8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Oct 1990)

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  ershing

able

Vol. 30, No. 1

56th Fleld Art

ll l

ery Command

"

• o

_

  _

Ey

es

ol 1n Eagle Private First Class Kevin

Smi

th. C

Co

. 2nd Bn.,

4th

Inf. holds a squad assautt

we

apon w

hile

standing

In tM

turret

of a High

Moblllty MultJ,Purpose Wheeled

Vehicle (H  WV). Smith

served as

a

MCUrity guard

In Mesau

dunng

Operation Sleel Box.

Infantry

co

m

pany

assists

with

Operati

on Steel ox

by Troy D

u r

Editor

Members of C Company,

2nd

Bn.,

~th Inf.

were

chosen to provide site security for Operation Steel

Box

from July IS-Sept.

20

.

Operation Steel Box involved 59th Ordnance

Bri

gade

and

various support clements removing

chemi

c.ii

munitions

from

Germany.

Chul

ic

Company's security

force

consisted of two

teams,

which

rotated during the operation.

While

one

team guarded the site, the other team took

time

out

10 sharpen their "NBC

(nuclea

r, biol

ogica

l

and

chemical) skills,• according to Capt. Frank Conner,

C Co. commander.

"We've proven ourselves in

special weapons

securi

ty,• Conner said.

"We

've already trained in site secu

rity, but this mission required some sp~ial tl'2ining

in

NBC."

According to

IS

Lt. Thomas Cooney,

sec

tion

leader, the most stressful part of the operation wasn't

the fear of chemic.ii contamination but the extreme

variation

in

temperatures.

Look , no trey

t .

beer fest waitress

carries eight one-li

lttr mugs to a

nearby table at this

year's

Oktobet1esl

In Munich . See

page 4 fOf story.

"At the be~inning of the operation, the soldiers

who slept dunng the day in a

fest

tent endured tem

peratures a, high

as

110 degrees (Fahrenheit)," U>O·

ncy said.

"Towards the end of the operation the temperuur

es

fell as

low

as

50

degrees

Fahrenheit during the

night," Cooney added.

Cooney said, "We enjoyed doing it

because

it

was

an historic

al

event, but we're glad it's over.•

"I'm

glad

the chemical munitions arc gone," said

Staff

Sgt. Felix

Padilla, sergeant of the guard for one

of the security sections, "and every German in chis

country should be happy too.•

Conner credited the su ess of the mission to the

effo

rts of his soldiers

and

the extra training on site

before the operation.

In an address to the 164 infantryme.n who r«eived

Army

Acheivement

Medals for their panicipacion in

Operation Steel Box, Maj. Gen. Roger K. Bean, com•

manding general, 56th Fie

ld

Anil.lery Command u.id,

"Your mission was difficult. You endured hours and

hours of boredom guarding dangerous weapons. You

have done well."

inside

the Cable

• Soldler's fest, see page 3 for

story.

• Trlathlet

e

see page 6 for story.

• Cross Country Championships,

see page 7 f

or

story.

October 1990

Update FYI

Granny must buy her

own switchblade

Would you give your g

ra

ndmother a

,witchblade knife

for

ChriJtmas? If so, customs

has bad news: you can not

mail

switchblades

10

the United States. Absinthe, liquor-filled candy,

alcoholic drinks, lottery tickets, narcotics, danger

ous drugs, obscene articles and publications, hand

guns and hu.ardou.s articles such

as

fireworks,

fla

mm ables

or poisons are also outlawed. Fruits,

vegetables, meats, soil or live plants are banned

too because they could contain foreign pests or

diseases.

"You arc smuggling if you put prohibited items

in

the

mail

without listing them on the customs

mail declaration,"

said

Staff Sgt. Adam Kettell,

Goppingen Customs Field Office Chief NCO.

The

U.S

. Customs

Service

sei:r.es prohibited items

and

may fine you for sending them. "You may

mail restricted items if they meet the

con

ditions of

the restriction imposed,• Kettell added, "which

u,ually

means

acquiring an import permit.• Exam

ples of restricted item s arc rifles, shotguns, hunt·

mg trophies and

gamb

ling devices.

Remember, these rules when making up your

Christmas mailing list. Call your

local

customs of

fice

at

ETS 42

53-7 65/6

57

for more details.

Tax evaders face

the heat

Tax relief on heating oil will save many service

members in

Germany a pretty penny this winter.

But

this

savings

is only

for

people with tax

and

cunoms privileges, not for the landlord or other

tenants. Checks of tax relief records regularly dig

up tax evasion ca

ses

wh

ich

usua

ll

y end in German

finance authorities fining the soldier. sailor, air

man or DoD civilian involved.

"The best way to avoid problems

is

to

have

your own separate oil tank •

said

Investigator

Norman Clipp of the Goppingen Customs Field

Office Investigative Section. Ensure that the tank

is not hooked up to someone else's hearing sys·

tern. "l you share a tank with other privileged ••·

nants, only put into the tank your fair proportion

of the oil 10 be used," Clipp advised. Passing on

tax-free heating oil co unauthoriud people mar

get you into hot water, even if done unknowingly.

For more information contact your local MP

Group Customs Office.

Up boy 

t . Dutch

dog h

andl

er and

his

cani

ne

friend

surmount

an obst·

acle

at

the

1990

in

temational

Canine

Biathalon In

Sen·

nelager. See page

5 fOf story.

8/17/2019 The Pershing Cable (Oct 1990)

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,... .......... -..::r:~-·: .

Jump Herbert Mothes and Tanja power over a man-made obstacle.

est Friends

Canines compete

in annual biathalon

by Richard J. Clemenson

Staff Writer

One

hundred rn·enty-seven of Europe's finest

hounds had a bone to pick with each other at the

10th Annual International Canine Biathalon in Sen

nclager, Germany.

Dog

s and dog hondlcrs representing nine

NATO

nations and

ot

her militarv and civilian services flock

ed to

~ormandy

Barrack·s in Sennelager to take

a

bite

out

of rhc biathalon's infamous three-mile cross co

unt '\' course and decide who are the fittest dog and

dog handler in Europe.

Two (ompe

ti

to r

s 'chomping at the bit' t

()

conquer

the

course were 56th FA

CMD

civilian

support

guards

Herbert

Mothes and Roland Frey

and

the-ir

dogs Tanja and Marco.

Despite the eventS increasing competitiveness and

H,

water and wall

obsucles

56th

FA CMD

Kennel

Master, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Becsey was confident

Mothes and Frey

had

a leg

up

on the competition

enteri

ng the two-d

ay event.

"Mothes' experience in the biatbalon and with

Ta n

ja is a big plus," Becsey said.

On

the other band Frey bas never run here be

fore. But he is 20-years o\d and runs like a deer. f

needed Marco can pull him along when he gets tir-

1

No

fai

r

Roland Frey comforts Marco wh

ile

the dog goes through a pre-race inspection.

Pershing Cab ft

OctObfr

199

5

Uphill battle Herbert Mothes tries to keep up w

ith

Tanja

as both climb up a

sand hill 

ed," Becsey said.

"I expect both to do well,• be added.

In

spite

of

Becsey's optimism, Mothes

and

Frey

were more reserved in their pre-race predictions.

"I just want

to

do better than my previous time of

33 minutes,• the 38-year-old Mothes said.

"I

don't

know what m expect. All I can do

is

my

best," Frey cautioned.

Both runners got

a

nose up on the competiti

on

when pre-race drawings left

them

in enviable starting

positions. Frey's spot of 107 and Mothes' position of

127 enabled both

to sn

iff out their competition and

see where

the

trouble spots were.

After the first day of running, 80 runners had gone

through the course and Frances Pascal

Thi

erry was

top

dog

with

a

time

of

9

minutes.

Even though neither Frey nor Mothes had ever run

that fast before, bo

th

felt that

Thierry's

time could be

beat. But after 106 runners had gone through the

course be was still on top and stayed that way after

Frey

 

s erun

In his rush

to

beat Thierry's time, Frey