good efficiency reports, and this went a long way toward assuaging the fears of
those who felt they would be passed over for promotions.
Q ..
Did you do anything else, other than involve the chain of command, to improve
maintenance?
A ..
Yes, we looked for ways by which we could keep our equipment in good shape.
For example, Hohenfels and Grafenwehr, where the tank gunnery tests were
conducted, were very muddy areas. There the tanks churned up mud and it was
particularly hard on the tanks. General O'Meara came up with a scheme of paving
large areas of the gunnery range with concrete. He had USAREUR engineers pave
hardstands the size of football fields. His theory was that teaching gunners to shoot
had little to do with teaching them to operate in muddy terrain. O'Meara also
provided warming tents where the soldiers could perform necessary maintenance
under more comfortable conditions. "Tankers will learn soon enough how to
maintain their equipment in combat. But you don't have to train at how to be
uncomfortable," he said. As a result he separated the two functions of gunnery and
maintenance. I, for one, was happy because it meant that USAREUR's tanks could
be kept combat ready.
Q ..
How about applying training to maintenance? Was that done?
A ..
Yes. General O'Meara ordered commanders to establish training schools for
mechanics. He also insisted that units practice doing maintenance in the field when
we were on maneuvers rather than have vehicles go back to the rear for routine
maintenance. This saved on the number of miles put on each tank, APC, and
vehicle. I recall that O'Meara gave awards and special recognition to commanders
of units who were able to perform maintenance while on the move. The units
getting to their assigned place in the defensive line with the largest percentage of
their vehicles would be singled out for special awards. In general, because of our
unusual situation where new equipment and supplies were siphoned off to Vietnam,
there was a great deal of attention and command supervision paid to maintenance.
Q ..
France had gone to the general depot concept in 1958. Were you still using the
general depot concept after you moved out of France?
A ..
Yes, we continued the general depot concept. But with our new third generation
computers we were able to take much of the strain off the depots. We did this in
two ways. First, software had been developed which allowed commanders to
record their planned training activities. This allowed for more particularized and
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