The Pershing Cable (Feb 1988)

8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Feb 1988)

1/6

C

-

c

u

a

C BLE

~I.

26, No. 2

Nth

Field At1111try Comm1nd

February 1988

uperpowers sign treaty

•

NATO s

Pl

Strategy Successful

bi

J

ohn

K.

D'Amat

o

Public Afl,iu 1-COIC

On

December 8th. President Rogan and

Ge

ncnl

xcrttar')' M,khail Gorbach


2/6

-

_-

I

2

··.-«;...·-:,~ ' .·~ ~

·-

~~-~~1 1- f ~: ·1..r"" -

·~4 ~

. .

.

. •, ..

INF:

How will the sites be inspected

Uni1td

Stat

•• I

nform

ation

Strvict

Ai

pirt of

/,, /nr,rm,d,ar,

lh n,:t l \'

udt.r

Foras

Tr , , r

,1

rh>t •.

signtd on D.c mbtr

8

1987.

rh,

Un11 d Sweo nd

tht 5


3/6

Soviet inspections

mark historical first

by SFC John

K. O Amato

NCOIC

56th F.A. Cmd.

PAO

Eut met Wm

with a historic handshake inside the

gates of the 56th Field Artillery Command

Missile

Storage Area in Mutlangen,

West

Germany on July

5th.

In front of a bank of

TV

cameramen

and

still pho

tographers, there to record the first verification in

spection of a U.S. Army missile site in Germany, 2nd

Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Commander

Lt.

Col.

Michael J. Puquaren greeted Vladimir A. Akimen

kov, chief of a nine-member

Soviet

inspection

team.

The Sovieu, part of • 21-man verification group,

arrived

at

Rhein

Main Air

Force Base in Frankfurt oo

the 4th of July,

and

announced concurrent inspec-

tions at Mudangen and

at

Wueschicm, a Ground

Launched Cruise

Missile

(GLCM) site operated by

the Air Force's 38th Tactical

Missile

Wing.

The inspectors from the U.S.S.R., accompanied by

ten members from the U.S. On-Site lnspeetion

Agency (OSIA) and

rwo

representatives

from

the

Fe

deral

Republic of Germany, spent 21 hours

at

the

Command site as part of a bueline• inspection, de

signed to verify data contained in the lntermedjate

Nudeu

Forces (INF) Treaty's Memorandum of Un

demanding.

Ratified by the U.S. Congress on June I, the INF

Treaty

calls

for a series of inspections by both sides

starting in July

and

ending Septanber I. The process

of sending inspcetioo teams into another country for

the purpose of verifying

Missile

removal

and

destrUC·

tion is unprecedented, and most authorities

agree,

sets the stage for additional arms control reductions.

During the next three years, more than 2,SOO mis

siles, all

land

-bued with

ranges

of 300 to 3,400 miles

will be descroyed by both sides in accordance with

the INF Treaty - 859 by the United States and

1.752

by the U.5.S.R.

U

.S

. inspcetors

have

126 sites to inspeet

in

the

U.S.S.R., Czechoslovakia, and the German Democra

tic

Republic. A 30-mcmber team from the U.S. On

Site

lnspcetion Agency under Army Brig. Gen .Ro

land

Lajoie, left Frankfurt for the

Soviet

Union early

on the morning of July I.

The

Soviets have 26 U.S.

sites to inspcet, including

12-missile related sites in the European countries of

Belgium,

the Federal Republic of Germany, July, the

Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

In early July, Soviet te ms had conducted inspec·

tions at the General Dynamics Plant 19 in San Diego,

facilities

at Davis Monthan AFB and Fort Huachuca

Army

base

in Arizona, Pueblo Army Depot in Col

orado and the Hercules Aerospace Company plant at

Magna,

Utah.

The July 5th verification visit

at

Mutlangen

wu

the

first of the Soviet inspections at U.S. Army missile

sites in Germany, but baseline inspcetions arc ex

pceted

at

the

U.S.

Army facilities operated by 1-9 in

Neu U

lm and 4-9

in Hcilbroon later in July or early

August.

At Mudangen, after bis greeting the Soviet team at

the gate, Pasquarctt conducted a site and safety brief

ing, followed by introductions of 2-9 officers and

soldiers who would act

as

escorts to the

Soviets

dur

ing their stay.

The soldiers at Mudangen played host

to

th.c Soviet

team from 10:50 a.m. on the 5th until 8 o'clock the

next morning, providing not only areu for work and

sleep, but also lunch, dinner and breakfast meals.

After their visit, the

Soviets

returned

to

Rhein Main

Air Force Base

in

Frankfurt, and flew back to the So

viet Union.

_.. _

In•

hldonc~ng 2nd eatt.non 9th

Field Artillery Comnwmder

L t Col.

Mlellael J. Pasqu....u,

ahllk

hands

with Vladimir

A

Aklmenkov

INder

of • Soviet nlM-ffllln, on-site v.rlflcltlon tnm. he Sovleta vlalted Mutlln-

gen

on

July 5th f)llrt

of

• ba

lne Inspection

called tor

by

the

Int

ermediate Nuclear Forcea

Treaty.

Up~ate F

Y I

POV MOVEMENT

Recent changes concerning reimbursement for in

land movement

of

your POV State that reimburse

menu will no longer be made. Under certain circum

stances

there arc exceptions

to

this new policy.

A couple of

examples

are:

• Soldier ships an oversized vehicle and it cannot

be carried to place of duty.

• Soldier ships an inoperable

vehicle

which can

not be shipped inland.

·

If

either of the above cases exist then the claim

must be accompanied by

DD

Form 788, PCS orders,

and

a letter from Brancrhaven

Pon

directing

pick-up. Upon presentation and approval, the Fin

ance Travel S.:aion will determine and make the pay

menu of these

claims

.

SEPARATIONS

Soldiers transitioning from the Army

(ETS

) are

paid

automatically through the month prior to their

ETS,

and in accordance with AR

37-104-J.,

all

final

paymcnu of Pay and Allowances, Travel Entitlc

mcnu, and Accrued

I.eave will be paid at the Separa

tion Point. Pay and Allowances will be computed

from the

fim

day of the month through the ETS

date. No mid-month checks are issued during the

month of ETS and Casual Payments will not be

made.

Accordingly, soldiers pending

ETS

should

pr~

pare

to

meet expenses from the last automaticc.nd-of

month pay through their ETS date. The Finance Of

fice cannot make

any

payments to soldiers during the

separation month.

OUTPROCESSING

Soldiers who are outprocessing must have every

agency cleared

and

indicated on their clearance pap·

en , CllCq>t Finance, MILPO,

and

unit rcgincr, prior

to

their Finance outprocessing appoinanent. Unit

commanders or first sergeants must sign all clearance

forms

and check them for completion. Soldiers must

also bring a copy of their request for leave or pass,

DA Form 31, when reporting

to

Finance for outpro

ccssing. Compliance with the above procedures will

avoid delays in out processing.

LEAVE CONTROL

Soldjers will not be charged for a day of leave if

they rerum to work on a non-duty day AR 630·5,

para

3-Sb 2)).

DA Form JI. (Request

and

Authority

for I.eave), item 30, will include the statement: Day

of return

is

not to be charged as

a day

of leave.• If

DA Form

31 does

not include this natemcnt, the sol

dier's day of return will be charged as a day of

leave.

As a rule, non-duty days arc Saturdays, Sundays,

and

holidays. Soldiers who work shifts, however,

may

have

other non-duty days. Commanders

and

supervisors will monitor their leave programs to en·

sure timekeepers meet regulatory requirements.


4/6

3

Team training secures p 3rimeter

by Stephen R Schroeder

Penhing

Cable Staff Writer

American soldiers w

eren t

the

only ones training at a Pershing field

site in the German woods on June

20.

One-hundred and twenty mem

bers

of

German Escort Battery 4802

had also deployed

to

conduct a

24--hour uaining exercise

with

Delta

Battery, 4th Battalion, 9th Field -

tillery.

Lt. Col. Dietrich Kraushaar, the

German Liasion Officer to the 56th

Field Artillery Command, said that

the 4802 is one

of

three escort batter

ies that

will

be provided

to

the 56th

during a war.

The mission of the escon batteries,

according

to

Lt. Col. Douglas Tay

lor, former commander of 4-9, is to

provide extra security

to

Pershing

forces. They will augment the firing

platoons in perimeter defense. Then,

as they increase their proficiency,

they

will

be expected to conduct pa

trols with the 2nd Battalior>, 4th In

fantry and move out on external se

curity operations.•

C.pt. Lance Luhl~, 2nd Ptatoon.lNder, Deltll S.tte y 4th Bllltllllon,9th Reid Artillery, brief• members of

the

4802

EKOrt

Battery on

the

organlutlon ol

the

11th

Fleld Artillery Command. The Germen bettery, the flnt of three to be

formed,

could

provide

edded eecurtty to

Pershing

sltw during an sctuel- .

Taylor said

that

they will be espe

cially useful for route recon because

they speak the German lingo.•

Pershing crews big news

by

Stephen

R.

Schroeder

Pcrshlng Cab~ Staff

Writer

For the, first time since Pershing II

missile deployment began in 1983, the

U.S. Army opened the gates at Mutlan

gen Missile Stor2ge Arca to a flood

of

worldwide media rcpresenutivcs, Junc

8.

The media came to document compli

ance activities as the command prepares

10 remove its 108 Pershing II missiles

and suppon equipment. We have re

corded the deployment, now we must

record the departure. We've waited a

long time for a chance like thi

s,•

ex

plained one journalist. He spoke from

experience. Once, he climbed a tree

outside Mutlangen to shoot a rare

photo which was later published

in

Newsweek magazine.

The Intermediate Nuclear Forces

Treaty

took

effect

on

June t with the

exchange

of

ratified documents berwecn

the United States and the Soviet Union.

With the treaty now in effect the

scope of the 56th Field Anillery Com

mand's oper2tions have expanded to in

clude the removal of the PII missile sys

tem, inactivation

of

command units and

supponing Soviet verification inspec

tions.

Media Day

was

held

to

brief news re

prescnutivcs on how the command will

.il::complish these new missions and to

give the reporters a chance

to

photo

graph missiles and gather background

information. ·

Upon arrival, the newsmen were cre

dentialed at the nearby Schicsstal park

ing lot and taken by shuttle bus to Bis

mark Kascrne.

Lugging and dragging man-sized

tri

-

pods, video cameras, fragile lights and

other equipment, they rushed into the

Rodman theater to find the best seat or

shooting angle.

Anticipation filled the theater as more

media members arrived and time drew ·

near for the start

of

the show.

· Bus after

bus

pulled up,

let

the jour

nalists eagerly scurry off and pulled

away to pick up another group.

Then the rhythmic thump, thump

of

helicopters drew near. Five huge CH-53

Sea

Sullions appe.ared in the overcast

sky. Fifteen minutes later the 90-mcm

bers of the Ministry of Defense press

pool flooded the theater.

Press passes proclaimed the presence

of

prestigious magazines, newspapers

and television stations from

acrou

the

globe.

Reponers from the Washington Post,

Time magazine, Le Soir, the Daily Tele-

_.. ._

ABC . ust one

of the

many televi,ton networke from

.-ound

the world

thet

sent

crews

to - Medle Dey. For r elated plcturN - pegM 4 end

5

graph,

Der

Spiegel and Pr2vda flipped

through their press packs, jotting down

notes.

Television crews from Fr2nce, Spain,

the Soviet Union, the United States,

Czechoslovakia, Germany, Japan, Aus

tria and Sweden

worked hurriedly

to

get their equipment set up.

Two

rows

of

video cameras stretched

across the width of the theater, one

after another. A massive, tangled web of

wires and cords wound its way to the

podium.

Continued on page


5/6

Commander of the 56th Field Anill

e.ry Command, Brig. Gen. Roger K.

Bean, took the stage.

Tape recorders switched on, cameras

started rolling and busy hands began

writing.

No

one wanted to miss a word

or

a picture.

This was a day awaited

by

many for

ye.an. In the past, news organizations

would have gladly paid a dear price for

a nibble of the cake being offered today.

The general welcomed the press and a

media day overview was given.

Capt. Scott

Hill

plans officer for the

command, then gave a command ueaty

compliance briefing.

The reponcrs learned that the com

pliance plan calls for the Pershing mis

sile sections to be placed in containers,

shipped to the United States and deliv

ered to a selected site for destruction.

The rocket mot0rs are expected to be

eliminated by demolition or burning.

The re-enuy vehicle, minus the war

head and guidance clements,

will

be

crushed or flanened. "The physics pa

ckages themselves

will

be returned

to

tbe appropriate national authorities for

disposition,• Brig. Gen . Bean said.

The launchers will also be delivered

to

selected sites for elimination.

At

these sites, initial cutting will

be done

in

accordance with the INF Treaty.

At

the end of the briefing,

Hill

re

minded the audience that although the

command is commined to treaty com·

pliance,

it

will maintain its combat re

acliness.

· Our mission

to

maintain combat rc

acliness docs not diminish with the in

troduction

of

the INF Treaty," Hill

said. "The 56th Field Artillery Com·

mand will continue to conduct field

training exercises and undergo U.S. and

NATO

evaluations.•

After the briefing, the reponcrs bad a

shon question and answer period with

Brig. Gen. Bean.

The journalists conducted their

ow

n

INF

inspections, when they were taken

to

Mutlangen Mi Sile Storage Arca ab

oard five double-decker touring buses.

The buses, brimming with cameras and

microphones, were met at the front gate

by several of the site's resident protest

ers.

An

erect Pershing missile loomed be-

hind the wall.

During the bus tour, the media was

briefed on many of the site's buildings

and

complexes.

Brig. Gen. Bean remarked that most

of

the facilities are "very generic. They

will be used by some soldiers in t he fu.

ture, I

am

sure,• he said.

The media was then let loose

on three

tr.ai

ning pads

to

photogr:i.ph and film

various missile displays and interview

soldiers.

They descended

on

the soldiers and

d

is

plays like a starving swarm of locusts

ready to devour every bit of news and

eve.ry picrure.

It's ni

ce

to be

able

to

do

it

the easy

w

ay,

said a CBS camer:i.man. "I've

spent a lot of time crawling outside

fences and getting arrested to get

Persh

ing

shots

.•

I

think

it was a good idea to let eve

ryone in to see what a good system we

have," said Spec. Donald Doheny of

HHSB, 2nd Battalion, 9th Field Anill

ery. E>ohcny was station

ed

at one of

the displays at Mutlangen.

Another

soldier

on

the training pads

was Spec. Scott McCall, Charlie Batt

ery, 2-9. He

believed that

our

combat

readiness: played a big

part

in bringing

about the treaty and Media

Day•.

It was

nothing

like

I thought it

would be, remarked

SSgt.

Qyde

McLaughlin of Alpha Battery, 2- 9.

McLaughlin's "Hollywood

Crew,

·as

they came

to be

known within Alpha

Battery, was on band at the e rect missile

display for interviews. •

At

first I had

stage fright when I saw them (reponers)

all beading

our

way. It took. awhile for

me to come down to earth. ·

It felt good to get

so

much recogni

tion,• McLaughlin said. It felt good to

be in the

spotlight, and

it

was good

to

have our system and unit in the spot

light getting deserved recognition.•

The "Hollywood Crew's" executive

officer,

Capt

. Mike Godwin, said the

event gave the whole battery a morale

boost. The soldiers were able

to se

their accomplishment

on

television and

in the newspapers. There was a lot

of

taping

done

and a

lot

of dippings

cut

out of newspapers.•

Our combat readi-

ness played a big

part in bringing

about the treaty

and Media Day

Sgt Willie Biggs, HHSB, 2-

9,

said

be never thought be would be involved

in something

so

big.

We

were told

there were going to be a lot of people,

but

I never imagin

ed so

many,• he said.

"Usually 'a lot' is

S

or

so.•

A buddy of Biggs had a

quote

in the

"Stars

and

Stripes.• He bought 20 cop

ies and sent them to all his relatives and

friends,• Biggs said.

Summing up the feeling of most of

the soldiers involved, McLaughlin said,

It was a day that I'll never forget. It

was like a dream.•

After the M utlangen tou r, the media

returned to Bismark Kaserne where

American Ambassad

or

10 the Federal

Republic of Germany Richard Burt,

German Federal Defense Ministry State

Secretary Dr. Lothar Ruh and Brig.

Gen. Bean were cent er stage.

Doz.ens

of

microphones bristled from

the lectern, seeming to prod them to

speak. Floodlighu and popping earner:

flashes

lit

the stage like small, artificial

suns and twinkling stars.

Below the stage the 154 journalists,

photographers and cameramen, repre

senting 88 worldwide media organiza

tions, jostled once again for position.

During his speech,

Bun

recalled be

ing in Brussels in 1979 as a journalist

when

NA T

O made the "Twin

Tr a

ck

Decision.·•

On

December 12, 1979 NATO

un

animously adopted a "Twin Track.•

strategy to

counter the Soviet deploy

ment

of

SS-20 missiles.

One traek called for arms conuol ne

gotiations with the U.S.S.R.,

t

restore

the intcrmediate nuclear forces balance

u

the lowest possible level.

In the absence of an agreement, NA

TO's second track called

for

the

de

ployment of 10·8 Pershing JI and 464

Ground

-Launched Cruise missiles

in

Western Europe beginning in December

1983.

•At the time mere was a grcai: deal of

uncenainty as

t

what the decision

meant,~ be said. "There was a great deal

of skepticism an.d even cynicism. It was

described as an arms build-up. There

was skepticism that we wanted to elimi

nate this whole class

of

weapons. Ther e

was skepticism that the Soviets would

ever agree at the negotiating table.

Now, standing here in 1~88," con

tinued the ambassador,

I think

it's

possible

t

say that the Double Track

Decision of 1979, the :Uro Option of

1981 and the deployment

of

missile in

1983 have vindicated the strategy of the

Alliance. Wc have been successful in eli

minating

this

category of weapons. •

At the end

of

bis speech, and Media

Day,

Bun

reminded his audience that

there is no •

free lunch•

in achieving

arms conuol

obj.cctivcs but the first step

had been taken. "By demonstrating

our

willigncss to maintain the military bal

ance we have created the conditions for

real

arms

control,• be said.

Media day provided the world a

glimpse of how the command and the

United States .,ill begin to meet the

INF

Treaty's

"real arms

control" objec

tives.

_.. y_

The medl• lo In on •n erect P1lf9h.

Ing nmlHlle and Its "Hollywood C...w."

More then 150 represeni.t1ve1 from 88

new,

org1nlzatlon1 1tt1nded

the

com-

mand'•

Media Day on June a.


6/6

-

tetevl,ton CHW from Wnt German Fledlo and

Tetevltlon ru,het

to

II Media

Day.

Below)

I.Alter In

the clay, TV Cl'$WI filled the front

of

,mer1can Ambassador

to

West Germany Fllchard Burt and German

.olhllr Rilhl.

5

- -

tanding IINlde an EL. CWO 2 Mllltt.w KOZll lk 1xplaln1

how

It wlll bl dNtn)yed. In lldclltlon lo hla dla-

play there - an etect mlMlle, a mlMlle In transport mode, and mlulle.

hlpplng

cont81ners on hand for

the lllldll to YIN.

-

emberl

of

the

p rN t lhoot

the

c.matlng operation of a

Perthlng

II mlaslle.

At the

display,

the

me-

dia

eaw

how

mlasllN

wlll

b l

tllken

9flllrl

befoni being

lhlppad

to

the

Unltld Stataa.

-

-

. crew fTom Delta S.ttary, 2nd a,ttallon, tth F.

A

d•mllln a Parehlng

II

mlnlle

for

the

cameru. The dlaplay wH a popular attraction and

Wit

featured on HVIHI

T.V.

broadcasts, while

crew photot

were

u.ed In Time, U.S.

Newt

and World Fie-

- =-, 1... ° '· ,..o port. and In do:ien, of newspapera around

the

r i d .

The Pershing Cable (Feb 1988)

Documents

Transcript of The Pershing Cable (Feb 1988)