European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday january 25, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 Sas photo by Tony Nirom spec 4 Audrey Turner and spec 4 Angela Brown balance on a catwalk while finding an air filler an a flex pallet fur pfc. Dexter King. Flex pallet system organizes supplies makes spare parts easier to find store by Tony Nauroth staff writer Neukirchen Germany a new Supply transportation and storage system May prevent spec. 4 Angela Brown and other soldiers from having to go dump Ster diving into the Bottoms of tall soggy cardboard boxes for supplies. More importantly tie flex Forward logistics Exchange pallet system tested by inc 1st army div during certain Sentinel May reduce the Lime needed to gel spare parts to broken tanks and free up transportation assets said Cape. Glenn cog Hegan project officer in charge of the lest. A unit using flex pallets can move out in three hours As opposed to the couple of Days in can Lake now said warrant officer Tommie Mortimer technical sup ply officer for the div upon s 2nd support pour Hundred flex pallets divided Between two companies of the divisions 2nd support in made life easier and More organized for the troops who pushed the supplies Forward to the combat units during certain  steel boxes can be hoisted pushed pulled and nested together m gain warehouse storage Sites As Well As held location they can be slacked in neat rows for easy Access by soldiers like Brown and spec t Audrey Turner both Materiel storage handling specialists with the 2nd support in. Every item computer identified is in ill own cubby Hole and pallet. And inc pallets can be lifted from a warehouse floor onto a truck hauled to a Field site and dropped in exactly the same position As in the warehouse. Gogh can said inc division is expect ing 5,000 of the steel and wire mesh flex pallets by april under a si.7 Mil lion contract with n German firm near Giessen the pallets Are made to fit any kind of transportation including German com Mercial trucking. They can be hooked to Gether and Larli cd by helicopter and used to Supply Drums of fuel or water to locations that can t be easily reached by Lank or truck. Any unit that has a wrecker can Han dle flex pall is Geoghegan said. The pullets eventually May replace sup ply vans that Mortimer described As old and  Mortimer showed off inc flex pullets that he had slacked on a platform trailer. His soldiers had to hang from inc edges of the truck to open the Metal drawers to get supplies. This is dangerous one Soldier said. Mortimer said they had not been Able to Slack the pallets on the outside edges of the trailer so the pallet drawers would face the Middle and Supply technicians would have better footing. But Gogh can said the problem was exactly the kind of information looked for in the test information provided by peo ple using the system. Gogh can said he s not telling the units How to use the pallets. We want them to cd my up with their own ideas. We suggest ways but we re really seeding for resourceful  Brown Turner and Mortimer Are giving High Marks to the system but also getting their licks in Early. They believe every unit in the army someday will have flex pallets and they want them perfect by that time. Our ideas will become doctrine years from now Mortimer said. Gioghegan foresees the army using the pallets for handling everything from fuel to food. The division is concentrating now on using them for spare parts for combat units. He also would like to Sec the pallets treated the Way dairies treated milk bottles when milkmen delivered door to door. You get a full one and return an empty one certain Sentinel unit eager to get Back to Germany by  s stuff wring re Clits in Lii Germany soldiers or 2ml l n. 5lh i iced arty have a certain Sentinel preview of what duly and life in Germany is like. And they want to come Buck. They will return this summer when four battalion move in Masse is Purl of the army s unit rotation Plain. Moving .1 whole Ball Linn is inc newest phase of tic cohort cohesion organisational readiness and training Man Ning by slim. Entire Compi Iny Sie co Hort units already in pc been moved from the United states to overseas locations tic 1st inf Day soldiers find their families will begin arriving in june. They live been training together fur Riboul if months and will slay together for is months after arriving at their ecu Ulm Home. About 400 of inc 2nd in s soldiers took advantage of a German Hea Slart pro Gram at fort Riley kan., before deploy ing As part of this Cir s reformer return of forces to Germany and certain senti Nel exercises said maj. Slurry Emerson executive officer. Pfc. Roy Gilliam was glad he took the classes that introduced him to German culture and language. Without them he would t Haw been Able to order food in the guest House near the Bury a site he said. Language has t been a problem in meeting and getting to know the local townspeople., spec. 4 Thomas Craig said. Emerson said it was hard o keep Craig quiet once he began trying to use the Ger Man he had Learned in Headstall. The Friendship shown by the residents of Bechter Wilh a Mountain town won inc Charls of the soldiers. The Guys on guard duly get a picnic Basket about every Day Craig said. All the Guys in my Battery can t wait to get  Craig and his new German friends Al ready arc Ptan Ninga trip together when he return this summer. Emerson said inc battalion has been let Ting families know what to expect in Ger Many by a visit from officials of inc ecu Ulm military Community a newsletter and printed information mailed to each family two or three times a month slides of the area and company get together to answer questions. Emerson said it is important to make the move As easy As possible far families so disruptions to the unit s Mission of Artil Lery support can be kept to a minimum. Weather also hampered pilots in certain Sentinel by Jean alright Blob org Bureau Hahn a Germany although air Force Pilot add not have to worry about run a damage a certain Denpel the Cuther did impede Ihetu participation in the Winter Maneu vers. The rain and fog hazardous conditions for fliers limited their sorties. Since we were flying under peacetime restrictions we Hadj Rha a visibility rules said it. Col Ralph co d is. Chief of operational plans at Hahn a in a wartime situation we could Liy when conditions were  certain Sentinel ended Friday 3 week Early because inc saturated ground was Loo vulnerable to damage from army tanks and heavy trucks. Prom the outset the Maneu vers had been scaled Down to a command Field exercise preventing the tanks from traversing the German Countryside. The role of the f-16s of the 50lh tac fighter Wing from Hahn a is to take the air War to enemy ground troops. The Curlain Sentinel flying wus no different than Normal training sorties for the pilots but coupled with army participation h provided a realistic test of operational plans. Sledding said. The exercise is designed to give organizers the Chance to see if their plans would work when tank actually began to move. This i Csc i How we respond to the army corps  he said. Although 1 Here were few actual tank movements a or certain Sentinel was declared a  Post exercise fliers responded a if the Lanks might move out any my in. A launched on every request from a comr under on the Assumption that we d be Able to meet his request sledding said. If the weal her slopped us we proceeded loan alternate target he d give  the weather allowed completion of most missions until wednesday when in began o interfere sledding said. We launched bul when we hit the tar gut area we were advised because of weather conditions not to go in he said. Aircraft participating in the exercise came from Raf upper Scyford Raf Lakin health and Raf bin Walers. England and from Hahn a bib org am Ramstein a and Owci Bruecken a Germany