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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-05-01, Page 201 ' Page 6—Crossroads—May 1, 1985 The Leopard and the MiIiPAC Continued from Front Page TURN ON A DIME The sergeant tells the crew to demonstrate the ma- neuverability of the tank. They start up, tear up• the Tarnli, strip at what seems a tremendous speed for such a cumbersome looking ma- chine. At the other end of the strip the tank turns in a blink and comes back at the same kind of clip. Before coming to a dead stop, it turns 'a com- plete circle. I can't see the tread marks where it's turned; they are under its present position. I'm impressed. Sgt. Breckenreid invites us to climb up and have a close look, to ask the crew any- thing we like. We don't need coaxing. On my first attempt to get a foot -hold to get up on this thing, I decide it isn't so small afterall. We walk around the tank, asking what must seem to these soldiers who have made this machine their mi- litary career, pretty dumb questions. However, my questions are answered di- rectly and politely. There's nothing like even a hint of derision in the attitude of tank 'crew of any other sol- dier in the area. • It is only when Sgt, Brec- kenreid invites us to go down inside the tank that helooks a bit hesitant. "Would the lady like to go inside?" he asks. "The lady certainly would," I reply. It's the last I hear of any "lady" business. Inside is decidedly cram- ped. I don't have any diffi- culty, being just a smidgen over five feet tall and some- thing under 110 pounds. But I have difficulty trying to im- agine four men in this thing. Talkabout spam in the can. This is it. One of the crew members points out the hydraulics and I ask him what happens if the hydraulics malfunction, He replies everything can be operated manually. The talk of hydraulics starts me thinking of what it would be like in these close quarters if a hose, which looks more like a pipe, was punctured during action. I really don't liketo think about it. The only way I've seen to get in and out of this thing is via the upper hat- ches. It's a bit of a struggle at the best of times. If one were injured ar.d blinded with smoke, I think it might be a 50-50 situation. And then I think, once up top you're a sitting duck. On the way to "see the tanks, Capt: Anido has told us the men in the Dragoons just love it. Looking around me, I think they would not only have to love it, but have a better than average work- ing relationship with, and a great deal of respect for their fellow crew members. Stuck in here with sorne- body.you didn't like for any length of time and you'd be ready to be something less than polite. Back up top, one'of the fel- lows has mentioned the small amount of clearance between the driver's head and the turret. He is told a couple .of years back the Dragoons lost a tank driver when,he got hit by the turret. There had been some mix- up in communication, he said. No, that kind of thing didn't happen very often. The ,men spend hours upon hours in practice. Not far away some sol- diers are doing "tank check - over". Their day begins at 7 a.m. with physical exercise and after tank checkover, at around 10:30 they begin tank practice which takes up the remainder of the day. Before we leave the de- monstration, Capt. Anido asks if it would be possible for us to have a ride in the Leopard. Sgt. Breckenreid agrees. We have been told the ride is ."amazingly smooth" and it is., At least it is on this stretch of Tarmac. It is also noisy and something none of us will forget. . THE ARTILLERY In another briefing room, Lt. -Col. Oehring, the com- manding officer of the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, fills us in on his unit. Its back ro nd, he says, "is buried in antiquity". It is the most senior unit in the Canadian Forces, 'having been founded on Oct. 20, 1871. It has been engaged in every armed conflict in which Canada has been in- volved. The regiment, Lt. -Col. Oehring said, had served in Germany in 195'7-59, re- turned to the north of Ger- many in 1967 and then when the brigade underweriyt a.ma- jor reorganization due to changes in Canadian defence policy in 1970, moved to Lahr. The 1st Regiment, RCHA, in Germany is "about 500 strong, with about half mar- ried and half single". The married half has about 500 dependents, giving the regi- ment about. 1,000 people to care for. The regiment is equipped with the M-109 self-propelled 155mm Howitzer. Four bat- talions have six Of the guns each. "They offer heavy artil- lery fire support for the Ro- yal Canadian Dragoons and for the infantry," Lt. -Col. Oehring said. "They have a range of 18 km, carry 95 - pound shells and have a wide variety of functions, such as smoke, etc." Fifteen detachments of the regiment are also equipped with blowpipes, a weapon with a range of six km, carrying low level air de- fence missiles. "We also have a variety of wheeled equipment, in total about 225 vehicles, half on tracks and the other half wheeled," says Lt. -Col. Oeh- ring. "We travel a half a million kilometres a year." The regiment gets invited to represent the Canadian Forces, to act as a guard of honor, upon occasion, he said, and as such partici- pated in the 40th anniversary of the D -Day landings. CANADIANS FlitST Soldiers with the lst, Regi- ment, RCHA, get a three or four-year posting to Ger- many with a chance toex- tend that by one or two years. Officers receive a three-year posting. "We have some in the regi- ment who have been over here five or six years," Lt. Col. Oehring says. "Other units have some people who have been here 15 and 16 years. "We. change 20 per cent of our personnel every year. This year less than l60 -went back to Canada: Our people come from across Canada, but we're all Canadians here. It has always amazed me that every soldier here is Canadian first and from someplace in -Canada sec- ond." Regarding our group, Lt. - Col. Oehring says, "We sometimes get the feeling, out of sight, out of mind. We're delighted to see people from home, to know some- body is interested." The regiment, he said, can be assembled and ready to get out in two hours. "We practice that frequen- tly — often between 2 and 3 a.m. We use telephone calls, vehicles with loud speakers. We're pretty -good at it, I think, at this recall busi- ness." Asked about the make of the M-109 Howitzer, Lt. -Col. Oehring replies that it is US - made. "All NATO uses it. We were equipped with these things in 1968. They have been retrofitted, of course, twice in a major way, and are constantly being rebuilt. They areas good as new." He adds that the crew fora gun detachment which in- cludes two vehicles, totals 10' people, eight on the guns and two on the ammunition car- rier. COMPUTERIZED The RCHA has set up five displays for us, but We are told by Capt. Anido we are going to have to rush it in or- der to get back to Hotel zum Lowen to check out by noon. We rush it to the point where fewf us are satisfied. We are split into groups of three and my group gets to see three of the displays and only one of them in anything resembling a satisfactory manner. However, it's a fascinating piece of equipment in the command post called a Mil.i.P.AC, short for Military Portable Artillery Compu- ter. There doesn't appear to be much the MiIiPAC can't do when it comes to making sure a shot hits its target._ The MiIiPAC positions all artillery units. It also com- putes anything that might have an effect upon a shot, including air temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind velocity and the rotation of the earth. It is, says one of the sol - r`, nl ening the MiliPac to us, "state of the art com- puterization". Moreover, he says, proudly, "It's made in Cana- da, in Ottawa. It was eight years in production and the cost is $250,000 each off the assemblyline. " The computer's teletype print-out riot only provides a record, but enables soldiers to immediately check the in- put and make corrections according to incoming data. The two soldiers are keen about this modern aspect of the military. They also note their , computer knowledge will stand them in good stead should they decide to leave the Forces. They're so enthusiastic,. I think they're probably in for a long career\. I ask them about their training. They tell me they - undergo 11 weeks of basin training in the command post and then another eight and a half weeks of advanced technical training to use the MiIiPAC. I like these young men and their attitude toward their work and I could spend a lot more time talking about the MiIiPAC. But we're being pushed by the group behind us. • We then rush through the surveying,demonstration and the one featuring a laser rangefinder. We spend just a minute or two with the Howitzer and don't get to see the soldiers with' their blow- pipe set-up at all. I leave the RCHA feeling guilty, frustrated and think- ing we must appear a super- ficial lot. I would like to say to heck with Hotel zum Lowen, but it's out of the question. It's now around 11:30 and we were scheduled to depart for CFB Baden- •Soellingen at 11:15. Back at zum Lowen, I throw stuff into my bags, de- termined not to keep anyone waiting. As it turns out I'm the third one checked out. The owner of Hotel zum Lowen is in the lobby, and I think he looks a bit uncom- fortable. Mr. Van Duuren and I ask him what the mix- up has been. It turns out we've been Huge farm houses with thatched; roofs such as this one at the pioneer village near Triberg used to dot the German countryside. It was customary to have animals in the back of the house. Even today, farm houses in Germany are very large by Canadian standards. SUPER SPECIAL ! STURDY POTTED ERANIUMS 31/2" POT bumped for a German film star. "What does she look like?" asks Mr. Van Duuren, making the familiar curvey sign with his hands. No, no, the owner replies. It isn't like that. This is a very old, established star, a man who travels with an en- tourage. I've enjoyed my few nights at zum Lowen. 1 especially liked the firm bed with its duvet, but I'm not deva- stated I won't be spending a fourth night here. ADVANCES Coronary Care Units, pioneered in Canada, have reduced mortality in hospital patients with heart attacks. robs mantis INK JET EBONY PITCH tf.T;111Mt HRY R F ; CAR CITY CHRYSLER SELLS FOR LESS Come in now for your Spring Service CHEC'K-UP! Keep your car in top running order this spring. Don't let the damp weather cause any unhappy surprises. Trust us to do a complete motor tune-up. We'II do a complete check on your carburetor and electrical system as well as brakes, lubrication and an oil change if necessary. Call for an appoint- ment today! 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