f50lrrp
01-08-2008, 15:58
Colonel Sidney R. Hinds, Jr. was the most squared away officer that I ever worked for. I was his Operations Sergeant at DCSOPS, HQUSTASCOMEUR in Worms, Germany in 1970-1972.
Colonel Hinds, Major Bonn and Major Hertwick and I were the only four on jump status at the HQ. Hinds, Hertwick and I were all S.F., just back from Vietnam and still laid back enough to feel comfortable working together without the regular Army stiffness about rank and position.
One day we drove to Weisbaden to make a Hollywood jump for pay purposes and we were all wearing tiger fatigues without rank insignia. An Air Force staff car with a Colonels Eagle on a blue background drove past us as we were sitting on the grass. The staff car back up and a young lieutenant jumped out of the front passenger seat and ran over to us and ordered us to stand at attention. He then asked who the ranking man was in our group. Major Hertwick, in his German accent, looked at the Colonel and said, “Sidney it’s you this week”.
Colonel Hinds then looked at the lieutenant and said, “Colonel Sidney R. Hinds, Jr. at your service, Sir. How may I be of service”? The young LT, saluted and withdrew without another word.
Colonel Hinds used to wander the hallways with a stack of folders under his arm looking for a busy officer to assign an operations order to. He explained that if an officer was busy and had a desk stacked with paperwork, he was a good candidate to give more work to because he obviously knew how to prioritize his work and that busy people get things done.
We used to love for Reforger to come around because we always had a slew of liaison officers from the First Division, the Eighth Division and other regular Infantry Divisions show up at our HQ. Colonel Hinds would invariably challenge them to a shooting match. He wore the Distinguished Master Marksmanship Medal for the pistol and I was assigned to the 7th AMTU on my first tour in Germany. No matter what the bet, we always ended up drinking beer with all competitors.
Colonel Hinds was West Point, his father, MG Sidney R. Hinds, was a WWII hero (2 DSCs) and a Master Marksman (Olympic Gold Medal). May father and son R.I.P..
Colonel Hinds, Major Bonn and Major Hertwick and I were the only four on jump status at the HQ. Hinds, Hertwick and I were all S.F., just back from Vietnam and still laid back enough to feel comfortable working together without the regular Army stiffness about rank and position.
One day we drove to Weisbaden to make a Hollywood jump for pay purposes and we were all wearing tiger fatigues without rank insignia. An Air Force staff car with a Colonels Eagle on a blue background drove past us as we were sitting on the grass. The staff car back up and a young lieutenant jumped out of the front passenger seat and ran over to us and ordered us to stand at attention. He then asked who the ranking man was in our group. Major Hertwick, in his German accent, looked at the Colonel and said, “Sidney it’s you this week”.
Colonel Hinds then looked at the lieutenant and said, “Colonel Sidney R. Hinds, Jr. at your service, Sir. How may I be of service”? The young LT, saluted and withdrew without another word.
Colonel Hinds used to wander the hallways with a stack of folders under his arm looking for a busy officer to assign an operations order to. He explained that if an officer was busy and had a desk stacked with paperwork, he was a good candidate to give more work to because he obviously knew how to prioritize his work and that busy people get things done.
We used to love for Reforger to come around because we always had a slew of liaison officers from the First Division, the Eighth Division and other regular Infantry Divisions show up at our HQ. Colonel Hinds would invariably challenge them to a shooting match. He wore the Distinguished Master Marksmanship Medal for the pistol and I was assigned to the 7th AMTU on my first tour in Germany. No matter what the bet, we always ended up drinking beer with all competitors.
Colonel Hinds was West Point, his father, MG Sidney R. Hinds, was a WWII hero (2 DSCs) and a Master Marksman (Olympic Gold Medal). May father and son R.I.P..