US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Bragg, NC)

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Small arms classification. Partial view of ammunition supply point. Ammunition warehouse, magazines. Armament parts warehouse. ,ILQS Wag wie' WEWM Just a few ot the thousands of vehicles in the redistribution pooi. lnteirior view of automotive parts warehouse. 67 i

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O CZ Offlnan . Q P04 tntuio' View O Gicl- Left 'co right: Lt. Col. Koch, Major Rehm, Lt. Knapp, C. W. O Milewski, Capt. Veltre, Capt. Lewis. UHIINANIIE The Post Ordnance Office, since 1942 an important part of the Supply Division, was designated as one of the seven Technical Services in January, 1944. Through this change the Post Ordnance Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Walter D. Koch, who succeeded Colonel G. T. Rowland in that posi- tion on 6 November 1942, became responsible for the su- pervision of all ordnance activities under the jurisdiction of the Post Commander. He supervises the functions per- taining to requisition, storage, distribution, issue, inspec- tion and classification of Ordnance supplies and equipment. lncluded in this category are armament, vehicles, and am- munition. Lt. Colonel Koch is presently assisted by five oliicers and a staff of approximately 350 persons, almost all of whom are civilians. The duties of the Branch as pertains to vehicles and ve- hicle spare parts are carried out by the automotive section under Captain Julian F. Lewis. The automotive needs of all activities at Fort Bragg are supplied by this section. ln so doing approximately 300 tons of vehicle spare parts are used monthly. In the Redistribution Pool, alone, an aver- age of 6,000 vehicles are stored daily, with a monthly turn- over of nearly 2,500 vehicles. This section makes numer- ous shipments of vehicles direct to Ports of Embarkation from which places they will be sent overseas. Properly servicing the vehicles for shipment and properly performing the in-storage preservative maintenance of thousands of vehicles is the tremendous job which is performed by the Redistribution Pool. The armament section, which supplies all types of weap- ons from bayonets to the largest field pieces, has a difficult job to perform. The job is difficult because it has to be done by a small amount of personnel and always in a much too short period of time, and, at Fort Bragg, almost every conceivable type of armament equipment must be handled. Included in the duties of this section is the painstaking job of inspecting and classifying armament materiel-with the thousands of slnall but highly important items which are included under the term armament spare parts. ln a nor- mal month approximately 3,000 tons of armament materiel are handled in this section. Last but not least of the major elements under the Post Ordnance Officer is the Magazine Section where all types of ammunition are supplied to units on the Post. ln a recent month the Magazine issued more than 2,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition and handled more than 1,600 tons of heavy artillery ammunition. The Post Ordnance Organization by its present and past performances has indicated that it is living up to the tra- dition of the Ordnance Department, which is to uKeep the Troops Rolling and Firingf'

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wi' Q Utility Lf. E. M. Loughery, Capt. C. T. De Brell, Post Chemical Warfare 1 Officers. CHEMICAL W HF HE The Post Chemical Warfare Officer is entrusted with the training of the Army Service Forces units and all non- divisional units on the Post in the defense against chemical attacks. It is his task to provide each soldier with a gas mask and to instruct him in the proper use and care of the gas mask. All phases of the training are made as realistic as pos- sible in order that the soldier may have a thorough under- standing of gases and their effects. Fully aware that he possesses the best gas mask in the world, the soldier is trained not to fear gas but to possess a healthy respect for it, and to conduct himself in such a manner that he will not become affected by il. He is taught about gases which the enemy might use. how to identify them, and how to care for himself and his equipment in case of an attack. When this period has been completed, he has learned the employment of smoke in comhat, the use of white phos- phorus grenades, and, where applicable, the use of the flame thrower. As an actual test of his training, he is taken through the gas chamber and submitted to a concen- tration of toxic at-id. During the past year, all organiza- tions leaving Fort Bragg have been taken through the gas chamber under the supervision of the Post Chemical War- fare Officer, Captain Charles T. Delfvrell. More thorough training is provided in schools for both officers and enlisted men, so that, in the absence of an of- ficer of the Chemical Vlfarfare Service, they will he able to instruct properly their units and to carry on such ad- ditional training as might be deemed necessary. Prior to July, 1911-4, the Post Chemical Warfare Ofti- cer was responsible for the requisitioning, receiving, stor- ing, and issuing of all chemical equipment and ammunition, and for providing the soldier, as well as his organization with all protective and training equipment. This work was at that time assigned to the Consolidated Property Of- hcer, in order to conserve manpower. Top to bottom: Troops training 'for a gas attack .... Deconiaminaiing a vehicle .... Deconfaminaiing a gassecl area .... inside the gas chamber.