56th rtetd Artillery Brigade

The

GI

~Hu~

3d/84th Comes Thru

Tac Eval Rates Well

nounced at the out-brierini:.
By Jly Fields
Pershing Operallonal Test Unit working through the nl~ht wllh
NECKARSULM - The Tactic- (POTUJ whlch followed Bravo balking equipment, the theory of Areas which need improvemeni
the Tac Eval means llltle more were carefully and distlnc1ly
al Evaluation Is over ror the 3d Battery exclusively.
Baualion, 841h Field Anlllery.
Only those actl\llties as-lated than semanlic acrobatics. They noted by Colonel Richard D.
Boyle, brigade deputy commandFor many, this Is the happiest with operatJna in the fleid,actual are simply there to do a Job.
The 84th did well, It was an(Co<Umued on Pllpe 4/
t5'tt or an otherwise dreary, mission
errectlveness.
uncomrortable three-day ex- survivability, and support funcperience In the clammy ~hadows lions - were examined. Alert re
or Germany's dense forem. .
action. or P hase One or Tac EvaI,
For others. the end only signi- wou.l d t>. graded separately later
fies new beginnings. more.plans.' in the year. 'The 84th'J test In
Olher moveouu; and more tests 1972 was conducted during Janu,
and Inspections - JII Involving ary within the cool.confines of tNe
\lie highly mobile and powerful Seven1h Army's ma1or training
Penhlng Missile Sys1em.
area at Grarenwoehr. AdminisThe Tac1ical Evaluation, or ierinA 1he ev,aluatlon this year In
Tac val, is onannual require._ the Ideal ,,..a:1,t the home st(tlon
ME'nl or Supreme Headqua!1~ was; Iii Come. ways; trial CM-'
Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Cl!P,l lorli .. PIA" unir. .... -'
for ill Pershing units in Genna:
~ ccinslH~rable uj,da1in~ ',-0! ihe
ny. both American and Germ'iin.
test lnan4a) had come about so
JI calls ror a thorough check or
that the gradfng1naexes ,would
Perslnng battalion'~ ~ne><ive be more compatible" wilh" the
deployment to field locations and ne)i,er PIA Missile System, ac-
(11iss1on efrec1lveness and pos . cordl'n,i 10 . Copcaln . George J.
ture while there.
Toolan Jr., Brigade'assiStant S-3.
Normally conducted by. multi" Tlie: 'emphasis :is- baclc .on
nation NA'(O teams. this year's a reas we used 10 stress," he said
evaluation or 1he 841h was hanthe morning of the evaluation.
died by a group or about 60 In- "~1ssion
effowveness
now .
specton (identified by the color of carries the most weight. A wilt
hats t hey. wore) from USAR.EU~.' . can'! do any bett~r overall than
and 1he 5&h Fltld Artlllery Brl Its ,core in this deNrtrnent. Of
gade of which the aualion is an coll~e. you. shouldn't ~en be in
clement. .
:. ... .. the field if you c an't 'd o well
Included were evalualors from . he"re:
"
)~ 1st Battalion; 4111 field Anll, : But to the men workinJ. with
lery. and 1st Banalion, 81st Field
Pefsftlng on Us 'mobile erector
!,n illcry, the 84th's sister ba11a1: fauncher, 'movi11g . from one
ni~bt p&j:(o, pie Infantry Is the Individual soldier, as shown in
ions, from the 2d Battalion; 4th
to anotliei. setilng u~
( Photo by Sttvt Robinson>
Jnranir.y,' and from USAREUR's
and target,ni, and ioiiieumu thla 111p,cen1ras1 contact print,

i!

l
J

I
~

S,hwoeb;"h

'Gmuend

~
il

N
T

Germany
FnJ;1y. F d,ru:1ry 1(,, 19;,1
\ ',,I 1:-' ~o 2

position

: The

Lee Takes Command .Of The 2d/4th .Inf

LUDWIGSBUltG .:.. Command
of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry,
was changed during ceremonies
at the Pationvllle High School
Football Field hen recently.
Lieutenant Colonel WIiliam R.
Lee replaced Lieutenant Colonel,

Claude E. Fe!'Nlndez Jr., as bat

talion commander.
The change of command ceremony was held at 2 p.m. Cornmanden from each battalion
were present for the ceremony as
well at ,di&nltarles from the L~d-

wipburg commwuty.
Wlit>.rforee, Ohio, with a bachBrtaadier General Tom J. Per- elor'1 deg~ , In science. Along
kiM, commander of the 56th with his degree, he received his
Field Artillery Brigade directed commission as a reserve officer.
the command changeover.
LTC Lee has seTVt!d In Hawaii,
Mualc for the occulon wu
Korea, Germany, and Vietnam.
provided by the 82nd Army Band, Other assignments Include ReaJ
vu Corps. Both the German and , mental Training Combat Faculty
American
national anthems Ollel and Headquarten Comwere played.. The band alao ,nandant of 11'e 2d Tralnl~.ll Regi
provided background music for 'ment, Fon ~Ix,~.; .: Instructor
the occasion.

at Ft. Benning, Ga. ; In the Attack

LTC Lee was born In Mus Committee Command and Staff
kogee, Okla. He was 1raduated Department, USAIS. After study
from Wli~rlon:e Unlvenlty, Ing the Vietnamese Jan&uage at

B11111ion colon change hands as they are presented to LTC William,

R. Lee by BG Tom J . Perkins, commander of the 56th Bricade.
(PhotobvBWWullco)
--

the West Coast Language In

Stltute, 1.TC Lee was flSSlgned as
the Assistant Section Advisor,
Thua Thien Pro~. Vietnam.
Among LTC Lee'1 many
,awards and decorations are: the
Legion of Merit; Bronze St4r
Medal; Army Commendation
Medal; Air Medal: Vietnam
Service Medal; Paracbutlsts
Badge; and the Combat Iiilantry

Badge:

L TC Lee Is manied and has

.three children, two boys and one

daughter.

Memben of the reviewing p.artypay tribute to the colon at the change or command~ at
Pattvllle. IPboto bv Bill Wuilcol

'l

Friday, February 16, 1973

THE GIANT

Poge 2

Commentary

.,:

We Need A Charige Now

(EDITOR'S
NOTE:
COM
MENTI\.R \I Is a regular future
ol THE GIANT. II ffPmeDIS the
Individual opinions ol members
or this command and welcomes
111 readers to submit lrtlcles.
lllese must contain the name
and unit of the author, which wlll
be withheld upon ttqUKI. 1llE
GIANT reserves the rlgtll to edit
all lellers without cbangln& content to meet space require,nent,;
of the paper.)
Things are gelling better !or
the soldier on active duty, especially in overseas areas, right?.
Not quite!
It is a fact of military life that
some or us are serving in "Isolated" areas. Take lhis out-<>fway pan of the Bundesrepubllk,
(Schwaebisch Gmuend), for instance. We were directed to
serve here and here we are.

Where are we? We're not in., ,,

Frankfurt . , Munich . Kaiserslautem , , or some other
nice area where the Trans
portallon Office or Finance or a
real shopping center (U.S.) i.
readily accessible.
So what's my gripe along with
many other Penhlngmen? Why
can't something be done to "bet
ter the lot" of those serving
here?
: Alter all, the "power" itl Washington has raised our pay to a'
somewhat decent level and have
done other thi~ to make the
milttary services a little more at,,
tractive.
But what about the "power"
riJl!t here? I am not really asking for anything more than other
, guys and girls in uniform are already enjoying. For instance,
how about i;ome real service in

the form of . ,~ transportation?

How about bus service twice a
day (morning and altemoon) to
Ludwigsburg
(Finance) ;
Robinson Barracks (Shopping
Cen1er, Credh Union, etc.) , , ,
)lad
Cann,tatt (Hospital) .. ,.
Patch Barracks (Audio Club) all
itl Stuttgart. After an, some or us
do work dlffennt hours and
shifts, and don't own automobiles. How about ven1ilating
system for our theat~ (Rod
l!Uln)? Last summer It was unbearable In this hothouse, even
with the doors open!
But the most important thing
that could be done tor the troops
here would be mon, living space!
Funny thing, we're "reputed" to
be the rlctiest and best Army in
tM world. We also happen to be
the oldest of all the services. So
why does the t,ir Force provide

two-man rooms ror Its personnel

and the Army does not? Isn' t it
bad enough that we're thrown
into "abandoned" old, dilapi
dated, patched-up Kaserne,? , .
And what about our consoh
dated iness. hall? It certainly is
rr;uch better tlian the dump we
utilized before. However, it
cannot accommodate the present
troop strength. So what's the
solution lo this "mess"? Open up
the upstairs to the troops as was
promised SQ/rie . eight months
ago.
We certainly deserve "equal
pccommodations" with our fellow. soldier, down the line. Alter
all, aren't we a top .. . "one or a
kind" . . . combat unit? Why
can't we be treated like one?
Let's "see it" !orthetroops.

NAME WITIIHELD
BY R"EQUEST

Letter-to-the-Editor

Crew Chief Asks Why

I will be leaving Germany
shortly. However, I still have
quite a few questions le!i unans"ered.
Why 1, morale in the Aviation
Section. 56th Brigade so low?
Why cant we get A&R and why
would we have to work on weekends II we did? Why do E-~s
have to pull guard duly once
e,ery two weeks? Why do we
ha,e to do things that are against
regula tions Just because some
NCO's say they will take the responsibility. Why couldn't the
men on the basketball team get
orr work for a game a t 1900 hrs?
Why don't most of the NCO's and
officers care about the welfare of.
the men? Why do they always .
say that they want one thing
done, then tum around and want
something else done instead.
Why do~t we have a suggestion
box anymore? When we did have
one, why did they disregard the
complaints, especially the ones
imolving certain NCO's? Why
can' t they properly control the
work load so no one will have 10
work late?
These are just a few of the
question,. I have addressed
these queslions to myself and my
superiors hundreds of times. It's
too bad no one has ever come up
with a satisfactory answer.
SP-SDAVID ASCENZO
EXCREWCHJEF
C.mMeMl,tt o-.ro,
aGTllfft,.~IN

11111torot Ottac.r

C,.T ....... M.Mif1Jc9

NCOfC

I FC N KNlfl O'A.....
THI GIANT 1, 01'1 G~Mf'IHO vnOf
Uclol P1,1bUcotktr1 ..,. P f f ~ I 01 '"
5'1" F ..ld Artlllery &,-~. VleWI
ond eip1n,..,,1 uprnMCI or not tit(

ttttorlly tt~ow n.e b,lfOOC" com

monctr or thrt o.,.o,-tft'ltnt ot
Army. tidllOl"IO I oHlCt It tocotff In

"*

I>

'

I
ll

L ..

l1,1lldlt10 SOA, BltfflorCII KOMfM,

A~OOHtl. Tt,lc'phont (21221 . .1.
TH t:

GIANT

IIIJMbllcotlo"

II

prlntfll

t,y

~tttr1>rnt
Stora a,

Str1.,..,, Oarm1todt. Ottman.,.,

l!Clllor
AHit10 nl Edlto<

...,..,.

s,, l'flll IIOMMY

.lffrwellll

r,c

P't10109,oph.r
SPt am Wos.Uct
IOt lollon Rpon.,, - t 4 1, 5"S Dlcll
Shrm r; 1"U, 5PSDtny1 Fritch. SGT
Jtft Porter, SP (1,1tfl1 G1.1"'bre11;
J-U. 'SPS Jov l'ltlds, SPS S"'vt
Robil'lson; 2...,.~J Oonold Woodord.

ED NOTE:
The GIANT put tbese queslloas, asked by Specialist AsCffllO, befort lhe Alrfleld c-mandu. Toe followtn1 is a reply
which we recelvell,
All solcllen In lhe UnllH Slales
MUltary have a righl to expect
certain tlllnp fnim !heir leaders.
TIie list Is ieftglhy and includes
loyalty, bonesty, fair and Just
tNat.m ent, and recp,ltlon. Sel
dlen also 1111.v e Ille right to be
kepi lnformtd. In mun, leaden
expect soldlen to be loyal, honest members al Ille team, ,seen,
cated to glvln& their best efforts
to any asslp,ed mission or task.
1be mission of the 56th Brigade
Aviation s.ctlon Is to provide air
_craft aupport to the 51111 Brigade.
. In order lo aompllsb lhls mission a hip aircrah operatlORal
. ready st1tU11 must be maintained. For tJw put few m0111ths
the alrcralt operational ready
status has been lower than desired and ha:s CausH the Avialion Section d!fnculty in accom
pllshment of the mission. There
are several reasons for the low
oper11lonal rT,dy status. M&
sages were received which
grow,d-.1 the aircraft !or safety
reasons. In addition a leak In Ille
,fuel cell ill of the Brlpdes'

OIi II

alrcralt

WU

dlscovertd

and result-.1 in a wand wkle m&

uge which also fl"llllded a large
perctntage al Ille Br\iadff'
OHS8 aircraft.
fa order to accomplish the mislioo of tbe Aviation Sec:aion It has
been i,ecnsary to wCN'k late and
on many weeltmds. 1be decision
,... made lo temporuily delete
A&R from the weekly schedule In.
mler to ullllie 11w time lo per
fonn-e of aircraft malnteunce. This has enabled the

Aviation Section to accempllsh

Ille mission and hu precluded
lhe secllon from wor1<lng addl
dona! wffllends.

When men are worklng Ille

number of bollrs that the Avla
lion Stttlon has been worl<ing it
II understandable that there wlll
be complaints. TIie supervisors
at the airfield will honor their responsibilities to Ille soldiers in
the Brigade Aviation Section and
will upect the soldiers to honor
their resporulbllitlet to the supon,ison.
TIie operational readiness Is
lffllng bene,-. la the near future
it should reach acptable sundarcls. When !bat occurs the
Stttlon will be able 10 rerun, to a

normal routine. In the interim it

is recommended 11w all soldiers
in the Brigade Aviation Section
review Ille airfield commander's
uopffl d - policy." All penon
nel la the section should feel free
to talk wtlll the airfield comnw,der 11111)' dm, at any place
reprdlnj Ill)' lit1&1tlon-problem
or otherwise.

New CSM
At 2/4
LUDWIGSBERG - - Command
Sergeant Major Manuel Aponte
has assumed duties of sergeant
major of the 2d Battalion, 4th Jn.
fantry. A native of Rio Piedras,
Puerto Rico, CSM Aponte comes
to the 2-4 from Ft. Leonard Wood,
Mo. where he served as opera

tions sergeant major. This is his

1hlrd tour in Germany, having
served here from 1952-55 with the
4th In!. Div. and with the 8th Inf.
Div. from 19S6-~. CSM Aponte has
also served In Pana ma and in
Korea. He succeeds CSM Albert
W. Neal. CSM Aponte Is
accompanied by his wife and two
children.

Dear

Chirp
Dear Chirp,
I've been reading your column
for a long time. I remember that
before it was "Chirp" it was
"Smirk." Are you the same guy
or was there another nut before
you?
Backlog
De1rLog,
. II you have read as much as
you say, then you should ~ '
that Smirk has been rell'r...JIII'
from the service. However. Ir you
were Indebted to him for any
monetary amount, you can make
the check payable to me and I'll
see to it that he gets It .
Dear Chirp,
My son is always bringing
home pets and little trinkets,
saying that he found them 3nd
can he keep them. Normally he
brings

home worms,

spiders.

stray dogs, rocks, old bottle caps

and such. But yesterday, he
came home with a very attrac
Live 21-yearold girl. lie Is only 9,
what can l do?
Perplexed Parent
Dear PP,
The first thing to do is find out
where that kid found her and let
me know immediately!
~
Dear Chirp,
,
I hear that you are a lonely 'c.
I'm sending a picture of myself
and would be g lad to excha nge
lette~ with you.
5,.,eet Sixteen
Dear Six,
I looked at your picture. Yes. l
am a GI, but I'm not that lonely.
CHIRP'S SAFETY MESSAGE
While driving on ice and snow,
Your car becomes a pantime
sleigh you know..
So use caution and expenlce
That way ne>i:t winter you'll be in
one piece.

.~