POWERGRAMS

4 As a high school senior in 1978, Mike Smothers knew his next step after graduation: Join the Army. Smothers answered the call after a friend showed him photos of his recent tour of duty in West Germany. "It was an opportunity to go to Europe and see other places," said Smothers, operations team leader at Gorgas Steam Plant. "I also felt the need to serve my country and do my part." It was during the latter years of the Cold War, when tensions were increasing between the major international powers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Cold War, which began after World War II and lasted nearly four decades, was marked by a struggle for supremacy between the United States and the Soviet Union as the two countries raced to build their nuclear weapon stockpiles. The Vietnam War had ended in 1975, and relative peace reigned around the world. But many U.S. troops were stationed in West Germany, standing ready to combat any threat that might arise from the Soviet Union, which controlled neighboring East Germany. Nevertheless, with no immediate conflicts on the horizon, soldiers had more freedom to use their leave days to travel. After graduating from Oakman High School, Smothers headed to Fort Sill, a U.S. Army post in Comanche County, Oklahoma, in July 1978 for boot camp. There, he trained to become a field artillery surveyor. "The hardest part was going through the training right in the middle of summer," said Smothers, who, at the time, weighed about 125 pounds. "Exercising and running in the heat was hard, but I had been given advice just to do what you're told. It was hard, but I pulled through it. If you want to do something, you will do it." When his training ended that November, Smothers was deployed to Germany, his chosen assignment. Because the Army recruitment numbers were low, soldiers were allowed to apply for their preferred duty station, Smothers said. Smothers served in the Third Infantry Division, 76th Field Artillery Battalion, at Larson Barracks in Kitzingen, West Germany. His unit conducted "dry missions," where they would make runs to the border to find the best places to set up the artillery if war erupted. Smothers and his comrades would relay the coordinates to Fire Direction Control, which would use the information to help gunners position weapons. Smothers said these missions sometimes ran from dawn to midnight. At times, his unit was in the field on training missions for up to 30 days without a break. In the Army Now as a star There was one highlight from his Army days that brings him special pride. About a year after he was dispatched to Germany, the U.S. Army sent a professional film crew to the base to produce a "Be All You Can Be" recruitment commercial. Smothers and another soldier were chosen from among all the service members on the base to star in the commercial. It featured Smothers and his comrade firing an artillery gun on a mission and later, enjoying the sites in the walled city of Rothenberg. The goal: Build enlistment ranks by spotlighting all the advantages of serving in the Army. "The guys kidded me saying, 'You're going to get all these guys to join the Army, and they will be disappointed,'" Smothers recalled. Smothers said the crew spent two days filming, often shooting a scene 20 times or more. "Later, people kept telling me back home, 'Hey, we saw Before Gorgas, employee served nation in Germany HHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHH Photo by Phil Free

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