European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 a the stars and stripes wednesday september 25, 1991bamberg unit learns to shrink fast _ a amps Effie Bathen sgt. Gary j. Long sits at his desk one of the last pieces of furniture left in his Bamberg office. By Effie Bathen in Imburg Bureau Bamberg Germany a Bamberg officials liken drawing Down their Community by a third to pulling out the struts of a tent while people Are still trying to live in it. A the Long pole in the tent was getting people moved out quickly said col. Daniel Zanini commander of the 1st army dives 3rd brigade. But not so quickly that it would bring Down the tent on those left behind. I he deactivating brigades 2,500 soldiers and 1,700 family members will be gone by dec. 15, leaving the rest of the Community a 3,400 soldiers and 4,900 family members a to Shore up the canopy of support services. By using what Zanini Calls a fast track accelerators a the Community a draw Down plan is two to three weeks ahead of schedule. Helping most of his five battalions move within two months includes the following efforts a single and married soldiers Are allowed to pack and ship smaller shipments of household goods hold baggage themselves at a Central packaging Center on Post. In he army will accept liability and mail it for them on a space available basis Sam through the . Postal service. The shortcut frees commercial movers from having to make individual visits to soldiers Homes or billets. A renovated furnished stairwell housing has been set aside for use As temporary housing. This is especially helpful for families who have pets or terminated leases with German landlords. In other communities military guest houses often Are filled and transient housing is hard to find. Bamberg a designated housing kept the draw Down Mission operation homeward bound from becoming what it has been nicknamed in some communities operation Hobo. A commanders in a bind have called on contacts in the German military to borrow trucks and manpower. A battalion commanders Are using imaginative logistical strategies to Speed moves. It. Col. Ward Critz of the 7th in 6th inf regt for example sent a detachment of his own soldiers to work in the Community a transportation and personnel officers. A none of it is business As usual a Critz said. A you done to have to be a rocket scientist to know wed need More people  his plans operations and training office has become a moving company said the commander of the Warner Barracks unit whose Mascot gives it the name a Alligator battalion.�?�. A wooden sign Over the door is stencilled with a Palm tree and Alligator the logo the unit used in the persian Gulf War less than a year ago. The sign reads a Gator moving  Critz said it takes a brute Force logistics to get things done. And he advised his staff a it takes some kind of Leader to Bull their Way  indeed he sent his operations officer to Karlstedt a six hour drive to Check on housing for 25 of his soldiers awaiting orders for a unit there. He also sent his executive officer to Battle paperwork with the people at the 1st personnel come near Heidelberg about three hours away and a do what it takes to get More of his soldiers orders. That paperwork is the greatest Snag in the master plan said commanders at All Levels in the Community. In the operation homeward bound a War room a the Wall size Mission control Board is covered with Green and Blue markers indicating that almost everything is going smoothly. There Are however red flags in the orders category. Ordinarily soldiers receive orders a couple of months before they Are to report to their unit. Red flags wave when soldiers Lack orders less than four weeks before they Are due to leave. About 90 percent of the soldiers have new assignments but the last 10 percent Are the toughest to get officials said. Snags come up with issues such As Security clearances exceptional family members dual service Mem or families re enlistments and changes in command sponsorship. Add to that the fact that the personnel command is processing four times the Normal number of assignments. A sheer volume has slowed things Down a said it. Col. Michael Veasey the 1st army div personnel officer. In the meantime a a it a hectic hectic hectic a said spec. Frank t. Sanchez of the a a Gator personnel actions office. A this is Wilder than i even  before each Soldier leaves he receives a stack of awards and certificates. Sanchez said that includes thousands from persian Gulf War awards to lifetime membership awards issued by the disappearing battalion. He has pounded out applications for 796 Gulf awards and 450 have been completed. But before he finished someone with a hand receipt for his office equipment tried to carry away his word processor. Every piece of gear and office equipment must be turned in and accounted for by the effective deactivation Date or a Date. As the unit shrinks so does the amount of equipment to do the work. A the closer we get to the deactivation Date the harder it will be to get things done a Sanchez said. When Sanchez leaves the unit he also will leave the army. He Hopes to fill a position left by a family member at the Community mail service. He said his Job then will be to Forward the mail for All the people who Are leaving. And As the unit shrinks so does the Chain of command which has to be continually redefined. So there seven a timetable for who can go when and who will stay to turn Over the keys. Sandra Dunson found that out the hard Way when her husband sgt. 1st class James Dunson had his tour extended until nov. 15. She had hoped to be Back in the states by sept. 16, but is instead living out of a suitcase in the temporary housing. Her husbands commander picked him to be the one to shut the door. However Bamberg is not closing the door too Long officials said because new units will be coming to the Community. Officials would not say what the incoming units will be but did say that they would probably Start to arrive by the beginning of next year. Then it will Start All Over again said the homeward bound coordinator capt. Ken Anderson a Only the door will be swinging the other  a amps Effie Bathen spec. Frank t. Sanchez foreground and sgt. Marvin Robey work with one of the few remaining word processors