8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Aug 1989)

1/2

  ew dosimeters arrive

by

Richard

J.

Clemenson

It lingers in the air like an airborne

death trap waiting for an unwary

victim.

The effem of

its lethal wrath are

unmistakably bleak. First comes the

sickness, usually accompanied by vo·

miting. Then gradually, agonizingly, it

slips the casualty into a permanent

sleep.

What is this demonic mist floating

about?

It's radiation which has been emited

by a nuclear attack thrust upon the

AUied

Force. The illness

is

radiation

sickness and it's victims are soldiers in

combat.

But

is

there something the soldiers

can do

to

prevent the sickness

or

merely

limit it's effects? Yes. It's called a

DT236/PDR7S Radiac Detector or, in

laymans terms, a Dosimeter "wrist

waich•.

2nd Lt. Kevin Napier, assistant com

mand chemical officer said "The

Do

simeter isn't actually a watch per sc. It

serves no purpose to the soldier as far as

time is concerned.

It

is a band which

is

suapped to the wrist similar to a watch.

Attached

to

the band

is

a tiny compart·

ment which holds litmus paper.•

Napier added, "When exposed

to

a

radioactive atmosphere, the paper

darkens. The soldier then takes the

watch back

to

his unit where it

is

fed

into a computer which reads off how

much radiation

is

in the environment.

The Dosimeter has no medicinal

purpose. What it allows qualified per-

lllllltmlon by SNWn1 Frink

UpdateFYI

ncwhoisn'tamemberofthcU.S. for-

ces,

or

even selling them

to

other U ~

 

personnel so that they exceed their

monthly ration arc all examples

of

BLACKMARKETING black.marketing. .

Herc you are, allowed

all

these ra·

tions and yet every month you have un

used portions going to waste. Why not

bur

up the rest

of

your rations of alco

ho and cigarettes and sell them? STOP

That's black.marketing

Blackmarkcting is the illegal transfer

or

possession of tax and duty-free

goods for personal gain. Giving away

rationed items to pay for rent

or

other

debts, selling them for profit 10 some-

You can only give 2> cigarettes or

one bottle

of

alcohol (not to exceed

1 2

liters) to a local national

as

a one-time

gift. Any more than this

is

illegal trans

fer. 42nd MP G roup and German

Customs investigators are constantly

on

the lookout for this kind

of

tranSac·

tion.

Don't risk a tax demand from

German Customs, a court-martial and

losing your ration privileges The few

sonncl to do, is monitor how much ra·

diation is in the air so they can react

accordingly.

In addition

to

the watch and the

computer, the ensemble is adorned with

a carrying case for the computer and

two power cables.

For some that may sound like quite a

load

to

hold. Bur in actuality, a soldier

has only to worry abou1 the "watch".

The "watch" is lightweight and because

of

its simplicity saves

the

soldier time.

When not strapped to

the

soldiers wrist,

it may be placed in his Individual Che

mical Defense Equipme

nt

(ICDE) bag.

The Dosimeter isn't

the

first

of

its

kind. In fact, the DT236 Detectors arc

an upgrade

of

the

IM-~3

and

IM-H7

Dosimeters which were less effective

and more cumbersome. The fact that

the previous models were strapped

to

the soldiers side or hand-held caused

many

of

the problems that occurred.

The Command holds a unique honor

in being the first and o

nl

y unit in the

Army that is in possesion of the

n =

Dosimeters. The Command has high

priority for receiving nuclear, biological

marks you cam are just not worth it.

Your local 42nd MP

Group

customs

office

has

more details. They can be

reached at ETS 42S 376S ,

or

come by

our office

in

the basement

of

BLDG

306, Cooke Barracks Housing Arca.

IV testing

Soldiers must update their Human

Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) test

during their birth month

if

it has been

more than one year since the last test

date or if there is

no

test date in the

Standard Installation

or

Division Per

sonnel System (SJDPERS) HIV test

data field.

llluatmlon

by

Shawna Frink

and chemical detection equipment since

our mission makes us a target. The new

Dosimeters arrived in June and arc be

ing distributed throughout the Com

mand gradually.

According to Napier, not every

soldier will be furnished with a dosime

ter. "There will be a total

of

800 "watch

es', along with 55 Radiac Detectors

issued," he said.

An additional IO percent

of

the

"watches• will be issued to the units in

case

of

loss or damage and training

purposes. Every holder

of

a "watch"

will mark the back

of

it with his

or

her

name and social security number in case

of

loss.

To

insure that all Dosimeters arc

working at peak efficiency, semjannual

checks will be made," Napier said.

Sounds simple doesn't it? A tiny plas

tic compartment which appears to be a

watch

at

fim but is actually the latest in

Army technology. Yet its simplicity is

its alluring quality. By not putting extra

pressure on the soldier, it frees him to

accomplish his mission in a more cffi.

cicnt manner.

Commanders will notify their sol

diers to update their HIV test. Soldiers

arc requiTed

to

report

to

the nearest me

dical treatment facility with their medi

cal records and AE Form 600~1

IDA-R

(femp) (HIV Test Instructions Card).

AE Form 600-

IIDA-R

(Temp),

when authenticated by the laboratory,

can

be used by the commander

as proof

of

testing until

DA

Form 5668 (HIV

Screening Test Results)

is

mailed

to

the

soldier from the laboratory. Soldiers

will keep

AE

Form 600-

IIDA

-R

f

mp)

as proof

that they have sub

mitted blood for screening.

8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Aug 1989)

2/2

6

Soldiers inhabit historical ·site

by Anthony

J.C. Hosc:h

There arc many historical places a

soldier can visit while stationed over

seas. What

most

soldiers don't realize is

they work and tnin everday in places of

great historical importance.

In fact,

Hardt

Kaseme, located in

Schwabisch Gmiind, is one

of

those pla

ces.

During

the

1930's,

the

increase in

military strength of the German anny

in Schwabiscli Gmiind caused great

concern amongthepeoplc,saidDr.Klaus

J

Herrmann, director of the archives of

Schwlibisch Gmiind.

the road to Oberbemingcn).

Although platU for

the

nnv kaseme

were submitted and the appropriate

papers

sign~

April 26, 1936, the actual

building didn't begin until October

1936. Conmuc:tion for the

nnv

kaseme

took one year

to

complete at a cost

of

4.4

million reichs marks, said Herr

mann.

Ahcr it's

completion, the new k -

scme was named Adolf Hider K.ascrne.

The fim unit to occupy Hider Ka-

scmc was

the

2nd Battalion, 77th ArtiJ.

lcry Regiment, a motorized German

unit with light field howitzers.

The outbreak

of

the second World

War was n.earing when

the

units sta

tioned at

the

Adolf Hitler K.aserne were

being moved to various war fronts

ccording

to

Herrmann, the contro

versy came about when the commander

of

me German anny ordered the co n·

struction

of

another

kaurnc

to be

built

somewhere in

or

near Schw:ibisch

Gmiind to supplement

the

existing Bis

marck Kaserne.

During

the

war, Hilter Kaserne was

occupied by different units,

most

were

German army reserve units.

Adolf

HIiier

Ka

-

built

and

occupied

by

a man

Almy

forcee

before

Work

• II.

In

1951 Alnerlcmn

troope fflOV9d In

Md renemed It Herdt

·Even though Bismarck Kaseme was

enlarged to accomodatc the extra

German tr00ps, the German

anny

still

wasn't satisfied. They wanted another

kaseme

to

house an artillery unit in an

advantageous location

that

would

be

both

beneficial

to

the people as well as

the German army, 

HemmlM

said.

Herrmann

said,

that

in addition to

being used by reserve units,

Hitler

Ka

seme was :i.lso

an imponant

fuel

dump

that supplied gasoline to

the

frontline

German troops.

war (POW } camp and as a collect.ion .

H~rrm~

said, the r~fugees tha

point for refugees, which w u operated d1dn I qualify fr passage into anothe

by

the United Nations Refugee Relief country settled in Germany.

Administration (UNRRA)

.

In 19St, American troops occupied

Because of the advancing allied forces

in the spring of 194S, a battalion

of

re

serve officer candidates later moved into

tbe Hitler

Kueme

from Kolmar,

France.

By the end

of the

second World War, the kaserne and renamed the kasern

all the refugees not 100 old or sick were Hardt Kasernc.

evacuated. Hardt Kaseme was occupied by var

Herrmann said, the evacuation of ious American troops like

the

35th

the refugees in the Hitler Kueme was a Field Artillery Group, which moved

slow process. There were many compli- into the kaseme Nov. 7, 1951. They

cations in getting entJ)' permits for were later replaced

by

the S6th Field

those who wanted

to

return

to

their ho- Artillery Group, in April

of

1963.

Aher

some deliberation, an agree

ment between

the

people of Scbwlibisch

Gmiind, the city council and

the

German

anny

was reached

wh

en,

according to Herrmann they decided on

the

area of 'Hardt' (the name of an

en

tire

hill

mass southeast of the city on

Due to the ·approaching American

troops toward Schwabisch Gmiind, the

German officer candidates had

to

pack

their bags once again and retreat to an

other location, according 10 Herrmann.

mes in eastern-block or cummunist Since September 1970, Hardt Kascm

countries.• bas been under

the command

of

1h

At

the

close of

the

war,

Hitler

Ka-

serne was being used as a prisoner

of

Those wbo wanted to

go

to

the Unit-

S6th Field

Anillery

Brigade, which he

ed

States had to

undergo

a thorough came 56th F.A.

Command

(PERSH

screening, according 10 Herrmann.

ING)

in January 1986.

Motor specialist shows sergeant s skills

by Bob Rubinosky

Grooming promising young soldiers to

be

noncommissioned officers (NCO's) is the responsi

bility of leaders and tbe

key

to ensuring a strong

army.

Spec. Richard Walker, a light wheel vehicle mecha

nic./recovery specialist for HSB 1st Battalion,9th FA,

is about to leave Pershing's Finest and become not

just a sergeant, but an NCO for his new stateside

unit.

Walker explained the difference: •If

yo

u're good at

your job and that's all, you're a sergeant.

To

be an

NCO you have to

be

proficient at your job, know

ledgea.ble in basic soldiering, able

10

take care

of

your

soldiers, and

most

imponant of all you have to teach

your soldiers to be future leaders.•

When

the

Shanksville Pa. native first joined the

Army,

his JOal was to be an E-4 promotable

or

an

E-5 after has first tour.

He's

reached that level, but

Walker admits,

I didn't

really think about what

it

would be

like

t be

a leader back then.•

According to Walker his molding to be a leader

started as soon as he was assigned to 1-9' battalion

maintenance shop.

Ml had just came out of advanced individual train

ing: fresh off the block, and Chief (CW02} Kovack

(battalion maintenance officer at the time)

took

me

under his wing

and

formed me the way he thought a

mechanic should ope~te. My mechanical skills - how

I troubleshoot - I learned

it

all from him. He was a

good teacher, like a mentor for all

of

us

at BMO

. 

•If a vehicle came into

the

shop

wi

th an unusual

problem, he would

look

at

it

and figure

it

out in what

seemed

to be

10 minutes. He would then assign two

mechanics 10 the vehicle, a new one, usually me, and

an experienced one and give us a day to troubleshoot

it with tbe proper manuals.

Then

the

next morning, if we

hadn't

located

the

problem,

he

'd show us where

we went

wrong

in

the

troubleshooting flowchart. He

ilso

showed

us

how

to take that extra step to verify

the

result.•

As Walker's expertise grew,

he

was eventually ask

ed

to come

to

HSB's

motor pool

to help tnin an in

flux

of

new mechanics.

In time HSB motor pool was again shon on

mechanics, but this time they were in need of

a

shop

foreman - an E-5 slot.

Walker was choosen

to

temporarily fill in. He was

the best choice according to coworker Spec. Michael

E. Kreher.

·He was one of the hardest workers I've seen a

round here, Kreher said.

·He

was always the Jut

one

out of his overalls. We respected him

for

his

mechanical ability and his take charge attitude in th

absence of the shop foreman.•

For seven months as shop foreman, Walker had 1

organize the

work

flow for the mechanics

that

ha

been his peers. He was expected 10 help them wit

their personal as well as

job

related problems.

Although Walker thought he had done a good job

be

wasn't convinced until he sat

down

with his co

workers after his leadership stint and asked them t

assess his job perionnance.

He

was always fair in his decisionst Kreher said

He divided

up

the work evenly

among the

mechan

ics.•

Even though

my

speciality is electrical problems

if we had time,

he

would assjgn

other

mechanics t

work on an electrical proble m

to

better their know

ledge and assign me to a (physically} harder an

dinier

job.

Although

the

shop

won the

S6th FA Command

Quanerly Maintenance Award during his shop fore

man days, Walker said

that

his co-workers respe

and approving remarks were his best reward.

Passing the E-5 board and attending Primary Lead

ership Development Course were the next steps i

polishing this future leader's potential.

Walker's

now

ready 10 leave Pershing as soli

NCO

material.

It's

our loss, but it's the

Anny'

s gain