European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 09, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday september 9,1977 the stars and stripes Page 9 army urged to study use of ambulances is. Copters maj. William c. Wood. Saw a need for change Bureau chief Ansbach Germany is a flight surgeon said army commanders must re discover and use army ambulances to evacuate casualties from the Battlefield rather than rely on medevac helicopters. The 1st army div recently completed a study on the use of medevac helicopters on the european Battlefield and has come up with some new ideas for army authorities to consider before using helicopter ambulances Over a High intensity Battlefield said or. Maj William Wood. Wood the division flight surgeon recently was named the 1977 army flight surgeon of the year by the society of . Army flight surgeons for his outstanding contributions to aviation Medicine. The native of Carthage miss., said that medical planning for War is similar to tac tical planning in that it must be done in and medevac helicopter is a tremendous asset Wood continued. There s no ques Tion that medevac helicopters will do everything possible to get to the wounded. A lot of medevac ships were shot Down in South Vietnam attempting to Fly the wounded out. That is a Good indication of How they will perform and what medevac Crews Are willing to do to get to Wood said the army has always taken Good care of its wounded and that medical authorities and commanders do not intend to Stop this practice in the event of another War. That is Why we undertook the study he said. We perceived the need to change our approach for the use of the medevac commands $5-million operation no ranks tops at Asp Bullet farm1 Story and photo by Rudi Williams Baum older Germany there is Only one sergeant first class in Usa eur who can boast of trekking up the ladder of Success All the Way from slinging hash in Chow Halls to commanding a multimillion Dollar operation. He is sgt. . Jack e. Shaffer 31, who has been commander of the 144th Ord Del since april. According to a Usa eur offi Cial who checked with officer assignments at the department of the army Shaffer May Well be the Only no in such a Posi Tion in the army. During wartime cos held command positions. When Shaffer was first sergeant of the 144th, he filled in As commander whenever the Captain was away. We re Only authorized one officer and when the former com Mander was transferred the 84th Ord in commander it. Col. James Banks decided to give me a two week trial to see if i could handle the Job Shaffer said. He managed so Well that Banks told him to continue. Overcame shortages it Only took him three months to Mold what was the worst ammunition Supply Point Asp into the most improved and Best in and he did it with a Short age of More than 30 people. We re authorized 69 people but we Only have 38," Shaffer said. ,. Six months ago the 144th was the worst Asp in Europe. Now it s a Model unit a place where vips Are taken Banks said proudly. This is part of the no professionalism program. We must give no s responsibility support and the detachment provides everything from m16 to eight Inch artillery shells and rockets for nearly 350 units. This adds up to Between 250 and 350 tons of ammunition monthly at an annual Dollar value of More than $5 million. When Shaffer attends command social functions and commanders conferences he is normally the Only no there. Some Franco s widow booed after automobile Accident Madrid a a limousine in which dictator Francisco Franco s widow was Riding ran a red Light in Vigo and hit another car injuring its occupant according to reports from the town in Northwest reports said about 100 witnesses booed Carmen Polo de Franco and he Driver and one of the crowd shouted re Spect the others. Forty years of running red lights was Franco was re ported unhurt and drove off in another car. Officers and higher ranking no s find it difficult to accept the position because most line outfits have two or three officers. So some people just Don t know How to handle Shaffer said his Outlook on the no corps has changed. I respect the cos working for me immensely. I think every first sergeant should be stuck in the Posi Tion of commander for at least a month or so. This Way he or she can see the other Side of the picture from a broader the Only thing Shaffer can t do is sign article 15s because they must be signed by a company Grade officer. There have been times when the Warren Ohio native was ready to hang it up but was encouraged to keep trying by his most staunch supporters his wife Andrea Banks and . Maj. John b. Bullock of the 60th Ord group. Bullock said the men and women of the 144th have a Lotof respect for Shaffer. He is of that rare Breed of men who can go from first sergeant to commander and not lose the loyalty of the people Bullock said. And there Are no cliques. He is Friendly with them works alongside them and stands up for them if they Are right. He does t hesitate to Tell them they Are getting an article 15 if they Are wrong. I appreciate the rapport he has with the people. We need More cos like Shaffer the father of two boys Jack Iii 3, and Jeffery 2, and a daughter Melissia 4, has completed the Basic ammunition officers course and administration course. The men and women of the 144th Are apprehensive about Shaffer being replaced by a commissioned officer in october. I d rather he d stay. He s outstanding. He s doing a Fine Job and will help anybody if they ask him said pfc. Leonard j. Padilla 20, of Beeville Tex. A former naval reservist Shaffer joined the army after going to court Over a broken Promise. The Navy put me aboard ship instead of sending me to the school they promised. So i took the Case to court and the judge said i could get out of the contract if i joined another service. The army Recruiter s office was the first door i walked through he said. After three years As an army Cook Shaffer decided to switch Fields by joining the Field wire Section of the 54th Ord co in Vietnam in 1966. Three months later he moved into the ammunition Field. Famed Bullet farm sgt. . Jack e Shaffer commander of the 144th ordnance det. In Baum older stands by a sign that s famous among Bullet suppliers in Europe. Helicopter to lift casualties out of the area of the Wood said that because of the situation aircraft face in Europe with tremendous numbers of antiaircraft weapons possessed by the Warsaw pact forces com Manders must take a new look at the use of medevac helicopters. He said that if used properly there Are enough medevac helicopters on hand in Usa eur and seventh army. But in High intensity Battlefield environment there can t be a learning period in combat with the helicopter. They have to be used properly from the word said that army medevac helicopters will not be Able to Fly near the Forward Edge of the Battle area because of the wide Range of antiaircraft weapons that opposing forces will be using which can quickly spot and easily bring Down medevac air Craft. In our study we have Given the army a new approach to utilizing the medevac helicopter. We have explained that the Mede vac ships can be used to Fly from medical Clearing companies located away from the fighting to the combat support rediscovery needed he said that the study recommends that commanders rediscover the use of ground ambulances for transporting wounded away from the fighting. We used the studies of the 1973 Arab israeli War in making these recommendations. The israelis used tanks to evacuate wounded under some circumstances. They also found that the my 13 personnel Carrier was very useful As a tactical ambulance. Commanders in Usa eur must realize that medevac helicopters will not have the Freedom to roam Over the Battlefield in Europe As they did in South Vietnam said Wood. He said the study recommends that Bri Gade commanders be left with the decision for employment of the medevac helicopter. He can take the tactical situation and medical problems into consideration Wood said. . Cops seeking fatal football spitter Torquay England up British police Are searching Southeast England and Wales for a football fan who May have committed an unintentional killing and May do it say they Are looking for a fan who spit in the face of Constable Christopher Wilson 29, who died of meningitis just a week after the incident. They believe the fan May be a Carrier of the disease. Wilson was among a team of policemen on duty at a league cup match Between Torquay United and Cardiff can confirm that Constable Wilson who was involved in crowd violence during a match died of meningitis a week later a Devon and Cornwall police spokesman Are continuing to establish the circumstances in which he contracted the disease but at this stage we cannot indicate whether his death was connected with the incident during the match he said. 3 masked bandits seize $1.5 million in jewelry Hamburg up three armed ban dits one a woman attacked a jeweler and his wife and got away with precious stones Worth $1.5 million police said. The masked bandits also robbed the couple and two of their employees of $28,260 in Bank notes. The gangsters who struck As the jewel ers and employees were carrying the gems and the Money in trunks into a hotel fled in a red automobile
