________________________________________________________________________Richard S. Kem
nature of the tests, almost like rotations to the National Training Center today, everything
stopped to make sure that the ADM platoon made it unscathed through this rigorous
inspection.
First Lieutenant Kem (right) watched a motor pool vehicle inspection
in West Germany in November 1958.
So, that's the way it was in every engineer battalion in Europe. Then one day someone had
the bright idea, "If we could put all this back in one location, we'd probably provide better
support. Oh, by the way, get all these battalion commanders off the hook." So, they made an
ADM company in each engineer brigade. Thus, when I arrived to command the 7th Engineer
Brigade later, I had the 275th ADM Company. I don't remember the numbers, but we had
something like six platoons, 300 people, and I don't know how many ADM teams. Lots.
Inspections were an every-week occurrence. I think we counted up that we had an inspection
of one kind 48 of the 52 weeks a year, somewhere, involving one of the ADM platoons and
some infantry task force that had to provide the security. So, whereas we used to have an
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