Officers win Sportabzeichen
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Captain Christian M. Shore, Aide-de-Camp, Office of the U.S. Commander, Berlin, became the latest member of the Berlin Command to earn the coveted German Sports Medal (Sportabzeichen) under the sponsorship of the Berlin Bereitschaftspolizei. At A ceremony held in the office of Major General R. G. Fergusson, U.S. Commander, Berlin, Thursday May 16, Polizeioberrat Egon Lesnick of the Berlin police force presented the medal.
Captain Shore was not the first to earn the Sportabzeichen in his office. General Fergusson won the gold Medal in 1963, when he served as Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Central Army Group (NATO) in Seckenheim, Germany. Dr. Hagen, the First Mayor of Heidelberg and representing the Baden Sport Association, awarded the medal to General Fergusson in recognition of the physical fitness and German-American sportsmanship which this particular presentation symbolized.
The Sportabzeichen is a highly-prized award. It is proof of an individual’s overall physical fitness, as well as his ability in five particular categories of athletics. To qualify for his medal, Captain Shore was required to put the shot eight meters, broad jump 4.75 meters, run the 100-meter dash in less than 13.0 seconds, rub 5,000 meters in less than 23 minutes and swim 300 meters in less than nine minutes.
Captain Shore Shore was presented the Bronze Medal, which is awarded to persons between 18 and 31 years of age. The Silver Medal goes to those between 32 and 40, and those qualifying when over 41 receive the Gold Medal.
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The close cooperation and mutual assistance between the U.S. Army and the Berlin police force was again demonstrated recently when Berlin Polizeioberrat Egon Lesnick presented the former commanding officer of the 278th Military Police Company, Captain Robert H. Coords, with the German Sport Medal (Sportabzeichen).
The Sportabzeichen is a coveted award. In order to qualify for it, applicants must perform their feats before judges selected from various Berlin sports clubs. Members of the U.S. forces are assigned a coach from the Berlin police who closely supervises their training and preparation.
The Sportabzeichen is divided into three classes, according to an applicants age. The Bronze Medal is given to persons from 18 to 31. The Silver Medal is awarded to persons aged 32 to 40, and the Gold medal is reserved for those who qualify when over 40.
The Sportabzeichen is proof of an individual’s physical fitness as well as his ability in five particular categories of athletics.
To qualify for this award Captain Coords had to lift 75 percent of his weight over his head for three seconds, high jump 1.35 meters, run 440 meters in less than 68 seconds, swim 300 meters in less than nine minutes and ride a bicycle 20 kilometers in less than 45 minutes. To complete these requirements the usual applicant takes a week. Captain Coords fulfilled all his tasks in one day. The brief award ceremony followed the ceremony at which Coords was promoted to captain from first lieutenant. Awarding his captain’s bars was the Commanding Officer, Special Troops, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen M. Grifith.
Captain Coords leaves Berlin shortly for duty with the 18th MP Battalion in the Republic of Vietnam.
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