8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Dec 1981)

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. 

I

Vershina

£able

Vol. 11.No l

56th Field Artillery

Brigade

Blast

off

1 81 FA

fires

Pershing mlsslle

bf Keith MIity

Soldiers of Bauery

8,

1st Bat1alion, 81st Field Anillery,

recently fired the Army's m051 powerful weapon at Mc·

Gregor Range, N.M.

Sp4 Janet Childress pressed the firing buuons and

watched as the Pershingmissile belched

smoke

and name.

"Along

with

all the

noise

came a feeling ofdefinite accom·

plishment. she said. I saw for myself how the system

reull

J

works

. 

The most important pan of the whole P.roject was the

las,

10

seoonds,  said Sp4 Ronald Tanner. 'You're saying

tu yourself. go, go. You see the

boom

drop, the

cable

mass

pop.

and from then on you know you've got it made.

Then you sec the Rames burst and within four seconds

- s

he'

s gone It's &Otto be a once in a lifetime e,pericncc.

The successful live.fi re was the culmination of many

days of hard work, according to Childress and Tanner.

Upon

its arri,al at the range, the contingent's ground

suPl)()rl

area and missile CQuipment were inspected.

The missile was mated, and pulled into the Firing

Point Position. Then came the Iona awaited count-down.

We encountered some minor

problems at

first, said

Childress. But e•erythina went smoot

hly

up to, and in·

eluding, the firing day.

Childress also commented that troop participaiion

in

a

firing exercise i, important. ~us of the experience

gained in an actual firing

mission.

The

name

of

the game

is

teamwork,

5aid

Tanner.

Atlit d~ play an important role in Pershing firings. You

have to beable to work together

10

get the

job

done.

"'Once you get that job done, you ba•e a better under

standmg ot what you 're there tor.

We

didn't

look

at oursel,es as officers, NCOs or

lower

enlisted on the

shoo

t

, he

added. We thought of

ourselves

as a team sent back to perform a mission - and

we

did

it. 

55th lfalnt Bn.

o . n i . . 1 • 1

New

.unit

growing

ACTIVATION

-

SFC Manuel F. Lozano, first sergeant

of

HHC, 55th Malnt.

Bn., uneases the

Co.

C guldon held by the 56th FA Sde. Deputy Commander,

Col. Richard G. Rounsevllle during an activation ceremony held , ._,t ly at

Artillery Kaserne, Neckarsulm. Photo by Brad Mosher)

Germans seek

lonely Gls

in

need

of holiday cheer

Single soldiers in the Schwaebisch

Gmuend subcommunity can sign up

now

to

spend Christmas with a Ger

man famil~ under the briaade

Christmas Visitation Program.

A wann•up meeting has been

scheduled for p.m., Dec.

IS

at the

Schwacbisch-Omuend Office

r'

s Club,

to allow German hosta and their Amer.

ican gucsu to become acquainted be

fore

the

holiday.

Because of time and distances in

•olved,

some

of the German hosta will

not

be attending the meeting.

Poin

u-of-(X)fltact

have been desig

nated f

or

each unit in the area to

help

soldiers siJn up

for

this year's pro

gram. lndwiduals can call or see the

following people

to get

involved:

S6tb FA Bcle, SSat. Tanner, 723

HHB, 1/41,

Lt.

Bak:er,

761

Alpha, 1/41, SSgt. Jones, 727

Bravo

1

1/41,SFCMizcll,

742

Charlte, 1/41, I

ht

Sgt.

Howell,16

Military Police,

SSgt.

Sbulko,

790

Regional Personnel Center, SFC

Chidester,

811

90th Medical Detachment, SFC Sol-

dier, 814

7S7tb M edical

Det., SFC

HOO\ler,

724

266th Chemical, Sgt. B. Snyder, 784

Finance Section,Sg

t.

Redman, 764

Alpha,

SStb

Maint. 1st Sgt. Wilson,

766

Similar progra

mi

are takin8 place in

the other communities where Pershing

soldiers arc stationed.

Sec

your unit 1st

Sgt.

The

SStb

Maintenance Batlalion has

strengthened its role in support of the 56ih

Field Artillery Briga~. by bringing three

more companlet under ,ta naa recently. .

The A'iiation Detachment.

formcTly

at

signed

to Headquarters Battery,

S6tb FA

Bcle.; became Cmpany E (Avn), 55th

Maint. Bn.,onOct. IS.

The Co. E soldien witnessed the

provi

·

sional activation officiated by Col. Richard

Rou.-iUe.

maade

deputy

oamriv.ndcr,

and

Lt Col

. Williim S. ·Liitlefield, battalion

commander. Lit1lefaeld

welcomed

the sol

dien

o

his newest company aboard and

spo

ke

of he battalion s goals.

The S79th Ord. Co., formerly of the 3rd

Ord. Bn., 59th Ord. Bcle.,

wu

inducted into

the ranks o be

SSth

Maint. Bn. the follow

inadly

at

Nelson Barracks in Neu Ulm

About the newly dalpated Co. D, Ut·

tlefield said, We arc fortunate to be able

to acquire a unit as lcchnicallr proficient as

the 579th,

whose

professiona pride has

so

1uccesafully supported the- 56th FA

B

8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Dec 1981)

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Field

training no

picnic

StoriM d .

Life

in the

riekl

may

be a

lot

lite

camp

ing 001, but it's no picnic -

•pecially 10

Germany

whe e tbc

wcatber can be dis

aa,eeable.

But for the soldiers ol

Battay A,

ISi

Battalion, 4111 F ICld Artillery, S6111

FA

Bri

pde,

the rrte-day 11ay

ia

Ille woods

DCII'

Badnang ia early

Nowcmber W U bctta

than

usual.

Tile

exercise bepn

11nderAnny stia

and

oddly enouab,

tbe

unpr

8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Dec 1981)

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PFC GNg

Harrla.

PFC ryon

a

cable

eermee an Infantryman, ltande

Pershing Cable

Page 5

_ _

COOi[ OUT - Pvt. 2 Jamie Menning COOks eggs tor Sgt Fairley Long

and

PFC Mike8atlettO for bnlaklast.

TUG,O WAR

-

Sp4 Ronell Jone.

(far eft .

and PFC Orwldo Arilez break down a mobile shelter with the *II of PIii. 1 Aliin

Lar1tln · ·