European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 23, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes Friday september 23,1977 Man Euver ends wins off Praise  Bureau chief Leitheim Germany is Carbon Edge a key Man Euver in this year s autumn forge series of military exercises ground to a halt South of Here wednesday night leaving countless num Bers of u. S. And Allied units with the Job of packing up and cleaning up before they head Back to their caverns or to the . It. Gen David e. Ott Vii corps com Mander said that Carbon Edge was the most worthwhile and finest military a never he has Ever been associated with. Throughout the exercise commanders watched actual combat readiness of the pre positioned equipment used by the sol Diers of the 1st inf div s brigade from it. Riley kan., and soldiers of the 3rd Arm Cav regt from it. Bliss Tex. The highest ready rate through the period of the exercise was the pre positioned stocks indicating that the equipment by and Large is in outstanding condition at said. Ott said that the most difficult equip ment to maintain was the vehicles shipped overseas from it. Carson Colo. The pre positioned Stock is in excellent condition. Better than the equipment that is in the hands of our troops Here i Europe Ott continued adding that it is not exercised As heavily and is used on. Relatively infrequent Maneu vers. I think it is carefully maintained and it gets limited exercise in its local areas just to keep the grease seals together. Our own equipment is taken to Grafe Wohr and Hohenfels driven All Over the local training areas and takes More of a beating than the pre positioned  Ott said that some of the pre positioned tanks infantry weapons and artillery pieces will be fired at a German French training area in Bavaria by the .-based troops before they turn in the equipment and depart for the . We fire the major weapons there to be sure that they not Only run on the roads but also Are capable of firing Ott added. Ott said that the 10-Day exercise provided More training this year to More people and provided military units with a better understanding of combat in a euro Pean environment than any exercise in the past. He said that commanders had Good weather for the exercise giving them dry Man Euver  weather made the difference in the ability to Man Euver and in the morale and Esprit of the units involved Ott said. The other big difference was the new system we have employed for umpiring and control of the Man Euver itself. This is a system we be been working on for some time Here in Usa eur that permits More realistic play and More free play. I m sure that we will keep this system with some minor modification for All of our major exercises. But there s Only one Winner in this exercise All of us he said. Ott said that the .-based units flown to Germany for the exercise adapted themselves extremely Well to the euro Pean environment and to the tactics used by combat forces Here in Europe. Ott also praised the nato Allied units that took part in the Man Euver. I see in each of these units a feeling that they Are representing their nations and there s an element of Pride said Ott. In an exercise this is turned into absolute determination to execute their mis Sions very forcefully and very Well. These Allied nations were also trying to prove their ability to work with the american forces and with each other. This has been a True highlight of Carbon  he said the fact that there were no re ported problems in the supplying of fuel ammunition rations or maintenance sup port during the exercise indicates that improvements have been made in inter logistical procedures and support. Ott said preliminary figures on Maneu ver damage Are not High amounting to about 2 million Marks $850,000. He said we would have expected Pur Man Euver damage for this big an exercise and with this much Armor and for this Long of a period of time to be a minimum of one million dollars and possibly be As High As six to eight million dollars if weather conditions would have been bad. We certainly were hoping that we d never go near that upward figure. To be under a million dollars at this time is very exit  sweeping operations at close of exercise Carbon Edge is Over. And although the Man Euver caused much less damage than military exercise experts expected there was some cleanup work to be done. At left sgt. Ronnie e. Felde spreads ground Clay to soak up a Gaso damage repair is around clock Job line spill. Above soldiers sweep up the Clay spread Over a nearly 8-mile fuel spill. Photos for is Rudi Williams temperatures Meminger Germany is sol Diers of the 78th engr in Are working around the clock to repair Man Euver damage caused by military units that took part in the just concluded autumn forge exercise Carbon Edge. We Are coming in expecting to get a couple hours of sleep but we Are called on to go right Back out said sgt. . Wil Liam p. Sinkus 34-year-old platoon ser Geant assigned to b  and the soldiers assigned to his platoon were working on an 8-mile-Long diesel fuel spill near Here. About 1,500 Gal Lons of diesel fuel had been spilled along a stretch of Road tuesday night. The battalion s Man Euver damage sub Center Here has processed 483 reports of Man Euver damage since the Carbon Edge exercise started sept. 12, said capt. Tim Drozd b co s commander. Most reports Are either Field damage caused by track vehicles or damage Toroid surfaces he said. Drozd said that his 108-Man company is repairing and recording Man Euver damage in a 3,000-Square-mile area that covers three bavarian counties. The mane vering units in our area have avoided causing unnecessary damage while still trying to follow their tactics said Drozd. Very few of the Farmers appear to be mad about damage 2 German aviation giants holding merger meetings Munich a two of Germany s biggest aviation companies Messerschm Mitt Boelkow Blohm and vow Fokker Are about to amalgamate Trade sources Here said. Talks Between the managements and business partners of the two companies have already been held with the aim of establishing a staff deciding the Best meth ods for the merger the sources said. Done to their property. The impression we be had is that they understand the Rea sons for the Man Euver. They appreciate the fact that we Are going out and attempt ing to repair the damage and record  he said that his company will remain at Meminger until oct. 6, cleaning up and re pairing damage. Right now our Job is mostly cleaning the roads and doing other emergency Type repairs. We want to keep the roads As Safe As possible. Well also record some of the Man Euver damage and return later to repair it said Drozd. Sinkus said that Armor units have done a lot of damage to Fields leaving deep ruts in the soft soil some As much As three feet deep. The men of his platoon use their vehicle lights in making repairs at night. In the tiny town of a the platoon has been working to remove a tree that caused heavy damage to a barn when the tree was hit by a Mobile assault Bridge Mab and knocked Down. . 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