European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 5, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday March 5, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 profile bib bib a Chi Hii mbah him by a i he i a i la i a i my Bibb Momb a Bah  a Hub Ohhi he Ishbii Mhz army no is not so typical rising Star first sergeant does f tit Una offering stereotype Tate on my it test. I studied hard for a few weeks took theby Don Tate staff writer one of the More unflattering stereotypes of a top sergeant is that of a crusty fat and foul mouthed per son. Henry Vance Iii is soft spoken hard bellied and not even a thin layer of crust shows. He s also Square Jawed hard charging and being All he can be on the double. In the military Trade he s called a fast mover a Star who Rose to be a first sergeant in just Over 13 years. And now at Only 33, he s been selected to attend the sergeants major Academy. The word from some of the higher  in the 3rd inf div is that Henry Vance Iii is chiselled from the right kind of military Rock the kind they say that could someday turn him into sergeant major of the army. Heady stuff. But in the beginning he was t charging so hard not in the direction of the Barracks anyway. So enthralled was Vance with wearing the uniform that he did not enlist. Back in the Early 70s, there was a Savage mixed up War meandering toward its end. And he got drafted. And then for a Long time he got Frozen at private first class. To be very honest with you i just wanted to do my time and get the Heck out says Vance of Middletown Ohio. He was t running from the guns he says he just was t very interested in living life in Olive drab. What happened to change his mind you might say who happened i was sent to Ger Many 2nd in 64th Armor in Schweinfurt same outfit i m in now. Except now i m with Delta co and then i was in Charlie. And i had this platoon sergeant who had served a couple of Tours in Vietnam. He was highly decorated and i was highly impressed. Because this Man was a Soldier. Here i was a reluctant squirt of a Soldier and he started teaching me things. I guess he was just a role Model. A hero you could always look up to. He was strap. Spit shined Sharp. But everyday he d be Down there in the motor Pool with us or wherever we were getting As Greasy and dirty and worn out As anybody. He did t have to be there. I be had sergeants who Don t do that. And then the next morning he would be standing there in front of our door getting us up. And the Man would be shining. You knew he cared about his people. In t it something Vance says shaking his head the difference one person one Damn Good Soldier can make in your life the Way you think. And i began to think hey maybe this army in t such a bad idea " it was a very bad time for the army though recalls Vance. Vietnam blues time. The United states was pulling out and nobody wanted to be the last Man to die. Then came the Post Vietnam malaise. A rather demoralized self doubting army that at times seemed to be unravelling inside the ranks a army that was t exactly getting cheered outside the ranks. Vance and the Soldier who inspired him carried on. Sergeant first class Claude j. Blanton was his name. Lead by example he would Tell us. Well sure army photo 1st sgt Henry Vance Iii. Always give it your Best  you always hear that everybody gives lip service to it. There were some pretty poor examples out there 1 did t want to Lead me anywhere. But Blanton was real. And i be tried to pattern myself after him. More than once in a Tough situation i be asked myself what would sergeant Claude j. Blanton do now " Blanton talked to him a lot about sticking with Uncle Sam and the Young Soldier began to hear the sound of bugles. Vance decided to stick hard. His old sergeant s example became his own Credo. To get out there with the men As much As i can Lead by example. As a first sergeant there s plenty of admin work paper to shuffle. But i can t let myself get lost in the world of paper shuffling. I get up in the tanks with my soldiers run with them on it let them know anything they do i la do. It works. It motivates them. Listen when you climb a Little in the ranks you can t develop amnesia about the Way it was at the Bottom or you re not much of a Leader. You May think you re leading but who s really following. You Don t want to turn around in combat and wonder hey where d everybody go " what advice would he give to other soldiers trying Roget ahead if you re a Man get a Good wife. One who la support you stick with you in what you re trying to do. Mine has raising our two children helping me All the Way. There s another kind who does t seem to care. Who does t want to hear about the sacrifices necessary for a successful i military career. In today s army the Soldier with that kind is Apt to be left in the  the always try attitude. I know people who think everything comes to those who lick the right boots punch the right tickets. But there s More to it than that. I remember i scored what i thought was Low test again and raised the score by 14 Points. Later on going to classes at night even on lunch Breaks i be managed to get in More than three years of College. I be gone to leadership courses master gunner courses the first sergeant Academy. If something was there i be tried to go out and get it. Not just because it was there but to get the Best out of it. Always try. You might not like something you might Pound the Walls but you always give it your Best  the always try attitude is not always popular Vance notes. I think my soldiers Are super the Best. But i know some of them must look at me sometimes kick their boots in the dirt and mutter under their breaths what a sorry . " Henry Vance Iii grins. Just As Long As they Call me that for a Good cause. And yes he cheerfully confesses he would t mind at All becoming the no. 1 enlisted Man in the army. Me and a few others. I see things everyday 1 would like to  Here Are a few of them. We have a Good army and this division is the Best most modern division in the army As far As i m concerned. But wherever they pop up i really Don t like to see Sloppy soldiers. Guys walking around with no hats on hands in their pockets holes in their uni forms boots that Aren t shined. Women with their hats stuck Back on their Heads chewing gum flipping around. That s not what the United states army is All about. A Soldier is not a pig. Soldiering is serious Busi Ness. And i would urgently advise such people to police up their act. Another thing. I d like to see the army s promotion system changed somewhat. The selection Board system does t seem All that fair to me. There Are a lot of Good soldiers who Don t get promoted and others who do who make you wonder what s going on maybe a Man s records weren t in the right place at the right time and mine were. And i got the promotion. When thousands of records get reviewed in a few weeks time Frame Good savvy soldiers can get lost in the shuffle. The army is so Large but we be got to try to make the system work More realistically. 1 distrust numbers ticket punchers paper soldiers. When you climb into a tank and head out to god knows what you want real soldiers with you i Don t care what their numbers say. I be seen a Man with a 148 it score who was totally lost in the Field who could t dig a foxhole straight. His paperwork was impressive but who wants to go into combat with paperwork that does t mean i Don t think you should t do everything you can to lift yourself up educationally. In fact i d like to see top cos allowed to attend College the Way officers do. An officer can work on his Mas Ter s degree As part of his duty. It can get pretty de manding both physically and mentally on you and your family when you re doing this on your own. The ser Geant major in our outfit has set up a great program that allows us to go to College on duty time. I would really like to see that adopted throughout the  although 1st sgt. Henry Vance Iii wants to make some changes the one thing he would t change is his career. Olive drab runs too deep in his blood now. Go wafer has Pentagon names printed Tor the record by Lawrence l. Knutson Washington a to make Clear just How deep the Pentagon is in Mili tary brass sen. Barry Goldwater took advantage of one of the prerogatives of con Gressional office last week and ordered the congressional record to reprint the department of defense Telephone directory. There Are a lot of people tucked away inside the concentric rings of the Pentagon and filed away in its phone Book and Gold water intended his printing project to make that Clear. The Arizona Republican who is chair Man of the Senate armed services com Mittee thinks there Are just too Many Pentagon people. And he says they complain too much especially about his much cherished Campaign to reorganize the command and control Structure of the nation s armed forces. The Veteran senator said there would be fewer complaints if there were fewer Penta gon officials with less time on their hands to think up things to complain about. So to dramatize All of this Goldwater on feb. 25, launched his Pentagon phone Book reprinting project. As a beginning he ordered inserted in the congressional record All the names and titles and office and Telephone numbers of All the people who staff the Headquarters of the . Marine corps. The Marine corps phone Book Section estimated by Goldwater at about 2,000 names begins with Gen. Paul x. Kelley the corps commandant and continues through every Headquarters office ending up More than six pages later with a staff sgt. Klinger of the professional development education Branch. Goldwater thumbing through the entire Pentagon directory said he was utterly amazed. To see the thousands of people employed in that building to oversee the operation of the  he vowed to print All their names so my friends in the Senate and House can have a thorough understanding of the size of the body we Are attempting to Deal  it costs about $500 to print one Page of the congressional record. The six pages plus that it took to print the phone numbers of the Marine corps Headquarters staff Cost taxpayers More than $3,000. There Are 138 pages in the classified Sec Tion of the Pentagon Telephone directory. They list according to Goldwater about 27,000 names of staff officers of the army air Force and Navy not counting the Marine corps or 21 pages of officials As signed to the defense department itself. At $500 a Page the senator s printing project would have Cost about $69,000. So two Days after ordering the reprinting of the phone Book Goldwater had second thoughts. Due to the problems of printing and the costs involved i am going to forgo printing any More pages of the Telephone Book he said in a statement printed in the congressional record. But Goldwater said his Gripe stands about too Many Pentagon people and too Many Pentagon complaints. Ever since he armed services committee issued a preliminary report on its three year study of defense reorganization Goldwater said we have received innumerable Calls from the Pentagon from people on the staff Over there questioning our  and he grumbled the reason for the great number of Calls we received has to do in Large part with the size of the staffs of the various