One for
the road
Spc. Adam Bliss, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 108th
ADA Bde., receives his first anthrax shot in anticipation of possible
deployment to Southwest Asia. HHB, 108th ADA Bde. is one of several
Fort Bliss-based air defense artillery units anticipating possible
deployment to the region.
A Spartan
missile lies on a cradle in preparation for transport Jan. 15
while crews in the background work to extract a Nike Hercules
missile from its base. The missiles are being relocated from the
former ADA Museum to the Fort Bliss Museum and Study Center and
are expected to be in place by the end of this week, officials
say.
Missiles
relocated
Museum, study
center get five artifacts
SGT.
NIKKI AGEE
5035TH GSU PAO
After
standing in front of the old Army Air Defense Artillery Museum
for 25 years, five missiles will join other museum artifacts in
front of the new Fort Bliss Museum and Study Center by the end
of this week.
"In our progressive endeavor of building one of the most modern
Army museums out of 62 existing museums, we are now in a phase
of renovating the outside and front of the museum with interesting
historical macro-artifacts," said Peter H. Poessiger, director
of Fort Bliss museums.
The
Nike Ajax, Nike Hercules, Spartan, Sprint and German V-2 missiles
were taken down from their concrete slabs in front of the old
museum last Wednesday and will be mounted in front of the new
museum by the end of this week. Two more missiles, a Hawk and
a Patriot, will join the other five in front of the museum, completing
this phase of the museum's renovation.
Although
the missiles are in fairly good condition, they will also undergo
some restoration.
"We're
going to do a little touch-up work on the missiles," said Rod
Givens, Restoration and Exhibit Manager from the Kansas Cosmosphere
and Space Center, a company that specializes in the moving, assembly
and disassembly of missiles. "At this point, some of the paint
on the missiles is flaking," he said.
Once
restoration of the missiles is complete, they will be placed in
front of the museum.
"The
design, as approved by our commanding general, Maj. Gen. Stanley
Green, was a "T" formation consisting of the tallest missile,
the Spartan, in the middle flanked by the Nike Ajax and the Nike
Hercules at the other end, further flanked by the Hawk on the
one hand and further flanked by the Sprint," Poessiger said.
The
German V-2 missile will be placed behind the Spartan closer the
building.
"In order to show off our newest air-defense missile, it was decided
to add a Patriot and its launcher, which will complete the stem
of the 'T.' It will be closest to the building," Poessiger said.
"Our readers will be able to monitor not only this disassembly,
this laying down, of these missiles, but will be able to witness
the installation of those same six missiles as this article is
published," he said.
"The next step after the missile movement is to occupy another
exhibit hall, the old PX warehouse of 30,000 square feet, with
exhibits depicting the history of Air Defense Artillery," Poessiger
said.
"Also qualifying as a next step is the renovation of the old PX
food court i.e. building a museum library, a museum conference
room and administrative offices. Pending Army certification of
both museums, this next step depends on future donations to the
project fund," Poessiger said.
The
projected date for the next renovation is this summer.
