European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday August 28, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 3coup, Gulf give clout to reformer by Randy Pruitt staff writer Leuth Germany a the recent coup attempt in the soviet Union had a sobering effect on pfc. David Hedderman and How he views reformer exercises under Way in Germany. A i think it is making me take my training More seriously a said the 21-year-old, who is with the 1st in 8th inf regt 4th inf div out of fort Carson Colo. Not that he Wasny to a serious Soldier before. He volunteered for duty in saudi Arabia arriving feb. 1 to serve with the 82nd airborne div. Now More than Ever he sees the value of this nato exercise where . Troops arrive in Europe empty handed quickly draw All their _ combat equipment from special storage Sites and prepare to plunge into any conflict. Reformer return of forces to Germany May be Only half As big As last year with 6,700 . Troops and just a Shadow of its cold War self but soldiers agree that recent world events have Given an enhanced sense of realization to the exercises. Quot a for me this is a rehearsal a said sgt. Gilbert Stantistevan 29, who is in the same unit As Hedderman. A i look at what happened in the Gulf. We practice reformer for 21 years and showed the world we could deploy a half million people. �?o1 think there s always going to be a Saddam Hussein or someone of that nature and if we done to stay ready we re going to be caught off guard a _ Stantistevan is familiar with reformer having served in Germany with the 2nd in 4th inf at Neu Ulm where he was attached to the 56th Field arty Pershing. On a second tour he was with the 6th in 6th inf in  i take All my training seriously because my unit May not go but they May take people from my unit to go a he said. Other units from the United states participating this year include a Xiii corps support come and Iii corps he from fort Hood Texas. A Iii corps arty from fort Sill okla. A 10th Mountain div Light inf from fort drum . About 21,000 German British and dutch soldiers Are also taking part in the exercises in Northern Germany and the Netherlands. As Hedderman and Stantistevan talked sunday in this peaceful Forest near the German dutch Border fellow soldiers made equipment checks while others stretched out in the grass to grab a few winks. N. A it a x \ a a x 3 x a amps Dave Didlo vehicles from the 1st in 8th inf regt 4th inf div from fort Carson Colo., make their Way Down a Dusty Road. They had been going full Speed since arriving at Sci pol Airport near Amsterdam earlier in the week. They. A. A a where they High a 10-_ of ahead Lay in just turning their stuff Back in. Maj. Andri a. Knight commander of the 15th combat equipment co in the nearby Community of Heron in Germany had distributed the equipment Only a Day earlier. Knight is responsible for the largest Pom us repositioning of Materiel configured to unit sets in Europe. He compares his company to a big shopping mall where he keeps 219,632 pieces of equipment on hand anything and everything to outfit a combat unit. A no matter what the size of reformer this stays the the same a he said. Knight stressed that the equipment although used for the annual exercise is stored specifically for Europe a defense. In 16 humidity controlled warehouses and 42 sup Eort buildings Are 613 track vehicles 2,892 wheeled vehicles and 1,288 trailers. Working full time to keep the equipment in a constant state of readiness Are 201 local and if Imp a sgt. Gilbert Stantistevan nationals and four americans. The site spans .27 acres with 17.5 Miles of Road. It takes a battalion in reformer about 12 hours to receive its equipment Knight said. The deployment phase of reformer will be followed by exercise certain shield in mid september. Like last year computer simulated Battles will replace actual ground Maneu vers. From a Central control Center at sen Elager armed engagements will be played out. Troops Are expected to return to the United states by mid october. Col Chester Moore commander of the 114th area b support group from Hattiesburg miss., said even with a scaled Down reformer his Job Hasni to been diminished. A we still must go through the same process whether its 2.000 people or 10,000,�?� he said. Moore set up the marshalling area to provide soldiers with essentials such As tents food showers and graded roads. A one officer was Here six months earlier planning and coordinating for this exercise a Moore said. Moore said his peacetime and wartime missions Are identical. A a it a a Tamer but More volatile world a he said. A nobody knows what will happen  capt. Bruce Robinson commander of the 1st in 8th inf said planning ahead paid off for his unit. Before its arrival an Advance party visited the area took photos and charted a huge map of the site. Back at fort Carson they used an empty motor Pool to build a terrain Model of the Seq mus site. Cardboard boxes served As buildings. Then they spent a lot of time training. A everything went perfect a said Robinson who took part in reformer in 1987 when he was with the 2nd army div fwd in Karlstedt Germany. A actually it was kind of Anticlimactic. I thought it the exercise would be More intense. I guess we were  to underscore his Point Robinson said that in route to Leuth their bus Driver became disoriented. A my men recognized some landmarks and directed the bus Here a he said. Robinson though thinks it better to be Over prepared. Recent events have convinced him of that. A i done to think anybody expects to draw a real weapon and go shoot somebody but we must be prepared to a he said. A we knew we  be called into Russia but it got everybody a attention. 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