European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday april 15, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 9vii corps ends european tour again by Vince Crawley staff writer the . Vii corps which took part in the Allied invasions of Normandy and Iraq is being quietly stricken from the army a european Roll books today after More than 40 years of cold War duty in Germany. A no More parades no More ceremonies a a said it. Col. Jim Gleisberg spokesman for the units Stuttgart Headquarters. Instead of fanfare the final working Day of he co Vii corps will be spent ensuring that the corps remaining troops Are reassigned he said. Representing half of the . Land Force in Europe during the cold War the corps numbered 73,000 sol Diers last summer when it was marked for inactivation. The troop strength ballooned to nearly 150,000 for the corps devastating sweep into Southern Iraq during the persian Gulf War. A we re now Down to 500,�?� Gleisberg said earlier this week. A a by today Well go Down to by thursday he explained All remaining troops from the corps Headquarters will be reassigned to other units in Germany. Many will remain in Stuttgart Long enough for their children to finish the school year then move on. A final stateside ceremony on april 24 at fort Mcpherson ga., will formally retire the unit from worldwide Active duty. The ebb and flow of american military Power has Long left a Mark on the corps. First created on aug. 19, 1918, in Eastern France during world War i the unit was a training and occupation corps and was demobilized 11 months later following the armistice. Reactivated in november 1940, the corps eventually sent units onto Utah Beach on a Day. It was again inactivated a year after world War ii ended. However cold War tension prompted . Military officials to Call the unit Back to duty in 1951 and it was sent to Germany in october of that year where it had since remained. This latest inactivation leaves v corps which has its Headquarters in Frankfurt As the Only remaining . Corps in settling into easier Pace of draw Down by David Tarrant staff writer Hanau Germany a last fall Ingrid Miller endured 100-hour workweeks to help move More than 4,000 soldiers shed by the Hanau military Community As part of the draw Down of . Forces from Europe. What a difference a year makes. Although she does no to exactly have her feet relaxed up on the desk Miller said she is much better prepared to handle the approaching summer moving season than she was last year. A a we re not going to be As affected As last year a said Miller the transportation manager for the 414th Hanau base support in from where another 3,000 troops will be departing to the United states this year. Because the persian Gulf War delayed the Start of the draw Down last year movers had less than four frenetic months to ship almost 15 million pounds of household goods from the Hanau military Community. This year they Are shipping about the same amount but its spread out Over the whole year. A what was done in three and a half months last year we have 10 months to do this year a Miller said. Although no one is predicting that the draw Down will be a cakewalk military officials say that with a Little Luck the moves of some 72,000 soldiers out of Europe this year should go smoother than last year. That is More than double the number of soldiers who moved from Europe to the United states in the years just before the draw Down according to col. James of Keefe director of personal property management at the military traffic management come Headquarters in Falls Church a. Of Keefe said in a recent interview that the traffic command is anticipating that most of the moves will be made Between april and August. A a we re going to hit the Max starting in april a he said. Last year the military froze moves during the Gulf War and for some months afterwards with the result that Many of the moving companies that worked forms 0�v tyrant movers prepare a shipment from Pioneer Cavern housing area in Hanau Germany that is destined for fort Hood Texas. Americans let workers go in response to the decreased demand. Then when the War ended and thousands of soldiers needed to go Home quickly the moving companies were caught Short. A we wound up going As far As Luxembourg to get additional moving assets a said v corps spokesman it. Col. Dick Bridges. This year . Army Europe officials Are closely monitoring the draw Down to see which communities need help Bridges said. A we might see that Hanau is a red a that it has not got enough movers and too much demand. So we make sure we can fill this with Idle assets from other communities a Bridges said. A is this a foolproof situation probably not. We will probably have problems a he said adding a but Overall we Are much More prepared than we were last in Niernberg the amount of household goods shipped to the states went from 3 million pounds in May 1991 to 8 million pounds by november said it. Col. Michael a. Burke transportation officer for the 99th area support group. A we were squeezing about a years work into four months a Burke said. This year Niernberg will be in better shape because unlike last year the movers have kept most of their employees and moving assets Burke said. A we can do about 5.5 million pounds a month a he said. A your Peak will be in May and june when we expect to move about 4.5 million pounds a month a of Keefe of the military traffic management come said he expects there will be fewer delays in the amount of time it takes to ship household goods from Europe. However a general accounting office investigator told Congress last week that the accelerated Pace of the draw Down had caused big delays in the shipments of household goods. The Normal 60-Day wait for household goods often stretches to 100 Days because a the draw Down has saturated carriers contractors ports and customs facilities a said the a Richard Davis. Established standards currently Call for shipments from Germany to fort Hood Texas for example to take 48 Days and to fort Lewis wash., 54 Days. A your goal is to hit that 90 percent of the time a of Keefe said. A most of the time the problem is to help achieve that goal the traffic command has hired More people at port terminals to help process the paperwork required to move household goods he said. The military is also concerned that the faster Pace of the draw Down does not affect Quality of Keefe said. Although he could not provide details on whether the Quality of moves had been affected during the draw Down o Keefe expected that a since there san increase in moves there would be an increase in claims.Wurzburg judge delays ruling on laundry jobs by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau Wurzburg Germany a a Wurzburg labor court judge has delayed his decision on the Fate of about 160 former quartermaster laundry workers who lost their jobs when their company s a my contract expired an attorney for the employees said monday. Attorney Matthias Heese who is representing the former laundry workers through the German works Council and a representative from . Army Europe presented the Case to Klaus Buckel the labor court judge during the court session Friday. A it is a very difficult situation a Heese said about the plight of the laundry workers a and a very difficult question to he said Buckel tried to determine a solution to the problem Friday but decided More time was needed. The Case will come up in court again sometime in june but a Date has not been set. The workers were employed by Pacific architects and engineers a Mph which was contracted by the army to operate the laundry and More than 30 laundry pickup and drop off Points in Southern Germany. Employees were forbidden to work after the company a contract expired March 8 and were barred from Fau Lenburg Cavern in Wurzburg where the laundry is located the next Day. Company representatives claimed that their original contract with the army provided for the . Government to take Over All employees when the contract expired. Usa eur officials however said the army has no responsibility to either pay or employ the 160 people because the workers were employed by a private company whose contract with the government had expired. Meanwhile the army let another contract for the laundry operations to a amp i hug Holzmann tech Nisch or service a Mph of Frankfurt on March 31, according to Usa eur spokeswoman Millie Waters. A Call to the company a Headquarters tuesday was too late to reach the official familiar with the contract. Waters said tuesday that the contract begins May 1 and ends sept. 30 of this year. It has two additional option years by which Usa eur can continue the contract through sept. 30, 1993, or sept. 30, 1994, Quot As needed a she said. The spokeswoman reiterated usage urn a stance that the former Pacific architects and engineers employees Are a the responsibility of
