Deutschland Diary - 1

Deutschland Diary – 1

9/4/84

Today is Seann’s birthday.  I am not there to celebrate it because I am on my way to Germany to participate in an army exercise called Return Forces to Germany or REFORGER for short.  This exercise is held each year and consists of moving an army division, usually, from their home base in the United States to Germany.  Once there they participate in a gigantic field exercise, pitting the state side division against the U.S. Division  stationed in Germany. The idea is to let the Soviets know that we still had the resolve and ability to move a large number of troops on short notice quickly.

It will be a great experience for me and the guardsman I will accompany.  On a more personal note I realize that I will be the first McAnally to cross the Atlantic going east and only the second McAnally to visit a foreign country.  My dad spent time in Korea.

Marty and kids drove me to Sedalia armory.  From there are band of brothers boarded a bus and immediately the driver went the wrong way.  We missed a turn in outside Little Rock, Arkansas and ended up lost for awhile.  We did drive by the State House where my great great Grandfather Copeland was discharged from the civil war according to family documents.  About ten hours later we arrived at Ft. Polk, Louisiana.

9/7/84

Things are very unorganized here in Ft. Polk, or so it seems to me.

This morning we got up at 0400 to catch a truck at 0500 that would take us to the chow hall so we could eat at 0600 only to find out it did not open until 0630.  We did not eat because we were supposed to be at a processing center at the same time.  Typical army hurry up and wait.

Processing consisted of standing in line, carrying our two duffel bags through a warehouse and being stopped several times to sign papers and answer questions.  There was a screened off area where you could go behind with your duffel bags and unload anything that you needed to dispose of after being told in the line that that you could not take with you.  It was called the amnesty area.

We then were trucked to a gymnasium, made to line our nap sacks in a line and let drug dogs sniff the contents while we all sat in bleachers waiting for the dogs to finish.  Half way through the sniffing all the dogs seemed to congregate around one certain nap pack.  So did the MP’s.  Pretty soon an announcement was made over the intercom for Major Jerry Sonderegger to come forward. 

Jerry walked to where the MP’s and dogs were and opened his pack for them to explore further.  They confiscated a large jar of peanuts.  It was considered contraband and not allowed.

We were then trucked to a large opened area to wait for more busses to come by and pick us up and take us to our departure area.  We waited for over four hours.  Eventually we all piled on busses and drove to the landing strip.  We began loading, all 500 of us, on a 747 Jumbo Jet.