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USAREUR & Seventh Army Troops
USAREUR & Seventh Army
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

USAREUR & Seventh Army Troops History (1966-1971)

USAREUR & Seventh Army Cbt Spt Comd History (1966-1971)

Special Troops Gp

65th DPU

26th Spt Gp

15th Avn Gp (Cbt)

66th MI Gp

56th Arty Bde

7th Sig Bde

42nd MP Gp (Customs)

9th MP Gp (CI)

USAREUR Engr Topo Center
USAREUR History Projects
Ingo W. Trauschweitzer

Related Links
 
USAREUR & Seventh Army Troops History
1966 - 1971
HQ U.S. Army, Europe DUI
 
65th Data Processing Unit
1964
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, August 1, 1964)
All of the USAREUR Adjutant General Division data processing units are being consolidated this month at HQ USAREUR. The mission of the four units (4th DPU, 11th DPU, 36th DPU and 65th DPU) is to operate the Data Processing Branch of the AG Division. The Division collects, audits, and maintains personnel, organizational, and equipment data from personnel sections, administration centers and units.

Expected advantages of the consolidation: standardization of operating procedures; elimination of duplicate management functions at each DPU; availability of complete USAREUR-wide personnel and organization data; increased responsiveness to data services requirements of HQ USAREUR staff.
1965
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, August 16, 1965)
A large air-conditioned room at HQ USAREUR is home for the command's centralized automated data processing center. Information pertaining to the status of nearly 250,000 Army troops in the theater is stored and processed here using RCA 501 and RCA 301 computers. The center is staffed by 310 personnel and has an annual operating cost that exceeds $2,000,000.

The center has five data processing missions:
Personnel accounting and reporting
Organizational accounting
Evaluation of supplies and equipment
Evaluation of real property inventories
Accounting of dependents and civilian employees
Personnel Accounting and Reporting -- this is the largest of the missions. The records of every officer and enlisted man in the command is stored on eight reels of magnetic tape. Each personnel record contains twenty-five items, such as name, grade, unit, job specialty, rotation date and number of dependents.

Tape records for master files are created and updated daily, based on information from morning reports submitted by over 2,000 reporting units.

From the master files many recurring or one-time reports are prepared for staff agencies and Army headquarters in Washington. More than 400 reports are generated monthly.

Organizational Accounting -- reports are generated on more than 2,000 units detailing the type of organization, location and current and projected authorized unit strengths.
1968
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, July 23, 1968)

The 65th Data Processing Unit (TO/E 12-510E63) is located at Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg. The unit is under the command of Lt Col R. C. Brannock.


65th DPU, Heidelberg
 
It is one of 12 worldwide Army data processing centers that feeds personnel action reports and data into the Army's Data Support Command (Pentagon). Included is information regarding assignments, medical services, dependent schools, family housing and unit strength. For example, the 65th handles approximately 42,000 morning reports (daily strength accounting system) and 9,000 personnel data reports each month.

The unit maintains a Personnel Master List that is updated three times a week. The update entails correlating information from morning reports, personnel reports, personnel data cards and input from the four Personnel Service Companies in the USAREUR and Seventh Army command. (See map left for location and designation of PSC's.) (Webmaster Note: Personnel service companies provide automated personnel management support to non-divisional units.)

Each month the 65th transmits more than 1 million personnel cards to the Data Support Command and receives more than a half million cards from the DSC or the other eleven worldwide DP centers.

DP EQUIPMENT:
There are three basic sets of data processing equipment used by the 65th.
UNIVAC 1005 Card Processor -- small-scale digital computer; has 28 pieces of associated equipment. (The 1005 computer replaced conventional card punch machinery previously used in AG Automatic Data Processing sections.) (An interesting historical Link)

RCA 501 Computer -- large-scale computer; includes seven tape stations; and a 600-line per minute printer. The 501 has a 67,000 character memory storage capacity and a write-read capability of 33,333 characters per second.

RCA 301 Computer -- medium-scale computer; smaller than the 501, the 301 has a memory storage capability of 40,000 characters. Used primarily for input-output operations.

The RCA 501-301 system takes advantage of standardized personnel management software programs.

DOCTRINE: FM 12-2, June 1965 (AG Units in the Field Army)
Data Processing Units
Personnel Service Companies
1969

John Dispirito working on the UNIVAC 1005 at the 65th DPU
 

Course Certificate, 1968
 
(Source: Email from John C. Dispirito)

John at work in the Machine Room
  
I believe the 65th had the one Machine Room which is shown in the pictures that I sent you. 

The 65th was located in an "L" shaped building on Campbell Barracks. The Machine Room was in the verticle part of the "L". There were offices in the lower building (the bottom part of the "L")

Officially it was called the "PCM Room" (Punch Card Machine Room). Some staff called it the Machine Room as slang. The UNIVAC 1005 was in the rear of the PCM room. We had several IBM 083 Punch Card Sorters, an IBM 407 which we had to wire the boards in order to generate various printouts.


I don't remember any other computers being there when I got there in late 1968. I don't recall working on them. Each of the computers/card sorters I worked on were all located in the PCM Room. I don't recall any computers in any other parts of the "L" shaped building.

From what I can recall we processed the movement of troops, rosters for troop strength movement of dependant personnel and I believe the reports for troops being sent from Germany to Vietnam.

65th DPU
Campbell Bks, Heidelberg

 

1. 65th DPU Machine Room
2. 65th DPU Machine Room
3. 65th DPU Machine Room		  

4. 65th DPU Machine Room		  
 
 
USAREUR & Seventh Army Combat Support Command History
1971 - 19..
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, May 11, 1971)

USAREUR and Seventh Army Troops was redesignated as USAREUR and Seventh Army Combat Support Command on May 10, 1971.

The redesignation was necessary to avoid confusion between the USAREUR and Seventh Army Troops and one of its subordinate commands, the USAREUR and Seventh Army Special Troops Group, both located in Heidelberg.

Despite the change in name, the command retains its original mission: to provide through its subordinate commands (artillery, aviation, engineer, signal, military police and military intelligence units) combat support to HQ USAREUR and Seventh Army, Central Army Group and EUCOM.

The command was originally formed in 1966 with the merger of HQ USAREUR and HQ Seventh Army. Over 17,000 military and civilian personnel are assigned to the command. CG of the command is Maj Gen William R. Kraft.

Some of the command's major subordinate units are:
Special Troops Group, Patton Bks, Heidelberg
7th Signal Brigade, Coleman Bks, Sandhofen
15th Aviation Group (Combat), Dolan Bks, Schwäbisch Hall
56th Artillery Group, Bismarck Ksn, Schwäbisch Gmünd
66th Military Intelligence Group, McGraw Ksn, Munich
USAREUR Topographic Center, Schwetzingen

Newly attached to the Combat Support Command are:
42nd Military Police Group (Customs), Campbell Bks, Heidelberg
9th Military Police Group (Criminal Investigation Division), Kaiserslautern

 
Related Link
 Headquarters, US Army, Europe - Official website of the Army in Europe