Vol. 30, No.

56th Fteld Artlllery Command

Aprll 1991

Update FYI
Mountaineering
If you're willing to tap your energy resources

""'""''.............

Ch1lrbornel Headquarters and Headquarters Co. 2nd Bn.. 4th Inf. soldiers give this Chair a liN during HHC, 2nd Bn., 4th
Inf.s cleanup activities on Nelson Kaserne.

Battalion prepares kaserne

for installation turnover
by Julia Papathanasakis
Staff Writer
R~pJiring buildings. pulling guud dut> and
lorm,ns duties as Honor Guard art just a fe" o the
m,<sions that are keeping the soldiers of the 55th
Support Bmalion bus\'.
The responsibilities' changed hands between 2nd
Bn.. 4th Inf. and 55th Spt. Bn., when Lt. Col. Greg
\ 'ir~il. commander, 35th Spt. Bn. became the ne,., in
sulluion coordinator of Nelson Kaserne.
According to !\laj. Ste,en Wilberger, executi\'e officer. 55th Spt. Bn., Virgil became the installation
coordinator in No"emher, but S5th Spt. Bn. didn't
,,ke rntal control of Nelson Kaserne and the new
respon<ibilities until :'vlarch.
One of the nc" duties of 55th Spt. Bn. is to make
, ur, t he buildin1,s are ready for turn-in to the Directorate of Engineering and How.ing. "When the inspectors come with their white gloves," said Wilber
gcr, "we Ju" to fix any ddicicncy they find."
Preliminar: inspections of th< buildings ha\'e staned to prepare for the installation turn-over. "It entails
a lot of things," said CSM John L. H offman, Jr., 55th
Spt. Bn. "Wr're continuing to beautify th< installation. We'" m up a special team just to do that."
According to Hoffman it's a big job. "Trash has to
be properly disposed of and damaged buildings have
to be reported and repaired," explained Hoffman.
The exm duties really took a toll on the soldiers
during the increased terrorism threat. "It was really
tough." said Wilberger. "Soldiers rotated between
guard and retrograde duties. It was really hectic."
"It's an incredible amount of work." explained
Wilbergcr. "Your days arr alwa)'S filled."

rr-

Hey, youl Helmut

Ohnewald, minister
ol justlce for Baden-Wurttemberg,
discusses Schwabisch GmOnd's history with American
students at the
Schwll>isch
GmOnd American
Middle
School.
See page 8 for

story.

___

._..,.
Suck It up! Spec. Robert Franklin, HHC, 2nd

Bn.. 4th Inf..

vacuums a carpet during lhe company's ci.anup activities.

inside
the Cable
Soccer championships,
see page 11.
Job seminar, see page 9.
Retrograde story, see page 4.

and ascend into the Alps, your Armed Forces

Recreation Center (AFRC) at Berchtesgadcn ,
Chiemsce and Garmisch/rovides experienced guides and safe, wucrure programs that promise
out-of-the-ordinary mountain adventure you'll savor for years to come.
At AFRC Btrchtesgaden you'll be able to combine overnight hiking treks with white-water rafting and mountain bike excursions. The three-day
Blueberry Tour focuses on hiking and rafting.
This tour includes instruction, river and mountain
guidts, use of equipment, transponation during
program and one night in a remote Alpine hut
with half pension. A package version includes recreation plus three nighu in an AFRC hotel. Alpine Adventure is a new mountaineering innol'ation that combines rafting, overnight treks and
mountain biking excursions. The program is similar 10 the Blueberry Tour and also offers a hotel
package plan option. Berchtesgaden Outdoor
Challenge is designed for groups or units to experience five days of mixed rafting, hut hopping, elementary mountaineering survi,al skills .and rigorous fitness regimen. AFRC Berchtesgadcn mountaineering programs are available May through
September. Minimum age for pmicipation is 12.
In addition to self-guided hikes in the nearby
Chiemgauer Alps, AFRC Chiemsee includes guided hiking treks in their five-day Outdoor Disco
very program. This multiple-spom program combines hiking with basic mountainring. sa.iling,
windsurfing, uilin' and rafting. Outdoor Discovery also includes instructor/guide, use of equipment, group photo and cook our. Chiemsee Outdoor Discovery is offered May through October.
Minimum age for this pro~ram is 12.
The AFRC Mounuinecrong School in Garmisch
sponsors over a dozen high quality programs that
range from one-day leisure treks to multi-day alpine treks and specialty programs in rock., ice and
fne climbing.
For example, the Garmisch mountaineering
sports offer four intensive mountaineering cour
scs: Elementary Mountaineering, Basic Rock
Climbing, Advanced Rock Climbing and Ice
Climbing. These courses include five days of in
strllction, guide, use of equipment, rransportation,
cenificate, medal, two nightS in an AFRC hotel,
four nights in a mountain hue, four breakf:asu, five
lunches and four dinners.

Tell It llke 11111 Lt.

Col. William Marks.
chief of staN. 56th

FA CMD listens In
tently u Dr. Woll
gang
Schuster,
Lord Mayor of
Schwlblsc:h
Gmund, talks during a break at the
Lord Mayor's reoeption See pages
6 and 7 for story
and pictures.

Porshln g Cable
April 1991

Rems-Zeitung readers contribute money

by Troy Our
Editor
At che beginning of Operation Desert Shield, vocol German minority protested the United Smes'
movement of forces to the Gulf region, while the silent majority remained just that - silent.
When hostilities began, the vocal minority continued 10 demonstrate, however, che silent majority
no longer remained silent.
What began as a trickle of support for families of
soldiers deployed 10 S,udia Arabia curoed into an
avalanche of German-American solidarity.
The most support received from the German
people was a money drive by the Rems-Zeitung, a
Schv.abisch Gmiind newspaper.
The Rems-Zeitung Editor, Meinrad Sigg, presented
a check for more than 12,000 DM to Maj. Gen. Ro
ger K. Bean, Commanding General, 56th Field Artillery Command, at a sma.11 presentation ceremony,
March 15.
According to a Rems-Zeitung newspaper article,
,he money, which was contributed by the RemsZeitung readers, was collected in only two weeks.
According t(l Sigg, the most heartfelt donation was
200 DM from a retired woman. Sigg said the woman
couldn't have had much money, but made the dona
tion because she felt she needed to.
The money won't be going to waste, according 10
Capt. Jim Skelton. "The money raised by che RemsZeitung is the main source of funds to help families
of deplo)ed soldiers," he said.
So far, vef\' little of the money has been spent, but
a good portion of the money is earmarked to make
sure the children of deployed soldiers can attend
camp during their spring break, according to Skelton.
After the ceremony, Sigg said, he hoped that all the
American soldiers would be able to return as soon as
possible. but assured Maj. Gen. Bean that the German people would continue to assist the families of
deployed soldiers.

P'hoto by llllefet~Ch

Thankal Maj. Gen. Roger K. Bean. Commanding General. 56th FA CM, receives a check for more than 12,000 OM from
the Rems-Zeilung editor, Meinrad Sigg, to help families of deployed soldiers.

County officials give bus tickets

to spouses of deployed soldiers
by Richard J. Clemenson
Staff Writer

Veronica Murphy uses them 10 cake her 12-nnonth

old daughter co the doctor's office while Zigrid Gar
cia uses them to visit friends in Waldscetcen.
Bue all military spouses can use them as proof that
the longstanding German-American relationship in
Schwiibisch Gmiind, Germany remains as tight as
ever.

Poncio by Clt>!Mft.on

Ticket lo freedom! Zlgrid Garcia lakes advantage of the

free tickets donated to her and other families of soldiers
deployed to the Gulf by Aalen officials.

One thousand bus tickets and hundreds of dollars

tighter to be exact.
With many families of deployed soldiers feeling a
transportation pinch, 56th Field Artillery Germ an liaison officers, with help from their German friends,
jumped on the family assistance bandwagon and gave
families a lift with free weekly bus tickets in or
around the Schwiibisch GmUnd area and it's ouclying
cities and towns.
According 10 Sgt. Maj. Jorn-Uwe Steimer, German
Liason Officer for the 56th FA CMO, the "idea for
the free tickets" and the subsequent dissemination of
the tickets has been a "joint effort" from both che
Germans and the Commands Gertnan Liaison Office.
"We approached Aalen County Officiols with che
idea for free bus tickets after the idea was brought up
in Scaff Update," Stelcner said. "They (Aalen County
Officials) were more than happy co help in anr way
they could. After talking with them, they scarred
working on the idea and gave the tickets co us (Liaison Office) only 14 days later to give to families of
deployed soldiers," Steltner added.
That small effon turned our to be a donation of
nearly 500 tickets valued ac more than 520 deurschc

mar~s. Steimer added that the county is "illing co

provide the Command with more tickets pro"iding
the response they get from the first doMrion is good.
Captain James Skelton, Family Assistanct Center
director, said the requests for tickets that have come
into his office are encouraging. "The response has
been very enthusiastic, Skelton said. "These famili,s
have two big problems, and one is transportation."
One spouse who relies on the tickets as a main
source of transponation is Murphy. After her husband deployed, the unlicensed mother of one found
herself virtually trapped in nearby Hussenhofen.
"Before the tickets came, I had problems taking
my 12-month-old daughter to che doctor and doing
simple things like buying groceries," Garcia recalled.
"But now I can do those things. The tickets re all r
gave me a boost transportation-wise and financially, I
really appreciate them," Garcia said of her weekly
trips to Schwabisch Gmiind.
Other spouses, like Zigrid Garcia, have found the
tickets to be a great way to travel around the area and
visit friends in other cities. "They arc nice to ha,e.
Sometime I just need 10 get away from home and relax with friends in Waldstecten," said Garcia, "host
husband Henry has been in Saudi Arabia since De
cember.
Even though he doesn't have a spous(" deploved to
the Gulf, Skelton also appreciates the count:'s generosity. "Before the tickets, our office either had t,)
scrounge around to find rides for these people or
they didn't gee rides," Skelton exclaimed. "They (che
tickets) were a Godsend."