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CABLE

Yol. 25, No. 8

56th Fleld Artlllery Command
November 1987

One of Brl\lO Battery. 4th Batt1llon. 9th Field Artlllerys Pershing II mlHIIH 1tenda at attention during Carbon Archer, the 56th Fltld Artl111ry Command' 10-dly ll1ld
training Htrclff. For more ac:enes of the field Inside.

~-.,.,c,.;/"

From the
General
1'\" cmb<r marks ,he b,ginnin~ of ,he ho
Iida.- season. Th,nk, ~ivin~ c, 11, 10 mind
ima~c~ ot familit) sin int: around the ublt>
mi:.r,htr cnioyin~ ,h, holid fun.
It u. a time ., htn 1' r rtmtmbu the br
gin nin~s of our ~rrat countr~, the nrug~lt
oi 1hr early srnlcr> "' !u,.. i,. ,nd ,h~ help
th\'\' rt-.:ti\'td from lric:ndl in mlk1n; H
thrOu~h 1hr fir.st -..1n1rrs.
Thank"~"ing is a.ho a 1imt 9,htn all of \U
c,n rcnw upon ,ht m,ny ,hinis far , h,ch
"'' c,n b, proud , nd ,h,nkiul T his Th,nk
~,dn~. 1hr 10IJ1<r1 ,nd families of the ;&,h
F,<ld Artill,n Comm, nd h ..c grca, dc, I
" ' b prouJ 01 and ,h,nkiul for.
Our units returned safe!~ from .1 m a1or
fic!J 1r,inin~ cxtrci1<. "Cuhon Ar,hcr",
culi<r 1hi1 mon1h Li~< ,he P,l~r,ms. Ptr
,hin~ ,old,trs tndurtd ,ht cold ,nd mn.
mud. Ion~ hours and nduous mks our ,ol
d,t rs sho"ed ,hai disciplin, and 1eam,ork
&till a.re u ust nti.111 10 sur,inl u they , err
36: \ ' UU .a,o.
Our,ng Carbon Arch. ,he Command
mo,td anon 1h ii" G,rman """ of B
, ..,;,, Badtn ~ umtmbtrg. Htsstn, Sa., r
land and Rhtinland Pfalz, accomplish1n~
m.1n, diificult minions including a uctic.al
, n ,; .:ronin~ oi 1hr Rh1nt. Ptnh,n~ 1oldirn
'. pro,cd on..:,: 11un that thC'~' rould mow:.

l shout and ~ommunu:att.'. Comhat r~ady r('

1 main, lhC" Comm.).nd sund.1rd,

,n~ pu,h',m, .1nJ f1nd1n\:, " tll-.

1\ .s1t.1d~nuh
.
.sl,, n 11,: \:;!1, Jurm~ - c:.ir~,n
..1,

~ "' "

:\r, h,r" T!, ,:1, ,l,rl .l h,; \\ t ' .l~ .lr-l.1~ !,u1
! n, 'I.\ f l'h,,'.,.11~\' \ 1IU h 1'l1rJr.. lnJ lrllF"f,Hl'
' .. Ja.111~~ rh ,, ~\1kn,,.u .. 1n1t1 ,tn:n.:th,.
,

111 Jr : ,,,

156th Field Artillerv Command

thln~ ~11 those. ho concribulC"d

Reenlistm.ent

rh" )U1o...:~> oi .. Carbon .a.r-:-hcr. Thr sol,

dirr, 1n the ii rid m.idc thi: ob, Jou) i:ontribu
11or. , Bu, ,he hundrtds oi f,mil" mtmbtr,
"h<> mnd bthind under11ood and sup
port<d our ,olditn. Th, 1,m1lic1 d<mon
sirncd I f"C"SOUrC'tiulnt)S ind commitment
,ha, ould make our l'il~r,m ancwors
proud. I am 1hankful ior 1h opportuni1y 10
1\ or~ t\'lth s uch out>Unding milila.0 fami
I h,,
10

, HHB Sb1h FA ;\ISG Alci,nj,,,. ,. R:-S:L1,.'.

' C~ID
4 275~ "&
SFC Dur,n1. C.\1111,.\ ,:.
,ion) ~co. -1 ,2-.5~ -(,
SGT L'ndm, ,..,,J, !Str,
R~CO. -4 ~- ~~ 1~
111 Bn. 91h FA SfC ForJ. Bn R:S.Ll1.
4 2765 74
' 2nd Bn. 91h FA SFC O'Bm,. Br R:s;<.,>.
4 27 -57 :J
1
4th Bn. 9th FA SFC Dan,el. Bn R:-S:C , '

Tiu :\mtncn ptoplc con bt 1h1nkiul 1or

! , Tiunk,~i"in~ m,rk,d b~ pe"c -

a peace
1 <nsu red and .:onmnd, ~uudcJ b) J'>cr1hini
,old,tr, of 1h11 Commnd.

Thanh ior tht hud " 'Ork and long hours

durin~ "Cubon .>,rcher. Enjm 1ht iruii, of
)'Our l,b.:m. Sprnd time ~11h ) our iamily
and frienJ). :\nJ most imp1.>runtl~ h.1,t. a
$:\I-.E and h,pp/ hol,dai '"on.

4 26S7 1:

, 2nd lln, 4th Inf SFC Gr,n1lin~. Bi: R:S. I. L'

!
4 276& U
38,h Sig Bn
SFC ~1,r.Je,. Sn R:-S:L l '
"1;.;9 "15
1 55,h Sup, Bn SFC o:,;,.,I. Bn R:s;C,'.
.. 2i-65 It,

I 193d An Co SSG Blan~,. C,, R:S.<.:,

4 lS-3~

Ro~or K. Bean
BG. L"SA
Command in~

Sgt Wlllllffl Perrigo, left, I Perehlng II mlHIII Cl'eWlnllTlblr, 2nd Plltoon, Delta
Blttery, 4th B1ttallon, 9th Fillet Artillery, ln1truct1 Pfc. Vincent Nlclo1ky, 1
Perehlng II 111ctronlc1 metlflll lf)eeilllet In lhl 11me plltoon, on 1111 pn,per
UM of I light Antf.Utnlt Wnpon (LAW). Thi common Utlb trelnlng wae held
lnlkll tents during one of C.rtlon Archer' dlmper dlys. (Photo by Su11n
Bt.daberry>.

Pershing
Cable

Commender
Brig. Gen. Roger K. Bean
Public Affairs Officer
Maj, Ge<1rd J . Han

]
I_

ss ~ 16

ARMY

BE ALL YOU CAN BE

REENLIST

NCOtC ..................................................................... S,C John K. D'4meto

Edffor ..- ..........................- .................. _.......................... Sgt. Cert Purvla

~ -- - . . ._,_. . . . . . . . . .-..,:.-::~"~=~
-..s-k-

a.rtation flepofte,a -.....................tlth

,A Sp4 Rob.n A'ubino,t..y

2tth FA Vcent
4-llfl , . . . . SuNn lH,,,..ry
- . . . - --..-..-- - .,...Sp4 ,i.ndy Yocki.1
All - - In 1u. . ~ ....

c--.. '"...,,

,,.,sn,ng c;, oi.

Novmoe,

,:

r 98 7

fllllCI Tnitnlng

Pv2 Jfflff Vlnyrd (left) nd SSgt. Trrnce Rlch.,dson, two er-members of 3rd
Pi.toon, Delta Bllttry, 4-9, rplaca the radar section covr of their missile In preparation to roll out.

Cpl. Richard Noe (right) and Pie. David Cook, ol Delta Bttery. 4- 1. preper~
their GIEU (Ground Integrated Electronic Unit) lor countdown.

_,.
Moment, altar heerlng th kluton, th... Delt B1ttary, 'th Battalion, 9th Field Ar
tlllery. soldiers ,warm on tt..lr mlaslle and ruah to ready It tor i.unchl"9, Realistic
training In the field la I m1jor contributer to the Comm1nd'1 combat raedlnaH.

[
(

Mamben of I Delta B1ttary. 4-1. mlHlle craw run through the final checu of their
mlHlle before 1lmulated tunch.

All photos In this lsaue by the Pershing Cable HO Staff unless

otherwise noted.

Pie. David Cook llstens to Intruction, from the operations center. du

ring a 1lmul1ted countdown.

'

Tl'lllnlng

,,;

Rolling

on the

Rhine

T ..o M.A.N. ,ehicic, (the prime mo,er for the ertor

launchers) could cross on tht samt raft .tloni;: 9.ith .as many
other ..heeled v<hicles ., would phpicllr fit on the nft .

by M2j. William Throop

Command Enginr

"" I think the>< guys ha,c done this before!" These words
we-rC' h('ird SC'\'Cral times amontt the observers of the recent
Comm;md Rhtr CrossinG, exercise. T he~ tr<" ~atchin~

th< C<rman u h ing c,c..s skillfully guidin& their n lu ac

r('I !-~ thC' S1Q;jft Rhint ri\C'r to ~ preci5ion Lmding .it the
shor('.

The crossing for the ontirc b1m lion ..as e11im0tcd 10

,.kc approximate!, 8 hours, but at abou, 11 :3C 1.m. mom
bers of the Pc-ace movemtnt from M ud.ingcn showed up
and Staned to harrss the vehicles that ...ere "aitin~ in Jin,
10 cross. B) this time, roughk hall of th, bm alion had al
readv crossed, and the remill.inder of the ban alion took a decour' ind crossed a ncarb~ autobahn bridgl'.'.

'fh" R1, c:r Cn,~)11'1~ ,,...u hdd v n O ctObLr 1.., a!. pan of

l., 1.1~1, \ C3rt,.lr,)n An.:her.

Th .. ~nJ .and 3rd Comp1nic') oi the: S)Oth 5ch"imm~n..,i., Batt.1liC1n pr<', idcd their rahs. p,r,onncl. and
rel.'.hni( .11 .:.-..:p~rti~e in .support oi th1. Cumnund.

f.k mL'nt" o f ~nd 8:m.alion. 9th J-id d .~ rtilk r \ ~rnS)c'd the

r:, 1. r' 1 t t 1''0 (ltt.S. Ltimtrsht im .3nd Phillip)bu;,:, 1u M nurth
,..,: KJrlHuh,... Along " uh 1- 9 wc:r, the d emen1s ot thei r
, upr ,n slic< irom 38th Signal Battalion. 5:>th Suppon 5.,_
t.ilh,:, .

;m dl 2nd B.uulion. 4rh lnfanrr,. B 8JUC't\' . J st

Bll

tll.u:, . 'Ith J ,d d Artillerl' , ho cw, , cd lata thot 'ni~ht. un

J 1,, r dh ~(Ht r of darkn,. ~s.
The iirn unit to cross "-"U Z- 9 FA Batu lion. Tht ir first
el<m<n1> rolled up at about 7:3C p.m. and the 850th ....,
r~JJ, 1\,r tht.m. Tv.o raiH ~ere alrt".1d~ in po~ition. rt:ad~
h.. l;'l1,~in 1h1,, .:rossint.

Th1o- iirn , C'h1d es ~, mu

't\'t f t'

:a

r1.co, er\' ,t hide .and an

3mbub n( 1.' ,

Thl r,..:cH"t'n q hid c i~ ~~nt iir, : in ord1.r 10 pro,id!: th<'

C"3fl l,1ht~ <\I r't m<.H in~ .1 \ ,.: fll(.!(- fr<.>m d ,..:- T3 i t 1.hou J.:.f th1.

\ 1. h,.:!1. ~1.~0mC' diubk J. Lu..:kdr . ~u\h J probkm did no,

,,.,( J r :\ n inl.;mtn 1c.:urlt \' clemcn, w3 ~ scm o ver a~ well.
:,, ...~.:urc th..: far ~hore.

Mtcr th< /iri t 1eh1d<1 ...er< lo,Jcd

::i~ l\'cnt likl!' dock"ork.

th< raft . th< ~ro

F Jl.'.1-. u i 1 1'-' 3 S cap.1blc of l.'..trr~in~ a ~1LC t~tiliu ry lold

Ci.l,,

1::

luad. or , bout

The ni~ht ri,c-r crossing conducted by B Battery. 1-9

FA Baru lion. was a challense- It " 'as conducted under
blackout conditions. ,nd , II of the control problem, ..-hich
arc prest m during normal daytime fflO\'CmentS arr. u
e\'eryone kno~:s. morf prt \'alt"nl at night. If ~ou ha,1. ne,e.r
tried to dri\'C , M.A .'N. and erector l,un,her up a <tp r,ft
ramp unto .a rafi ~ou can 't ste. ~ou o u~ht to try u some ..
time. You jun hope the fellow ..ho is ~uidins you on ..ith
the two 11,shlights kno..s ...h,. he is doing.

1:: tun, .

T he personnel from the 850th Schwimmbrukc Bmalion, which operated , II of the nits and controlled loading
and unlo, ding op<mions, definitely kno.. "'h" they are
doing. The bat,.lion is mponsibl< for all fixed bridgin11
,nd rafting sites , Jong the Rhine from Main, 10 Frankfurt,
,1; d isunce of approximarely 190 kilometers. The unit or as
orgnized in 1950 " the 69&Cth German Labor S<rvice
Group, ,nd was conven ed tCI a Bundes..<hr (Germ,n

- ..--,a:.....

Bundes..,ehr soldi<r, Thes< soldiers my ..ith 1h< unit per

man,ntli, ,nd the result is highly trained and competent
un it.

This ri \'tr crossing opcr:mon " ; ) surcu s due to th~ de-

taiJc-d plinnin~ 3nd coo rdrnJt1o n th;i1 "<\"3 S done b~ JIJ unit~
th:a1 puti..:ipJted. Americ an Jnd G crmln a.1iki:-. It prn, ed to
be an c,ccc lknt trainins expcricn1.~ ior all who puti..:ip.w :d.

...Ot,ee they l1ndtd on the wut bt nk of the Rhine, the convoy lormtd up ind hit the rotd ag1ln,

Battling the currents, the ferries smoothly carried

56th Field Artillery Commend vehicles across t he
Rhine River In IHI then five minutes.

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..,.< .,
.,.. ...

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Army) Bau.alion in 196S. Many of th e former labo r lCr\'ic.:pt:"rsonne! art- still nurin~ m .a.nd~to ~ rct!rc.'mc."nt . A r, 0':lc.' o f
tht- labor ser... icc pt-rson nel tttirt s , he 1s rcpl1ced 1''1th .a

_,,,/If ,,,.. ,

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