectors

have visited each

of

the

Command

sites

on

init;al inspections

to

verify that the

number of treaty-lim

it

ed items listed in

the Treaty's Memorandum

of

Under

standing are present.

In the fall of 1988 and the early

months of 1989, a flawless rmograde

operation has allowed one battery from

Heilbronn, Schwiibisch Gmund and

Neu

Ulm to

remove its Pershing missi

les and support equipment and inacti

vate

The Command's mission to provice

a

credible deterrent remains untiI May J1,

1991. Pershing II was deployc-d in t9S3

to force the removal

of

the Soviet SS-20

threat. That mission has been accom

plished

to

a degree

most

skeptics would

not have believed possible.

Dep

loyed 25 years ago to meet a So

viet short range nuclear challenge, and

later the intermediate range nuclear

challenge, Pershing will not see a 30th

anniversary.

But, the number of anniversaries ce

lebrated

by

a whole range of other mis

siles systems can

now

be numbered

on

one hand, as well.

Gone by

the end of

May I

991

will be 176 Soviet SS-4s and

SS-Ss, 776 SS-12s, 200 SS 23s and 650

SS-20s.

We gave peace a chance, is a slogan

seen

on

magaziM covers

and on

the

back of one of our erec

tor

launchers. h

is a proper toast to

Per

shing soldiers

past and present,

who

have served with

distinction for a quarter century.

Happy 25th Anniversary.