 The 4th Armored Division of the United States Army is clad in steel, a mechanized giant roving over the land as it guards freedom's frontier in Western Europe. As a vital part of the multinational NATO team, it is watchful and always prepared. The men and machines who make up the nerve and muscle of this great division work at their jobs day and night, 365 days a year. This is the story of those men and their machines, the pictorial account of a giant at work on freedom's western front, the United States Army 4th Armored Division. Gärpingen, West Germany is a small industrial town located on the outskirts of Stuttgart. From its travel poster appearance, you would never suspect that this quiet, almost rural community is the home of the mighty 4th Armored Division. From this headquarters, elements of the 4th Armored fan out to many locations throughout the surrounding area to serve in their role as part of the NATO forces. In fact, the 4th Armored Division is the most widely dispersed American fighting unit now serving in Germany. For the men of the 4th Armored Division stationed here in Gärpingen, life is quiet and serene in the old German town. While the town has many modern facilities such as this school, its famous landmarks are the older structures and fountains. One of the most interesting sites visited by our military personnel is this church where two U.S. Army helicopter pilots lost their lives while assisting in its construction. The townspeople erected this plaque to commemorate the event. The two helicopter pilots were engaged in airlifting the spire to the top of the steeple when the lift lines became entangled and the helicopters crashed. Their sacrifice is remembered by the German citizens in annual commemoration ceremonies. The 4th Armored Division has established an outstanding record of fine German-American relations. In addition to having a full-time community relations advisor, the division has participated in local functions and projects. The people of Gärpingen and the Stuttgart area have come to accept the American fighting men as part of the family. But the reason for the giant being here is to serve the NATO mission in guarding the frontiers of the Western Alliance. To fulfill this assignment, the division has a large variety of complex and highly sophisticated equipment and hardware. Problems of maintaining this vast rolling arsenal are immense. The solution to this upkeep of so many weapons and vehicles is, of course, trained personnel. All soldiers, even supervisory personnel, receive training in technical maintenance when they come to the division. Today we will instruct you in a proper procedure for removing the Xeon lamp from the 30th Searchlight. This is done by placing the cardboard container that the lamp comes in over the end of the opening, reaching down in, grabbing the hasp that secures the lamp, and pulling up into the tube. This is done to protect the searchlight from damage and also protect you from bodily harm due to high pressure in the lamp. Then place the lamp off to the side. On-the-job training was, for a long time, the primary means of training equipment operators. Then the division developed a better, faster teaching method called MEW, Maintenance Education Week. A one-week intensive training program, MEW quickly teaches the vital facts of equipment function, operating characteristics, maintenance procedure, and the proper use of technical manuals and maintenance forums and records. The idea was applied to every item of the division's equipment, from rockets to radar, and everything that rolled or moved on treads. Keeping the division's equipment in top condition is one of the key factors in maintaining a high degree of operational readiness. Should the need arise, these men want to know that each piece of equipment will roll. While every vehicle operator will not become a maintenance expert, he learns to identify problems and performs certain types of maintenance on his own vehicle. If he cannot correct the trouble himself, he reports it to his supervisor. Maintenance Education Week is a well-planned system of instruction, which covers not only the vehicles but related items of equipment, such as crew-served weapons. Communications equipment is a vital link between the commander and his forces. Upkeep of radio transmitters and receivers as well as intercom systems is an important part of the MEW program. Even those men who are school-trained specialists receive an intensive refresher course here during Maintenance Education Week. Subjects range from decontamination procedures to lectures on the use of cooking equipment such as immersion heaters and techniques for mass feeding. Experts on setting up and maintaining communications lines go over the subject again. New equipment or procedures which the Army has developed are introduced during this refresher training. For the crewmen who serve as land navigators in the field, the review of military map reading and metric measuring systems is a must. In all, Maintenance Education Week teaches the armored soldier and his technical supervisors how to keep complex equipment operating at peak efficiency ready for instant dependable service. Lessons taught in specialist schools are never allowed to be forgotten. Maintenance Education Week, coupled with year-round use of vehicles and equipment, guarantees that the U.S. Army 4th Armored Division is ready to roll anytime, anywhere. Behind the thousands of armored vehicles and weapons and technical equipment which make up the muscle of the giant, there are the men, the men who are the mind and the lifeblood of this great organization. One, two, three, four! One, two, three, four! Since leadership within the ranks is a prime concern of the commanders, the division conducts an NCO Academy which is famed throughout U.S. Army Europe. Run entirely by non-commissioned officers, the Academy has graduated some 6,000 non-coms, and of that number, half were Vietnam returnees. Traditionally, non-commissioned officers are a key factor in making the Army function. They have the responsibility to see that orders passed down from higher authority are carried out effectively. At the Academy, combat leaders are developed from among enlisted men who show potential leadership qualities. During the five-week course, the trainees learn to lead in realistic field problems. These men are engaged in an escape and evasion exercise. Those who play the role of guards apply themselves with a vigor which leaves no doubt that they understand their job. Aside from studies relating to field tactics and leadership reaction tests, the aspiring non-comm students are taught administration procedures and instruction techniques. A common goal is to eventually attain the rank of first sergeant, one of the most demanding jobs in the Army. But they know that the non-coms who get the sergeant's stripes with the diamond are those who show exceptional leadership and administrative ability. Combat readiness is the prime objective of the 4th Army, and to achieve it requires constant training. Training like this is done year-round by tankers of this organization. Conducted in graduated stages, early tank crew drills help to assure that each member of the vehicle crew understands his job and performs his duties efficiently. After that, long hours are spent molding each tank crew into a smoothly functioning team, which can carry out the most complicated battle maneuvers with ease and speed. In the advanced stages of training, tactical control of an entire tank platoon is practiced with the platoon leaders conducting field operations. In this phase of training, several of the armored vehicles perform as a unit, providing concentration of firepower upon a single objective. Gentlemen, today you have received your first phase of training in the tactical end of tank gunnery. You will receive your testing at Walflicken this coming December. Today, we learned how to implement the line formation, the echelon formation, and the column formation. We started in this area and moved across diagonally across the open area in a line formation. We then found, due to terrain situations, that we had to switch to the echelon formation. From the echelon formation, we observed to our near-front wood line. Wood line meaning that we must go into a column formation. The column formation affords us the ability to speedily go into the wood line and to deploy. The mechanized infantry participates in repeated individual and team training, from squad level to platoon and company tactical formations. All of this training for battle is closely observed and evaluated from platoon to brigade during the ORTS, operational readiness tests. Infantry units are combined with armor to provide what is called cross-attached training. Under actual battlefield conditions, both armor and infantry units would be working together. In a series of training actions, officers and men increase their experience as they practice the attack, delaying actions, setting up defensive perimeters, and launching counterattacks. Operational readiness tests are given to every element of the 4th Armored Division. Each is evaluated and rated in one of three categories. Non-combat ready, combat ready, and combat ready to an excellent degree. Besides infantry and armor units, ratings apply to artillery, mortar crews, engineers, and maintenance units, military police, supply and transportation units, the medics, reconnaissance elements of the cavalry squadrons. All are given periodic tests to check their state of operational readiness. Before being graded in the exacting tests for operational readiness, units of the Armored Division prepare with special training exercises known as qualification courses. The goal is maximum proficiency in the use of equipment and combat arms, particularly those weapons which are crew served. At the Tenenlohe range near Elangen, Germany, tank crews run through their pre-qualification exercises. Here the large bore tank guns are not actually fired, but crews go through practice and scores are kept. In their annual tank crew qualification test at the huge Graffenwehr training ground, they will fire live ammunition. Scout crews and cavalry reconnaissance vehicles also train for the moment of truth at Graffenwehr. Three also undergoes qualification testing in a special training program called MISPIC, mechanized infantry squad proficiency course. Mortar crews sharpen up their procedures. Artillery crews practice to refine speed and accuracy with the big self-propelled weapons. Graffenwehr, largest maneuver training area in Western Europe, is the only one which accommodates long-range firing by heavy weapons such as the main gun on American tanks. The vast military maneuver area serves as a training site for all of U.S. Army Europe, and in addition is used for the training of West German Army units and joint NATO maneuvers. It is here the armored units of the 4th go through their final qualifying course. On the various tank firing ranges, crews and their machines are put through six courses or tables. To practice firing live ammunition from main guns and the tank's machine gun system. The firing drills are conducted on both stationary and moving targets. When the preliminary tables are completed, the crews are tested on table 7, and their performance is scored by umpires. On this final phase of range firing, the tank crews are not told what kind of target firing they'll be given until the last moment. It may be firing of the coaxial machine gun or the 50 caliber machine gun. Perhaps the test may be for use of the main gun at moving targets. They have to be ready for anything and quick to respond. Every move they make and the accuracy of their shooting is monitored and scored. The toughest part of the qualification course is the final stage known as table 8. This is where the tank crew gets its final rating. For this exercise, the tanks take to the field just as they would in battle. The combat situations are encountered during this course and under the watchful eyes of scoring officials, tank commanders determine what action to take and carry it out. Table 8 subjects the tank crew to eight different combat situations. This includes night firing and all eight require initiative and quick response from the tank commander. Efficiency of crew performance and their effectiveness in swiftly meeting each field problem is the key to their final qualification rating. Those are given a debriefing. Their performance is critiqued and their final rating is made known. The qualification tests at Grafender are for everybody. The mechanized infantry has its own session. Simulated enemy positions are attacked and the soldiers execute a flanking maneuver. As with the tank crews, the infantrymen are subjected to surprise situations. Realism is part of the qualification test. The soldiers are faced with various combat problems and called upon to perform in different types of terrain. Examiners rate the men undergoing the proficiency course on how the job is done regardless of the lay of the land. Scout squads are rated for the efficiency they demonstrate when faced by the unexpected. For instance, ambush, direct attack or enemy minefields. Mortar teams have a two-fold challenge they must meet. First, emplace weapons and set up for firing within stringent time limitations. Second, the forward observer must quickly adjust rounds onto the target. A similar test is imposed upon the fourth armored artillery units. But because of the size and range of the big weapons, the problems are more complex. At Fire Direction Center, data computer personnel work out coordinates which will put the 155mm howitzers on target and the information is passed along to the gun crews. Aboard the highly mobile 155s, artillerymen quickly train their howitzers on the target. Load them and await the order to commence firing, being as assured as these artillery units deliver their fire right on the button. Traditionally, the artillerymen of the 4th Armored Division have held a proud record for speed and accuracy in their firing missions. The large number of vehicles and armor which makes the 4th such a formidable fighting organization requires tremendous support effort. This support is provided by the Division Support Command, DISCOM. Faced with continuing requirement for spare parts and their requisitioning and movement to using units, DISCOM employs automatic data processing equipment to keep track of supplies and the status of equipment in repair, modern methods to support a space-age fighting unit. Among the various allied military forces serving with NATO, the U.S. 4th Armored Division is both respected for its fighting ability and admired for its high degree of technical excellence. Working closely with our NATO military associates, the officers and men of the 4th have created an atmosphere of goodwill and cooperation, which has strengthened the bond of brotherhood between the fighting men of the Western world. This camaraderie is the keynote to future relations between not only the military representatives of our European neighbors and our fighting men in NATO, but hopefully of all mankind in the years ahead. From the days of World War II, when the famous 4th broke through with the 37th Tank Battalion to relieve our men at Bastone, the men and machines of the United States Army 4th Armored Division have been a giant among those who guard the freedom of the West.