European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 06, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Troop Plath Atroth the pit lop left sgt. Donald purity lecture on attitude adjust men left that who can t do Teven pull up gel to do Ronger Iryle Pui Hupt instead top tight Spet. 4 Jorge Solo Light Down on the enemy above. Kill that s what you do to the enemy Somo people Sny that s murder it s not you have to kill the enemy because if you Don to the enemy will kill you after dismissing the troops Purdy muttered. They re Good soldiers they just need n Little inspiration the rangers Job of imparting that inspiration to the platoons begins on Day 1, with mountaineering at an old Rock Quarry near the town of Bichl. The first item on the Agenda is australian rappelling. Which Calls for going Down the Rock Wall lace first. Followed by some Swiss style rappers. For a lot of them it s the most intimidating part of the whole course which is Why we do it on the first Day to get them Over that initial said St. Eloy Rodriguez a course instructor. Man. That s said a jittery sgt. Marc Delong of the 66th my c As he completed his first Rappel Ever. Pic. Warren Williams also of the 66th. Agreed. The Swiss Way in t so bad. But that australian style looking Down at the Bottom he shakes his head. That first step is the infractions of the rules on this first Day or any other Day of the pct Cycle earn you push ups. One Soldier gets push ups for calling an instructor Sarge instead of do a Little daydreaming and a voice will Boom out from the top of the Rock. You owe me some push ups physical training is a fact of life at Camp Warden including such things As five mile runs and pull ups before Chow. With some platoons it physical training just does t seem to be that High a Rodriguez said. People who normally ride vehicles you know they train with vehicles. As far As i m concerned a few Days after the big bang Well All be Back to swords and Shields anyway. There Ain t Gonna be no More vehicles. That s when it is suddenly going to be very but thai it More than your Normal everyday it. This is it Green Beret style which might be epitomized by a Nasty bit of business known As the combat the run is about 2vi Miles through Woods including a Tough obstacle course rope Bridges and the pit. This is a wide mud Hole filled with knee deep water and the cadre gleefully set up machine guns and simulated charges around it awaiting the arrival of the first platoon. When the troops come Over the Hill and into the pit the charges go Oil and three huge fireballs explode in hashes of lame and smoke. Machine gun fire chatters irom the rim of the pit. The screaming troops splash across and arrive at ropes dangling from one Muddy Wall of the pit. Dripping and cursing they frantically climb the Slippery Wall before racing of Lor a Low crawl under some barbed wire. Not surprisingly bringing up the rear Are Brady and Purdy both covered with sweat and mud and looking As Happy As kids at Christmas. They told us a Little bit about what to expect but when we got to the pit. With the bombs going off. It was like wow said Pic. Harry Newbill. With a platoon irom co b. 16th engr in irom Fuerth. I thought we were just going for a Little run. But it s great. I Haven t taken a Shower in five Days. By what the hell. I smell like a Soldier the three Day yield exercise that wraps up the pct course tests everything the platoons have been taught reconnaissance raids and ambushes operating in hostile territory. I Don t have anything bad to say about the course said sgt. Edward Griffin of the 66th my co it s Basic knowledge about the Battlefield that All soldiers should know no matter what their Job specially. The Only thing i d say to any platoon that s thinking about coming Down Here is to Start getting in shape Lor it a few months before because it s it might be rough but the platoons that endure it Are unanimous about the fact that the sweat and pain Are Well Worth it. We get some platoons that come Back through the course a second time said Purdy. There must be something about it that they Mbere. 1985 the stars and stripes Page 15
