1974
On the 16th thru the 24th of April 1974, soldiers of the 143d Signal Battalion competed with members of our sister battalion (5th Fernmeldebataillon) for the German Sports Medal at the Northern German Range and Training Area of Daaden. Of the twenty (20) soldiers of the battalion nine (9) men received the Sports Medal. One individual was outstanding in the night firing portion of the events and two (2) others were recognized for their outstanding shooting ability. Although the weather was undesirable, men of the 143d kept their Esprit de Corps and represented the battalion and the US Army in an outstanding manner.
While the German Soldiers receive training for a nine month period for the annual sports events and competition, our men trained for a nine day period and took many events bringing high complements from the Commander of the 5th
Fernmeldebataillon. Among the events were First Aid Training, Weapons Qualification, 20 Kilometer March, 5 Kilometer Run, 100 Meter Dash, Shot Put, Broad Jump and either 400 Meter Run or 300 Meter-Swim.
After the completion and return of the 20 Americans the Commander of the 5th
Fernmeldebataillon, LTC Donner, came personally to our battalion and complemented our Battalion Commander on his
soldier's outstanding adaptability and endurance and above all, the outstanding weapons qualification while the 20 Americans were with his battalion in the Daaden Training Area.
On the 29th of April 1974, 33 members of the German 5th
Fernmeldebataillon participated in the Field Day of the 143d Signal Battalion.
LTC Smolenyak and LTC Donner celebrated the occasion with the traditional Cake Cutting Ceremony.
The day consisted of lots of fun and frolic, and the following events were conducted:
| EVENT | WINNER |
| Drill Team Competition Erection of Antenna RC 292 Trailer Race AM Radio Message Sending Drivers Rodeo Egg Throwing Contest Beer "Chug-A-Lug" Contest Tug of War Contest Three Legged Relay Relay Race Volley Ball Competition Push Ball | German Soldiers |
After all of the events -were completed, awards were presented to the winners of each of the events.
The soldiers of the 5th
Fernmeldebataillon were pleased to be with us on our Anniversary and to help us commemorate the occasion. Above all they enjoyed the BBQ Ribs and cold beer and the attitude of the Americans through-out the competitions and activities.
On the 8th of June 1974, the 143d Signal Battalion represented the 3rd Armored Division's DISCOM in the "STERNFAHRT" parade and ceremonies. The occasion was "HESSENTAG" 1974, conducted in the old city of Fritzlar, Germany. It was actually two occasions in one, HESSENTAG and the birthday of the City of Fritzlar, 1,250 years old.
The ceremony consisted of a Motor Parade through the city of Fritzlar and a formal ceremony conducted at the Military Air Base in Fritzlar.
During the ceremony, awards were presented by the Minister-President of Hessen, an award to the battalion for participation and effects toward Project Partnership. Also awarded was an individual award for individual contributions and participation in building better relations between Americans and Germans.
SFC Chiles received the award for the battalion and SSG Bouwel received the individual award.
On the 11th and 27th of June 1974,, members of this unit, under Project Partnership, participated with members of the 5th Fernmeldebataillon in shooting competition for the German Schutzenschnur (German Marksmanship Medal) at Diez/Lahn, Germany.
Participating in the competition were twenty-four (24) enlisted members of this command, of which, eleven (11) members won the Schutzenschnur.
On the 29th of July 19?4, at Drake-Edwards Kaserne's Sports Plata, an Awards and Review Ceremony was conducted by LTC Smolenyak and OTL Donner, at which time the Schutzenschnur was presented to the individuals who had won the award.
The following named personnel were recipients:
| SFC ALEXANDER SFC ELLIOTT SSG BOUWEL SSG THOMAS SGT ELLIS SGT MACHIN (Second Award Silver) SGT STUBENFIELD SP4 DIETZ SP4 DRISCOLL SP4 MORTON SP4 HOLTZ | HHC |
During the period 16-18 July 1974, members of the 143d Signal Battalion and its sister unit,
Fernmeldebataillon 5 (5th Signal Battalion), conducted a joint signal exercise between Frankfurt (Edwards Kaserne) and Diez (Cranienstein), with a relay located at Grosser Feldberg.
The exercise was conducted under Project Partnership with many objectives in mind, such as:
During the exercise both American arid German Soldiers were co-located at all sites, At the termination of the exercise the overall evaluation was that the exercise progressed extremely well and became a greater success than could be expected.
Both American and German Soldiers expressed the desire to participate in similar exercises In the future.
On 29 August 1974, twenty-two (22) members of "B" Company, 143rd Signal Battalion, under Project Partnership, went to Diez/Lahn, Germany, to compete in weapons firing for the award of the Schutzenschnur, hosted by the 2nd Company, 5th Fernmeldebataillon, 5th Panzer Division.
Of the twenty-two (22) persons competing, eighteen (18) members won the award of the Schutzenschnur (German Marksmanship Medal) and of the 18 persons; SGT Machin won the award of the Gold Medal, which involves shooting a score of 100%.
After the shooting competition, members of this command were the guests of the Officers and NCOs of the 2nd Company at the Horse Ranch, where they enjoyed horse-back riding, a country cook-out of Steak and Chicken, and naturally Beer and Sodas.
On 18 September 1974 members of this battalion were invited, under Project Partnership, to visit the 5th Panzer Division Field CP location. The visit was hosted by our Sister Battalion, Fernmeldebataillon 5, Wilhelm-von-Nassau Kaserne, Diez/Lahn, Federal Republic of Germany.
Upon arrival at the field location, the visitors were greeted by SSG Hess and taken to the Signal Complex, there they received a forty (40) minute briefing, by OTL Donner, on the tactical and signal situation. After the briefing, the visitors were escorted on a tour of the Division Tactical Operations Center, the Signal Center and some of the various signal vans.
The following persons participated in the visit:
| MAJ WAYNICK | ADCEO |
| MAJ PATOMAS | A Reserve Officer on two (2) weeks active duty |
| CPT RICKER | Battalion S-3 Officer |
| CW3 JEGL | Battalion Signal Maintenance Officer |
| MSG EVANS | Battalion Operations Sergeant |
| MSG COGBURN | ADCSO NCOIC |
On 27 September 1974, the battalion honored OTL Donner with a Review. The ceremony was originally scheduled for a parade, however, due to very heavy inclement weather a review was held in the Drake Gym.
The reason for the review was for the battalion to pay tribute and bid farewell to OTL Donner upon his departure as Commander of
Fernmeldebataillon 5.
After the ceremony a cocktail party was held at the Drake Officers Club. OTL Donner v/ill be remembered by members of this battalion not only for his being a fine Signal Officer and Battalion Commander, but also for his great effort in support of Project Partnership.
On 4 October 1974, a 40 man Honor Platoon (Drill Team) commanded by 1LT Barnett and SFC Raine participated in the official Change of Command Ceremony held at Wilhelm-von-Nassau Kaserne, Diez/Lahn, FBG, home of our sister unit, Fernmeldebataillon 5.
The ceremony was conducted to bid farewell to OTL Conner and to welcome the new Battalion Commander of
Fernmeldebataillon 5, OTL Klaus Bludau. Following the ceremony a dinner and cocktail party was held and the members of the battalion that were present, both Honor Platoon and spectators, were given the opportunity to personally bid farewell to OTL Donner and to meet the new commander, OTL Bludau.
During the week of 21 - 24 October 1974, this battalion conducted its annual Range Firing and Gas Chamber Exercise.
Under Project Partnership members of our sister battalion, Fernmeldebataillon 5, were invited to fire and compete for the American US Array Shooting Badge. Accepting the invitation were 94 German Soldiers, both Officers and Enlisted Men and this proved to be very interesting and knowledgeable, because we had the opportunity of seeing how well our counterparts could shoot our weapons.
They fired our Rifle M-l6, Cal. 45 Pistol, Machine Gun M-60 and they also went through the Gas Chamber Exercise. The results are as follows:
| M-16 Rifle | Cal. 45 Pistol |
| 85 Members shot Expert | 6 Members shot Expert |
| 9 Members shot Sharpshooter | 5 Members shot Sharpshooter |
| 4 Members shot Marksman |
During the week the weather was very bad, rain, sleet and mud did not seem to hinder anything, they shot exceptionally well and seemed to enjoy themselves very much.
At the end of each day they were returned to our Kaserne where a small party was held (food and drinks) and each member was presented with a "Lifetime Spearheader" Certificate.
Orders will be cut and the actual awarding of the badges will be conducted at a later date.
A special thanks is given to Officers Candidate Martin Wolf, who spent the whole week with us, he conducted instructions on our weapons to the German Soldiers upon their arrival at the Range, Officers Candidate Wolf also shot expert with both the M-16 Rifle and the Cal. 45 Pistol.
On the 13th of November 1974, the Commanding Officer of C Company, CPT Jack E. Huff, and forty (40) Enlisted Men were invited to visit the 3rd Company, Fernmeldebataillon 5, at Diez/Lahn, FRG, for a day of socializing.
During the visit, both Americans and Germans enjoyed snacks and beverages, also the American soldiers were presented with certificates of recognition for their support of " PROJECT PARTNERSHIP".
On 29 November 1974, this unit and our sister unit, Fernmeldebataillon 5, was visited by MG Rienzi, DATACC, ODCSOPS-DA.
For the occasion, a communications systems display was established between Frankfurt and Diez/Lahn, FRG, consisting of American and German compatible signal equipment. A UHF/FDM (German) multichannel system was established between Frankfurt and Diez/Lahn with a relay located at Grosser Feldberg.
During the visit, MG Rienzi placed a telephone call from one of the rigs at Frankfurt directly to OTL Bludau, Commander of Fernmeldebataillon 5, in his office located at Wilhelm-von-Nassau Kaserne, Diez/Lahn, FRG.
Later that evening, MG Rienzi was honored at a. social function at Diez/Lahn, FRG.
During the period 10-12 December 1974, the 143d Signal Battalion and our sister unit, Fernmeldebataillon 5, conducted a joint communications exercise. The purpose of the exercise was to have the Americans set up a communications net and the Germans to do the same.
During the problem, American and German soldiers were exchanged with counterparts to work with compatible types of equipment.
The play of the exercise was, American nets were destroyed and the German nets assumed control of the nets, and in other locations the German nets were destroyed and the American nets had to assume command.
In the final analysis, it was proven that the Germans could control and communicate for the Americans, and the Americans could do likewise.
The exercise proved that the personnel and equipment are very compatible.
On 14 December 1974, the Officers and NCOs of Fernmeldebataillon 5, hosted a Christmas Ball at Diez/Lahn, FRG. It consisted of hotel accommodations for the personnel desiring to stay over night, an early evening cocktail gathering and then later dinner was served.
It turned out to be an evening of socializing and was very enjoyable, and greatly increased the binds of friendship between the two units.