Pershing Operational Test Unit

[1] Created in 1965, POTU was assigned to United States Army Europe and located in Heidelberg, Germany.

In 1965, the Army contracted with the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of Johns Hopkins University to develop and implement a test and evaluation program.

POTU would select three firing batteries from the 56th Field Artillery Command in West Germany to participate in Follow-on Operational Tests (FOT) using an unannounced Field Alert Status Verification (FASV) at the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) site.

Shoots were supported by elements of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment from Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

After the shoot, data and evaluations were compiled into reports of the performance estimates of the operational capabilities of the Pershing missile system.

Pershing troops undergo a combat readiness check at a firing site in West Germany while being observed by a member of POTU (c. 1967)