Didn't you say you were at the Hindenbrg Barracks in Wurzburg back in the 90's?

I found the site on Google maps. You know, they closed that site down in 1992 when we moved to Kitzengen. Looks like from the photo below, they've torn down most of the old barracks. Looks like the old Charlie Co barracks still remains...I think so anyway. It sure looks like the old building, given it's shape and location I think there are a few old motorpool building left as well...but not many (or any - I can't tell very well from the aerial view). I marked on the map where the old gate used to be and so on...brings back memories...

 

Holy-mega-scroll-Batman!

That's gotta' be the clearest GoogleMaps image I've seen!

 

Imagine what the spy satelites can do

 

I hear ya.

 

LOL- I thought it was only me who tried to find their way around in Wurzburg still.

I found this a few weeks ago, and noticed the demolition that has taken place on the site.

Actually, that's the old Alpha Company Barracks, not Charlie. Charlie was in the middle- remember?
Alpha company was all hard-legs (dudes) as far as rooms in the barracks were concerned. All of their women lived in the Bravo Barracks with us on the 2nd (really 3rd) floor.
That's why so many guys from C. Co, and A. Co got article 15's, after getting caught sneaking down the 3rd floor fire escape after visiting hours.

For some silly reason, the powers that be decided to have the buildings from the front gate to that back gate, identified as Bravo, Charlie, then Alpha company. Aside from that abandoned building, Bravo was closest to the chow hall and the front gate between Battallion and the Wiebenburg strasse.

The remaining building is right next to what used to be my line bay.

The gym is still intact, as well as all the line bay buildings. The shoppette/chapel building is still there. The chow hall/club is gone, but it looks like the Battallion Motor Office bldg is still there, as well as the building where the Electronics repair shop used to be.

Yeah, I still remember Hindenburg, fondly. Bravo Company 123rd SIG BN, 3rd Infantry Division. I've run many a mile alongside the Rhein Main river. Jan. '88 - Jan. '90.

Hey all the way... We run every day. If you were in Bravo, I know you remember Anthley Cook calling cadences as we ran. Cook and I went to basic together, and I still remember his last 4 of his social security number. For some reason, I was always behind Cook in the chow hall (Basic) where you had to yell out your last 4 for the drill SGT if you wanted to eat, since we didn't have meal cards yet.


Hey was CPT Parson's still the CO when you were there? He usd to have us doing those "LSD" runs on Friday. Long Slow Distance. We'd start jogging at 6:00 AM, and stop at 8:00 AM on a few occasions. We ran so far one Friday, I was like, "Hell, I can't stop running. I don't know how to get home!" No cab money... Screwed.

That was my 2nd best tour of duty...

Believe it or not, I enjoyed Korea (2nd Infantry Division) more...

Nice picture. Yep, I remember 123 SIG very well.

The entire division is at Fort Stewart Georgia now... Well, not really- they moved the flags there, and essentially renamed 24th ID into 3rd ID.

 

Oh yeah, I remember the barracks were laid out odd with the A, B and C being all backwards.

Yep, I remember Cook...and CPT Parsons too.

Here ya go....check out the gallery I put together with photos from those days. You may see some people you know

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/2856404#251546802

 

Yeah, I heard 123rd moved to Kitzigen.

My AIT buddy CPL and later SGT Bryant (You couldn't miss that joker, at 6' 7" tall) PCS'd to Germany after we left AIT in 1992. We graduated in late March 1992 from the 31F MSE Course.

Yep, I was dumb enough to do another 16-week stint with Drill Sergeants to get a new MOS. I started off 31L (1987 - 1991), but hated that job- I wanted to do something more technical, and less "hands-on". So, I cross-trained 36M- but they stopped the apprenticeship program, and they would not reclassify me as 36M.

So, I reenlisted for 31F MSE durign Desert Storm, and after the war was over, I got my school date- which was Dec. 1991. MSE was still relatively new for the Army at the time. Many units still had 36M, 31C, 31L, 31K, 31N, and 31M. Those were all replaced by 31F and 31D, which was new to the Army. They said 31L was goign to go the way of the dinosaur, but we still had cable dogs (31L) 10 years after they said that.

Now I hear 31F and 31D are gone now, blended into a new MOS.

They started implementing in in 1990 in Wurzburg, an it started in 1988 at Fort Hood. I went to AIT again (Dec. 1991 - March 1992) for the job.

 

I did my MSE training in Germany (Kitzingen) with GTE. I was a 31F with the ASI V4 (node center).

Later on when I went back into the reserves, I had to go with 31L (2000-2003) since they didn't have any 31F slots where I am now. I'm not enlisted anymore, but when I was, they didn't have any 31F slots here in this area...just 31L.

 

Huh, small world... my brother was in Kitzengen in I think 92/93-95 ish. He was a 29E, or whatever they changed it to later. I think 31E. Not sure how big the unit was, but you guys probably at least passed by each other.

 

Fort Sam? I was there in March of '92 also, lol. Small world.

 

Nah, I was at Fort Gordon. D. Co. 369th SIG BN, 4th PLT (Drill SGT Madden). I heard Sam Houston had ALL the women though.

Ironically, when I went to AIT the first time (Oct - Dec. 1987) I was in Echo 369th SIG BN, 3rd PLT @ Fort Gordon. Echo moved, and the building that used to be E. 369th, is now D. 369 too. Delta was so big (MSE trainig), that we had 8 - 9 platoons, and had school different classes at different stages of training, in class 24 x 5.

Went to the GTE/MSE 31F Mobile Subscriber Equipment Network Switching Operator's Course.

Midnight - 8 AM Class: 16 weeks.

Let me tell ya, it was hard trying to take classes at midnight. Especially when you couldn't go home and go to sleep.

Our day was like this:

PT - 09:00 - 11:00 (Yep 2 hours of fun)
Lunch 11:00 - 13:00
13:00 (1 PM): Duty Formation, details (work) until 15:00 (3 PM)
15:00: School Formation for Swings: (15:00 - Midnight class). Mids released @ 3:00 PM to sleep.
15:30: Swings go to school
17:00: Day-shift folks return (loud as Hell) and they go to PT.
10:00 PM Mids Formation.
11:00 PM (Breakfast/Lunch for mids)
12:00 AM School begins
08:00 AM School ends
09:00 AM PT

I cannot sleep when its daylight outside, so I got screwed the first two weeks.

The first week, I was up 80 hours straight. I could NOT sleep. They'd release us at 3:00 PM (15:00), I wouldn't START getting sleepy until 21:30 (9:30 PM), just in time to go to school. When the weekend FINALLY came, I slept 22 hours straight, minus one pee break.

The 2nd week, I was up 72 hours straight before I was able to sleep in the day time. I was SO sleepy, and awake only on Vivarin. I was so wired, I could feel my heart beating. After 3 days +, I could have taken a Vivarin, drank 6 cups of coffee and still slept.

I stopped taking Vivarin after that.

 

Oh, you picked up the V4 ASI? I didn't get that, which is ironic, seeing that I graduated Commandant's list, and #2 student in the class.

I was a SEN Chief on a SEN V1 & SEN V2 at Fort Hood (D. Co. 57th SIG BN), I was also on E-51 SEN as SEN Chief at D. Co 122nd SIG BN (Oct. 94 - Oct. 95).

My last duty station, I was a Team Chief on the LEN, D. Co. 16th SIG BN.

Was qualified on SEN, LEN, Node Center, and SCC- but because I wasn't V4 qualified, I never worked in a Node Center rig in the field. A LEN was just like a Node center, with the exception that a LEN could have more subscriber lines, but could handle fewer LOS shots into it.

Those bandwidths, and other systems seemed high tech back then. With what I work on today, we were just scratching the surface. But, 20 years ago, the stuff we did was cutting edge. I bet it's still effective, if they still use it.

I'm sure we've moved beyond the EDT now, and have stations with more serious processing power and better displays.

 

Looking at your pics now..

That guy in the red shirt (Pic 18 of 121) is a soldier named Shustarich. He and I got to Germany at the same time- we went to that 2-week orientation traning together. I seem to recognize that guy with the Peace/Victory sign up, but can't put a name to the face.

I dunno how he could still have been there, unles he extended for a year. He was a 31M when I knew him. I PCS'd from Germany Jan. 5, 1990- the day after you guys deployed to REFORGER 1990. I went to REFORGER 1988.

My trucks while there were B-311 & B312 (Deuce). I drove in the convoy that brought thefirst HUmmers to Hindenberg. Back then, the shelters were still on the CUCV's, and the support vehicle, PLT SGT and PLT Leader's vehicle's were Hummers. Which looked good, and felt good as long as you were parked/idling. In winter, it's liek as soon as you put that SOBin "Drive" all the heat evacuated the cab. You'd freeze your **** off in a Hummer. Too many gaps, just let all the heat out. The Chevy's were far warmer.

 

Yep, I was fortunate to get the V4. The way it worked for us was this. We had the old 3614's and come late 1990 in Germany, they told us we were ditching all the old stuff and going MSE. We turned everything in and waited around for the GTE training. For a period of time, we had guard duty at the American hospital there - this was the time of the first Gulf War. Once the hospital duty was over we started the MSE training. GTE came over and we did the around the clock thing. I happened to have the night shift like you did. It was tough paying attention in the middle of the night!

The guy in the blue jean jacket below is one of our GTE instructors. We suspected he was gay by the way....LOL




Here's the ole V4 certificate. Name edited out



Just reading your other replies...wow, you remember things a lot better than I do! My memory is bad. I'm glad I have the photos to help out!

I'm sure I've seen you there then if you were right there in B Co. Must have seen you at some point.

 

Hersh, was your buddy Bryant a big tall black dude? When I was in basic at Ft. Jackson, my DS was Ssgt Bryant. Big tall black guy, goofy with a sense of humor that wouldn't quit. But, he knew how to be serious at the same time. I absolutely idolized the guy in BRM too. Excellent shot with an M16 if I remember correctly. This was in '02 by the way, and he left us in the middle of basic to go to BNOC, I guess he was working on his promotion to E7.