Pershing

able

Vol. 29, No.a

56th Field Artillery Command

May 1990

Last PII leaves Camp Redleg

by John L. Morgan
Staff Writer
HEILBRONN, West Germany -The last Pershing II missile components
of the 4th Batta.lion, 9th Field Artillery
left Camp Redleg April 26, ending the
battalion's 26 years of service to
NATO.
Departure of the battalion's last missile components follows the signing of
the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces
Treaty (INF) by former President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev Dec. 8, 1987. The treaty
requires the destruction of all ground
launched nuclear missile systems with a
range of 500 to 5500 kilometers.
The rreoty ends the 56th Field Artillery Command's mission of nuclear deterrence by requiring the destruction of
all Pershing II missiles. The withdrawal
of missiles from Heilbronn's Camp
Redleg leaves the Command with 54
Pershing mis.sites remaining in Germany.
Camp Redleg is the first of three
Pershing missile operating bases in West
Germam to have all its missiles removed. The site will also be eliminated
under the INF treaty.

....... ..............

Moving the Missiles

For the taet tlmet Soldiers from D Btry., 4th Bn., 9th FA disassemble the battalion's last Pershing II missile, March 29. et Camp Redleg,
A convoy carrying Pershing missile in Hellbronn. The battalion's last missile components left Camp Redleg, April 26.
components left Camp Redleg at 9 a.m.
The 18 trailers, pulled by trucks of the B Bey., 4th Bn., 9th FA retired its gui- United States to deploy the Pershing II jority of the soldiers will move on to
37th Transportation Group, contained don on November, becoming the first to counter the deployment of the Soviet other jobs either in Europe or the Unitcomponents packaged in individual unit inactivated as a result of the Treaty. Union's mobile SS-20 nuclear missiles. ed States.
The first Pershing 11 missiles arrived
"Pershing soldiers will retrain in othcontainers and securely fastened to the
in Germany on November 27, 1983. By er MOSs (military occupation:al spccialtrailers' bed.
Dec.
IS,
1985,
all
Pershing
battalions
ties),
while non-Pershing soldiers will
Proud History
O ther convoys depaned Camp Redleg earlier in Arril, which transported
The first Pershings, the Pershing I had completed their Pershing II fielding be reassigned," said Capt. Thereso Lever, the Command's enlisted managethe remainder o the battalion's missiles models, were deployed in the summer and were operational.
On January 17, 1986, the 56th FA ment officer.
to a storage area for shipment.
of )965. The 4th Bn., 9th FA arrived in
Pershing soldiers assigned in HeilThe battalion's erector launchers West Germany designated as the 3rd Brigade was designated as the 56th Field
(ELs) were transponed 10 the Equip- Battalion, 84th Field Artillery. It was Anillery Command. At the same t.ime bronn wiU continue to prepare their
ment Maintenance Center H ausen, the third battalion reactivated and de- the Pershing battalions became affiliated non-Pershing equipment for turn in to
Frankfurt. There the ELs will be dis- ployed to West Germany for fielding of with the 9th Field Artillery Regiment Theater Army Depots. The 4th Bn., 9th
under the Army's regimental system. FA will complete its compliance with
mantled and destroyed as outlined by the Pershing I.
the INF treaty. The destruction will be
With the intr-0duction of wheeled ve- The 3rd Bn., 84th FA became the 4th the INF Treaty by conducting an inactivation ceremony before October.
observed by the Soviet on-site inspec- hides to replace the older tracked ve- Bn., 9th FA under that transition.
D Battery 4th Bn., 9th FA conducted
tion teams.
hicle family, Pershing I was upgraded to the battalion's last demating operation
With the retrograde of the 4th Bn.,
Heilbronn was the site of other signi- the Pershing l -A in 1969. Heilbronn on March 29.
9th FA's Pershing !Is, the 56th FA
ficant firsts in INF Treaty compliance. received their replacement missiles in
Command moves one step along the
On September I, 1988, the first missiles 1969.
path of INF Treaty compliance and
Soldier's Future
and Els were retro~nded on the first
Under the NATO Twin Track AAlthough the soldiers no longer have takes a giant step towards the Com,.m_o_v_e_m_e_n_t_d_a.:..y_,p_e_rm_n_te_d_b.:..
y_th_e_T_r_ea_ty.:.....
. _,g::...r_ee_m_e_n_t-,in 1978, NATO asked the a guaranteed future in IPcrshin,...,,,g.:...;,;th.;,;e.;,;m.;.;,;. a-__ m_a_n_d_'s_in_a_c_ti_v_u_io
_n_._ __ _ _ _ __,

Radio check,
over!
Pvt.
2
Monica Sutter, B
Co., 38th Sig. Bn..
monitors a radio
transmlssiOn. See
page 7.

She's ellvel Pvt. 2

Howard Harrison,
C Co., 2nd Bn., 4th
Inf., perlorrns cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
on Resusa-Anne
during a recent
medical
training
e~ercise. See pages 4 and 5.

He8d first! A sol

dier from 2nd Bn.,

4th Inf., dives Into
the pool on his way
to vlciory at the
56th FA Command
Swimming Championships.
See
page 7.

Pershing Cablft
May 1990

-..-

Jumpln' Jack Flash! Christopher Sutton, 7, skips rope during JumpPhoto by Morgn
Rope for Heart. 114 elementary and junior high school students from the Free wheellnl Justin Bush, 6, successfully negotiates a serpentine bicycle course during a recent bicycle saSchwabisch GmOnd area raised over S 4 ,000 for the American Heart fety awareness day. Youths receved a certificate of completion after classes on hand signals , bicycle mainteAssociation.
nance and maneuvers.

Pholot,ya.......

How do you llke your egga? Lt. Col. Thomas Bowden, 2nd Bn., 9th
FA commander, serves up another plate of eggs during cook appre
ciation day. For a day, officers and senior NCOs cooked and cleaned
at 2nd Bn., 9th FA's dining facilities.

..

Photo by lilorgn

Smeck! Hugh Weldon, HHSB, 2nd Bn., 9th FA, smashes a lin&-drive to the third ba~eman in a softball
scrimmage game. Teams from around the 56th FA CMD are preparing for the upcoming season.