Vol. 29, No.

Update FYI
Birth registration
Having a baby overseas is not like having a
baby in the United States: the parcnu, instead of
the hospit.al, must register the baby's birth with
appropriate U.S. or foreign authorities. The birth
registration documents the baby's citizenship and
enables the baby to get a passport. A baby must
have a passport to travel in Europe and to enter
the U nited States.
To start processing a baby's birth registration,
the parents must report, with the b~by, re~uircd
documentation, and fees, to the servacmg mahtary
personnel office no l.ater _than .30 days after the b.aby's birth. The btrt~ regtstrauon agent ~t the military personnel office must see the child before
taking the oath affirming the truthfulness of state
ments. on ,he rcfort of birth from the parent on
the baby's behal .
If both parents arc U.S. citizens, the r.arent submitting evidence of citizenship (pre crably the
mother) must take the oath. ~nd sign the fo~. If
only one person is a U.S. cmzen, the U.S. cmzen
parent will take the oath and sign the form. When
neither parent is a U.S. citizen, the milit_ary per
sonnel office refers parents to ,he servacmg legal
assistance office.
(USAREUR Bulletin).

Retiree registration
You can retire in Germany and still use U .S. sales facilities. "Your local 42nd MP Group customs
office has the form you need," said Pfc.
Kalinowski, Goppingcn Field Office Customer
Service Representative. You can also use the Army
Post Office (APO) mail system after retirement.
"Upon submission of a status verification,
German Customs will give you a customs certificate", he added "which, with your retired military
ID card, entitles you to buy non-rationed items at
U.S. sales facilities in Germany. However, rou
must return 10 the same German Customs office
with each month's cash register receipts and pay
tax on what you bought and did not consume on
the premises (the current rate is 15%-). After this,
German Customs will extend your certificate for
another two months. If you don't, your customs
certificate may be withdrawn. As for your mail, it
must be addressed to "Box R" at your local APO
and the address must include the word "retired".
You can then pick up mail at the APO but you
must take any parcels to German Customs for
clearance unopened. If you don't present your
parcels in a reasonable amount of time, you may
lose your mail privileges.

Spec. Joseph
Allen bllancee
dime on the end
of hls M16A1 rffle
to Improve p,-oper
trigger 1quNZlng
technique. See
page 4 for story.

Spec. Richard Van Pay, light wheel mechanic, Charlie Battery, 111 Battalion, 9th Field Artillery check.. milltary
vehicle to mak1 sure the tr1n1miHlon hydraulic lines are properly maintlined.

Battery earns award

Credits success to NCOs, simplicity
by Bob Rubinosky
1st Bn., 9th .fA Correspondent
The Sword of Freedom, U.S. Army, Europe
(USAREUR) top mai.ntcnancc award for fiscal year
1989, was awarded 10 Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion,
9th Field Artillery (Pershing).
Recognized in the intermediate density category
(701 to 1000 total items of equipment on which unit
level maintenance is performed), Charlie Battery will
be USAREUR's representative in the Army Chief of
Staff Award for Maintenance Excellence.
The USAREUR inspection team, from 200th
TAMMC based in Zweibriicken, evaluated organizational maintenance programs. The largest area of
evaluation was motor pool operations, but they also
inspected arms and NBC rooms, communications
and field mess equipment, along with awards,
publications and traini~g programs.
Maj. John Houston, commander, C Btry., 1st Bn.,
9th FA, explained that in order for the battery to
accomplish its mission in Europe, it has 10 maintain

Inside the Cable

Sports enthusiast, page 2

Flylng at night, page 4

Suggestion Program, page 5
A German Christmas, page S
Hall, rain or sleet, page 6
Commander's Cup, page 7

unit readiness in two interlocked arca.s - training and

maintenance.
A soldier may be well trained, but if he can't
maintain his equipment in a high state of readiness,
he can't accomplish his war-time missions,~ Houston
said.
"Maintenance is difficult to maintain. It's one of
those on-going battles which you have to focus on
every week, he said. "During our standard training
week, we have three afternoons dedica1ed 10 maintenance. If our mission dictates that we utilize our
maintenance time for something else, then we work
on it as time allows," Houston added.
Assessing his maintenance program, Houston said,
"Our program is unique. The first thing we did was
develop an SOP (Standard Operating P~ocedures)
built on simplicity. We removed unnecessary com
plexity from our guidelines. We now give o ur NCOs
a document they can understand and execute.
"The next key ingredient was leadership involvement. Until soldiers see that their leaders are willing
10 crawl underneath a truck with the proper technical
manuals and get dirty, they're not going 10 feel that
it's (maintenance) important.
(Continued on P. 6)

World Wr II
German velerans
like In the sites
of HHB, 56th FA
CMO's
motor
pool during rec
ent vl11t to Bis

marck KaMme.
See page 3 for
story.

Pershing Ca/J/e
December 1989

AAFES: Not just another retail store

The mulc NC11on of Bismarck Kueme's Post Exchange lnvlt11 Spec. Steven
Gipson to look through the variety of music AAFES has to offer.

by Anthony J. C. Hosch
Staff Writer
In m-any pans of the United States, as
tradition has it, Thanksgiving marks the
beginning of the Christmas shopping
season.
Shoppers throughout the United
States arc crowding into stores like Macy's in New York, Springdale's in New

Orleans and Gcorgio's in Beverly Hills

loolung for exotic and special giftS for
Christmas.
The 56th Field Artillery Command
soldiers' version of Macy's, Springdalc's
and Georgio's is the Army and Air
Force Exchange Service (AAFES).
AAFES, however, is not just a retail
store. According to Maria Achwarz,
manager of Schwabisch Gmiind's
Burger Bar, .AAFES provides quality

merchandise at reasonable prices.

Quality merchandise and reasonable
prices can be found at all AAFES stores
such as food operations like Tony's
pizza, burger bars and 31 Flavors. In
addition, shoppeues, military clothing
and sales, beauty salons and class six
outlets offer the same savings as well.
Since its inception in June 1941, AAFES' goal has been to "provide its
patrons with excellent service and a variccy of merchandise, said Achwan..
AAFES goal of saving its customers
20 percent or more is not an unreachable one. According to a 1989 A.C.
Nielsen price survey, AAFES saves the
military familr an average of 25 percent
in commercia products.
Additionally, by shopping at an AAFES facilicy, customers have three ways
to stretch their dollar.
These savings are guaranteed through
AAFES brands, AAFES exrra value
items and AAFES special buy programs.
AAFES brands include sports shoes,
shirts and automobile batteries. These
products carry the AAFES quarantce
and provide alternative savings to other
merchandise widely advertised.
AAFES extra value items arc items
that carry the vendors brand name.
They arc specially stocked every day for
customer convenience.
AAFES special buys are limited
quantity specials. They offer an important savings to the customer because
these pruchases arc one time buys.
Service,,
AAFES commitment does not end
there. AAFES provides special services

to the soldiers at remote sites. For in-

stance, areas like Camp Redleg, where

soldiers must remain on-site for weeks
at a time, a mobile snack bar is
dispatched to service them. This is only
one of many examples of how AAFES
takes care of the soldier.
.
Community Support
After all this, AAFES still looks for
innovative ways to pass on savings 10
the soldiers and their family members.
Through agencies like the Morale,
Welfare and Recrearion (MWR) division, AAFES is able to channel funds
back into military communities.
The money received from AAFES
provi~cs funding for libraries, hobby
shops, recreation centers, swimming
pools and gymnasiums. The funds also
support and promote intramural sporting activities and acknowledgement
pro$rams for military personnel.
Finally,
AAFES
provides
job
opponunties for military spouses.
According 10 Barry Gordon, area general manager in Stuttgart, AAFES is an
excellent organization to seek employment and a good place for advancement.
"AAFES offers family members a
great opportunity for employment,"
said Gordon.
"In Schwiibisch Gmiind alone over 60
jobs arc available for family members,"
said Bob Smith, exchange manager.
Providing savings, job opporrunitics
and quality merchandise has become an
ongoing quest for AAFES' management. By meeting these goals, AAFES
has undergone many changes to improve the quality o f services offered to
the military family all over the world.

Tour proves inspirational

WWII German soldiers visit Bismarck

by Anthony J. C. Hosch
Staff Writer
A bus filled with Germans pulled up 10 the entrance of Bismarck Kascmc. They were not ordinary
Germa:n citizens. The group which poured through
the gate of Bismarck Kaserne were a part of the kascrnc's past.
Members of the German army's 2nd Battalion,
JI 9th Infantry Regiment, their wives and children

came co sec how their place of duty during World

War n changed.
The walk down memory lane took place during the

first week of November. The tour gave the former

German infantrymen, who were stationed here, an
opporcunity to experience and relive moments of
their personal history.
Mr. Reiner Wieland, the chief organizer, thought
"it would be fascinating" for the old German unit to
get together and visit the kasernc, according to Hans
Herdeg, maneuver manager.
After coordinating the tour through the German
liaison office, the World War II veterans were on
their way to a reminiscent afternoon.

The afternoon for rememberance began with a

20-minutc slide show about the Pershing mission.
Immediately following the slide presentation, the
German veterans and family members were divided
into two groups lead by the staff from the German
liaison office.
Each group toured the Kaserne and was briefed on
each building's modern-day use.
The tour included a visit to the Post Exchange,
Burger Bar and 56th's motor pool. At the motor
pool, the group discussed the types of transportat;on
used .during World War II. They also toured 3,8 th
Signal Battalion's barracks and motor pool.
According to a member of the group, 38th Signal
Battalion's motor pool, the recreation center and the
Rodman theater were used for horse stables and a parade field."
The tour of barracks and facilities ended with a
walk through HHB, 56th Field Artillery Command's
living quarters.
The two groups came together at a plaque dedicated to the fighting men of 2nd Bn., !19th lnfancry !Regiment. Fuset Haefele, a member of the deactivated
unit, said, "We arc happy Americans arc here, because i, (Amcric.an presence) helped guarantee peace for
che past 40 years."

A German Army veteran point out the room he llvtd

In during World War II to a group of 381h SlgnI Batt1llon 1oldler1. He and group of hla fellow veterans visited Bismarck Kaseme during November.