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The Blackhorse Newspaper
February 1976
Lt. Austin Bay
H Co. First in Regiment
Tired, dirty, but nevertheless successful, Hotel Co., 2nd
Squadron’s tank outfit, returned from two weeks of field
exercises at Hohenfels Training Area with the highest test
scores among the 11th ACR’s three tank companies.
The two - phased troop tests ( ARTEPs ) featured a force on
force confrontation pitting Delta, Hotel and Mike Co.
against each other in a round robin war game of attack and
delay. But if Mike and Delta tankers think like H Co.
tankers were the threat, the real enemy was the weather and
the mud.
“ We stuck a lot of tanks and threw a lot of tracks, “ CPT
James J. Steele recalls. “ During the last part of Phase
I, my tank threw its right track to the inside, which is bad
enough by itself. However, at the time, we were attacking
through a small pond in the middle of a tree farm. My tank
and my first platoon leader’s tank, which also threw a
track, were stuck for three days. We go out just in time
for Phase II.”
Both of the phases included an attack, a delay, preparation
of a defensive position, occupation and security of an
assembly area, and a buttoned up ( except of the tank
commander for safety purposes) nuclear exploitation. Said
Sp4 Jerry Fegler, driver of H 14, “ Driving buttoned up
really wasn’t so bad because the hatch keeps the mud and
snow out. I really got bathed a couple of times.”
Squadron support was very visible also during the training
tests. As the tanks would go down, the two M 88 crews ( one
attached from Squadron Maintenance) went out to bring them
out of the field and get them going again. And it was
cold.
“ We were lucky we didn’t have any frostbite casualties,”
said Sp5 George LeBlanc, a medic from HHT. “ It got cold
enough to do some real damage but everybody seemed to know
how to take care of themselves.” The medics held several
refresher classes on cold weather survival during the
period.
An ARTEP is designed to evaluate a unit’s proficiency and
if you happen to be a tanker that boils down to three
fundamentals: You must shoot, move and communicate. Though
at times navigation proved to be a problem ( “ Who can
read a map when the wind and snow makes all the terrain look
the same! “ one unidentified and very lost tank commander
was head to say ). H Co proved to be very capable at
maneuver and it did well in using indirect artillery fire.
“ We did lots of maneuvering,” assured SSG Paul Lavergne, TC
in H Co’s bridge section. “ Normally when we’re moving
around between BK and the border and while we’re out on
alerts, we’re stuck on the roads. At Hohenfels, we really
got to use our vehicles doing what they’re designed to do.
We went and made our own. “
Right through a large sampling of good Bavarian mud!
Stuck in the 1970s
Great little article from the Blackhorse but there really is
a lot more to it than initially meets the eye. For one
thing, a couple of troopers participating in the ARTEP
captured all that tank recovery action on film and we have
the images; nice job paying dividends so many years later.
Who would think you could bury tanks that deeply?
A
second interesting facet of the article is the actual
reporting on the tank company ARTEP at Hohenfels. Let’s
briefly look back at the “ modern day “ evolution of
collective training.
Through the mid 1970s and early 1980s, the Army really began
to address both individual and collective training in a
wholly systemic approach. All soldiers were responsible for
being able to perform common tasks and then MOS specific
tasks commensurate to their grade level. Individual tasks
were then integrated into collective tasks and these in turn
were evaluated through the company / troop and battalion /
squadron ARTEP program. Platoon tests and actual Platoon
Leader tactical evaluations followed a little bit latter
and all of this training and testing was based on the
doctrine taught at all the military schools back in the
States. Not a bad program and largely in tact today.
It is noteworthy to see that in 1976, the Regiment was
conducting limited script force on force training at the
Hohenfels Training Area ( HTA ). When I arrived only a few
years later, the Regiment was getting few if any training
blocks at Hohenfels. Rather, in Bad Kissingen, we were
limited to Wildflecken and what could be done in the
maneuver rights area, basically a block running parallel to
the border midway between BK and the actual border trace.
Wildflecken was pretty much unsuited for any maneuver
testing above the platoon level and while the MRA was OK,
fear of maneuver damage led to hosts of restrictions. My
recollections are that many times, both the company/ troop
ARTEPs and the squadron level evaluations were rolled into
REFORGER maneuvers. A team of evaluators would show up,
hang around for a few days, and then depart. It sort of got
the job done but the action and evaluation was certainly
less intense than the maneuvers reported on by Lt. Bay.
It is unknown why Blackhorse HTA availability was restricted
in that late 1970s - early 1980s period; by 1983, the 11th
ACR was back at Hohenfels - big time - and the era of the
Pony Fights, platoon and troop force on force maneuver
supported by MILES began. Many Blackhorse troopers recall
those excursions as some of the best field training they
encountered in Germany.
So much for the 1970s - let’s flog this story forward. The
Blackhorse article introduces us to two significant
personalities, Austin Bay and James J. Steele, respectively
writing and commanding in 1976 and still on stage and in the
lime light to this present day.
Austin Bay
Over the years, I have reached out to Austin Bay a few
times, introduced myself and the on line history project. I
think one time I got a message back wishing me “ good luck
“.
In the years since the great mud - bath, Mr. Bay has crafted
a significant career as a soldier, writer, commentator and
public speaker. So here is a tip of the beret to Austin
Bay, he has certainly earned his spurs even if he is not
very interested in the Eaglehorse site. His web site is
here:
http://austinbay.net/ , check it out.
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Austin Bay, Blackhorse reporter in 1976, currently a
writer, lecturer and featured guest. |
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James J. Steele
During the mud - bath, H Company was commanded by CPT James
J Steele, certainly one of the most dynamic officers to pass
through Daley Barracks. Highly decorated as a Blackhorse
troop commander in Vietnam, Silver Star citation here:
http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=85756
, he commanded the tank company at Kissingen to familiarize
himself with Germany before moving down the street as the
Squadron S3. From there, his career continued to unfold
much like a Hollywood movie. Ten years after throwing
track, he was the commander of the 2nd ACR and slated for
promotion to Brigadier General. Colonel Steele retired
from active duty and then things really got interesting;
last heard, he was performing feats of audacious bravery in
Iraq. His bio here:
http://premierespeakers.com/jim_steele/bio
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