8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Jul 1989)

1/2

  ershing

'Exercise Successful '

_. . ..

afety

a the

main

goal In aN

rmy tr11lnlng

and the Rhine River

croaalng,

wtllch Incurred no ICCtdentll

or

ln)v

rtff, - one ol

the

highlights ol 'CarbOn 81anf .

Gerard J. Hart

Some things were different for Carbon

Bluer

89.

The weather behaved. Missiles did

nor

go to rhe field.

However, the opportunity to support, operate, and

communicate over extended distances and unfamiliar

areas remained the same u in put Carbon Bluers.

The S6th Field Anillcry Command conducted

iu

semi•annual field t.raining exercise from 5 June until

14 Junc in areas both cur and west

of

the Rhine ri•

ver. More than 3,000 soldiers and 1,000 vehicles

participated in

the

exercise.

This year's Carbon B luer exercise involved all the

suppon

clemenu

and the command

and

conuol cent•

crs for the 56th FA

Command.

The Pershing missiles

controlled by the centers did not go to the field. The

missiles remained in their respective miuile storage

areas.

Carbon Bl2ur's purpose was 10 focus on the S6th

FA Command's

mn

sion essential task list

(METL

).

Commanding

and con

tro

lling the deployed force

wu

one

of the

key clements.

Command and control centers down to pl2toon le•

vel participated

in

the exercise. Since C arbon Bluer

was

conducte

d without the Persh.ings in the field, the

centers could concentrate

on

the procedures used

during a deployment and practice contingency plans.

Another wk w u to practice the sustainment of

comb2t operations after deployment. Each of the

three Pershing task forces deployed with thei r normal

Update FYI

D Photos

I f

•

picture

is

worth

a thousand words,

what words

would be used

to

describe the photognphs in your

soldiers' records? M any soldiers have the photograph

taken and give little consideration to how well they

look or the quality of the photo.

The Centralized Enlisted Selection Board members

look - and they care,

too. These photos

arc critical

because they are

the

first thing most board members

check.

Members ensure the photo

is

in the file,

is

current,

conveys a professional appeuance, and

is

of good qu

ality.

A negative ans..,er in any of these areas may create

a negarive impression of

1he

soldier.

support slice. u 2- 4 Infantry, 38th Signal, and

55th Support banalions headquarters all went to the

field where they practiced all the missions expccced

during wartime.

Frequent moves challenged the sustainment

opera-

tions during Carbon Bluer. The units provided un-

interrupted support

during

the exercises despite the

moves.

Survivability operations was the final METL item

practiced

during

Carbon Blazer. Individual skills

such

as operations in an

NBC

(nuclear, biological,

chemical) environment and camouflage were suessed.

Collective skills

in

movement, occupation of assem

bl

y areas,

and

othen received soldier

and

leaden

attention.

.

The majority of the deployment occurred

June

6

when the

Co mmand moved to field sites east

of

the

Rhine

River.

One of the most exciting events took place on June

8

when

selected

Command

units conducted a ri

ve

r

crossing of the

Rhine

. The 850th Schwimm Brucke

Battalion assisted the Command by ferrying troops

and equipment at four different crossing

points.

After

the river crossinf•

Command

units

con-

tinued

10

their second area o operations where th,ey

r:cmained through the weekend. The three

day

stay in

the

area allowed leaders

to

conduct training in field·

craft and also reduced traffic on the German roads

during the weekend rccre2tion time.

On June

12, paru of the Command made a final

A missing or outd.ted photo suggests a soldier

e;ther dC n't

care about selection or is

trying

to hide

something. ls the soldier overweight? A sloppy phot

speaks

for

itself.

AR 640·3 0, Photographs for Military Personnel Fi -

les, requires so ldiers have one ta.ken withi n 60 days of

promotion to staff sergeant and every three

ycan

thereafter.

Arcplacement photo

is

also required when the

present

photo doesn

't

reflect the soldier's

currmt

St.a·

tus.

The first commander in the soldier's chain of com-

mand may also direct the soldier to submit a nn.r

ph oto.

Selection board members have noted

the

following

problems most frequenily.

- Soldiers wear poorly fined uniforms.

- Haircuts and moustaches are not trimmed in

accordance with Army regulations.

-

There is incor

rect

d.ta on the

menu board.

- Soldicn' appearance

is

sloppy - wrinkled un i-

forms, poor posture.

move

to

a third area of operations. This move tested

the Command's ability to communicate and support

over long distances.

Brig. Gen. RoJcr K. Bean ended the tactical por-

tion

·

of

the

nerctsc

around 10 a. m. on June 13.

I

want our

soldien

to

remove the C2mouflage,

clean their areas, and march order their vehicles in

d.ylight. Then I want them to get some sleep before

the long trip back to the

home

station, Brig. Gen.

Bean told his unit commanders. Our safety pe r

formance has been excellent so far.

And

we will con·

tinue thinking

safety

and acting safely

all the way

home.·

At a

commanders'

meeting in

a

field sire, the unit

commanders discussed the succeu of Cubon Blazer

with Brig. Gen. Bean before the redeployment.

The

three Pershing banalion

command

cn said

the

aercise

provided numerous training

opportunities

for

them. All agreed that the river crossing was a high

point for their soldiers. The le.1ders were able to con-

centrate

on

the command and control proGess with

both

the

Command and their subordinate

uniu

.

The

Pershing battalion commanders were also pleased

with the contingency training they were able

10

con-

duct.

Lt. Col. Kun M,eyer, commander of the

2 4

In-

fantry Battalion, said that his soldiers were able to

concentrate more on survivability skills

and

weapons

uaining than other field exercises because they did

not have to provide security

for

the Pershing missiles

during

this

Carbon Bl.u.er.

u 55th Support Banalion

commander

, Lt.

Col.

Richard

Caner,

said it was a good exercise

for

his

soldiers. They were able to implement routine lo

gistic operations quickly and fix every problem that

developed in the field.

The

acrcisc

gave

our

new

people a feel

for the

overall

banalion

mission. It also chall.,nged the ban.a

lion bccause we had not had such a

larg,e

exercise

since Carbon Blazer 87, said Lt.

CoL

Michael

Tercy, the )8th Signal Battalion commander.

The Command redeployed to garrison

on

June

14

where soldicn ended Carbon

Bluer

by pc:rtorming

their normal recovery operations.

The

cleaning and

maintenance of equipment prepared the Command

for the next round of fidd exercises during the

rummer and fall.

Selection boards will continue to emplusize the

importance

of

a

cuncht

and sharp-looking official

photognpb.

One board president said, The hard

copy

ph o

tograph is the soldier's personal statement

of

pro-

fessionalism to the board.•

US REUR license

For a U.S. Forces military or civilian component

mm1ber to drive a civilian vehicle, a valid USAR.EUR

license is required per UR 19()..t. Even thouith the

Gertnan rental car agencies

only

require a valid driv

er's license

(Conus

State license), UR 190-1 requires a

USAREUR

license. To rent a

German

rental car on

anything other than a valid USAREUR driver's li

cense

would

be a violation of a written

order

or re·

gulation, and punisluble under UCMJ. Family

members

must

have a USAREUR

POV

license

when

operating a USAREUR-regis1cred vehicle.

8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Jul 1989)

2/2

r

_. ._

Gas Gas

Gu After

being

sprayed with

chemicals

(almulated) by the enemy's

,1rcraft, aoldl81 8

of

Alpha Company,

38th

Signal Bllltllllon

n in to carry

• fellow

sol-

dier

to

the ne,NtBt medic

to

get

necnae,y medlclll

lltbtnllon.

Throughout

the ur•

clM, aotdlera

_ .

equired to pertom,

their

mfulons

In

all mfulon orientated pro

tective posture lev91a

uro to lour

.

_. ._

Boa Appetit.

Spec. Cindy Hall,

Hndquemn

•nd

Hndquemn

Company,

38th

Signal Saitellon servaa 5 ¢ Angel Acoate, HHC

38th,

a IM81 that • flt for • king.

Without

nourlahlng meal• auch H

thla, commend

aoldleni

couldn't

have eccorn-

pllahed

1htlr

mlulon.

_. ._

"Halt Wbo goes there?" Putting tha finishing toucflea on hla gu•rd poat,

Spec. Curtla w,Jt.,., Alpha Company, 38th Signal Bllttellon know, flrat hand that

11 8 better to - than be

' ·

In ed dltlon to

guarding

perlmetera, aoldlera prec

tlced

skllla

such es challenge and password end 11,0 nolae, llght end litter dltclp

llne.

5

_. ._

Freq-at Plyer.

The 193rd

Avlellon Company

lew

tn IIOldlen from

S.CUrtty

Pllltoon, HNclquertwa

end HMdq'* '8n

Company, 2nd

Betlellon, 4th

ln-

,.ntry

Regiment

to

MCU1W •

m1..

e ait.

after

Y

roope

.

1ghted

(almui.ted) In

the

--. Solcllen from BnlYo 2-4'1 aoout platoon proyidld

.-1m111er

defenae for

the ending

zone. A hMty troop

Insertion la

-

of the

contlngencle

elev.toped

for

mlulle - r t ty .

_. .-

Stoot• I llpl

skills Members of

Scout Platoon, Brevo

Complny,

2nd Bettallon,

4th

Infantry Regiment

stop In

the

woodl to

look

over • ma p

. Pie. Zachery W1Ulem1

(left)

end Spec.

Brien Christy

8 \lcly the map

whlle

PYt.

2 Brien Gould rldea

behind •

.50

cellber

mechlna

gun.

Excanent

map sldlls Wllnt

• necaaalty for

ell commend

aol·

dlera beceuN

of

Iha mountelnoua

t•miln and andle81

beckroacla they nvelled dur·

Ing c.,t,on Blazer' preparing for their combat

minion.