European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 08, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday january 8,1990 the stars and stripes Page 9 during past exercises a West German Farmer s Field could be torn up As shown in the photo by heavy tracked military vehicles. Gis in Field tout new forms for Man Euver damage by Janet Howells Tierney staff writer Man Euver damage reporting just got easier. Soldiers bouncing around the West German Countryside in military vehicles during Centurion shield 90 should appreciate the unprecedented Case of scrib bling Down damage reports on a pocket size form. The new method tested by v corps soldiers during caravan guard in september takes less than half the time required in the past. And troops who use it Loveit. For the old form said 2nd it. Christopher l. Strain. You had to Tell the life Story of a ditch. It took so Long you did t report Man Euver dam age unless it was so serious you would get in trouble if you did t report  added Strain battalion chemical officer for 3rd in 20lh Field arty from Flieg Cohorst Cavern in Hanau West Germany. The old reports were not actual forms but a list of questions from an Inch thick manual that had to be answered on a Plain Sheet of paper Strain said. The new form also makes it easier for soldiers to pass the information along. The new forms arc for matted so you can Call it in Over the radio Strain said. The Man Euver damage information became part of situation reports that a unit called in every time they  if troops in the held like the new forms those sitting behind desks will be just As pleased. Caravan guard was the first time this system was implemented and it worked like a  said Tony Gutierrez the v corps Man Euver damage prevention officer. This is a Superior reporting system based on making it simple for people to report any damage they see or  in the past there have been More West German claims for damages than soldiers reports of damage we Hope this system will help balance the budget so to speak Quilic Rycz said and As the claims Start coming in they will match up More efficiently with our reports. We re trying to figure out a closed Loop system for Man Euver damage. That Way we can assure that the actual Man Euver damage we cause is what we pay  in fact More reports appeared to come in during september. Strain s unit for example processed More than 80 damage reports during caravan guard com pared with about 12 received throughout another Field exercise using the old system. The new system offered another plus. . Gen. George a. Joulwan v corps commander received daily reports on Man Euver dam age during the caravan guard exercise. Because the commander has current information of where damage is happening he can avoid mane vering in certain areas where a lot of damage has already occurred or a particular area because of weather and avoid further problems Gutier rez said. At the end of an exercise All unit reports arc combined and the total figures sent to the Usa eur claims service office. West germans have three months to report to local authorities that their property was damaged by Maneu vers. Later the claims Are investigated and usually verified by the German defense Cost office. West German investigators also Are interested in keeping claims As Low As possible Gutierrez said be cause their government pays 25 percent of All claims for damage by . Forces. The remaining 75 percent is paid by the . Government. The new reporting system is partially a result of a general accounting office report issued in August 1988 that found there was Little . Involvement inthe verification of Man Euver damage claims. Since 1980, the United states has paid an average $28.8 million a year in Man Euver damage claims for the approximately 1,000 exercises held throughout West Germany. Annual payments peaked in 1982 when $52.5 Mil lion went for damage caused during 941 exercises according to the Gao. Man Euver damage Cost $18.6 million for 1,098 exercises in 1986. The High Price tag of exercise damage has had a dramatic effect on current military training and will continue to do so officials said. During caravan guard the a Rollo train smart was constantly stressed. The exercise tested the use of fewer troops and vehicles in the Field combined with computer generated Battlefield simulation. As a result no tanks and fewer tracked vehicles than originally planned will participate in Centurion shield this month. During the fall exercise units forwarded 1,835 re ports of damage to four operation centers where the information was fed into computers. The reports required soldiers to write in the Date time and Grid coordinates where the damage occurred. Then they checked off the Type extent and cause of the damage. For example the computer received 1,271 cases of Road damage during the exercise. This damage category was further broken Down into nine possible subcategories muddied Asphalt Concrete dirt gravel Curbstone ditches embankments and markers. Most of the damage was minor Gutierrez said. We really did t have any big  in addition there were 630 cases of agricultural damage 530 Forest damage reports and 71 structural damage cases. Because caravan guard was the first exercise to use a computer program to keep track of All the details of Man Euver damage the numbers did t mean much Gutierrz said. There is no Way to interpret the numbers yet he said. From Here Well be Able to compare. It will take six months to a year to put a Dollar figure to it  but officials Are optimistic that when All caravan guard damage claims arc processed the amount of damage and costs will be significantly lower because of the use of fewer vehicles the improved reporting sys tem and special training held at the unit level