European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday september 21,1990 the stars and stripes a a Page 3 draw Down in  unit almost relieved by bad news continued from Page 1 same boat. She just got a promotion to chief of customer service representatives. She a worked five years at the Bank. A a we re just the wives a she said. A the army comes  sgt. 1st class Patrick Franz is the noncommissioned officer in charge of the wheeled vehicle Section. Hell have his hands full in the maintenance shop getting equipment ready for inspection and turn in. Since he son an unaccompanied tour he a Happy that hell be Able to rejoin his wife and four children in Nolan Ville Texas a lot sooner than planned. A the worst part of the order is that everyone goes their own separate ways a he said. Most in the unit seem to have pretty positive feelings said their chaplain capt. James White. The big part of his Job will be talking to people on How to handle the stress of the hard work and sudden change in plans. Hell do it he said by keeping people Busy. As a matter of fact unit members Are already asking him if he can hurry up with plans to visit Sites such Prague Czechoslovakia and the Dachau concentration Camp near  some there Are few qualms about going Homes amps l. Emmett Lewis or. Grosner by Rosemary Sawyer staff writer Mainz West Germany a soldiers from two battalions tapped to ship out in the first round of troop withdrawals expressed few regrets thursday about returning to the Good old . Of a. A Germany is a really Nice place and All but you know there a nothing like the United states a said pfc. James Jacobson. The cavalry scout with 4th in 34th Armor regt at Lee Barracks said that while he Hopes to take in Italy a sights before his unit withdraws in May he a willing to sacrifice Europe a travel benefits for the comforts of Home. A being Able to go Back to the states is just like. No one really wants to be away from Home a Jacobson said. Fellow Soldier pvt. 2 Victor Nimmo shares Jacobson a views on the merits of America but for another reason. The Abrams tank crewman is anxious to return to his wife of two months in Annapolis my. The question for Nimmo however is whether hell be allowed to leave in december As head planned before it was announced that his battalion would inactivate. Unit leaders will consider situations like Nimmons on a Case by Case basis said Mai. Brian Grosner battalion executive officer. A people that have stuff already shipped they re going to go a he said. A they can Bank on that. But other people a we re going to have to have people Here to turn stuff  despite the Chance that Nimmons separation from his Bride will stretch until May he a managed to keep an altruistic Outlook. A personally i done to mind a he said. A a it a great that there a peace in the world now. That a what we fought for in the cold War so in a  members of the tank battalion weren to too surprised by the news of their inactivation they said. In fact sgt. Aaron Hudgins said his wife called him from the states with the news. A she said a hey you Guys Are coming Back a a he said. A i said a Nasaw they Haven to decided that  Kreuzberg gis leaving Europe show mixed reactions to moves amps l. Emmett Lewis or. Vanelsen a a a a they have a she  the biggest hint the soldiers received was the army a failure to fill slots in the battalion As they became vacant. Grosner acknowledged that the unit was under strength but could not say by what percentage. This reduced staffing is Why some soldiers May not be Able to leave on their original rotation dates. But despite their sparse ranks the soldiers expect to manage the impending task of drawing Down. A when we stand Down we stand Down a said sgt. 1st class Richard Reichle tank Mechanic supervisor. A a it a just a Little bit More work than what we re used  tank Mechanic pfc. Mark Vanelsen agreed. A it really does no to matter where we go or what we do Well still be training and until we move out Well be doing All our  from what he said ave heard every Bolt Vanelsen a Job As tank Mechanic he a heard will be a Tough one. A a in a has to be replaced everything has to be exactly the Way we got it a he said. A i think longer time than six  we should have a Little although the battalion actually has longer than six months before its members begin boarding the planes it will be involved in training up until the Christmas holidays. A we Are going to continue to train a Grosner said. A a we re going to do some individual training so when soldiers leave they get to their unit and they re fully  but when Christmas Rolls around battalion leaders done to plan to be Scrooge with time off. A a we re not going to curtail Christmas leaves at All a Grosner said. We 11 probably have More go than  another gift the command Hopes to give battalion members is an open line of communication. At least one briefing for soldiers and family members is already planned for october and the soldiers spouses Are already Fine tuning their information passing network the executive officer said. Keeping soldiers informed is probably the Best morale Booster Grosner said. One of the hardest things during the Days leading up to the announcement was telling soldiers to talk to their Chain of command and then not being Able to provide answers he said. A a we re trying to approach it As this is just another pcs move a he said. A some people Are leaving a Little earlier than planned but really its just another  the tankers infantry cousins from the 5th in 8th inf regt on the other Side of Lee Barracks share a lot of the same feelings. Their battalion is scheduled to leave by March 1. A i want to get it Over with a said sgt. 1st class Henry Readus an anti tank missile platoon sergeant. A we know there a a lot of things we gotta do to make this redeployment. We re anxious to get to our new units and find out where we re  infantryman pfc. Stanley Thomas says after one More trip to Paris hell be ready to go Back to the United states. A a in a pretty Happy ill be going Back a he said. But Thomas who a been in Mainz for one year Wasny to surprised by the news of his units inactivation. A basically Ever since i got Here they be been talking about this battalion was going to be  by Ron Mckinney staff writer capt. James Faulkner was stunned by the news. He a been commander of Btry a 3rd in 44th air defense arty for Only two months and Hadnot expected that the unit would be sent packing in the first wave of troop withdrawals. But that a exactly what he Learned this week. A we did no to have much inclination this was going to happen a said Faulkner. His unit is assigned to Kreuzberg Cavern at Wei Brincken. Since receiving the news tuesday the local wives clubs have gone into overdrive he said thursday. Committees were formed to help care for children while parents attend appointments and to coordinate with other communities on Welcome packets. They also plan to organize a fall festival to help relieve tension caused by impending Transfer. # on the military Side inspections and inventories Are in the works to help ensure a smooth process in turning in equipment Faulkner said. Btry a is one of six 32nd army air defense come units at different locations in West Germany that will be leaving the country March 1. Basically though its just another reassignment for his soldiers he said. A for some its a Little sooner than they wanted and others Welcome it. Its a part of military life and they accept  staff sgt. Marlin Halstead said his family had already been preparing for a move a not for his units redeployment but in Case his flight school application came through. Still he Wasny to surprised by the announcement. A we knew there w9uld be a lot of cuts coming a Halstead said. Pfc. Mark Moody however did no to think the cuts would touch Btry a. A i Hope to stay Over Here a Moody said. Some soldiers of deactivated units May be transferred to other units in Europe. A my wife and i enjoy the Countryside. Its More civilized Over Here. Its like you re on a vacation a he said. Moody who has been with Btry a for a year said he and his wife Are encouraged by the Way the army is handling the changes. A a she a hoping the army takes care of its own a Moody said. A at my unit they re doing that pretty  sgt. Ricky Tatum a squad Leader who has been with the unit for two years said his family is ready to return to the United states but Hopes there will be time for one More excursion in Europe. A at the least we want to get a Chance to see the Eiffel Tower before we leave a he said. Darmstadt s 547th engr in ready to tackle new Mission by Ron Mckinney staff writer Darmstadt West Germany a in the Case of the 547th engr in the Rumor Mill turned out to be pretty dam accurate. A a it a been going around that we were going to deactivate a we just did no to know when a said pfc. Thadd Baird. They Learned the when this week As the army announced that the 547th was on the departure list for March 1991. Where the rumours went awry was on the Issue of deactivation. The battalion Isnit deactivating its going Back to the states. For Baird that a no problem. Anywhere the army sends him has its benefits. A i like Europe so id rather stay Here a Baird said. A but i think ill probably go Back to the states with the unit. That a a lot closer to Home so that Sall right  the 547th has been in Darmstadt for 36 years and its last task Here a leaving a wont be simple said the commander it. Col. David Tarbox. A a it a a Challenge and its a completely new Mission a he said. Tarbox said hell be receiving a comprehensive plan from Usa eur and v corps that he will use to guide the battalions withdrawal. He does no to believe the Short notice will be a problem. A that should be enough time to do it but i done to know because nobody a done it before a he said. Most of the combat engineers assigned to the battalion say the rumours took away the Surprise of the announcement but the news nonetheless signalled the Start of a Busy period. A this is going to require a lot of hard work a said set. John Pyles. He said the departure will be difficult because it demands that All equipment be in top notch condition. Pyles said he a prepared for the task. A a in be been Over Here for 2 i years and in a ready to see the states a he said. He plans to re enlist for fort Stewart a. A a it a hard to think that a whole unit like that is Eingold to leave the country a said spec. Robb Wickham. A a it a a pretty big thing. A you really have a Mission now a said Wickham who Hopes to be assigned to a stateside airborne unit. A it gives you something to shoot