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«>I. 29 1 No 9 56 h Fleld Artillery Command June199

Task Force ·2 9 earns Toftoyby John L. Morgan

Staff WriterHistory ated itself on c e again, June 1, when

Maj. Gen. William Chen, Commander of U.S. ArmyMis sile Command, Reds tone Arsenal, Al ., presentedthe f estigiou, Toftoy Award to Task Force 2-9 in abric ceremony at Mudangcn Missile Storage Arca.

A group of warran t officers from 2nd Bn. , 9th FA;A Co. 55th Spt. Bn .; and a civilian repmcntativefrom Missile Command accepted the 7th AnnualToftoy Award marking the second time a Pershingun.it was recogni~cd for their •superior missile materiel readiness ratings• in u many years.

Task Force 2-9 received the award in the •Best FireSupport category . Last year Task Force 1-9 received

their Toftoy in the Best Rocket System• category .The award's sev en catego ries were created to rc-cogni~e units that ha ve worked hardest to improveand sustain a hig h missile sy1tcm rndinus rate.

ln addition the Toftoy award s promote competition im o ng units and generate enthu sias m forimproving readiness.

The U.S. Arm y Missile Command established theannual award in J une 1982 in honor of Maj . Gen.Holger Nelson Tofmy.

Toftoy, credited with starting the U.S. Army Mi s-sile Pr o gram in 1945, was responsible for examiningand evaluating captu red German equipment. Enoughpans ...,ere confi scated to assemble 100 V-2 rockets.

T oftoy pers o nally sele ct ed 127 German rocketscicntins and brought them to the United States toassemble the paru . Toft oy ' s missile prog ram wasborn from the captured equipment and the group ofexpatriated scicnuru .

Army missile system units from around the worldwere evaluated on their monthly missile materiel

. . f . . . . . , . . , .

eono .tultltlonal Maj. Gen . WIiiiam Chen, Commander, U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsena l AJ. presentsthe Toltoy award to Task Fon:e 2 9 repr.entativt CWO 3 GNlgOl YPnons during • ceremony at Mullangen MissileStorage Area.

readiness ratings from Au g . 16, 1988 through Aug.15, 1989 . The winner in each category was select edby comparing the readine ss reportS of comp arab lesystems in the same category .

Winning the award represents untiring dedicationto detail, support and techn ical proficiency from allplayers , according to Lt . Co l . Thomas Bowden, com-mander, Tu k Fo rce 2-9 .

• Dedication and hard work on the part of the missile maintenance warran t office rs , A Co ., SSth SpLBn. and the civilians from MICOM (missile co mmand ) combined in a collective effort to make thisthe best fire support batulion in th e Army, Bowden

stated.Bowden accrcditS the soldiers with proficient

handling of the equipment while working on the missile systems and providing the elbow grease and technical know - how.

It all goes back to the soldiers,• be s aid . Becauseit's the soldiers who u ~ e the equi pmen t and partsduring mating and demating operations.•

Pershing's retrograde next year will mean the endto future recogruti on by T oftoy for a job well d o ne .

•1t•s better late than never, Bowden concluded .We were always 'second to none' and now we

proved it.

ord Mayor cites soldiers for good deedsby Anthony J .C. Hosch

Staff WriterFour 56th Field Artillery Command soldim

received the Cavalier of the Road award from D r .Wolfgang SchuSt.cr, Lo rd May or of ScbwibischGmiind last month.

Staff Sgt. Larry Billman, Sgt. Robert Krumcich,Sgt . 1st Class David Bennett, and Staff Sgt . LarryDom, HHB, S6tb FA C MD were honored for theiroutstanding humanita ri an deeds.

The circumstances w hic h led to the award occurredwhen the fou r soldiers left Aut ob ahn 81 , according t oofficial reports . They wimcssed a Mercedes Ben~

pulling into the path of an oncoming truck.

The soldiers stated, The truck slammed into the ·automobile, caus ing an impact s great that the en-gine dropped out of the truck and the Mc .rccdcs washurled into a culvert.•

The four PERFECT Team members noticedsmoke mtitting from underneath the hoods of bothvehicles. We used our fire extinguishers to smotherwhatever was burning,• said the soldicn' report.

Dom rendered aid to the truck driver while Krumeich assi ste d the occupants of the Mercedes. The ot -her two soldiers directed traffic until the German po -Lice and ambulance arrived .

•1 checked for vital sign s of the two people in theMercedes and discovered that the driver was dead,•

Krumeich recalled .

inzihrthe Cable

• Courts Martial explained see page 2

• Nijmegan nears see page 3

• Soldiers of the Year see page 6

I covered the deceased and removed the survivingpassenger (who had extensive injuriu) from the vehicle and clieckcd for bleeding and comfoC'te d him .•· Billman said, It felt really good when the Com-mand recogn iz.ed us for helping the accid ent victims .•

The Cavalier of the Road award is presented to in-dividual, who prevent accidents that a ppear to be in-evitable and support effective searchcs fo r hi t - andrun drivers .

Other criteria include a show of consideration forvehicle operators in relation to child re n o r excepti o-nal penoni and assistan ce in traffic acc idents inwhich the proposed recipients of the award arc not

involved.

In a18pl SecondBn. 4th Inf. Warriorltlt wing Mano A •yea gall tangled upwtth 55th Spt Bn.90CC8lballtf MalitFarley at the COmmand Soccer Championships. See page7.

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Soldiers have what it takes

_.,...._.Mr. Senc IMnl Pie. Thomas Trimble, CBtry., 2nd Bn., 91h FA, sands a one andone-quarter ton canvas sup )Of1 aro duringrelrograde activities in his battery's motor·pool.

J

1h11 eye h N ltl Spec. Thomas Holtman, cBtry., 1st Bn., 9th FA, Neu Ulm's Soldier otthe Year. checks the barrel of his weaponprior to tum in.

by Rkbard J. ClememonStaff W icer

One of cbe many topics of discussionin the Army today ,s quality of thefor« .

Military leaders are faced with thecough issue of bow co detennine a qua·lity soldier .

Whieve:r the criteria may be three56th FA CMD soldiers seem co have"wbac it takes" co succeed in the Army.They arc Spec. Wesley Crain, Spec.Thomas Holtman · and P{c. ThomasTrimble.

The trio have three important thingsin common: 18 months in service; Pershing crewmcrnbers, and each wasselected as the winners of the 1989 Association of the United States Army(AUSA) Soldie r of th e Year for their re·spective military communities.

w~Jey Cr ainHeilbronn's Soldier of the Year, Spec.

Wesley Crain, D Btry., 4th Bn., 9thFA, is ecstatic abou t being chosen as thecop troop from hundreds in his militarycommunity. But you wouldn't know 11by asking him.

It was nice,• murmured the 19-ycar·old Akron, Iowa native .

His low -key attirude seemed to payoff. In addition to winning the competi·cion, Crain and the ochers won cashawards equaling $150 and a free trip tothe Armed Fo rces Recreation Center inGarmiscb, West Germany.

Crain remembered chat onl.>; 18months ago, he didn't know if theArmy was what he wanted co do.

"I wasn't sure where I was going , • besaid.

I was thin.king about a1tending collegein hopes of becoming an atcountanc. Iwasn't SW e, so I joined the Armyadded Crain.

He bas no regreu thoupi. Accordingco Crain, the Arm y apenence has beenonl y positive.

Crain cred its Staff Sgt. Keith Jenningsfor getting him on bis feet when hearrived in Germany.

He squared me away when I camehere, and he squared me away for theboard,• Crain said .

He gave me all the materials I needed and helped me srudy. •

While Crain assesses the possibilitiesthe Army ha s co offer, he's also tak.ingadvantage of the Army's tuition assistance {'_rograrn. He s present ly tak.ingan English course offered by the University of Maryland .

His leaders seem co be noticing himcoo. First sergeant Noah Hodge, DBtry., •th Bn., 9th FA, swnmed upCrains efforts witb two simple words -• simply outstanding .•

Thomu HoltmanCrain confessed that coming co Ger

many had been the highlight of bis military career prior co his selection asHeilbronn 's Soldier of the Year .

But for Thomas Holtman, coming coGermany was like rcruming home.Bom in Wiesbaden, West Germany in1969 and raised a.s a "military brat " indifferent cities throughout Europe,Holtman, C Btry . , h t Bn., 9th FA, badplenty of time CO· aperience and learnEu ropean cult\lrC and customs.

Even though Holtman doesn't shareCrain's excitement for Germany, he

Troop Tra ining Spec. Wesley Crain (right). D Btry . 4th Bn., 91h FA, studies with SgtJohn Burnett Of the Soldier of the Year boerd.

agreed with Crain that winning the Sodier of the Ycar competition was definitely th e highlight of bis career.

Holtman said, My section chiefStaff S~. Lamont Johnson, was a major

factor m preparing me for the boards."He gave me everything I needed tstudy for and then gave me the motivation to srud he said.

Most soldi ers spend weeks or month"burning the midnight oil• srudying foboards. But, on the other hand, thamazing thing about Holtman' firsuccess is that be spent only three daystudying for the company level board

First Sgt. Edward Bartbolomai, CBery., 1st Bn., 9th FA, thinks Holtman's military furure has no limits.

Bartbolomai said, "He · s a good example of today's soldier . He's intellgent, physically fit, assen.ivc and performance oriented. He strives to be thbest ."

In striving co be the best, Holtman isseeking to enhance his promotion opporrunities t hrough civilian enducationLike Crain, he is enrolled in an Engliscourse offered by the University of Mryland.

Thomas TrimblePrivate First Class Thomas Trimbl

2nd Bn., 9th FA said that he is "alwaylooking for a challenge .•

That is why he /'oined the Army.•rm constantly ooking for new cha

lenges. Being successful in the Annyseemed like another mountainclimb,• he said.

Only 18 months inco his first enliment, Trimble took a big step cowardthat peak when he beat all challengeand won Schwiibisch Gmiind Soldierthe Year. Like his count~rparts, he ad

mits that earning the honor was a bboost tO bis career.It was cruly an honor to win. I sru

died a lot with the people in my platooand battery (C Btry., 2nd Bn, 9th FA)explained Trimble.

Trimble credits his father, a retireAir Force Master Sergeant for his sucess in the Anny.

He taught me to take everything istride. He told me that lile has its peakand valleys and that sucessful peopletake each peak with each valley," besaid.

Trimble is preparing a packet fWarrant Officer flight school. He hopthe Army will approve his packet agive him an opporrunity to fly.

• f it works out, I'll make a careout of the Army," Trimble said . "Ifdoesn't, then I'll have to sit down alook a.t my options. •

With two years of college from Lousiana Tech already under his belt, Trimble's future, along with the other twseems bright.

Trimble's first sergeant, WilliamHundley, said, He has a lot of inndrive towards completing his mission.He wants to be the bes.t at everythihe does and will do anything t achiethat goal. "

Those types of accolades seem to flow Trimble and the ochers wherevethey go.