The voice of Elvis Presley echoed through Ray
Barracks one last time Monday, returning for a
brief moment to his old military stomping
grounds.
With Presley's "Hound Dog" reverberating off the
cement walls, Lt. Col. Thomas Salo, commander,
102nd Signal Battalion, and Jeurgen Jaeger,
102nd Signal Bn., shut off the main power supply
to the KN-4100 telephone switch during a closing
ceremony for building 3705 on Ray Barracks. The
barracks were "The King's" home in Friedberg
from October 1958 to March 1960 when he served
as a member of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Armoured
Regiment, 3rd Armored Division during his tour
in the U.S. Army.
"The historical aspects of this post warranted a
ceremony, here in this former home of Elvis,"
said Salo. "Thousands and thousands of people
were able to communicate from lines connected to
this building; it is the end of an era." The
massive telephone switch, installed in 1986,
enabled 102nd Signal Battalion to provide
communications to the Friedberg and Giessen
military communities with 400 DSN lines and 20
commercial lines. By 1996 the capacity was
bumped up to1400 DSN lines and 40 commercial
lines.
"This is not the first communications site to
close, and it will not be the last," said Salo.
The garrison closure ceremony for U.S. Army
Garrison Giessen, which encompassed Ray
Barracks, was held Sept. 28, 2007. And 3705 is
the last building on Ray Barracks to be turned
over to the Department of Public Works for
release back to the host nation, explained James
Neufeld, chief of the Operations Management Cell
in Hanau.
"It is fitting that commo is the first in and
last out," said Salo. "We do not turn off until
the last customer is gone. They're gone, so its
time to flip the switch."
Posted: 18th. January 2008