In the mid-1950's, the US Army initiated a system of unit overseas rotation known as "Gyroscope." Under the "Gyroscope" concept, an overseas unit would trade places with a like unit from the United States. On these moves, only individual equipment and weapons would be transported, the majority of the organic equipment remaining in place to be assumed by the new unit.

In the fall of 1956, the 9th Engineer Battalion was alerted to make a "Gyroscope" movement to Germany to replace the 35th Engineer Battalion in Kitzingen. It did not take long for excitement to mount as preparations for the move got underway. For many it would be the first trip outside of the United States. For others, it would be going back to a familiar land. For most it meant a change of routine, a change of scenery, without the sudden change of faces and names that had always gone with a move to a new station.

Those who were shipping automobiles to Europe made the trip from coast to coast by car, bringing their families with them. At the Brooklyn Army Terminal they joined the main body of the battalion which had departed from Fort Lewis by troop-train on 5 March 1957. Families and troops alike boarded the USNS Callan which cast off from its pier on the 11th. Problems with the ship's screw forced the Callan back to New York with less than a day at sea, but the voyage resumed the next day. The families and men stood at the rail and watched the Statue of Liberty once more fade from sight.

The ship pulled into Bremerhaven on the 1st of March. Dependents were put aboard one train, the troops on another. The two trains pulled into Kitzingen on the 22d and the men of the Ninth got their first glimpse of Harvey Barracks, their new home. Their counterparts from the 35th Engineer Battalion climbed onto the same trains and within a few weeks would he occupying the Ninth's old barracks at Fort Lewis.

SERVICE IN GERMANY
In Defense of Freedom

The Main is a picturesque river rising near the Czech border in the mountains of northeast Bavaria. Following a serpentine route in a general westerly direction it flows through the vineyards of Franconia, finally joining the Rhine River near the cities of Mainz and Wiesbaden. With the aid of an extensive series of dams and locks, the river is navigable to the city of Bamberg, where flat-bottomed barges and boats may enter the Regnitz Canal. Moving downstream from Bamberg, the Main flows through the industrial city of Schweinfurt, then veers southward to pass through Kitzingen and Ochsenfurt. It then swings toward the north through the Lower Franconian capital of Wuerzburg until it is forced southward again by the Spessart Mountains. Skirting the eastern, southern, and western edges of the wooded Spessarts, it follows a beautiful valley leading into Aschaffenburg and then enters a broad plain as it passes through Hanau, bisects the modern city of Frankfurt, and joins the Rhine for its journey to the North Sea.

The town of Kitzingen, with a population in the vicinity of 18,500, lies on the right bank of the Main River in the district known as Lower Franconia. Along the narrow streets in the center of town can be seen buildings, churches, and towers dating back to the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. It is one of the centers of the Franconian wine industry.

The 9th Engineer Battalion proceeded to settle down in its new home. Before long a five-day field exercise was scheduled to give the officers, NCO's, and men an opportunity to get acquainted with the terrain on which they might have to fight. The first of a series of annual inspections by the Inspector General was conducted and the unit rated superior. An army training test was given the battalion and an overall score in excess of 95% was achieved. This score earned a superior rating and a six-day training holiday for the battalion. It soon became apparent to the commander of the 37th Engineer Group, the superior headquarters of the Ninth, that this newly arrived unit was in the peak of condition. This was confirmed when the new arrival entered and won the 37th Group demolition competition, the first of a long line of successes which in the next five years would earn the battalion trophies for communications (1958), rifle marksmanship (1959, 1960), pistol marksmanship (1959, 1960), panel bridge construction (1959), float bridge construction (1960, 1961) and many athletic tournaments.

With less than a year in their new home at Kitzingen, the 9th Engineer Battalion was ordered to move to new quarters at Smith Barracks in Aschaffenburg. The move was made by motor convoy in November of 1957, arriving in time to get settled down for the big Thanksgiving dinner. The following January the battalion was designated a permanent V Corps attachment and given the authority to replace the Seventh Army shoulder patch with the blue and white pentagon of V Corps.

Aschaffenburg, a city of 55,000 inhabitants, is located downstream from Kitzingen along the Main River in the extreme northeast corner of Bavaria. Since serving as an ancient Roman outpost, it has grown in size and importance until today it claims to be the center of the West German men's clothing industry. It is proud to be called "The Gateway to the Spessart Mountains." To the visitor and resident alike, it offers several beautiful parks for relaxation after visits to the Johannisburg Castle, the 10th century Basilica Church, or a stroll through the narrow streets of the old Fisherman's Quarter.

In February of 1958, the battalion participated in the major field training exercise "Sabre Hawk." This maneuver involved the majority of the Seventh Army units and required extensive coordination with the West German Army, the Bundeswehr. For the Ninth, the exercise culminated with the construction, under very difficult conditions, of a floating bridge on the Main River near Wertheim.

Another major maneuver was conducted during January and February of 1960. This was the highly publicized exercise "Wintershield" which involved virtually the entire Seventh Army and troops from the Bundeswehr and French Army. The battalion took the field and did its fighting in the area between Bayreuth and the Seventh Army major training area at Grafenwoehr. The following winter the Ninth was again called out on a similar exercise, "Wintershield II." Few who participated in these long arduous problems will forget the snow, the cold, the mud, and the many difficulties encountered by an army in the field.

Between these large-scale maneuvers the battalion engaged in several division-level field exercises and conducted annual training in the mountainous terrain of the Wildflecken training area. Annual float bridge training was conducted on the Main River at the Campo Pond training site near Hanau, in preparation for the yearly crossing of the Rhine River at Leeheim. An experiment was successfully carried out during the 1958 bridging at Leeheim, when an Army helicopter was used to transport the pre-constructed anchorage towers from the near to the far shore.

In addition to a heavy schedule of routine training, the battalion was committed on tasks which proved their skill in all phases of combat engineering. An access road to the training areas at Wildflecken Post was started in 1958. The formal opening ceremonies took place on 30 September 1959 with the V Corps commander, Lieutenant General Paul D. Adams, officiating. Assisting the Ninth on this job were the 299th and 317th Engineer Combat Battalions, the 568th Light Equipment Company (all from the 37th Group) and elements of the 7th Engineer Construction Brigade.

In the summer of 1958, a flare-up in the Cold War resulted in the dispatch of an expeditionary force to Lebanon. One of the battalions of the 37th Group, the 299th Combat Battalion, was moved with short notice into the troubled area. The Ninth responded to a sudden call for personnel and transferred 100 of its men to the Lebanon-bound outfit. Upon the return of the 299th to Germany, the men were given the opportunity of returning to their former unit and the majority returned happily to the 9th Engineer Battalion and their Aschaffenburg home.

On 13 December 1958, the 9th Engineer Battalion was expanded by the addition of Company D. The company, which was formed by a redesignation of Company A, 63rd Engineer Battalion, was originally located at Giessen, Germany, and remained there until the following March when the move to Aschaffenburg was completed.

On 1 December 1961, the battalion was relieved of attachment to the 37th Engineer Group at Hanau and attached to the 540th Engineer Group with headquarters in Kornwestheim, Germany. With the change, the men of the battalion removed their V Corps shoulder patches and sewed on the big red star of VII Corps.

With the transfer to VII Corps attachment, the unit began to do their twice-yearly training at the Seventh Army Training Areas of Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr instead of on the reservation at Wildflecken. The battalion began moving to the field more frequently, as they provided engineer support to the divisions of VII Corps on their annual week-long field training exercises. On these exercises, the majority of which were held during winter months, the Ninth rendered a variety of support. On some it augmented the divisional engineer battalions in the accomplishment of engineer tasks. On others the battalion was charged with the responsibility of controlling, reporting, and repairing maneuver damage. They had already gained considerable experience in the latter field while serving under V Corps. In the summer of 1961, Company D spent several months at Grafenwoehr straightening out the damage done during "Wintershield II." During November 1961, the Ninth was charged by the V Corps commander with the responsibility for establishing a tight control and reporting system for maneuver damage created by the 3rd Armored Division and the 8th Infantry Division on exercises "Brandywine" and "Main Barge." Company D spent several months in 1962 and 1963 repairing maneuver damage near the town of Osterburken.

Construction experience was gained by the battalion in many ways. Projects were assigned which assisted the German communities in the vicinity of Aschaffenburg. These German-American projects generally consisted of sport-field construction, the earthwork connected with civic or church enterprises, or the emergency use of heavy equipment to alleviate unexpected problems. During May of 1962, Company B went to the Grafenwoehr Training Area to do light construction work on the ranges of the reservation. Each of the companies engaged, at one time or another, in small construction projects for the military units at Aschaffenburg. Several HAWK missile sites were also built by the men of the 9th Engineer Battalion.

Float bridge training continued with the unit spending a dozen or so days each year on the Rhine River. In general the training site near Leeheim was used, but in 1962 the bridge was put in near the city of Speyer. Additional periods of float bridge training were scheduled in the summer of 1962 on the Danube near Gross Mehring; and panel bridge training was carried out in the beautiful Altmuhl Valley near Riedenburg.

So, with many days each year being spent away from their home station of Aschaffenburg, the 9th Engineer Battalion continued intensive training to keep prepared for that ever-present possibility, the outbreak of war. While the diplomats conferred, negotiated, and sued for peace, the 9th Engineer Battalion, with its many comrades in the Seventh Army, maintained itself in a combat-ready posture. With the Iron Curtain only a few miles away, the battalion was truly serving on "Freedom's Frontier."