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73rd
Signal Battalion |
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| Battalion History | ||||||||||||||||||
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73rd Signal
Battalion DUI |
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| (Source: Email from Darryl Tabb, 4th DPU, 1986-89) | ||||||||||||||||||
I was a member of the 73rd Sig BN, 4th Data Processing Unit (4th DPU) from 1986-89, where we provided signal support for the 59th ORD Bde.
The 73rd had three (3) of these units: 1. 4th DPU - Husterhoeh Ksn, Pirmasens
2. 7th DPU - Kaiserslautern
3. 9th DPU - Kreuzberg Ksn, Zweibrucken
The also had the 270th and 267th Signal Companies. There were probably other units in the Battalion that I didn't know about, but being an E-4 and a 94B10, I was not often kept in the loop.
In 1988, the 4th DPU and the 276th Sig Co merged into the 4th DPU. I, was shipped to the 9th DPU at Zweibrücken, Kreuzberg Kaserne, I still remember a lot about both of these post. The biggest thing I remember is the fact that everyone treated everyone like family.
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| If you have more information on the history or organization of the 73rd Signal Battalion, please contact me. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Pirmasens AUTODIN | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Pirmasens AUTODIN website - http://autodin.pirmasens.army.mil/Default.html; now a dead link) | ||||||||||||||||||
| History
of the Pirmasens AUTODIN Switching Center By L. West Sunderland The earliest drawings still on site reflect construction being completed in late 1966. The site was turned over by the USAREUR Engineers on January 4th 1967. However, due to some wrangling amongst agencies, the first live traffic didn't pass until early 69. From that birth, the Pirmasens ASC has progressed through a myriad of personnel and hardware changes. Through the more than thirty years and all the changes, the Pirmasens Germany ASC upheld the proud tradition of service provided by the Automatic Digital Network. The mission was important, always completed and always with pride. Over the many years, Pirmasens was often selected as the best in Europe. We often received the European Switch of the year award. When we didn't, we still thought we should have. The following is a brief synopsis of some of the highpoints. Pirmasens originated as an Army O&M responsibility. For the first three to four years maintenance was performed by the installation contractor, "Philco Ford". The operation of the facility was the responsibility of assigned Army Personnel "Green Suiters". The earliest military unit at the local level was STRATCOM Facility Pirmasens (Strategic Communications Command). An oversized battalion of around 800 Army Signal Corps members. Approximately 200 of these personnel were directly involved in running the Pirmasens ASC. In early 1974 STRATCOM Pirmasens was redesignated the 73rd Signal Battalion under the 5th Signal Command. Within the 73rd Signal Battalion, the 270th Signal Company was tasked with operating and maintaining the AUTODIN Switching Center. Our sister company, the 267th Signal Company was tasked with operating and maintaining the Primary Technical Control facility. From that point, although there were many changes in personnel, the unit designation remained constant until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent draw down of troop strength within Europe. We were passed from hand to hand like an orphan. The 270th Signal Company colors were retired in 1993, the command and control passed on to the 327th Signal Company, 302nd Signal Battalion. The 302nd Signal Battalion was deactivated mid 1994, the command and control passed on to the 181st Signal Company, 43rd Signal Battalion. Early 1994 the Pirmasens AUTODIN underwent a major change of personnel. The fall of the Berlin Wall captured another victim. All military personnel were phased out in the early nineties. The transition to 37 Government Service Civilians for all sections except 5 Civilian Maintenance Personnel and 2 On-site Programming Contractor Personnel was complete in 1994. Our compliment of civilian workers was filled out primarily by transfers from our sister switches around the world. That is our current state today. Still running along nicely. Passing traffic, doing a great job, making very little noise and trying to beat the next cutback. The compliment of personnel consisted of and still does of very highly motivated professionals. A typical compliment of personnel during the rein of the military would have been around 200 military. The "Day Ladies" or straight day workers numbered in the forties. This is excluding the military unit management. On site was an Officer in Charge (OIC) of the site, at first a Lieutenant or Captain. This position later became a senior Warrant Officer position. The assistant or Station Chief was a Sergeant Major position. The major branches were Operations, Communications Security (COMSEC), Maintenance, Special Security Office, Patch and Test, Programming and later the Security /MP Force. Each of these branches had at least one Warrant or Commissioned Officer in Charge and all but two had a Master Sergeant as NCOIC. |
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| The first major
change in personnel occurred in June of 1988. Maintenance went from
"Green Suit" to being contracted out. CONTEL assumed that maintenance
responsibility with the advent of OPS 16. CONTEL later merged with
GTE in 1991. After ten successful years the CONTEL/GTE contract was
over. SAIC took over the maintenance in December 1996 and is currently
conducting the maintenance of the AUTODIN equipment on site. At the same time as Maintenance, the programming shop went contract. The OSP duties have been ably performed by DSA programmers from June 1988 to present. Under the watchful eye of DCA, Operations was performed by U. S. Army AUTODIN experts. It was like a large family. After a while, no matter what AUTODIN Site you went to in the world, you would find someone you knew or heard of from a previous assignment. It is difficult to be brief on a lifetime of work and the dedication of so many, many "AUTODIN FOLKS". So excuse a little bit of nostalgia. What do you remember from the fielding of past OPS changes? Reminisce with us! Remember OPS 5 or 8? The history tapes opening and immediately closing and walking through every tape drive in the house until you couldn't open a history and were down for an hour reload. Parameter tapes? The change out of the drums in 74. Odd and even taps. All the hardware upgrades. All the flux and change and still passing that traffic. AUTODIN is truly a family network. A collection of people and hardware transcending the hopes of its originators. The Pirmasens Automatic Digital Information Switching Center continues to be a proud member of the AUTODIN Family. More AUTODIN History can be obtained from Tino Randall's AUTODIN Summit 2000 Webpage "http://www.pretek.com/autodin/history/history.html" |
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| (Source: ECHO, June 10 1991; Pirmasens ASC Home Page, Nov 1998) | ||||||||||||||||||
The earliest drawings still on site reflect construction being completed
in late 1966. Pirmasens ASC
originated as an Army O & M responsibility. For the first three to
four years, maintenance was performed by the installation contractor,
Philco-Ford. The operation of the facility was the responsibility
of assigned Army personnel. The AUTODIN Switching
Center in Pirmasens traces its inception back to November 15 1966,
with the acceptance of the newly constructed AUTODIN building (on
Husterhoeh Kaserne) by the CG, USASTRATCOM. The site was turned
over by the USAREUR Engineers on Jan 4 1967. However, due to some
wrangling between agencies, the first live traffic did not pass until
early 1969. The earliest military
unit at the local level was designated STRATCOM
Facility Pirmasens. It was an oversized battalion
of around 800 Signal Corps personnel. Approximately 200 of these soldiers
were directly involved in running the Pirmasens ASC. In January 1967,
the European Data Gateway Station was phased out of operation and
the ASC assumed responsibility for its data circuits. On June 30 1969,
the Torn Tape Relay Center at Pirmasens phased out of operation and
the ASC assumed the majority of teletype circuits, and began activating
high speed data circuits. On August 18 1970,
the first NATO communications center was activated in Kindsbach utilizing
the capabilities of the Pirmasens ASC. In March 1972,
the contractor-owned and maintained IBM 360-20 computer at the Pirmasens
ASC was replaced by a government-owned, operated and maintained Digital
Subscriber Terminal Equipment (DSTE) terminal. In May 1972, the
ASC implemented the OPS-5 program. This program provided selected
subscriber access for the integration of Defense Special Security
Communications System message traffic into the AUTODIN network, and
resulted in the activation of a second DSTE terminal at the ASC. In May 1973, the
installation of the Uninterrupted Power Supply by-pass system was
completed. In early 1974,
STRATCOM Pirmasens was redesignated as the 73rd
Signal Bn under the command of 5th Signal Command.
Within the 73rd Signal Bn, the 270th Signal Co was tasked with operating
and maintaining the AUTODIN Switching Center. The 267th Signal Co,
also located in Pirmasens, was tasked with operating and maintaining
the Primary Technical Control facility. On May 1 1975,
the 270th Signal Co was reactivated in Pirmasens and assigned to the
73rd Signal Bn. The authorized strength of the Company was 7 officers,
120 enlisted men and 5 DAC personnel. In May 1978, the
Pirmasens ASC activated the first European Automated Multi-Media Exchange
(AMME) in Heidelberg. May 1980, the
ASC activated the Lahr Terminal, the first AUTODIN service available
to Canadian subscribers. In June 1980,
the ASC activated the Hehn TARE circuit which provided the BAOR AUTODIN
service. Also, the AUTODIN system was upgraded to an interactive disk-based
system and the antiquated tape drives were removed. In September 1981,
DCA selected the Pirmasens ASC as the site for OPS software implementation
for the European Theater. Typical ORGANIZATION
during these years: 200 personnel (military and DAC)  OIC NCOIC Operations Br (seven
sections, 65 personnel) COMSEC Br (three
sections, 24 personnel) Maintenance Br (six
sections, 45 personnel) Special Security
Office (a CPT and later a SFC) Patch and Test Br
(two sections, 21 personnel) Programming Br (4
personnel) Security Br (added
at a later date) four shifts, 11 MPs In April 1985,
the 270th Signal Co assumed the responsibility of the Intermediate
Support Unit for COMSEC Maintenance and Software Support for the 73rd
Signal Bn. In June 1988,
the responsibility for maintenance went from the Army to a contractor.
CONTEL assumed that maintenance responsibility with the advent of
OPS-16. CONTEL later merged with GTE in 1991. At the same time, the
programming shop went contract with DSA programmers performing the
OSP (on-site programming) duties up to the present. In 1993, the colors
of the 270th were retired. Command and control of the Pirmasens ASC
was passed on to the 327th
Signal Co, 302nd Signal Bn. In mid 1994, the
302nd Signal Bn was inactivated and command and control of the facility
was reassigned to the 181st
Signal Co, 43rd Signal Bn. Early in 1994,
the Pirmasens AUTODIN underwent a major change of personnel. All military
personnel were phased out. The transition to 37 Government Service
civilians in addition to 5 Civilian Maintenance personnel and 2 on-site
Programming Contractor personnel was completed in 1994. In Dec 1996, after
the ten year CONTEL/GTE contract was over, SAIC took over the maintenance
of the site and this contractor is currently still performing the
maintenance of the AUTODIN equipment on site. |
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| 1966 - 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Bill Gilroy , Pirmasens STRATCOM Fac, 1966-68) | ||||||||||||||||||
| I was stationed at the Pirmasens STRATCOM Facility from 01/1966 through 07/1968 as a 72B20, Communication Center Specialist. Although we were a major communications relay station, every message was manually processed using paper tape received from microwave transmissions. At the time of my rotation, AutoDin was still under construction, however buddies of mine still at the facility stated AutoDin went online in 1969. Unfortunately I don’t have any information as to when the relay station ‘officially’ transferred control and processing to AutoDin. Statcom’s Pirmasens communication center was highly secure and compact. The center housed 4 main groups… (1) ‘The floor’ ( (2) microwave, (3) hardware maintenance, and a (4) backup power station. In early 1967, the comm center was fully staffed operating 3 eight hour shifts with approx 75 men and women per shift. At the latter part of 1967, during the buildup of troops in The comm center itself was a major relay station, handling traffic worldwide. All messages were received via paper tape. The incoming messages were segregated, routed, and transmitted within 30 minutes. There were only 2 computers used on the floor -- Univac AMARS and RECALL. AMARS was a computerized message splitter that was used when a message had multiple destinations. The comm center went into a no drill full alert mode four times during my tour from 1/1967 – 7/1968: -- 1st was the result of the midair collision when a B52 and a refueling tanker collided over the coast of -- 2nd was when an Eastern Block fighter pilot defected to the west in his MIG. -- 3rd was when the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli fighters and torpedo boats, and -- 4th was the TET Offensive. |
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| (Source: Email from Michael Wilkerson, 1974-79) | ||||||||||||||||||
I was stationed at Pirm from Jan 1974 to Nov 1979. At the time I arrived I was assigned to Troop Command, Signal Facility-Pirmasens. After a while Signal Facility-Pirmasens became the 73rd Signal Battalion and all were assigned to the 267th Signal Company. It wasn't until a little later that the Switch Folks transitioned to the 270th Signal Company. The 73rd had companies in Zweibruecken, 327th Sig Co, Kaiserlautern 298th Sig Co (SATCOM at Landstuhl) and a small SATCOM detachment in Berlin.
I was working in the COMSEC Branch, where my OIC was CW2 Peter Ullmann and later CW2 Ault. The OIC of the ASC was CW4 Lee and we had an E8 as the NCOIC who was later replaced by SGM Voss. During slack time personnel would move around areas to work patch and test, traffic service and ops, however because of the uniqueness of the COMSEC Branch we didn't have many visitors.
Pirmasens was probably my best assignment and I even stayed my enlistment an extra year. Now I look at the evolvement of communications especially the transition of legacy AUTODIN to DMS, it can be said we've come a long way. I wish all a good Veteran's Day and as we said at Ft. Huachuca, "STRATCOM, around the world" |
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| (Source: Email from Dave Mason, Pirmasens ASC, 1974-76) Was just reading with great interest and nostalgia your 73rd Signal Battalion web site. Good stuff! I was stationed in Pirmasens and worked at the Switch from 1974-1976. I was wondering if you knew if the base and/or the Switch was still open for business? I had tracked the history of the ASC through the latest entry that was on your website, where you had indicated that in December, 1996, SAIC had taken over maintenance of the site and was continuing to do so "currently"......but I didn't know what the date of that "current" entry was. So, I guess the ASC must have closed sometime in 1997 or later? Do you know if the building is used for anything anymore or was it just abandoned when the newer system came online somewhere else? I sure hope you don't mind my questions. I'm just very hungry for all of the tidbits of info on what has gone on in Pirmasens since my departure in 1976. I actually got married there in 1974 to a gal that I had met when I was in school at Ft. Monmouth (which, by the way, is now to be closed as a result of the most recent BRAC) and my wife and I returned to Pirmasens for a visit in 1999 for our 25th anniversary. Both Husterhoeh Kaserne and the post just down the road in Munchweiler (where the 270th Signal company was barracked for a period of time) had just been reduced to ghost towns. Also, when we were there in 1999, the two lane road that ran between Husterhoeh and Munchweiler was under construction, being widened to four lanes. I'll gladly write more when I have time and contribute some of my memories and experiences from my Pirmasens tour. We have lots of pleasant memories from those times. Real quick: I worked with W3 Ken Carter, who was mentioned in one of the articles on your site. My MOS was 32D (technical controller) so I spent most of my tour working in Patch and Test at the ASC but the last 4 or 5 months or so, I actually transferred from being the midnight trick chief in P and T to being a Day Lady in the office of the Site Chief, which at the time, was another Warrant Officer whose name eludes me but Ken was his assistant at that time and worked in that office as well. Dave |
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| 267th Signal Company | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: ECHO, April 1984) | ||||||||||||||||||
The responsibilities of the 267th Signal Company in Pirmasens include
operating and maintaining fixed station communications equipment, including  Pirmasens Dial Central Office Lohnsfeld MARS gateway station Pirmasens microwave station and telecommunications center high-frequency transmitter and receiver sites scattered throughout the countryside |
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| (See Worms Page for recent photos of the former Lohnsfeld Communications Station) | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Rodney Weihert ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| I worked at the remote site in Lohnsfeld, HF Receiver site. We supported VIP's in the air with HF, the Navy in the Mediterranean, provided phone patch comm for the Marines in Beiruit in '83, and assorted other Army operations. Also, we maintained the MARS site, 1USA, the gateway to Europe for unofficial morale calls and messages. We worked with the Primasens Tech Control, who also supported the HF Transmitter site in Pirmasens. I was there from 1982 to 1984. I heard they tore the site in Lohnsfeld down, along with the antenna farm. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 270th Signal Company | ||||||||||||||||||
Email from Sue Tully - CO, 270th Sig Co, Sept 1980 - |
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| (Source: Community Times, Pirmasens Military Community, May 15, 1977) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Communicating - bigtime by Ben Lockerd Clear down at the windy end of this ridge called Husterhöhe, next to the "antenna farm", is a fenced-in building which is always guarded by a couple of military policemen. Do they store top-secret weapons there? No, it's just a message center. The reason it's such a big deal is that it is the main communications link between the armed forces in the States and those here. It is operated by the 270th Signal Company. Of course, very few of the messages coming through the switching center are top secret. A lot of day-to-day business is carried on through the "switch"; it sends and receives about 55,000 messages a day, according to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kenneth L. Carter, the officer in charge. This switch is the center for 85 different communications centers, or "tributaries". It is tied in with two identical centers in England and ltaly and, with other centers in the U.S. The whole system is called the Automatic Digital Network (AUTODIN). It's all computerized, of course, but the message load is often so heavy that they don't catch up until the middle of the night or the weekend (they work 24 hours a day, in three shifts). The limitation seems to be in the receiving commo centers rather than in the switch. Priority messages, however, can always go around the world in a few minutes. The switch is tied in with various communications media, including telephone lines and the high-frequency radio receiver at the antenna farm (where each tower receives a certain frequency). Messages are typed into the computer at one switching center, encoded, sent, and then decoded by the computer at the other end. Most messages are typed out by high-speed teletype machines (which are responsible for the wavy lines that boggle readers' minds). But there is also a computer print-out machine at the switch which prints a line at a time, at the rate of 900 lines per minute. |
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| 298th Signal Company | ||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Stephen B. Weber) | ||||||||||||||||||
After watching the dedication of the WW2 Memorial today, I got the motivation to try and do a little research on my Army experience. So here goes....
I enlisted into the Army in July of 1974. I was studying Electronics in jr. college back then and decided that computers was really gonna hit it big. So I enlisted, spent 53-weeks at Fort Monmouth, NJ in the DSTE program. (Wish I would have chosen AUTODIN 34H). At any rate, I ended up being assigned to 5th Sig Comd, 2nd Sig Gp, 73rd Sig Bn, 298th Sig Co in Kaiserslautern. I ended up being sent to a detachment in Bad Kreuznach, which is the HQ for 8th Infantry Division. While there, I extended my enlistment (3-yrs) 1 year. During that time, the Battalion Co was LTC Griggs and CSM Downs. The 5th Sig CO was BG Joseph C. Racke, and CSM Sousa. Greatest experience of my life !
I remember going to Donnersburg (Autovon Switch) and dealing with a lot of Microware relay problems ( 26V's is their MOS). I got an ARCOM for converting Siemens Telephone Exchange Part numbers to NSN's. That was fun working with the German Techs.
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| (Source: Email from Dave Storms) | ||||||||||||||||||
| I was in the 298th Signal Company from the fall of 1975 to late in
the 1970's. I was stationed at DCS Station Donnersberg because there was
an opening there for a Tech Controller in the AUTOVON switch although I
had received AUTODIN training.
After about a year I was re-assigned to the Company HQ at
Kasierslautern and worked for 6 months in the DCO. Then I was assigned
to the DCS Station Kaiserslautern, a microwave relay station to
Donnersberg for the Kasierslautern area. During that time we received
several citations including DCS Station of the year (I can get the year
off of my certificate if you would like).
Then I was "drafted" to create a brand new tech control facility for the Landstuhl Sateliite Station and transferred to the 58th Signal Company. I left Germany in January 1981 and started my civilian career using skills learned from my service years to work for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, IBM, and Aerojet (now purchased my Northop Grumman). |
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| Related Links: CommCenter Yahoo Group  - this is a discussion group with focus on Communications Centers (fixed-station, tactical, mobile and shipboard). (Facilities covered include teletype, torn tape relay, AUTODIN and DMS.) Membership is restricted. |
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