European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 01, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 the stars and stripes War and peace the serenity of a a 49th tactical fighter Wing f4d Phan leisurely grazing Herd of some 500 sheep torn Jet ready for Takeoff from Spang is set off by the martial appearance of Dahlem Germany air base. The sheep roam the Airfield from april through september with the Mission to keep the grass Short. Air Force photo accuracy is their business calibration men keep army measures honest by Ray Wrights a Ramstein Bureau chief Pir Masens Germany is a Hundredth of an Inch More or less on the end of Jimmy Durante s famous a c h n o z a would t wreck his image Buta Hundredth of an Inch error in a micrometer measurement could wreck a delicate firing system. Highly specialized since strict accuracy is vitally important to the army s Arsenal it s logical that someone is responsible for saying what s accurate whether it s inches pounds pressure or electrical current. This is the responsibility of the highly specialized . Calibration Agency which operates out of the Pir Masens army depot commanded by col. . Cooper calibration Agency lab is located at the foot of a Green Hill at nearby Dahn with cw02 Leroy g. Beyer in would be impractical for maintenance Crews to bring their micrometers Scales pressure indicators torque wrenches electrical current meters and other devices to the lab at Dahn for accuracy checks so the calibration Agency takes its standards to measurement standards Are mounted in huge air conditioned vans which cover regular routes to army posts and isolate Sites. One Van is specially equipped for Micro wave measurements while others Are geared to verify lower frequencies and in addition Check Scales thermometers gauge Sand All the measurement de vices that keep a maintenance Man s tools honest. Sides of the vans slide out tomake room for the calibrators to work while their Battery of equipment remains anchored in the is so vital that specialists Are on the Lookout for anything no matter How trivial that gives a false simple example is the Way they handle the weights of the Bullion balance scale. They never pick up a weight with the fingers no matter How Large or Small it is. Perspiration or Oil from the skin could throw the weight a fraction off the exact Standard. The calibration Agency claims its specialists have attained one of the highest Levels of technology in the army. Before they Are considered properly trained they must be Able to handle More than 400 different precision com Mercial time a team of calibration specialists returns to Dah from a swing around their territory the measuring devices in the Van Are checked against those in the underground lab. The lab keeps its measure ments accurate by checking them against standards at the primary reference Laboratory in the Redstone Arsenal Huntsville Ala. Redstone in turn checks against norms at the National Bureau of standards washing ton this Chain of checking when a calibration specialist says a gauge measures an Inch it when an pm Calibrator says a Carrier signal in a radar set registers so Many billion cycles a second it does. Air Academy picks 3 from Europe afro All three Young men graduated May 29 from Academy preparatory sch and will now work for a a fief. Science degree and a 5 Mission As second lieutenant new Academy student Douglas l Erwin son of Briggen. And mrs. William h Erwin. Gen. Erwin is executive officer to Gen. Lyman l. Lem Mazer at shape he Brussels Douglas is a 1967 graduate of the pans american High school George p Wargo son of l sgt. And mrs. John Wargo Iverona Italy. The Cadet is 1967 graduate of the Vicenz Italy american High school Harrison l. Saunders ii s oof it. Col. And mrs. Harrison l. Saunders of wheelus airbase Libya. The Cadet is a 196 graduate of the wheelus dependent school. A Zey see leave sooner drive slower live longer. Usa eur fatal accidents since july 1 army motor vehicles. Non army Mot. Vehicles weapons and explosives. Asphyxiation drowning other balance weights left Are never touched by fingers of the calibration men who work out of huge vans right. Is photos Schuettler
