Memories from Stuttgart and the 31st MP Det
(Page 1 of 2 Pages): CPT, MPC, George Kundahl, former Stuttgart MP Station Commander at Robinson Barracks, 31st MP Detachment sent his reflections from his assignment with the 31st MP Detachment for posting onto the site. " I served as station commander at Stuttgart from 2 Jan 67 until late Sept 68 in the rank, initially, of first lieutenant and, then most of the time, as captain. Arriving at the Stuttgart Bahnhof, I was met by the colonel's driver, CPL Prusse, and taken to Robinson Barracks. The following day, I encountered my first flap. The blade of a helicopter landing at a pad between the PX and a school was struck by a stone thrown by a precocious youngster, cracking it at a cost of $10,000. This quickly introduced me to the S.I.R. (Serious Incident Report) and resulted in dispatching a patrol to the pad anytime a chopper was expected for the remainder of my tour. LTC Arthur Bliss was the provost marshal and commander of the 31st MP Det. He was very kind to me, an obligated ROTC officer. A man of large girth, Bliss was periodically warned by the post commander to remain indoors when GEN O?Meara was visiting from USAREUR, because the CG was adamant about his soldiers being fit, and Bliss would have caused everybody trouble if he had been seen. He was also not in good health, so I spent a good deal of my time filling in for him, as well as running the station. Bliss died just a few months after I rotated out.I was immediately impressed by the top sergeant, MSG Martin Tyndale. First of all, Top knew the regs. Off the top of his head he would tell me where to find the requirement to do something. For someone new to the army, this was amazing. As a captain, I could only afford a Volkswagen for myself, wife and two sons. Top drove a Mercedes. "DUTY, JUSTICE AND LOYALTY"
Posted by Richard Burch Dec 28 2007 06:35:10:000PM
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