Oh, the Hills of Grafenwoehr
On one occasion at the ranges in Grafenwoehr, Germany, we had a very memorable day. The range was used for annual qualification with our personal weapons. Most units in the Army used .45 caliber pistols as the weapon for officers. The exceptions were the aviation units where the .38 revolvers was the assigned weapon. They told us the .38 was used by aviation because it was lighter in weight and weight is an important factor in flying helicopters. The difference in weight wasn’t much so I always wondered if that story was true.
The unit had recently received a new commander. The major, the new commander, had spent most of his time in ground units and had always qualified with the .45 pistols. His first opportunity to fire the .38 revolvers was at the qualification range. Before qualifying in a weapon it was always best to have some time to practice and get used to it.
The qualification range was one of those where there was a trench down by the targets and someone was down there checking the hits. Half of the pilots fired while the other half worked the trenches and kept track of the score. Unfortunately the major was not performing very well with his new weapon. Many rounds missed the target completely and soon the word spread to all of the pilots. Many thought the major’s poor performance was a big joke.
In all fairness I must say that there were some pilots that didn’t make a big deal about the range scores and could care less if the major didn’t do very well. There were even some pilots that came to the major’s defense and told others that they thought most people wouldn’t score very well with an unfamiliar weapon. The few pilots I saw didn’t think it was a big deal but we learned that others did.
Early the next morning before breakfast we crawled out of our tents and unit fell into formation ready for what the day of training would bring. We knew what was on the training schedule and thought we knew what was going to happen but we were way off base. What happened next came as a big surprise.
The major took charge of the formation from the platoon leaders and turned the unit and started marching the unit of two hundred and fifty enlisted men and seventy officers up the hill. Next he gave the command to double time which started the run. Off we went up hill and down hills. The hills of Grafenwoehr were just like a cow pasture. It wasn’t a running track or road or path! It was a cross-the-field run except that the entire area was either up hill or down hill. In formation a rough running course was especially difficult.
On and on we ran going up and down. Some folks got twisted ankles and fell out of the run and others just got so winded that they fell out of the run. We just kept going and leaving stragglers up and down every hill. I knew the major was in pretty good shape and liked to run and play basketball but I hadn’t realized he was in that good of shape. The size of the group got smaller and smaller as on we went. My tongue was hanging out but I was not going to give up and drop out. I stayed with him step for step.
When there were only five of the seventy officers and about a dozen of the enlisted men left we returned to our unit area. The major slowed the small group to a march and then a halt. I was the ranking officer left in the group. The major called me to the front of the group and told me to take charge of the group and to report to him in his tent when the unit was gathered from the hills of Grafenwoehr. I saluted and said, “Yes sir!”
The major walked off towards his tent and we were left standing there. As soon as the major was out of sight I told the little group to fall out and walk it off. As hard it was, the best thing to do was to walk and cool down the worn out leg muscles. We walked just a little bit and then fell down and panted for quite a bit. Slowly the stragglers came in from over the hills. I kept them all in the area and told them not to go any place because the major was going to come back and talk with us.
It took about an hour but eventually all of the troops came back. They were a sorry looking group. We formed them up and I went off to get the major. I went up to the major’s tent and reported that the unit was formed. He came out of the tent and said he would be right over to talk to the unit.
The major walked back and forth in front of the unit looking the troops over. Finally he stopped in the center of the group and started to speak. He informed the unit that he understood that we all had a good laugh about his firing the .38 revolver. Of course no one said a word or made any indication that what he heard was true. The major went on to tell the unit that they should never laugh at someone because they might be better at something that they are not. He went on to say that he liked to run and perhaps we would all like to run at his level. No one in the formation moved or spoke. Every soldier stood perfectly still. The major then told us to get cleaned up and go to breakfast and prepare for a day of training.
The major may have shown a weakness in firing the .38 revolver but he had demonstrated that he could out-run just about everyone and if we had kept going it might have been everyone. It is a dangerous and stupid thing to laugh at someone else’s weaknesses. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t have some strength that we can’t match up to and some weaknesses that make us look good. All of us can be embarrassed if we have to match up against someone else in his or her strong area. It is true that in combat you exploit the weaknesses of an enemy and cover the weaknesses of an ally. And because we can’t afford to have enemies it is always wise to count folks as our allies and help them in their weaknesses!
The unit had recently received a new commander. The major, the new commander, had spent most of his time in ground units and had always qualified with the .45 pistols. His first opportunity to fire the .38 revolvers was at the qualification range. Before qualifying in a weapon it was always best to have some time to practice and get used to it.
The qualification range was one of those where there was a trench down by the targets and someone was down there checking the hits. Half of the pilots fired while the other half worked the trenches and kept track of the score. Unfortunately the major was not performing very well with his new weapon. Many rounds missed the target completely and soon the word spread to all of the pilots. Many thought the major’s poor performance was a big joke.
In all fairness I must say that there were some pilots that didn’t make a big deal about the range scores and could care less if the major didn’t do very well. There were even some pilots that came to the major’s defense and told others that they thought most people wouldn’t score very well with an unfamiliar weapon. The few pilots I saw didn’t think it was a big deal but we learned that others did.
Early the next morning before breakfast we crawled out of our tents and unit fell into formation ready for what the day of training would bring. We knew what was on the training schedule and thought we knew what was going to happen but we were way off base. What happened next came as a big surprise.
The major took charge of the formation from the platoon leaders and turned the unit and started marching the unit of two hundred and fifty enlisted men and seventy officers up the hill. Next he gave the command to double time which started the run. Off we went up hill and down hills. The hills of Grafenwoehr were just like a cow pasture. It wasn’t a running track or road or path! It was a cross-the-field run except that the entire area was either up hill or down hill. In formation a rough running course was especially difficult.
On and on we ran going up and down. Some folks got twisted ankles and fell out of the run and others just got so winded that they fell out of the run. We just kept going and leaving stragglers up and down every hill. I knew the major was in pretty good shape and liked to run and play basketball but I hadn’t realized he was in that good of shape. The size of the group got smaller and smaller as on we went. My tongue was hanging out but I was not going to give up and drop out. I stayed with him step for step.
When there were only five of the seventy officers and about a dozen of the enlisted men left we returned to our unit area. The major slowed the small group to a march and then a halt. I was the ranking officer left in the group. The major called me to the front of the group and told me to take charge of the group and to report to him in his tent when the unit was gathered from the hills of Grafenwoehr. I saluted and said, “Yes sir!”
The major walked off towards his tent and we were left standing there. As soon as the major was out of sight I told the little group to fall out and walk it off. As hard it was, the best thing to do was to walk and cool down the worn out leg muscles. We walked just a little bit and then fell down and panted for quite a bit. Slowly the stragglers came in from over the hills. I kept them all in the area and told them not to go any place because the major was going to come back and talk with us.
It took about an hour but eventually all of the troops came back. They were a sorry looking group. We formed them up and I went off to get the major. I went up to the major’s tent and reported that the unit was formed. He came out of the tent and said he would be right over to talk to the unit.
The major walked back and forth in front of the unit looking the troops over. Finally he stopped in the center of the group and started to speak. He informed the unit that he understood that we all had a good laugh about his firing the .38 revolver. Of course no one said a word or made any indication that what he heard was true. The major went on to tell the unit that they should never laugh at someone because they might be better at something that they are not. He went on to say that he liked to run and perhaps we would all like to run at his level. No one in the formation moved or spoke. Every soldier stood perfectly still. The major then told us to get cleaned up and go to breakfast and prepare for a day of training.
The major may have shown a weakness in firing the .38 revolver but he had demonstrated that he could out-run just about everyone and if we had kept going it might have been everyone. It is a dangerous and stupid thing to laugh at someone else’s weaknesses. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t have some strength that we can’t match up to and some weaknesses that make us look good. All of us can be embarrassed if we have to match up against someone else in his or her strong area. It is true that in combat you exploit the weaknesses of an enemy and cover the weaknesses of an ally. And because we can’t afford to have enemies it is always wise to count folks as our allies and help them in their weaknesses!
posted by Bruce | 8:35 PM
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