Fort Bliss Monitor

Hawk: end of an era
Germans donate system to Bliss museum

Sgt. Matthew MacRoberts
Monitor Editor

German Air Force air defense soldiers line up a trio of Hawk missiles on an Assault Firing Unit PIP2 before donating the system to the Fort Bliss Museum & Study Center Friday.

Today when you say air defense, Patriot Missile comes to mind. But for those that have been in the military for some time, watching the German Air Force Air Defense School’s donation of a complete Hawk Assault Firing Unit to the Fort Bliss Museum & Study Center brought back memories.

GAFADS Commandant, Col. Klaus Harbersetzer commanded the last reload of the Hawk AFU PIP2 before handing over the keys to the system to Peter H. Poessiger, director of Fort Bliss museums. This reload also happened to be the last reload of any German Hawk system in North America.

The donation represented a significant gesture to the museum. The gesture not only enriches the exhibits and gallery – it represented the spirit of Team Bliss. “The German exhibit donation and this opening ceremony adds international class to our military heritage, history and legacy,” said Poessiger.

“Since 1956, all German Air Force Ground Based Air Defense soldiers have been trained here in Fort Bliss, which has become our second home,” said Harbersetzer. “It was on Nov. 6, 1961, 43 years ago, when the first soldiers of [Surface to Air Missile] Battalion 31, led by Maj. Reeckmann, arrived in Fort Bliss to undergo their initial Hawk training.”

Harbersetzer reminisced about the days of the Inter-German Border during the Cold War – “ORE, TacEval, Recall, CRT, Phase I and II, State Orange, State Scarlet, ERT and so on.” Heads in the crowd, American and German, nodded in approval and remembrance after hearing these terms.

“Shoulder to shoulder with our American, Dutch and Belgian comrades and friends, tens of thousands of air forces soldiers performed this [defending the free west] duty in the Nike as well as Patriot and Hawk units,” Harbersetzer said.

“From my point of view, this loyal and outstanding mission accomplishment contributed decisively to the developments in the late 80’s that all of us remember as if it was yesterday, and that finally resulted in the reunification of our fatherland.”

Since that day the German military has had to react to many factors, internal and international, that has changed the face of their forces. “With the reorganization of the Bundeswehr [German armed forces], also the SAM force had to undergo another change of its structure. In this context, recent changes here at the GAFADS made air defense history and a very special chapter was completed once and forever on Dec. 17, 2003”

Soldiers from the German Air Force look at a timeline depicting German and American history around the world and partnership at Fort Bliss.

On that date Hawk training was stopped at GAFADS. More than 20,000 German soldiers underwent Hawk training here.

Harbersetzer said that it was very important for him and the Bundeswehr that an item representing the almost 50 years of ADA training be donated to the museum. The Hawk system donated to the museum was the very same unit that was used in the last German Hawk AFU drill conducted at Fort Bliss, Dec. 17, 2003, and was shut down and never activated again. “It is just that system that is now waiting in front of the museum to be donated to the director of the Air Defense Artillery Museum. Could we find a better place,” asked Harbersetzer.
In addition to the complete missile system, GAFADS also donated a Hawk weapon system graphic illustration board that illustrates the operation of the ADA system as it operated in the 1960’s. The German SAM Group used the board for training up to the closure of the course.

A German-American Friendship Wall that reflects the history of the GAFADS training at Fort Bliss compared with other historical international events.

“In 1777 German General Von Steuben arrived at freezing Valley Forge to assist in the training of the fledgling American Army. We in turn embraced our German comrades in 1956, some 179 years later to assist in their ADA training. In the spirit of Von Steuben’s contribution then, we gratefully accept this donation now,” said – in response to the donations.

“My initial air defense training was conducted on the Hawk weapon system here at Fort Bliss in 1982, and years later I changed to Patriot,” said Harbersetzer. “Participating in this ceremony therefore also means that a very special chapter will be added to my private diary today – a chapter I would not even have dreamed of only a few years ago.”



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	October 21, 2004

German Air Force Air Defense School Commandant Col. Klaus Habersetzer and Director of Fort Bliss Museums Peter H. Poessiger, mark the opening of the German Air Force Hawk AFU PIP2 exhibit donated by the German military to the Fort Bliss Museum & Study Center during a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday. <map name="boxmap-b4"> <area shape="rect" coords="0, 589, 120, 600" href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" > <area coords="0,0,10000,10000" href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=&creative=92501&camp=8117&link_code=dl1&path=subst/misc/amazon-cobrand-cc/v3/marketing-from-associates-step1.html/ref%3Db1_assoc_29" > </map>	Hawk: end of an era Germans donate system to Bliss museum Sgt. Matthew MacRoberts Monitor Editor German Air Force air defense soldiers line up a trio of Hawk missiles on an Assault Firing Unit PIP2 before donating the system to the Fort Bliss Museum & Study Center Friday. Today when you say air defense, Patriot Missile comes to mind. But for those that have been in the military for some time, watching the German Air Force Air Defense School’s donation of a complete Hawk Assault Firing Unit to the Fort Bliss Museum & Study Center brought back memories. GAFADS Commandant, Col. Klaus Harbersetzer commanded the last reload of the Hawk AFU PIP2 before handing over the keys to the system to Peter H. Poessiger, director of Fort Bliss museums. This reload also happened to be the last reload of any German Hawk system in North America. The donation represented a significant gesture to the museum. The gesture not only enriches the exhibits and gallery – it represented the spirit of Team Bliss. “The German exhibit donation and this opening ceremony adds international class to our military heritage, history and legacy,” said Poessiger. “Since 1956, all German Air Force Ground Based Air Defense soldiers have been trained here in Fort Bliss, which has become our second home,” said Harbersetzer. “It was on Nov. 6, 1961, 43 years ago, when the first soldiers of [Surface to Air Missile] Battalion 31, led by Maj. Reeckmann, arrived in Fort Bliss to undergo their initial Hawk training.” Harbersetzer reminisced about the days of the Inter-German Border during the Cold War – “ORE, TacEval, Recall, CRT, Phase I and II, State Orange, State Scarlet, ERT and so on.” Heads in the crowd, American and German, nodded in approval and remembrance after hearing these terms. “Shoulder to shoulder with our American, Dutch and Belgian comrades and friends, tens of thousands of air forces soldiers performed this [defending the free west] duty in the Nike as well as Patriot and Hawk units,” Harbersetzer said. “From my point of view, this loyal and outstanding mission accomplishment contributed decisively to the developments in the late 80’s that all of us remember as if it was yesterday, and that finally resulted in the reunification of our fatherland.” Since that day the German military has had to react to many factors, internal and international, that has changed the face of their forces. “With the reorganization of the Bundeswehr [German armed forces], also the SAM force had to undergo another change of its structure. In this context, recent changes here at the GAFADS made air defense history and a very special chapter was completed once and forever on Dec. 17, 2003” Soldiers from the German Air Force look at a timeline depicting German and American history around the world and partnership at Fort Bliss. On that date Hawk training was stopped at GAFADS. More than 20,000 German soldiers underwent Hawk training here. Harbersetzer said that it was very important for him and the Bundeswehr that an item representing the almost 50 years of ADA training be donated to the museum. The Hawk system donated to the museum was the very same unit that was used in the last German Hawk AFU drill conducted at Fort Bliss, Dec. 17, 2003, and was shut down and never activated again. “It is just that system that is now waiting in front of the museum to be donated to the director of the Air Defense Artillery Museum. Could we find a better place,” asked Harbersetzer. In addition to the complete missile system, GAFADS also donated a Hawk weapon system graphic illustration board that illustrates the operation of the ADA system as it operated in the 1960’s. The German SAM Group used the board for training up to the closure of the course. A German-American Friendship Wall that reflects the history of the GAFADS training at Fort Bliss compared with other historical international events. “In 1777 German General Von Steuben arrived at freezing Valley Forge to assist in the training of the fledgling American Army. We in turn embraced our German comrades in 1956, some 179 years later to assist in their ADA training. In the spirit of Von Steuben’s contribution then, we gratefully accept this donation now,” said – in response to the donations. “My initial air defense training was conducted on the Hawk weapon system here at Fort Bliss in 1982, and years later I changed to Patriot,” said Harbersetzer. “Participating in this ceremony therefore also means that a very special chapter will be added to my private diary today – a chapter I would not even have dreamed of only a few years ago.”