Pershing

able

Vol. 30, No. 8

56th Field Artillery Command

May 1991

City hosts farewell event

The cit\' oi Sch":ibisch Gmiind , Mutlangen, and
Omlb ,<;unt\' ho,t,J a farewell ccrcmonv for the
%th Fi,ld Ar;illcrr Comnund April 24 at ihc Stadt
g.irtcn in S,hw,bisch Gmii nd.
Since October .:if last ,-ear <1hen there "'as an indi.:.u ion rim American iroops would be departing
Schw:ibisd, Gmund permanently, both cities and the
w unty coordinated an e\'cning of dinner, entertainment. and the planting of a German-American
iricnJship tree for the soldiers and their families, ac.:ording ro ,he Lord :.!Jyor of Schwabisch Gmiind,
Dr. \\o lf~an~ Schuster.
"'\~'c o"c ,hanks to the Americans for their readiness w defend the peace in Europe," said Schuster.
'G r>iitude is Jiso owed to the American soldiers
and their fomilies for getting along so well with us in
our cit\. The German-American friendship has continued throu~h the difficult times during the deployment ot the Pershing II missile). Here the German
anJ American citizens' understanding of democracy
and tolerance came to bear." continued Schuster.
A, one of the manr highlights of working <1ith the
Command. Schusrer said he enioied talking l\"ith soldiers J11d espe.:iJllv attending ,he artillery balls that
served up a ,pecial bre,v oi punch.
The farewell .:eremon\' closed with Americans and
Germam standing side by side as each country played their notional anthem.
Specj,,I gum were County Commissioner Dr.
Diethclm \\:"inter. Mayor Peter Seyfried and music by
,he 3rd lnfantrv Di"ision Marne Band from Wurzburg along <1ith the Police Band of the Polizeidircktion A~lcn and :-.-tusikzug der Panzerbrigade 28 from
Dornstadt.

CJ' ....

point! Or. Wolfgang Schuster, lord mayor of Schwabisch GmOnd, and Maj.
Gen. Roger K. Bean. commanding general of the 56th FA CMO, converse during a fare
well cer.emony at the Stadtgarten in Schwabisch Gmund.
Miking I

lllside

Mmmm good! A

farmer shows off

some of his Holland cheese at a
cheese farm in
Amsterdam. See
page 6 for story.

Major Gen. Roger K. Bean. commanding general of the 56th FA CMO. the
Lord Mayor of Schwllbisch GmOnd. Or. Wolfgang Schuster. and other dignitaries watch
the planting of the German-American friendship tree.

Olgnft1rlea!

the cable

Saudi Arabian experiences, see

page 3

Last Els destroyed, see page 5

Weight lifting team, see page 7

Push

Ill

JeH

Swindle.
HHC.
55th Spt. Bn.. gives himself an ex,
Ira push to the 7. 5
mile Cross Country
Championships.
See page 7 for
story.

Pershing C~b/lJ
May 1991

Surprise! A relurning soldier receives a big smile and

hug from his wile.

What a fNllngl A desert dad greets his family on Herdt Kaseme after returning from tho Gulf.

Soldiers get a hero's welcome

by Anthony J.C. Hosch
Staff Writcr

When the buses stopped and the doors opened, the

spouses came running with open arms and screaming
their soldier's names.

Soldiers who were sent to Saudi Arabia from the

56th Field Artillery Command returned by the bus
load April 22 in Schwabisch Gmiind and Neu Ulm.
Children with yellow ribbons and spouses with
bouquets of red roses waited with anticipation for
1heir Desert Storm soldiers 10 arrive.
The scene was much like a race with the cro,\'d
gathered around the finish line which, in this case,
happened to be the foyer of the family support center
on Wiley Kaseroe.
As more wives and children gathered in the foyer
peering through rhe window of the family support
center, the topic of conversation was how the waiting
now seemed much longer than when their desert soldier v.,as in the Gulf.
Then the moment came that many had been wait
ing for as two buses filled with Desert Storm soldiers
came through the gates of Wiley Kaserne.

Helping hand! Returning lroops unload their dulfle t>ags.

"It great to be back! My wife doesn't know I'm

here yet. She is going 10 be surprised," said Sgt. Chri
stopher Gardner, 32nd Transportation Company,
formerly with D Btry, 1st Bn., 9th FA.
"It feels wonderful to have him back," said Darlene Brence whose husband was formerlv with B
Buy, 1st Bn., 9th FA.
'
As her husband, 1st Lt. Richard Brence, Head
quarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Bn., 1st FA,
watched from the bus as it came to a stop, he described the feeling of seeing his wife standing there
waiting as "electrifying".
When asked what is the first thing that they are go
ing to do now that they are together, the)' paused and
joking said "site seeing".
The smiling faces, hugs and tears of joy were re
peated throughout the night as other Desert Storm
soldiers arrived to a yellow ribbon heros welcome.

Klaa, kin! A Desert Storm soldier. formerly wilh the 56th

FA CMD. enjoys a kiss and hug from his wile.

All smiles! A soldier is reuniled with his son during a welcome home on Hardt Kaserne.

PMSilitlg Cabi.

May 1991

Erector launchers

,,,....,HoK..
Easy! Two crew members move lhe azimuth ring assembly of lhe lasl erector launcher lo be deslroyed.

Hula and bolts! A crew member loosens a boh so lhal

the boom actualor can be removed for fur1her deslruction.

Launchers destroyed
at EMC-H, Frankfurt
by Anthony J.C. Hosch
Staff Writer
It was a celebration of continued p<'ce as the
last nine Pershing II erector launchers (Eb) \\"ere
destroyed April 17 at the Equipment Maintenance
Center H ausen (EMCH) in Frankfurt.
The contract workers from the Martin Marietta
Cocporation destroyed the EL, in ~ccordancc
with the procedures outlined in the l nccrmediatcRange Nudar Forces Treaty. The process took
less than an hour for each F.L.
"I believe what we arc doing here today is a fo.
rerunner for a betJer world to live io for future ge
nemions, said Chid Warrant Officer 3 Richud
Moore, EMC-H site commander.
The work crew began by separating chc erector
launcher mechanism, v.h1ch erects the missile,
from the launcher chas,is.
Spark1f A crew member uses a plasma
Then they dismantled and destroyed the run
1orch 10 cul the ras1 erec1or launcher at
Look ncuredl A crew member makes sure the hoisted azimuth ring as- ning gear by making three cuts, one in front and
11s predelermined location.
sembly is secured.
rwo in the rear.
The plates were then removed from the jacks so
the jacks could not be remounted. The jacks are
responsible for IC\eling the launching platform,
which makes it possible to fire a missile.
The crew then cut the erector boomi in 1wo lo
cations that were not assembly joints in to three
pieces of approximately equal sius.
The right boom actuator was also cut into two
pieces. The boom ae<uator contains the hdyraulic
by Richard J. C lemenson
ruction of the Els by Martin Marietta welders and
fluid that provides the pressure to erect tht missitechnicians are done to treaty specifications.
Staff Writer
les.
The Im nine Pershing II erector lauchers were des
Prior to the destruction of the last ELs. Soviet
Before the last procedure was completed, tht
Team Chief, Col. Vyachcsla, Yevdokimovl spoke to
trorcd April f6 17 at the Army Material Command'~
1 missile launch support equipment, includ ing exter
Armr Depot Equipment Maintenance Center-Hau
the small crowd on hand to witness the event. " I
nal instrumentation compartments, were remo\'cd
sen in Fnnkfun.
hope this trrry is the first step on rhe way to si11ning
I from the chassis.
'The ELs. " 'hoch belon11ed to the ls1 lln., 9th FA.
new treaties thai will eliminate different types of
The crew then made a cu, the width of ,he
were destroyed in accordance with the procedures
weapons," Yevdokimovl said through n interpretor.
frame, one-third of the way back from the front
outlined in the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces
German Federal Ministry of Odense represent
end making the last missile launcher completcl1
Treat~ signed by 1he So\'iet Union and the United
tive, Lt. Col. Wolfgang Buuler, the in-country escort
useless.
States which calls for 1hr elimination of all such mis
for the inspection team added, "This is a special e\/cnt
The destroyed ELs will be turned in to the De
sile s,stcms.
and represents a great success in arms control.
fense
Reutilization Marketing office in Hanau.
The truiy requires all Pershing II Missile Systems
Following the destruction of the Im EL, the Soviet
Germany, as scrap metal, accordin)I to Tom Han
inspection team and che U.S. On-Sitt Inspection
10 be demoyed hcfore June 1991, 1hrce ye.rs ahcr
kus, Army materiel Command, Europe's public
Agency held a brief press conference where docu1ht treo1)"$ Emry Into Force date of ~h) 31, 1988.
affairs office.
Accurding to AMC-E Public Affairs Officer, Tom
ment< acknowledging the completion of the EL deBefore the Im launcher was dmroyed, tht So
Hankus. the elimination brings the toial of ELs des
struction wero signed bv both parties.
vict team chief inspector said "Today we are see
1ro,cd 01 L\IIC-H to 115. The first Els were
The 56th Field Artillery Command (Persh, ng)
ing the last eliminations of the Pershing JI laun
dcsiro\'cd a1 EMC-H on Octoher 19, 1988.
plans to fully comply "'ith the trety's provisions in
chers in Europe. It represents great success in
Presidong o,er 1he e,rnt, at EMC-H ""J) a team of
an inacti,ation ceremonr on Mai 31, 1991 at Mullan
arms control."
gen. Germany.
11 Soviet inspectors. The team ensure, that th, dc,1

Last Pershing Els destroyed

as outlined in INF treaty