European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 b the stars and stripes thursday september 12, 1991 certain shield soldiers All business by Ken Clauson staff writer August Dorf Germany a As exercise certain shield continues in hundreds of computers and on maps and charts a few thousand soldiers participating in the traditional Field training portion of the exercise have moved Forward into positions East of Paderborn. The 900 infantrymen from the 10th Mountain div based in fort drum n.y., Are seizing ground near Beverungen to allow the Iii corps to make a simulated move South according to capt. Robert Cain a . Spokesman for the exercise. Other troops moving through the mud and the rain in the traditional manner Are the much touted multinational air Mobile division which was lifted into the Man Euver area by helicopter tuesday. The division is now digging in defensive positions in expectation of an attack by the opposing Force a dutch armoured brigade. That brigade is operating without tanks to minimize Man Euver damage Cain said. But As Iii corps commanders wage War against electronic mirages soldiers from a so called a phantom command work to feed House Shower and illuminate the corps 500 fort Hood Texas based soldiers participating in certain shield. The command is the largest battalion in the army totalling some 2,300 soldiers according to its commander it. Col. Roger Wise. Two companies from his battalion the corps Headquarters company and a company of map makers Are in Germany for the ongoing exercise he said. His soldiers in the Headquarters company do the Blue Collar manual labor tasks that keep a command staff operating smoothly. They Are the food fuel and fix it troops. Capt. David Oten company commander said the command staffs need to be Able to concentrate on the Battle business and not worry about the background support issues. A the whole idea is to not distract them from the Battle Quot he said. Quot the last thing they need is to walk out and have no Chow or have their vehicle not running when they have to go to the next  the main Iii corps Field site is like a Small City with its own Power generation vehicle repair shop Post office and communications system. Keeping that City of 450 soldiers running smoothly takes a lot of soldiers in the background. One of those is staff set. Lionel Williams from St. Thomas Virgin islands who with two other soldiers pumps More than 1,000 Gallons of diesel fuel a Day into trucks and generators. His fuel Point has posted hours of 7 . To 9 p.m., other hours by emergency Only. But he can count on being awakened at least once a night because someone needs Gas he said. A amps Jim de Helm spec. Gary Eldridge a tactical air traffic controller based in fort Hood Texas logs in a helicopter near August Dorf Germany. A i Tell them they should have noticed my posted hours and ask them if its an emergency. They always say it is Quot he said. His Crew makes two rounds a Day fueling generators and gases up about 175 vehicles. He has deployed to past return of forces to Germany exercises that kept him far busier with hundreds More vehicles constantly on the move. Quot this is pretty Laid Back because we done to have to move a lot a he said. He expects to have to move Only once during the 10-Day exercise. Staff sgt. William Varnes a 29-year-old motor sergeant from Chattanooga tenn., brought 15 mechanics from fort Hood to keep certain shield vehicles running. But of the current exercise Varnes said a a it a not As Lively As it used to be. Its not As exciting. I remember when we used to hit Village after Village and reformer was constant  now he sits in place with his Crew waiting for something to fix. Soldiers such As spec. Glenroy Arrin Dell 27, from St. Croix Virgin islands and sgt. Michael Sanders 31, from Lindsay calif., make sure the computers radios and Coffee pots have the juice it takes to run a nato exercise. They crawl into their sleeping bags every night knowing that somebody sometime in the dark hours around Midnight will probably Call them to fix a broken Generator. Or flip a switch that Isnit broken but is just in the wrong position like Sanders did a couple of nights ago. A there Hasni to been a night yet we did no to get called out to fix a Generator a Arrindell said. A most problems happen during the night a Sanders said. A it might be bad fuel stuck contacts or a Loose connection. And in cold weather the generators can be  they shrugged their shoulders As if to say a a that a just the Way it is. No big  a few Yards away spec. Gary Eldridge 21, stood in a Light rain in the dark in front of two Waist High boxes topped with what looked like an elaborate to Antenna. Eldridge from Wilmington n.c., is a tactical air traffic controller. He and two other controllers work shifts around the clock sitting at the Edge of a Grassy Field ringed with Trees waiting for an occasional helicopter to come in usually carrying vips such As High level commanders. A i just sit out Here All Day. I done to know if somebody is coming until they Call me a he said. Lately that a been less than a dozen times a Day but he must keep an ear tuned to the radio All the time. He said he usually gets about three minutes notice of an inbound aircraft and he also listens for distress signals from downed aircraft. When aircraft arrive he gives the pilots wind Speed and direction and tells them where to land on the Flat Field smaller than a couple of football Fields. A i Tell pilots where to go a he said with a laugh. A but telling them where to Park keeps them from Landing too close to each other or blowing Down tents and camouflage nets or getting wires wrapped around their Rotor Blades. A the most critical part of what in a Here for is to maintain separation of aircraft a he said. A but the Only time we re going to have a conflict is if i have an aircraft wanting to land at the same time. Then i have to sequence them and Tell them which one is to land  he admitted that certain shield has been quiet for him. He a worked in the Tower at fort hoods Busy Airfield which gets hundreds of aircraft movements a Day. A few years ago he had thoughts of flying himself. For now he sits in a Field with a radio and a thick pulp novel and tells army pilots where to go.. Shopping for other Sites if Subic pact fails Washington a the Bush administration is talking with several East asian countries about an expanded american military presence if . Forces have to leave the Philippines senior officials say. The officials said the United states has been in Contact with non philippine members of the association of Southeast asian nations As Well As Australia South Korea and Japan. In addition to the Philippines Asean members Are Indonesia Thailand Malaysia Singapore and Brunei. It was not Clear whether the United states has been in touch with All five. The likelihood of an american departure from Subic Bay naval facilities in the Philippines increased sharply monday when the philippine Senate in a test vote voted 12-11 to reject a proposed 10-year Extension of the . Presence at the base. About 6,000 . Personnel Are stationed there. Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams declined tuesday to specify which nations Are being considered for alternative Sites. Williams said however that the Pentagon is not interested in building a Large new facility anywhere overseas. A a there a no fat in the budget for that he said. The spokesman said that if the move from the Philippines is necessary some forces might go Back to the Continental United states to Hawaii or to nations where military forces Are already based such As Japan or Korea. A a that a certainly an option a he said. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said the United states is ready to a pack up and move if the proposed agreement is turned Down. The state department Hopes that efforts by president Corazon Aquino to mobilize Public opinion in support of the proposal will induce opposition senators to rethink their position. A two thirds majority of 16 senators a swing of five votes is required for ratification of the proposed treaty. A a we re committed to maintain ourselves in the Region. We have plans to disperse elsewhere a said a senior . Official. He noted that a military Access agreement already had been worked out with Singapore. Under the proposed agreement Washington agreed to pay Manila $203 million annually for the use of the Subic Bay base for 10 years. It is a major ship repair and refuelling site for the Pacific Fleet located 50 Miles from Manila. The Pentagon has decided to pull out of Clark a in the Philippines because of damage caused by the mount Pinatubo Volcano. Cheney said the departure of . Personnel would have a severe economic hardship on the local philippine Economy. Some 14,000 filipinos Are on the . Payroll at the Subic site and Many thousands More Are employed in jobs that depend on the presence of the . Military and their families in the Region. A i think its extremely unfortunate. If they Are not prepared to ratify the agreement that we just negotiated then we a have no Choice but to leave a Cheney said in an interview on can