ve.

-shina Cable
Pershing Unit officially activated
.,
Notebook

Vol.19,No.l

Freeze to be lilted
The moratorium on promotions to E-4 will be
lifted Sept. l, though they will be controlled more
than bcrore to _Preclude the need for ano1her moratorium, ccord,ng to Lt. Gen. Mu Thunnan, deputy chief or staff of personnel at the Oepanment of
the Army (DA).
Waiver lone for E-4 was recently changed from
IS months time in service to 12 months time in
service so that commanders can promote outstanding soldiers earlier.
The enlisted promolion flow should return to normal levels in September, according to Thurman,
who anticipates up to 20,000 promotions in the top
rive enlisted grades. Thurman added that the actual
number of promotions will depend on the soldiers on
E-S and E-6 standins promotion Jisis.

Laundry costs up
USAREUR will change over to the Army standard $8 per month laundry payroll deduction begin
ninf Oct. I.

for the past two years, USAREUR soldiers have

enjoyed a lower-priced senicc than the rest of the
Army. That scnice is being discontinued because
low participation has caused USAREUR to fall
shor\ of the Department or Army (DA) requirement
to recover the cost of laundering personal clothing.
The present senice has permitted a four-option
system of submitting laundry. The standard Anny
program to be instituted has no options - laundry
patrons may submit one 2S-piccc bundle containing
military and civilian clothing per week.
Soldiers using the present scnicc will be automatically convened to the standard S8 deduction on
September 30. Anyone who wishes to terminate
their laundry senice before the deduction system
comes into effect must submit a DA Form 3799 to
unit s1>pply before September 10. (EUR-RELEASE)

Lower allowance
Command-sponsored soldiers in the ranks of caplain and chief warrant orricer 3 and below staff
sergeant and below are CU(rtntly no1 aut!'<>rized the
full Joint Travel Regulauon (JTR) weight allowance. Some soldiers are buying furniture to ship to
their next duty station in anticipation of the run
JTR wciShl allowance, which may or may not be
approved effective October I .
If the change in weight allowance for these sol
diers is no1 approved, they will be. requi~ to ,pay
for the shipment or good, exceeding their weight
limit determined by their grade. For more infonnation, contact your local installation transportation
representative.

Detective BDUs
Army clothing officials from the Deputy Chief of
Staff f<W Logistics recently clarified policies regard
ing the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU).
Some soldiers have encountered problems with
e,ccssivc shrinkage and/or defective workmanship.
The clothing officials wish to emphasiu that the
Army's policy is to allow soldiers to exchange defective uniforrm on a one-for-one basis at no cost to the
soldier.
If your uniform doesn't meet Arm[ specifications
for any reason beyond lour contro, i.e., bursting
scams, wrona number o button holes, pockets improperly placed, you may exchange the uniform at
your closest Clothing Sales Store. (AR NEWS)

56th Field Artillery Brigade

Beneath an unrclentin1 aun and cloudless blue skies,

the SStb Maint. Bn., sbecl its provisional label recently to
become a Cully recocnized member ol tbe S6tb FA Bde.
The ca-emony and pan.de ailminated yan or planning and anotller oflrusitioa while tbc battalion's comp,nia came alard. BnvinJ tbe steamy -lhcr to wit
tbe activatloll wen, Ocnnaa and American
dipltariw and JIICSU. Tbe ceremony toot place on tbc
softball field ol Nn Ulm's N ~ Barracb.
Ar1er a minimum ol formalitiea, the battalioll's red and
yellow colon wen: paucd. Yet it wu only when fonner
S6th FA Bde. Commander, Brig. Gee. Sidney Dav\s,
handed the unit's guidon to its commander, Lt. Col. William Littleftcld, that it wu official.
Devil then addl'tllled the crowd and spoke or the tremendous amount ol work the IIOldiera bad done to help
establish the battalion.
Uttlcftcld followed Davia al the lcctern. "You look
magnincent," be said, obviously taken witb tbe troops'
performance. "As your commander, I am proud .." He
also offered them hil thanks for participating.
The s~hes done, the companiea bcpn the Mpua in
revic-w." Dreued in Battle Draa Uniforms (BOUsJ, they
marched befOC'C the reviewing stand. Lona rehearsed and
well planned, ii wu enough to draw more than a few
compliments from spectators.
"h wu my flrat time -ina a ceremony of all camouflage uniforms." said Lt. Col. Wasbingtoa J. Sancbei,
2/33 FA Bn. commander in Neu Ulm. "It bad a nice
touch to it. I'd never been to a ceremony witb no weapons
. .. and tbouJht it wouldn't look right. Tbis one did."
Among the visiting VIP's was Brig. Oen. Lynn Stevens
ol tbc Department of the Anny Readincsa Command,
(OARCOMJ, in USAREUR.
" Eve?one would like to be in their position of control
lin_g their supply and resource system," said Stevens.
'This new structure can only make tbC111 more effective."
"The imponant thinJ is that they're activated," said
CSM Southern W. Hewitt, the brigade's top NCO.
"They've already been doing their mission. But I'm sure.
they're glad to get rid ol that provisional 111. I think they
made an e1ccllent impr-.aion on the visiton. Their performance. planning and organizing seemed down to the last
detai I. It was one of the best parades I've seen."
Recognizing tbe fine job tbe troopa bad done in establishing t.he battalion, (iulelield ofTCTed two word& or
CIICCMlragement in endi.ng hil address, "Keep charging."

CHAROINQ AHEAD - Cllpt. hrt C. Veripn Jr.,

Co. I,, 115111 llllllnL 8n. - . n d e r , IMda hla
troope llll'ougli the ...... In ,..... du.... the
llelteloft'I eot!Ylllon ,-ntt,. (Photo by A.

...,...........,,
214th Inf captures
Olympics, Cdr's Cup

1GftlAU..
Friday the 13th wu a day of good and bad tidinas for the S6th FA
Bde. teams competing in the l 982 Bripde Ot~pics.
For the 2nd Bn., 4th Inf., the infamous Fnday brought them double
honors u they nailed down botb tbc Bripde Olympics and copped the
1982. Commander' Cup Trophy.
The same cool, blustery day wu one the 3rd Bn., S4tb FA Bde.
would probably jut u soon forget. Tbey entered tbe olyml)ics atop the
Commander' Cup Trophy standings, but powerful surges by the 2/4th,
l/4ht and I/Slat teams saw the 3/84th's team drop to fourth place In
tl\e overall standinas.
Tbe Commander's Cup is awarded to the unit amassing the most
total points in sportinJ ew,nll during tbc year. This wu the rirat year it
was awarded in conjunction with the Bripde Olympics.
Trad.itionaUy, J?Olnts scored by women's teams were not Included in
the final labulahons because the 2/4tb's "Warriors" is an all-male
team.
However, accordinJ to SS11, Pat Stone, brigade sports director, two
1983 Commander's Cup Trophies will be awarded, Olle for men's teams
and one for the women athletes.
FCNAL 1982 COMMANDER'S CUP STANDINGS
Team
Total Points
2/4th Inf.
1219.S
1/41st FA
1088
l/81st FA
966
3/84th FA
842
HHB, 56th FA
3Sl
SSth Maint. Bn.
273
Flag football competition, beginning in October, will kick off the
1983 Commander's Cup action.

VICTORY I.FT 181 Lt. RONr1

Bord Sr. of HHC, 2nd a..., 4111 Int~
lloiat9 the conted Commander'
Cupower tllaheed.

1/41st experiences
'Tac-Eval Fever'
~SyhlaE.Dalley
"Wc'n: going to win lbc Academy
A ward. You'n: all tbc actors and you all
bave a pan to play. To get the beet actor',
award or the best aupporting actor', award
you'we really got to bustle."
Rallying thc IOldien in a pep talk durina a 11dU eurciac, platoon leader
Nolan Wat.lOII ol tbc 3rd PH., 8try. 8, 1l
8n. 4ht FA. compared the event lo a
dn:a rcbcanal. Soldiers polished up on
1peciric: detaib ol individual training and
buic atiU. ia pn:p&r11tioa for tbc futap,
proeching. Annw Tactical Evaluation
(Tac-E..I).
Al thc date of tbc event ne:aNd, moti...
tioa alld cntbualum wen, o tbe riae and
tbc unit acne,ated aa epidemic
"TacEm Fever." Tbeir 'fever' would be under
scrutiny in the rield by a team
evalua
ton and tbcy had to be ready.
To add lo the utensivc preparation or
the platoon, Wataon distributed miniature
job boob to cacb soldier and IOldier's
hanclboob on slrinp to be wom around
tbeir necb. Bow,d manuals for vehicles
were also specially prepaml containina
additional information ror drivers.
"Thia _platoon lllould run like a well-oiled machine," he uid.
The morning or the 'move out' finally
arrived. At 3:30 a.m. what would normally
be a silent buildin, run sleepina soldiers
bustled with activity. The corridors of the
bauuy teemed with troops, gear and
equipment. The familiar bugling of reveille could be heard emitting from a sol

ear,.

or
or

or

dicr', tape player amidst the bustle and

bustle. Y ankco-Doodle, Dixieland and
other patriotic songs provided a backaround to shouted orders and burned, last
minute items.
Time weal by quickly and sooa lbe vebi
des maneuvered out the plel and to the
missile 1toragc lite. While there, soldiers
performed maintenance checks and 11C1Vices
on the vchida. Meanwhile, sticb of cam
oullagc greue paint were passed around
and tbc entire battery, by order, decorated
thcirfacain. .riousshadelofJrecn.
For four days ud lluec nfahll the sol
dicn put in Jong boun of bard work. Such
llraa, atrain and fatigue took ill toll but
pctitive prograa and team apirit kept the
JOldicrs' attitudes up.
The platoon wu tested in all areas with
empbaaia on individual p,otection against
nuclear, biological and chemical attacks,
aecurily from an aggressor fora:, the performance firin, crews in their counting
and firin1 procec1un:1, maintainancc and
care or equipment, operations and radio
communications. Performing their missions within specified time limits often had
the soldien literally running to get the job
done.
A difficult and trying week though it
was, the feelinp of many soldiers echoed
cncouraaingly ,n the words of missile Cl'ew
aasistant aection chief, Sgt. Rayburn
Green, "It's bard work but in this job I
feel that I'm accomplishing something.
When I accomplish something, it makC$
me feel good."

or

GETTIN' IT TOGETHER - "9ntllng mlNlle Cl'IIWfflH (left to right) Sgt.

ROMld JoftN, PFC Dffld Non. encl PFC Scott 8ampln, ol Btry. B, 1/411
FA., 8ttllch the top portion of 811 Azimuth lie,.,_ Unit (AIIU) during the
llllfl' , - t TIICflal EHIU811oft. (Plloto bf 8ytvi8 D8118f)

3/84th soldiers navigate orienteering course

By BndMosller
It was ,only seven kilometers Iona. but to some of the
25 soldien comf!Ctina. the 3rd 8n., 84th FA orienteering
course seemed hkc a marathon, time wise.
Set in the hills above Heilbronn in a military training
area, the battalion held its unit orientecrin& championships in late July. The battalion constructed an 11poinl course and gave each "luad a compass, a map and
a list or compass directions for each of lbe signs or target
points that the teams had to find. On each sign, a small
number was printed. The pt1nicipan1S were required to
have all 11 numbers to aet credit for completion of the
course.
Each or the five batteries in the battalion was represented in the competition by a five-man squad. The
teams left the stanin& area minutes apart to avoid "traffic" probl<:ms on the coune.
Although it wun't the first team to start or rtnisb the
course, Btry. 8 completed the course with the fastest
time, 2 hrs. 22 min., and no missed points.
"Bravo" covered the course with SSat. Gregory Norfus lcadin,1 Sp4 Timothy Vau1hn, Sp4 Olin Gramling II,
PFC Scot.t La Preslc and Pvt. 2 Henry Teague to victory.
8try. A was 1he first team to finish, coming in one
minute before Bravo. However, the "Alpha" squad had
started 17 minutes earliu, giving Bravo a 16-minute
margin Oller il.
The third team to finish came from Headquaners
Battery, taking 3:08. 8try. C finished rounb wilh a total
time of 3: 33 and no misses.
The penalty for miasina a target point durin' the competition was an added 30 minutes to the team, complc,.
tion time. 8111'. D's squad finished the course wilh only
one missed potnt and got a JO.minute penally tacked to
its finishing time.
The competition may be held once every quarter, accordins lo Capt. Richard Huber, the OIC or the event.
Other 1mproYements slated for later competitions include
lengthening the course, addin1 more target !'Oints a.nd
possibly inviting teams rrom other Pcrshina un,ta lo compete.
August 1982

Pershing Ceble

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