Pershing

able

56th Field Artlllery Command

Yol. 30, No.5

Task Force 29 inactivates

by John Falkenbury
Public Affairs Officer

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The 2nd Battalion. 9th Field Artillcrv, 56th Field

:\rtillcry Command (Pershing) furled i'ts colors for
the lasr time as a member of the United States Armv,
Europe durin~ an lntermediaterange Nuclear Forces
Treat~ lare"cll cercmoni at :-.1ut1,ngen Missile Sto
ra~c :\ rea. February 7. 1991.
The 2-9th FA is the second Pershing 11 bmalion
10 rmo~raJc in compliance uith the treaty. Its first
batten " '"' remo"ed in December I 988, v.,hile the re
maining four continued to support !'-:ATO until re
liewd of their mission.
The fare"cll ceremony represents the successful
completion of 2-9th 's mission in USAREUR and i11
the remonl of all missiles, transporters and equip
mcnt under the terms of the l;\'J' Treat\'.
Lt. Gen. John :--1. D. Shal ikash"ili, Deputi Com
manJer-in-Chief. USAREUR. the ke"note speaker,
con~ratubted the soldiers and families of the 2-9th
F:\ 'tor their ... commitment to peace in Europe.
"What ,he Patrio, is 10 Desert Storm so the Per
shing h as been 10 the birth of peace in Europe, the
'high ,.. isibility' weapon ,", proclaimed Lt. Gen. Shali
kash"ili.
Durini; his introduction of the DCl:S:C, Maj. Gen.
Bean pr;iscd the soldim of 2-9th FA. They achie"
ed ,he highest standards of combat readiness and
made 1he world a safer place to li,e.
Those comments were echoed in a mess,ge sent by
Gen. \'on Sandrart. Commander-in-Chief, Allied
Forces Centu.l Europe. He said. "The dedication and
comm 11ment of these men and uomen and their prede.:esiors hu, O\'er the ,ears, contributed direct!, to
~A TO'I goals of maintaining freedom and the sue
cessiu I pre,ention oi war."
Ai1e,r rc.:ei"in& the bmalion colors from CS~! Lu
cio l.,ope, and lurl,ng them, Lt. Col. Thoma. G.
Bo"den relinquished command b,- passing them w
:'>hi. Gen. Bean. Th Commanding General then pre
scnicd ,he cased colors to S,aff Sgt. S,e"en 1'ea!, the
I,;, 1-9th FA noncommissioned officer of the ,ear.

P't'lo-10 by 911fleH11,:,.,

Inactivation ceremony! Command Sgt. Maj. Lucio Lcpes CSM. 2nd Bn.. 9th FA cases the baMalion colors during 29 s
inactivation ceremony while LI. Col. Thomas Bowden. the battalion commander. steadies the guidon. Look1r,9 on 1s S1aft
Sgt. Steven Neal. the battalion's last NCO of the Year.
soldiers here and also those who. as I spea k. sian.J
Highlighting the 2-9th FA's role in pro"iding a
guard on the frontiers of freodom in South"P'
,iable deterrence to war and 10 defend NATO and
Asia."
the alliance, Lt. Col. Bnuden ,hanked the soldier< oi
Se\'eral hundred guem mended the fare"ell .:ere
Task Force 2- 9. "You are the true heros of this en
mo"' includins Or. Dieter Schulte. mernber oi the
dea"or - for it is through )'Our hard " 'Ork, \'Our d cdiBundestag. Oberbiirg.ermeister Dr. ~ ,,11,;.rn~ S,hucation, your perseverance a.nd iour "illin~ness to
ster, Lord :-.h\'Or of S,habisch Gmilnd. \!J:. Ger,.
stand firm against those uho uould deny us the ,err
Richard B. Griffim. Deputy Ch ief of StAii fN Or
freedoms we are S"'Orn 10 protect and defend.
erations, AFCENT. Mai. Gen. John C. Hcldmb.
In thanking the soldiers, families and local commu
Deputy Chief of Staff for Opemions. L.SAREL'R.
nity leaders of Sch,,.abisch Gmiind and Mudangen.
Mai. Gen. Frank Schild. Commander. \'\ 'B K \' . ,11.J
Lt. Col. Bouden said in closing, "Let us pra\' for
Burgermeister Peter Seyfried. :-,.t,\'or oi \l u,!Jn~en .
peace and in that pr)'er let u, remember ,hese iine

Pershing unit completes mission

by Anthony J. C. Hosch
Staff ~ riter
li1 quickness is incredible, its reliability is astound
ing. its accurac" is second to none, and it has stood
tall for peace for O\'er 20 years.
Th< Pershin1; missile has been a deterrent 10 ,,..,,
and a keeper ol the peace that has helped ,o end the
'Cold ~a, in Europe.

Ptoioto by ai....nac.t,

you've got It,

flaunt 111 StaH Sgt.
Donna Johnson,
HHC. 36th Sig.
Sn.. S1rUIS her SluH
before a fashion
show crowd at the
Bismarck Community Club.

This was evident Februar) 7 at the Mutlangen Mi1sile Storage Area when 2nd Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, a Pershing battalion, encased its colors in n in
activation ceremonr.
The ceremony served as a sign to the people of
Germany as well as the "'orld that the soldiers of 2nd
Bn., 9th FA had accomplished its mission.
... Our mission was simple," said Lt. Col. Thomas Bowden, the battalion commander. 2nd Bn., 9th

Inside
the cable

PCS moves examined, see page 2

Tax exemption, see page 6
Community basketball championships, see pages 7

FA. "Pro"ide "iable demrence 10 "'lr thr.iui;h r<J,ii

ness and.. stand read, to defend :S::\TO and 1hc
alliance." he continued.
The auesomc cap,bility and the detcrmin,1ion ,,i
this unit to 11and on the side of freedom i:ainst ,,p,
pression has brought "ictor\' without firin~ a sin~k
Pershing missile. commented Lt. Gen. John Shllikash,ili. Deputy Commander-in-Chief. l,;nncJ St.ll<>
Army, Europe.
Continued on a e S

Pnoto ey Mote"

H vln' a bJJI
HHB. 56th FA
CMO and 38th S,g
Bn. players ban1e
under the boards
during a company
level
basketball
game.

February t 991

Bogged down! The famed cables of the

P anc PIA missiles tes1s this sold,er's
s:eng:n during a held exercise.

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Rolling out! Tl'le last of 29's erector launchers roll out of Mutlangen Missile Storage Area.

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F1'9 photo

Media blitz! Pershing had i1s time 1n 1he hme1tgh1 during Media Day in 1988 Media Day allowed press from
a:i. nd ine world to 9e1 a gumpse of lhe famed PII.

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Continued from page I

What the Patriot missile is 10 Desen Storm is tho
ume as 1he Pershing missile "as 10 Euro r,' in brin~
ing about peace, according 10 Shalikashv,J,.
'w'ith the colors furled ""'"'' "The mi~h" 9th
Field Artillen ...;,h its second 10 none brnll i,,n no"
marches off i'n10 historv," said Shalikash,ili.
Historically, the unit's lineage can be trJcc.:i
through the 1st Battalion. 41st Field Anillen. wh1,h
was the first deploiable Pershing unit 10 rep!J,e th,
old Redstone missile S\'Stem.
After nine months of tnin ing in 1%3. th< ur.it
mo,ed !t> For, Wingate :S:. M. for ~radua1ion iirin~.
Thirty-three days later, they fired the iim Pershin~
missile.
On return to Fort Sill. the unit "'" rede,ignatcd
4th Battalion. 41st Artillery and prepar,ed ior iii
signment to German,.
The unit left for ~e" York on :\lm:h 11. 1%4.
T-..ent\'three davs bier. 1he1 bc,,rd c,1 th, L-~~
Buckner for an eight day ,oi:agc "' Brenhrh.l, ,:..
Germam.
O nce ,he troops had arri,ed, the, still h.i-i ,n ,w.:r
night train ride facini: 1hem before 'mi"in~ in S,h .,.
bisch Gmiind. \X'hen the, finall, arriHJ. the, ,wl,.i
in the barrack, of Hardi li:aserne.
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In 1969, v.hen the firs1 Pershini: J.:\ m issile, uri,
ed in Germani, rhe 56th Artillen Gro up ,<"mrn>n
der. Col. James Con"ay. recei,eJ rhe kei s ,,, the
Pershing equipment.
At the end of September 1972. the unit trJJ,d it,
colors and name as thn "'ere redesi):n.11<d th.: J ,1
Bn., 41 st Field A rtillen<

After 14 years of sur'ing do\\'n commun ism. th, I <t

Bn., 41st FA was redesigna1ed to 2nd Bau,li,, n. 9th
Field Anillerv.
This unit -..'as constituted in the rei:ul.,r :\rmy , ~ B
Battery , 9th Field Anillery in September 1971.
It has been redesignated three times as the 2nd Ho
witzer Battalion. 9th Artillery in April 196:. the 2nd
Battalion, 9th Artillery in August 1963. and the 2nd
Bn., 9th FA in September 1971.
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With inactivation ceremonies in Juli 1957. April
1970, and Juli 1972. this uni1 has heen reacti\'a1ed a,
the 2nd Ho ..itzer Bn.. 9th Artillen in April 196:.
the 2nd Bn., 9th Anillen in Deceml>er l 97C. and th,
2nd Bn .. 9th f-A in Januir1 1981, under 1he ~bth 1-idJ
Anillm Command.

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SPHch. speech! LI Col. ThOmas Bowden g,ves a farewell address during his battalion's inactivation
ceremony wh,1e MaJ. Gen. Roger K. Bean (right). 561h FA CMD. and LI. Gen. John M. D. Shalikashv,li,
Deouty Commanoer-,nCh,ef. USAAEUR. stand by.

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