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Show Pershing Tests Continue At Blanding Launch Site The spring series cf off-range off-range f irings of U.S. Army Pershing missiles from Black (Mesa, near Blanding, Utah coitinuedi early this week with two rounds scheduled. The targets for the annual an-nual firings will be ground (points on White Sands Mis-s'le Mis-s'le Range. Scheduled to fire both ireunds are units of the Seventh Sev-enth U. S. Army, on hand from stations in Europe where they are operationally (deployed. The seres began April 16 with two rounds fired by units of the Federal Republic of Germany Air Force. They had been rescheduled from April 14 because of adverse weather conditions. The Seventh Army troops' will use the new Jvlodel P-1A ground support equipment. Jn opening -the 1970 program, the German units used the cider F-l equipment. The new equipment features (highly mobile five-ton eight-w'heel, eight-w'heel, rubber-tired vehicles aind improved launcher and 'programmer systems. The dlder system is mounted on (tracked vehicles . The series is scneauled to continue through mid-July. Operations at the Black Mesa-Complex, Mesa-Complex, 15 miles southwest cf Blanding, are conducted under simulated tactical conditions. con-ditions. In addition to serving serv-ing as annual practice for tiraops, the fjrfmgs provide data for product improvement improve-ment and for evaluating systems sys-tems and procedures. Supporting the firing troops are 430 members of the 2nd Battalion, 44th Artillery, 9th Field Artillery (Missile) (Group, from Fort Sill, Okla., Commanded by Lieutenant (Colonel Harold C. Bennett, this veteran unit has been at the camp since early (March. Army and civilian personnel person-nel cf White Sands 'Missile (Range also support the program. pro-gram. WSMR operations are coordinated through the Utah Launch Complex at Green R-.-ver, directed by A. Muray IMaughan of National Range Operations (NRO). Staff Project engineer for (NRO is Reed Larson. Test coordinator for Army Missile Test and Evaluation (ARM-TE) (ARM-TE) is W. E. (Bill) Worthy. Other organizations providing provid-ing support include the U.S. Army Field Artillery Missile Systems Evaluation Group l(FAMSEG) of Ft. Sill, commanded com-manded -by Lieutenant Colon-4 Colon-4 John A. Zalewski, and the Pershing Project Manager's Office (PPMO) of Redstone Arsenal, Ala., headed by Col-onel Col-onel Rufledge P. Hazzard. Chief of the PPMO field office of-fice in Utah is James E. Conner. ; Also represented in Utah is the prime contractor for (Pershing missilse, the Mar-itin Mar-itin Marietta Corp. of Orlando, Orlan-do, Fla, The off-range program began be-gan in 1963 after the Pershing Persh-ing system became operational. opera-tional. Since then, 83 Pershing Persh-ing missiles have been launched laun-ched in Utah. |