Troops from the 5th Surgical Hospital stationed in Ft. Knox, Kentucky stand in formation. Maj. Callie Carson — the only woman involved in Reforger I — was the chief nurse of the 5th. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
This article first appeared in Stars and Stripes’ Europe edition Jan. 21, 1969. It is republished unedited in its original form.
NUERNBERG, Germany — Despite bad weather, Reforger I’s debut in Nuernberg was a spectacular show of timing and coordination, seemingly without opening-day jitters.
The show began early Monday with a brass-band review for the first arrivals. There were speeches and handshakes.
The show opened when the 5th Surgical Hospital from Ft. Knox, Ky., marched out of the first swoop-winged C141 StarLifter — the workhorse heavy in this production.
The spearhead of the main body of the Reforger I combat troops touched down Jan. 20, 1969, in the first of 63 C141 StarLifters bringing 5,000 soldiers here in two days for the climax of the dual-based Army/Air Force exercise. The two services would link up Jan. 29 in Grafenwoehr for Operation Carbide Ice. The units involved were committed to NATO, but based in the United States. Carbide Ice — the first test of the dual-based concept — had been scheduled for later in the year, but the timetable was advanced after the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Gen. Donald V. Bennett, VII Corps commander, addresses the arriving Reforger I troops with Maj. Gen. James T. McGibony, USAREUR and Seventh Army surgeon, standing next to him. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
Cargo is offloaded off of the C141 StarLifter of the Military Airlift Command needed for the Reforger I/ Carbide Ice dual Air Force/Army exercise. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
Maj. Callie Carson, the hospital’s chief nurse, is the only woman involved in Reforger I.
She and Capt. Robert Turman, hospital commander, led their units, dressed in pressed fatigues and bright scarves, behind a flowing guidon.
More than 70 newsmen from many nations, including Spain, Italy, Holland, Japan and the United States, hurried around, snapping cameras and gathering interviews.
About 200 Germans watched the show. Cars lined the incoming roads, creating a mild traffic bottleneck at the airport.
Troops emerge from a C141 StarLifter. In total 63 StarLifters brought 5,000 soldiers here in two days for the climax of the dual-based Army/Air Force exercise. The two services will link up January 29th in Grafenwoehr for Operation Carbide Ice. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
Cargo is offloaded off of the C141 StarLifter of the Military Airlift Command as part of the Reforger I/Carbide Ice exercise. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
The German Army band was on hand to greet the Reforger I/Carbide Ice arrivals at Nuernberg Municipal Airport. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
Cargo is offloaded off of the C141 StarLifter of the Military Airlift Command as part of the Reforger I/Carbide Ice exercise. (Joe Wesley/Stars and Stripes)
Scene two wasn’t as grand, but there was still a brass band. The 4th Armd. Div. band greeted the second aircraft to land, which contained the first of the 24th Inf. Div. units to arrive.
The troops marched out of the StarLifter with gas masks, packs and rifles on their shoulders. They climbed into trucks and were shuttled to a railway pick-up point, where they left for Grafenwoehr.
Meanwhile, it was curtains for Rhein-Main Air Base, when weather conditions prevented the big jets from landing. It was previously planned that the C141s would drop the troops in Nuernberg. Then every other flight would go to Rhein-Main or Fuerstenfeldbruck in Munich.
The planes were to refuel, change crews and roar back to the United States. But a ceiling of 200 feet and a visibility of less than half a mile ended the airport’s role in Reforger I.
Brig. Gen. Hugh E. Wild, senior commander of the European Airlift Control Element, said that the increased air traffic to Fuerstenfeldbruck would not disturb the airlift.
Lt. Gen. Donald V. Bennett, VII Corps commander, addresses the arriving Reforger I troops, with Gen. Howell M. Estes Jr. and German Lt. Gen. K. W. Thilo behind him. (Joe Wesley)
Maj. Callie Carson is the only woman involved in Reforger I; she is the chief nurse of the 5th Surgical Hospital from Fort Knox, Ky. (Joe Wesley)
Gen. Howell M. Estes Jr., commander of the Military Airlift Command, addresses the arriving troops, with German Lt. Gen. K.W. Thilo, Lt. Gen. Donald V. Bennett and Maj. Gen. James T. McGibony behind him. (Joe Wesley)
At Camp Aachen in the Grafenwoehr training area, vehicles and barracks are ready for the 5,000 Reforger I troops who will be brought here during the 36-hour airlift operation.
M. Sgt. Gerald Hostetler, operations sergeant for the 2nd Brigade of the 24th Inf. Div. and a veteran of Operation Big Lift in 1963, was impressed with the flow of traffic through Nuernberg.
As the sergeant climbed into the back of a truck, he said, “This operation is smoother and seemingly more organized. It’s a relief not to have to sit around and wait for hours. The layover at McGuire Air Force Base was only three hours.
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