European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday june 19,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9over Here it t 4 i s1 i amp it amp it amp it a it amp / t a a a a Range riders train their sights on safety by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau Wil Flecken West Germany a staff sgt. George Womack saw something on the Road through the Clear spot his wipers made on the Windshield of his Mercedes jeep. He stepped out into the drizzle and carefully examined the soggy piece of cardboard lying in the mud. A i done to Stop and pick up every piece of trash on the Road a Womack a guardian Angel at the Wil Flecken training area said after getting Back into the jeep. A but i do Stop if i think there Are rounds in  to most the litter would look like a discarded fast food Box. Not to Womack. He could Tell that it once contained machine gun bullets. A that there san m-60 Box a he said and tossed the empty Carton to the floor of his jeep. It was a slow Point in the uneventful Day for Womack a member of the areas Range control team c. A lot of Days can be that Boring for the four Man Range control teams at Wil Flecken. And then there Are Days like May 28. Womack was taking a break from his roving patrol during his 12-hour memorial Day shift when the order came Over the radio a fall units this net this is Range control. Cease fire freeze and acknowledge a its the Standard order Given when something has gone wrong. On that Day 10 soldiers from the 9th engr in in Aschaffenbur were injured when a land mine they were preparing to destroy prematurely detonated. With the Standard order came Standard procedures for dealing with such a situation. Staff sets. John Williams and Richard Pio were Manning the a fire desk in wild Flecken a Garrison area at the time. The desk is the communications Hub and control Center for the entire training area. Radio and Telephone equipment around it give people at the fire desk Access to their patrols police commanders and the 25 ranges 10 mortar Points and nine Field artillery firing positions in the training area. Going by the Book Williams and Pio shut Down the ranges and called for medical evacuation helicopters ambulances military police area commanders and other support. Despite the Standard procedures Pio said the process is an anxious one for those controlling the situation. He explained that All Range control soldiers have combat arms career specialities and know what its like to be on the firing line. A i know How they feel when they re out there and something goes wrong a said Pio a career cavalry Soldier. A a you be got a person who a Down and you want results now. It reels like every minute that goes by is a Day. They just Click by. And you re saying a whereas my help a a he said he feels the same Way at the desk. A it takes four minutes five Max to go through this whole procedure. But you re sitting Here and it seems like every second every minute that a going by is one whole Day. It seems like nothing is going by fast enough. You Call somebody and every time that phone rings you say a cd Mon please  a Womack and staff sgt. Charles Jackson were dispatched to the scene where they rendered first Aid to the victims directed the others on the Range and helped guide medical evacuation helicopters. Adrenaline started pumping the moment the Call came in Womack said. A you Start to feel different because you know someone a life is on the line and it depends on How you react. You have to be Able to take control of your thoughts and the situation in front of you and Deal with  fortunately Range control soldiers done to normally have such serious incidents to Deal with. Rather the teams keep an around the clock watch on the area and its ranges to help prevent them. A your Mission is to assist All of the people who come up Here to train a Williams said. That boils Down to inspecting ranges to ensure that units firing on them Are training safely. Each Day one of two roving patrols visits each Range being used to Check on such things As the units care of their ammunition the medics equipment and firing locations. Williams said each patrol covers an average of 100 Kilometres to 150 Kilometres a Day Over wild Flecken scurvy mountainous gravel roads and Muddy tank trails a a task that a earned them the nickname a Range  the Job also involves a Little police work. Each patrol vehicle is equipped with a radar gun to help enforce Speed limits on Range roads. A most of the accidents we be had since in be been Here have been due to Speed a Williams said. Range riders can give warnings or speeding tickets Williams said. For big time speeders they can shut Down the Drivers vehicle and have his commander report to the training areas he quarters to explain Why his soldiers were speeding. That a is normally not a pretty sight a he said. Wil Flecken training area a \ m Frankfurt v West f Germany j a amps maps amps photos John Millar in the morning fog staff sgt. George Womack drives his Mercedes jeep top photo past Bradley fighting vehicles As he completes a safety inspection of the Wil Flecken training area Range. Staff sets. Richard Pio and John Williams above Man the a fire desk a the training area s communications Hub and control Center. Teams also take the role of Park rangers while checking on fences barriers jitterbugs and wildlife Williams said. A one unit came in and tried to set up a wild boar trap a he said. A but we caught  the bristly Saber toothed critters native to the area Are a common Range patrol distraction Jackson said. A last year we had two wild boars go through a female tent. One of them got caught in the barbed wire near the ammunition tent. So we had to go and Cut him  he said the beasts returned nightly As expected homing in on the units mess tent. A they just Learned to live with it after calling us about 10  a sometimes its very exciting and sometimes its very Boring a said Jackson about his Job. He said its easy to a get a mind Burn while working the fire desk. A by the end of the Day you just cat take a Shower and  after the teams work a Day shift a night shift and another Day shift a their Normal schedule a a you done to know what Day it is a he said. Day or night Womack prefers his often rain soaked Road patrols. A being inside All you do is answer phones and radios a he said. A out Here i get to meet people and watch training. Being in the infantry 1 always like being in the Woods  and he does no to mind the slow Days when he a got enough time to take a close look at trash on the Road. A when its slow there a no incidents and no one got Hurt. It was a Safe