Oh, yea, PCT went through several evolutions during its existence.
It was originally started (long, long before I got there) as a sort of large scale team-building exercise and most of the training fell into a sort of dismounted patrolling-adventure thing. At one time it had a lot more of the mountaineering content along with river-rafting (small boat ops), dealing with water and other terrain obstacles. Originally, attendance was limited to light infantry platoons that, in theory, already knew most of the combat and recon patrol skills. They were sent to PCT to add on the extra training for river crossings, rappelling, small boat ops, etc. Originally, the cadre was composed of a dedicated SF ODA from 1-10 SFG(A), but that way back in its misty history. Still, the cadre organization and the instructional breakdown reflected that original task organization even to the end.
By the time I got there, it had evolved into what you did, and, yes, that was a deliberate Ranger school-like course. By that time, attendance was opened to any platoon-SIZED unit from any parent unit, not just infantry. In fact, the majority of our student platoons were composite platoons put-together by non-infantry units, like engineers, etc. For this reason, the curriculum evolved into about 70-30 dismounted patrolling and land nav. The patrolling exercises built upon themselves to culminate in a loose company-sized exercise at the very end.
PCT ran out of Camp Rudder which was a satellite of Flint Kaserne, Bad Toelz. It’s parent HQ was ARSOF-E (Army Special Operations Forces-Europe) which was a mostly a planning and operational command based at Bad Toelz, but which was separate from 1-10 SFG(A). This is important because it explains how the cadre was manned during the period that you went through.
At that time, PCT was one of a couple of US Army Europe assignments that were pretty much controlled by the Ranger Regiment “mafia.” The nexus was ARSOF-E which not only had responsibility for SF missions, but also for Ranger battalion missions in the theater. Basically, all of the cadre at PCT were guys from one of the Ranger-Bats doing an OCUNUS “career-progression tour.” The main exceptions were the two cadre medics which were always SF qualified medics. During my time, I was one of only two other SF qualified cadre members (not including the medics and the CO and XO). The CO and XO were also always SF qualified officers, since their assignments checked company command assignments for fast movers. (Generally, SF captains are detachment commanders and don’t get a company command until they are promoted to major. An O-3 captain’s company command assignment was a rare thing in SF that could give an officer an advantage over his peers.)
I got there because when I was doing my “short tour” in Berlin, my platoon sergeant was an SFC from 1st Ranger Bn. At the time, I was not only SF qualified, but had also graduated from Ranger school. (Interestingly enough, one of the other PSG’s in one of the line companies was one of my Ranger school instructors, and he and my PSG had been PSGs in the same company in 1st-Bat.) Because I had attended DLI for German, I was also sent to the German ranger course while I was in Berlin.
When I reclassified from 11B to 18B, regulations required that I be immediately reassigned to a MTO&E SF position, i.e. to Bad Toelz since that was pretty much where all the assignments were (except for some few others that were filled with long-range forecast by DA). My scout platoon sergeant spun up the EUCOM Ranger Mafia and called ahead to the 1SG at PCT, 1SG Purdy, and told him to tell the ARSOFE S-1 to send me to him out at Camp Rudder. By then, I just wanted out of Belin and away from the Big Army, so I was happy to do anything if it got me that…
So, I got assigned to PCT not because I was SF qualified, but rather because I was Ranger qualified and my PSG wanted to “keep me in the family.” LOL! It all worked out for the best, though, and the guys I worked with out at PCT were among the very best.
As regards to the beret thing, since ARSOF-E was an SF unit, all the personnel assigned to it wore green berets with the green 10th Group flash with the stripe of German national colors. The guys who were ACTUALLY MOST upset about this were the Ranger bat-boys who would have rather worn their black berets. As for the SF qualified guys in ARSOF-E and 1st BN, 10th Group, I doubt that any of them gave the PCT cadre a second thought.
And, oh yea, CPT Meyer was the XO when I left, so moving up to CO makes sense for him. I missed your class by a couple of months, since I PCS’ed from Bad Toelz in May, '86.
