The 56th Field Artillery Command was a brigade size element of the United States Army. The unit was constituted in 1942 with the last period of active service being 1970 through 1991. It was the only unit to field the nuclear Pershing missile system. This unique mission required an almost "Super Brigade" status which the Army accommodated in several regards. Their inactivation in June 1991 was in some measure a consequence of their own success. The culmination of their duties was to act, as directed, in accordance with the INF Treaty, as the United States eliminated her intermediate range nuclear forces. The Command also provided some personnel to participate in supervising the Soviets as they upheld their agreements as well. Fifteen systems were exempted by the INF Treaty, made inoperable, and authorized for historical reference, such as a museum display. The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution exhibits such a display, for example.
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Famous quotes containing the words field, artillery and/or command:
“Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.”
—Stephen Crane (1871–1900)
“We now demand the light artillery of the intellect; we need the curt, the condensed, the pointed, the readily diffused—in place of the verbose, the detailed, the voluminous, the inaccessible. On the other hand, the lightness of the artillery should not degenerate into pop-gunnery—by which term we may designate the character of the greater portion of the newspaper press—their sole legitimate object being the discussion of ephemeral matters in an ephemeral manner.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)
“Children from humble families must be taught how to command just as other children must be taught how to obey.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)