European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday apr 15, 1968 the stars and striped sergeant missile Crete special Tai pickles and for a Irio ment Chas wind whips on the Mediterranean Fust is so greek Island of Crete. Twenty minutes and count ing hurried activity on the Launchpad has subsided somewhat and 5 quiet tension has settled Over and nato Range a Mountain r overlooking tip launch area you see the Range control Center building sur rounded by the tiny silhouettes m nearly 100 military observers. Six minutes and count ing. Tense Twenty \ less than a hour ago the ser Geant Crew swooped Down a Long Liti in Convoy settling the into came the launcher Section. Like huge steel Grasshopper on wheels it swung into an exact position and came to life. Prior to the launcher s arrival important groundwork had been completed by the azimuth orientation Tunit which along with the firing Section chief marked out lines and established an azi Muth on which the launcher would be placed to Orient the of setae s 5th in 30tharty Are waiting for what some Call be tense Twenty the 20.minute countdown prior to the launch command. It col. Peter a. Abbruzzese and men of Btry b Are Here fora very special assignment to tire the first sergeant missile intone Mediterranean during Annu service practice from this nato missile firing the Battery and supporting personnel the to ring it will cult innate months of Sive training. Fifteen minutes and count ing the Battery came to Crete Blair demonstrating the sergeant system s air mobility. The flight from the staging area in Italy went smoothly. Twelve minutes and count ing for the past three Days All of the unit s work procedures have been closely watched marked and graded by officers and cos wearing red and yellow armbands marked fam Seg for Field artillery missile system evaluation group. It is their Job to evaluate the Battery s efficiency. The team travels worldwide checking units like this one. The top rated team in world Competition receives the Sperry trophy. Capt. Donald Sloan told his me that their chances of winning the trophy Are Good. Eight minutes and count ing. Ordnance men in the Battery missile support Section have done their Job Well working All night troubleshooting the Hydraulic system. When the Sun came up this morning the launcher was ready for business. Seven minutes and hold ing. At this Point in the countdown an automatic hold is imposed so a destruct package can be inserted into the missile. Should the sergeant Fly off course i would be blown up in flight. Or ingot safety precautions Are being observed by both firing Bat a Zey see share the Road Courtesy saves lives. Usa eur fatal accidents army motor vehicle. Wean v motor vehicle weapon and expo Tim other totals up and away the first sergeant missile to be fired into the Mediterranean lifts off the launch pad on Crete. It was launched by me from setae s 5th in 30th arty. Army Cash pliers or a 10-Toit Blue Streak fills the Bill As of april v2 1m7 1948 810 816 leghorn Italy special the . Army Supply Mission does t run on banker s hours. And that is Why a Soldier working at the leghorn general depot May be yanked out of be to rummage through the depot area11 huge warehouses spread Over 275 acres to find a pair of pliers that a unit in Europe urgently needs. This is known As Blu Streak a priority Supply re quest that must be answered within hours. Ten men from the 8th logistical come s he det at Camp Darby Italy handle this Lone some late night duty. Some re quests they have handled in clude a one Gram Washer tiny electronic components and a urgent Call for 240 pairs of size 9& combat the item is Small enough to be sent through the army Post office the Blue Streak sol Diers pack and wrap the items. A 10-ton truck would be a Dif Ferent matter. A phone Call would bring the transportation division into play and they would probably Send the truck out none of the Flatcar in the depot s miniature Railroad network. Blue Streak requests come from Supply and maintenance gency we Bruecken Germany a computer run Clearing House for balancing defense depart ment Supply stocks throughout Europe. The computer matches the needed items against present stocks and automatically places the Box score on beating the clock to fill the varied request which come at All hours is an impressive 93 per . 5 Eulalio Reyes a vet eran on Blue Streak duty Here says. I sleep with one Frankfurt special three v corps soldiers have been granted charter member ship in the Zero defects club an Honor Roll started this Yearby maintenance officials. The three the Only Drivers to get perfect scores on 509 wheeled and tracked vehicle inspections since Jan. 1, Are spec. 4 Carl l. Piercy co d54th engr in spec. 5 William e. Schwab he Btry 36tharty group and spec. 5 Rudy Wright he troop 3rd sq14th army Cav Mannheim Germany Spe Cial the 1st support Bri Gade has completed the first of its Semi annual newly As signed officer courses implemented to give officers arriving in the command a solid background on which to base his actions while in two week course was attended by some 77 second lieutenants from throughout the 1st support brigade. 3d nil your guide to Good listening in the dec 1 jj"je22jjjr monday american forces network the times listed or an programs Are Central european time Newt every hour 0605 hymns from Home 0610 Early request 0700 world at 0700 0730 More request 0805 pop music 0830 Don Mcneill 0905 take ten 0915 Tempo 1005 merely music 1030 Ira Cook 1105 spectrum Usa 1125 Maria Skob Cova 1130 noon requests 1205 sports 1215 More requests 1305 Art link letter 1315 Good music 1405 Small world 1505 Date with Chris 1605 160510 Nashville 1705 request show 1600 world at 1800 German to 1645 the Good Luck pot comedy 1825 local news 1835 Jim Pewter 1905 Young sound 2005 on the scene 2030 suspense 2055 Point of Law 2105 music in air 2200 world at 2200 2230 tonight show 2305 sports 2315 John Doremus tuesday 0005 Herman Griffith 0030 profile 0035 jazz 0105 Bill Stewart 0200 Art Baker 0205 Paul Compton 0305 Date with Chris 0400 Point of Law 0405 just music 0500 country Corner 0655 this is an. Program 1830 George London 1200 journalists talk 1840 Pacific Ocean 1245 weekly Magazine 1400 for children 1430 lobby doll play 1530 Early filming method 1431 Johnny Apollo movie 1600 four o clock report 1605 capt Kangaroo 1701 Hullabaloo of tomorrow 1930 sports 2000 news 2010 Carmen opera 2305 news second 1435 Barratino russian cartoon sings 1540 ,1 1900 sports movie 1710 Uzbekistan film 1755 news 1800 Black passion Christian africans 1927 news 1940 viewpoints fro East Germany Good evening show 2100 Madame Bovary part ii 2220 news 2000 Ramstein Wiesbaden Rhein main to 1730 mayor of town 2001 Daniel Boone 2200 ten o clock 2101 Dean Martin hosts Phil Harris 1801 my three sons 1830 evening report 1900 love Andy special Man Clyl report 2230 Joey Bishop hosts the association Check sports Section and other Payes Foi a Nom or no 5 o social missile with its target. Watch ing the launcher Crew unfold it s equipment was like witnessing Awell rehearsed Ballet troupe. Each step was directed by Han signals from the assistant firing Section chief. Four minutes and count ing. Next a transport tractor trailer Rig carrying the missile guid Ance Section and the rocket motor swung into position along Side the launcher. Positioning of the Rig is critical the Driver made a perfect approach. Simultaneously a Boom operator who operates a hoist Assem Bly scrambled to the top of the launcher and quickly unfolded the framework which lifts the sections of the missile onto the launcher where they Are Locke together. At the same time other Crew members opened Large Square containers to the rear of the launcher and removed guid Ance fins which were quickly positioned on the aft Section of the missile. Piece by piece the men assembled the Metal and wire Jigsaw Puzzle. Three minutes and count ing. Inside a Small Cabin on thereat of the launcher the firing set operator concentrated on Racks of components and computers. Like on a million Dollar pinball machine the lights flashed and the memory Banks hummed As the operator set about his solitary task. Into the hungry Maze he fed the numerical formula which was electronically translated into a missile flight path. This intelligence then flashed through wires and relays into the missile s guidance platform where it was recorded on a sophisticated tape deck. Once the missile is in flight this tape is the sole source of guidance information. The fire control set operator jumped out of his Cabin and unwound a Black Cable. Attache to the end of the Cable was a round instrument the fire control panel. With the flick of a Small toggle switch marked fire hold he can Stop the count Down almost to the moment oblast off. Eighty seconds. Everything is automatic the wind seems to Stop momentarily As the missile Sud Denly comes to life swinging to a 75-degree , it s Sling someone shouts. A Side Ward glance at the Range control building High on the Mountain reveals the silhouetted observers Frozen into five four three two one fire the smoke is first then the Orange thrust fire. Then the sound a deafening deep Roar reaches into plugged eardrums. For an instant the missile hang sin space supported on an inverted mushroom of smoke and flame and then before one s mind can Register the thought the Bird is gone. On the plane Back to Italy Btry b s men silently recalled the Swift Chain of events follow ing the launch. There had been cheering and congratulations and a member of the fam Seg team had told All of them in briefing the following Day men your missile was right of the
