European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 13, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Drop the frying on the fatigue Amy Reserve col. Richard j. Dlr los left command sgt. A. Herbert h. Doering. By Ron Jensen staff writer a my reservists in Europe ate a neatly invisible Force for 28 Days of to month they at civilians Cooks teachers Bankets an builders who blend into the landscape like one Mote Vineyard along inc Rhine dul once a month. They drop their frying pans and be books. Then lodgers and hammers Don camouflage uniforms and become the Soldi ots who ate popularly known As weekend a lot of people Don t like the weekend Wamoto thing bul hat s what Hoy re known As says maj Henry Payne the assistant Deputy chief of stall of operations lot the 7lh army Reserve come in Heidelberg West Germany. Ii is a natural handle to hang on the reserves. They surface in Europe for one weekend each month As a Force of about Coo to rehearse their roles should nearly 14 years of peace on the continent come loan end it s like any business says maj. Ronald Shuklis. You Only have a fixed number of resources the army has a similar the army s empty slots Are filled by reservists. Mostly these duties include combat support jobs such As quartermasters transportation civil affairs and maintenance there Are also reservists attached to Active army infantry Armor and air Welense units the Reserve has been in Europe since 1955. Bul with a limited presence Al first. The reserves operated a handful of schools to Tram officers from the Active army in professional development there were other reservists in Europe Al that time but they had Little to do with Active units Here manpower limits Lor the Active army made it necessary in recent years to increase the Reserve size in 1983. The schools were consolidated into two and several Active Unis were formed. To oversee this growing presence the Reserve command was created in 1986 the command head quakers is a three Story building leased from German owners that usually hums quietly with the work of a few full Lime members of the reserves most Ollices and computer screens Are dark bul the building glows and the hum becomes a Buzz during Drill weekend As it did during Early april when 80 reservists fulfilled their monthly obligation their gatherings ate like reunions smiles and handshakes. Backs laps and greetings Good Lof a you " Welcome Back " How be you been9" within the growing clamor on this Rainy saturday morning master sgt Bernard Ziso is Bent Forward to study the computer screen in front of him. As operations no. He spends these weekends As an administrator a Pusher of paper even if the paper has been replaced by computer microchips. He tracks the ammunition. The training the assignment the business end of the reserves i m not the Only one he says somebody else noon formation at the 7th army Reserve come in Heidelberg West Germany. Does in the rest of the month. When i get Here i take Over his work and when i leave i Tell him what i did " for much of the rest of the month Zisow is Benl Over a stove in the narrow Kitchen of mutter courage restaurant a cozy Frankfurt eatery he has owned and operated with his Wile Judy Lor nearly three years its clientele leans heavily toward americans because of its location just a couple Quick Lell turns irom v corps Headquarters. There his duties Are head Cook head waiter you name in Zisow says the paper work Zisow is battling is the Mission of the Reserve command. Ii handles All of the administrative work Lor the reserves the pay the promotions the enlistments bul the activities and duties Are assigned by Usa eur. Besides the monthly drills. Reservists participate in two weeks of annual training reservists also Are included in Large scale exercises like the return of forces to Germany. They have worked Side by Side with forces from Many nato nations and have a close relationship with the West German aimed forces the area we have to fight in we know very says command sgt maj Herbert h Doennig a Carpenter in Hamburg West Germany. We know More than the average go Aboul How the German army there Are More than 3.000 other reservists in Europe in the individual ready Reserve a Sorl of army on hold the Irr members Are wailing for slots to open up in the Reserve units. While they Wail they do not attend monthly drills but some do Lake part in the two weeks annual training without pay Many reservists Are former Active army others Are department of defense civilians or spouses of Active army soldiers. A smaller number Are simply americans living in Europe who share a desire to serve their country. The Day before this april Drill. Col. Frederick b. Irwin was on a business trip in London in the past he has flown to drills from Japan and Greece. I m one of the rare few people Here who has nothing to do with the military Here and do this simply because i believe in what this whole thing is about says Irwin who is Citibank representative for technology and information business in Europe he Middle East and Africa. I Don t need the Money and i Don t need the Irwin a reservist Lor 10 years says most people join Lor three reasons one is the camaraderie. Another is the modest paycheck. The third element and it s one i belong to you have this thing when you Hoar Iho National Anthem the goosebumps Are still he says. I feel that i have a moral obligation to a country that s Given me a great Deal of the weekends he gives to Reserve duly could be Lime spent with his wife who already endures his frequent absences caused by his business travel. It s an emotional thing that she understands to says she does t particularly like some believe that being something other than full time soldiers enhances the value of the reserves. The reservists have a Good mixture of different interests says Shuklis. A sales representative with Eastman Kodak. This allows you to Lake things you learn in the business environment and Pul it to use in a military environment. There is a vast amount of Talent in the As Shuklis does Many other reservists also work for Page 14 the stars and stripes saturday
