European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 9, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Wizardry abounds at Coz site Story and photos by Tony Nauroth Nuernberg Bureau Grafe Woehr Germany the sign in the test tent at Grafin Wocher train ing area where a 3rd inf div operations Center hums with activity reads like Many other . Army statements of Mission. But it has something extra humor. The primary objective of the Raa re deployment Assembly area is to gel Dor Othy and Toto Back to the statement is of course drawn from l. Frank Baum s the wonderful wizard of in which Dorothy and her dog Toto face everything from flying monkeys to wicked witches and from a brainless scarecrow to a heartless tin Man on their Way Back to Kansas. In the end a pair of magic Ruby slippers transports them Home. But it s taking a lot More than Ruby slip pers and a Slippery wizard to get 20,000 sol Diers and 7,300 vehicles of the 1st inf div Back to fort Riley kan., and the 32nd Sepa rate inf brigade of the Wisconsin National guard Back to Wisconsin from certain sen Tinel Maneu vers in Germany. It s taking engineering Utility plumb ing and sanitation experts from Grafin Woehr and the 7th army training come cafes retail outlets Selling snacks Sun dries and souvenirs morale welfare and recreation programs sending waiting sol Diers sightseeing to the far Flung Corners of Germany fleets of German buses the Deutsche Bun Desbah and bund Spost the armed forces recreation centers in and Chicks be and the 3rd inf div s entire 3rd brigade to coordinate these agencies. Seven Hundred test tents Are organized into redeployment cities at Grafen Wocher. Hohrn fils Bundlach Giebl slant and killing in. They Are not Emerald Cit ies. Nonetheless wizardry abounds. Sunday february 9, 1986 the stars and stripes a Page 3 t is a. 4"mark a Mol sur a a Board with 39,000 nails and lags to track the Progress of vehicles being processed. Each vehicle must pass four rigid pc in finally being inspected Nysp actions before ,n,u.,j --1 42nd my customs soldiers looking for dirt that might carry Plant or animal life harmful to stateside agriculture. To the returning sol Diers the inspectors seem like the henchmen of the wicked Witch of the West. These tracks tracked vehicles have to be clean enough to cat off an inspector tells a sopping Soldier who just glares Back at him. Faced with the possibility of intense cold similar to last year s below freezing temperatures at Grafen Wocher officials set heated fest tents Over Wash Racks so the water would not turn into mountains of e. The Racks Are automated with High brushes buckets soap and High pressure steam guns arc wiping out dirt a Arcacha blk with the rack. A group of rubber suited soldiers stands in puddles talking about the cleanup. You be got to have a Good attitude when you do this one Soldier says and the others agree by nodding water from their hair. Sgt. Joe Wentworth squad Leader is scrunched under his track with his legs splayed out behind him. Moans and groans waft in a metallic voice. He bulls himself out and stands for area. Asked what is the hardest part of the track to clean Wentworth says definitely the engine compartment Csc. Sentinel Imbt a lice group checks for dlr beneath the floorboards of a track. Warm. Unfortunately that increased the buildup of crud in the engine Compart ment. Wentworth grins at his joke then climbs Back underneath to scrub the belly of his track. Spec. 4 Brad Wendl is a National guardsman and Salesman from Appleton. Wis. I m a radio teletype operator and engine compartment cleaner he says As he uses a Hose to Wash Down his engine. You be got to have either a six pack of Beer or a Good attitude when you do this. In either Case i Don t do windows there arc no windows in army tracked vehicles. Once the vehicles arc clean they have to be moved to the Railhead. To keep the Grafin Wocher mud from ruining the clean ing work engineers spread new clean gravel to cover the mud. It s not the yellow Brick Road but it works. Back in the operations Lent. Spec. 4 Mark Mamhot is moving coloured tags across a massive Board bristling with 39,000 nails arranged in neat evenly spaced rows. Each vehicle has its own lag. Mamhot is constantly updating the Board tracking vehicles through various stations on their Way from the Muddy Maneu vers to a spot on a train., everything is driven by the trams says capt. Murk Wieman operations shift officer. Our Job is to make sure a unit s vehicles arc clean and at the Railhead at their appointed Mamhot usually works As a scout with the 3rd in 63rd Armor 3rd inf div. But like everyone else in the 3rd brigade his temporary primary Job is to help get Dor Othy and Tow Back to Kansas. Some of those jobs Are More glamorous than others. In the of Lale Only one Good Wilch. Wearing snowy finery and a Silver Crown arrives in a Luminous Bubble. One Soldier Points out that somebody worked awfully hard to drive 39.000 nails into those probably munchkins. La has taken a full year of planning to put the Raa together so that it would not interfere Wilh regular training at Grafin Wocher. The German army currently is using the ranges. Similar scenes arc being played out at the four other Raa Sites at Hohenfels Bundlach. Kit Zingen and Gic Belstadt. And if the Mission is successful by March 5, the last stateside unit will have hit the Road and Wisconsin and Kansas will have welcomed Home their a forger troops. And Toto
