The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 54, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 6, 1995 Page: 1 of 34

                                
VOL. 54 NO. 29
iWHAT’s In
sid
5-RING CIRCUS brings animals
acrobats big-top entertainment to
post audiences.
2ND ARMORED DIVISION opens
state-of-the-art dining facility.
Page A8
FORT HOOD KICKS OFF Month
of the Military Child with children’s
festival.
A A
la
NEWCOMERS CAN LEARN about
Fort Hood its programs services and
upcoming events at the next Hood
Howdy information fair and bus tour 9
a.m.-noon April 21 at Bronco Youth
Center. Representatives from post agen-
cies local schools chambers of com-
merce and more will be passing out free
literature and answering questions. The
information fair will be followed by a
bus tour of the installation. Register by
calling 287-4471 before April 19.
SentinelHOODWFORTM
SERVING THE PHANTOM ARMORED CORPS
Page Cl
Page B5
DRMO WILL CONDUCT a mini auc-
tion 10 a.m. Tuesday in Building 4291
on the comer of 80th Street and Tank
Destroyer Boulevard. Inspection begins
7 a.m. Buyers will have three working
days to pick up items.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
of Austin will present a series of graphic
slide shows on Fort Hood about the
consequences of drinking and driving.
Although it specifically targets new
drivers and soldiers unfamiliar with
Texas DWI laws the program is open to
everyone.
The next one-hour presentations are 9
a.m. 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Wednes-
day at Howze Theater. Reservations can
be made by calling Bill Myers at 287-
4714 or Jo Schmitz at 287-2501.
Free child care is available at any of
the three post child development cen-
ters. Call the individual center for regis-
tration: Fort Hood CDC at 287-6037
Comanche CDC at 287-4848 or Clear
Creek CDC at 288-5222.
i'T?mlNDEX •.
■
SECTION A
TV show highlights Hood ........... A2
Soldiers compete for ‘Top Gun’ .... A3
Life insurance facts ........................ A4
Hood Bulletins .................................. A5
Women’s History Month .................A6
SECTION
Mr. Wizard isits ..............................B1
Youth Activities ................................ B2
Special Deliveries .............................B4
Easter religious services.................B6
SECTION
On-post movies ................................. C3
Trading Post .................................. C4/5
TV listin s................. C6/7
SECTION
Military drag racer .....................D1
Soccer team recruits ....................... D2
Hood troops
save woman
in California
By Geoff Fink
4th PAD 1st Cav Div
FORT IRWIN Calif. Two 1st
Cavalry Division soldiers saved
the life of a civilian involved in a
car accident near Barstow Calif.
during a not-so routine supply run
here March 26.
Capt. Robert T. Hixon deputy
logistics officer for 2nd Brigade
and 1st Lt. Sammy J. Smith sup-
ply officer were enroute to Bar-
stow for supplies when they came
across chunks of debris in the
highway.
They decided to pull over and
clear the road when Hixon noticed
skid marks and a truck well off
the road Smith said.
It Was obvious that the truck
had rolled several times Smith
said.
All four tires were flat the win-
dows were broken in and the roof
caved in.
“We got out I’m an emergency
medical technician-qualified and
Captain Hixon is combat lifesaver-
qualified and went to the ve-
hicle” Smith said. “We had to
break the doors open to get in and
begin primary assessment.
“It was definitely a miracle that
we saw her because of the way the
car was rolled and where it was
located. I could only see a glimpse
of it” Hixon said. “If there hadn’t
been so much damage in the road
and we hadn’t decided to move the
rocks aside she wouldn’t have
been found until morniijg.”
The victim showed signs of a
concussion and had a broken col-
larbone Smith said.
“After Hixon climbed into the
back seat and stabilized her neck
she regained consciousness”
Smith said. “She was completely
out of it wasn’t making any
sense and didn’t know what day it
was or who she was.
“At first she didn’t know if she
was alone in the vehicle so we
checked the area for other people
(See Hero A3)
Here comes the sun
By Judy Stallings
13th PAD 2nd Armd Div
The commercially available So-
largizer battery conditioner has
now been authorized for use on
•standard 24-volt military battery
systems thanks to a six-month
study done on Fort Hood last year.
The Solargizer is a device that
uses a solar panel mounted on the
outside of a vehicle to collect en-
ergy and reduce sulphur build-up
in batteries thereby extending the
batteries’ lifespans.
The purpose of the evaluation
which began last April was to de-
termine the effectiveness of the
Solargizer on military vehicles.
“We decided we wanted to take
a look at the Solargizer to see if it
had military benefits and would
last in a military environment”
said R.J. Holley III Corps and
Fort Hood science and technology
adviser.
Fort Hood was selected as the
evaluation site because of all the
available sunshine Holley said.
Solargizers were placed on 28
tanks in two companies of the 3rd
III Corps Public Affairs
One soldier was killed and three
others suffered minor injuries
early Monday morning after the
M-l tank they were riding in
turned over on post.
Second Lt. Thomas L. Witt 23
of 3rd Battalion 66th Armored
Fort Hood Texas 76544
Purple haze
Battalion 66th Armored Regi-
ment 1st Brigade 2nd Armored
Division for six months of testing
in afield environment.
Students from Killeen and El-
lison high schools assisted in the
evaluation by visiting the bat-
talion’s motor pool and collecting
data from tank batteries to de-
termine the device’s effectiveness.
After the six-month evaluation
period the data collected by the
students showed an average reduc-
tion of 45 percent in battery usage
between the two companies that
had Solargizers and the companies
that didn’t Holley said.
A report was sent to the U.S.
Army Communications and Elec­
Regiment 1st Brigade 2nd Ar-
mored Division died when the
tank he was riding in rolled into a
ditch during a training exercise..
The accident happened about 6
a.m. near Royalty Ridge Road
which is located approximately one
mile west of Old Georgetown Road
on Fort Hood.
1
“They (CECOM) commissioned one final technical
report from the Army Research Lab which was
completed December 15. The report basically said
the Solargizer does exactly what the manufacturer
claims it will do.”
Soldier killed 3 injured in post tank accident
Two-year-old Olivia daughter of Capt. Robert and Mary Irwin plays in afield of bluebonnets near the
Main Gate of Fort Hood Sunday afternoon. Her father is the S-3 for the 64th CSG 13th COSCOM.
Solargizer battery enhancer tests complete
R.J. Holley
Fort Hood science and technology adviser
tronics Command the Army’s bat-
tery managers based on the re-
sults of the evaluation.
“They (CECOM) commissioned
one final technical report from the
Army Research Lab which was
completed December 15. The re-
port basically said the Solargizer
does exactly what the manufac-
turer claims it will do” Holley
said.
“We now have full Army en-
dorsement to use the Solargizer on
any lead-acid based vehicle battery
in the Army based on the evalua-
tions we did” Holley added.
Since it is too expensive for th^
Army to fund installation of So-
largizers on all vehicles it is up to
Thomas was evacuated by air to
Darnall Army Community Hospi-
tal where he was pronounced dead
at 7:05 a.m. An autopsy will be
performed at Darnall. Thomas was
assigned to Fort Hood Dec. 5
1994. He had been in the Army for
ten months.
Thomas is survived by his par-
ents Thomas and Marlene Witt of
April 6 1995
Richard Puckett/ID Corps
commanders to determine when
they are going to use them.
“Commanders can start using
money that they would normally
spend on batteries to buy So-
largizers” Holley said.
“As the savings come from hav-
ing those Solargizers they will
have a little more money in the
budget the next year and can buy
more Solargizers until two or
three years down the road all ve-
hicles have Solargizers installed”
he added.
The Solargizer will extend the*
current 12-month average battery
life to an estimated five years.
About 15 to 20 percent of these-
batteries however will be lost be-
cause of physical damage that de-
creases the estimated savings to
about two-thirds Holley said.
“Fort Hood now spends $3 mil-
lion a year on lead-acid based bat-
teries. If all of our vehicles were
equipped with Solargizers we
could cut that by about two-
thirds” Holley said. “We would
spend less than $1 million a year
on lead-acid batteries.”
(See Power A8)
Severn Md.
Pvt. Scott Orr Spc. Jack E.’.
Glover and Pfc. Luis Malinas all
of the 3rd Bn 66th Armd Regt
2nd Armd Div were treated for!
minor injuries and released from
Darnall.
The cause of the accident is
under investigation.