European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday november 29, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9over her missile units Busy closing up shoppers hings gone but work s far from Over by Joseph Owen Stuttgart Bureau Schwabish Amund Germany a this is a town full of packing experts. The soldiers of the 56th Field arty come in Schwabish a mind Are no longer custodians of Pershing ii misses. Now they work feverishly to dispose of All their other army equipment. The turn in process while cumbersome is serving As a Model for units that will deactivate soon because of troop reductions in Europe. Soldiers said the task is broadening their skills by making them familiar with More types of equipment. The deactivation stems from the 1987 intermediate Range nuclear forces treaty which relegated an entire missile class to the scrap Heap. Components of 2nd in 9th Field arty a last nine Pershing ii missiles and All its remaining erector launchers left the nearby Mut Langen missile site last week. Now the battalion and support units Are preparing to surrender the rest of their equipment and move on to new jobs. The command scheduled a 120-Day turn in Cycle for each of its three missile task forces in Germany. The Heilbronn task Force was first disbanding aug. 10. The Schwabish a mind units Are to deactivate in late january and the Neu Ulm units in May said maj. Jerry Hart a command spokesman. The turn ins involve two equipment categories. One consists of items Peculiar to Pershing ii missiles such As command and control vans Cable sets slings and special tool kits used by the 55th support in. The other is made up of equipment common to All army units. The command originally was responsible for about 65,000 items of common equipment Hart said. For inventory purposes a general mechanics tool kit with 250 parts consists of one item. Other items include everything from motor vehicles to mess kits. A 12-member 29th area support group team from Sermersheim is visiting the units to inspect and receive the common equipment at the end of a complicated self inspection process. The equipment will be redistributed to other units transferred to the defense re utilization and marketing office or sold to foreign military forces. The command plans to turn in everything in a code bus amps Joseph Owen Gunther Losch left from the 29th area support group inspects a multimeter a vehicle testing device at Schwabish a Munda a Hardt Cavern. Watching Are spec. Charles Ratliff Center and pfc. Michael Bosh of the 2nd in 9th Field arty. Condition a that is suitable for immediate reissue. When the missile treaty took effect that objective seemed within comfortable reach. Then the Pentagon announced other troop reductions in eur. Rope in september a step that clogged inspectors schedules. A a in be got friends that work All Over Germany and i Tell them ill be coming to see them soon with a Black Hood and a sickle so they a better Start looking for another Job a joked inspection team Leader Robert j. King. Despite the schedule problems Hart said the command is striving to avoid hardships for soldiers or their families. He said the command has not had to extend any soldiers term of service involuntarily to finish a turn in action. For spec. Derek a. Velander of Btry a 2nd in 9th Field arty the turn in is anti climactic compared with his work As a missile crewman. A i really miss it a said Velander 20, one of the last crewmen the command trained. A when i did my Job Back then i really Felt like i was doing something  chief warrant officer 3 Jon g. Fozard 42, the battalion maintenance officer said the inspections have taught his mechanics and other soldiers a lot about attention to detail. Fozard said he extended his tour of duty a year so he could make sure the equipment Transfer is successful. When the first task Force disbanded in Heilbronn the Schwabish a mind units sent representatives to learn from the experience. Hart said the command has provided briefings for the . Army Europe a commander Gen. Cros Bie Saint and several subordinate commanders. Army silent on Fate of Schwabish Amund by Joseph Owen Stuttgart Bureau Schwabish Amund Germany the Schwabish Amund military sub Community in the absence of army statements about its future seems destined to become a ghost town. The 56th Field arty come is to be deactivated by May 31, and All its 3,900 troops and family members Are to move out by the end of june. So far nobody is moving in. . Army Europe announced last Winter a proposal to move the 2nd corps support come Headquarters and other units to Schwabish a mind then retracted the announcement in june. The command now is joining the operation desert shield deployment and the army Hasni to said anything further about its plans for Schwabish Amund. The information void has City officials wondering whether they will have Access to the property soon and local workers wondering whether they Are going to lose their army jobs. A we done to know anything officially either a said Manfred Meile a City spokesman. The army Sites would ease the local housing shortage Meile said noting that a gymnasium and other recreational buildings have been converted into temporary shelters for immigrants from Eastern Europe. Local residents who work for the army Are even. More concerned about the possibility of the army a permanent departure. Several of them protested tuesday with a Brief warning strike in front of Bismarck Cavern. It was one of dozens that the Public services transport and traffic Union conducted nationwide against nato forces As part of the drive for new contracts and other Job protections in anticipation of troop withdrawals. The Schwabish a mind military installations located about 35 Miles East of Stuttgart form a sub Community of the nearby Goppinger military Community. The installations include Bismarck Cavern a 17-acre Jost not far from downtown Hardt Cavern a 29-acre Hilltop Post the adjacent 34-acre Hardt housing area the 131-acre Mut Langen missile storage area in nearby Mut Langen and the 947-acre Unter Bettingen training area said Jay Coyne a Community spokesman. As of september the sub Community included 2,145 troops 1,723 family members and 27 . Civilian employees Coyne said. It also employed 109 local workers. The americans occupied 252 government quarters 155 government leased leased housing units and 432 private residences. The army spent $39 million renovating and upgrading facilities in the sub Community Between 1984 and 1989, Coyne said. The work included Complete renovation of 12 of Bismarck Cavern a a 15 buildings