PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-583
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 583
JUNE 2001
PS strives for complete accuracy so that soldiers know they can depend on the
magazine’s info.
Most of the material in PS comes from writers’ frequent visits to
field units, where they talk with
soldiers who actually operate and
work on the equipment.
All articles
are reviewed twice by the AMC
commodity command responsible
for the equipment—once when
written and again when words and
pictures have been combined. The
whole review process normally
takes about 4 months.
From the beginning, PS has been
written and edited by Army civil-
ians and its art drawn by contrac-
tors. Norman Colton was the first
editor from 1951-1953, followed
for a short while by Jacob Hay.
James Kidd served as PS’ editor for almost 30 years from 1954-82 and trained the
editors who followed him: Donald Hubbard, James Boblenz, and now Jerome Hill.
Will Eisner drew most of the magazine’s art for its first 20 years and then one of
his assistants, Murphy Anderson (who also worked on the
Superman, Batman,
and
Flash
comic books), did it for the next 10. Others who labored as PS’ artists include
Chuck Kramer, Alfredo Alcala, Dan Speigle, Steve High, Jeff Jonas, Diane Backes,
Augie Scotto, Scott Madsen, and Vic Scarpelli. PS’ newest artist, Joe Kubert, drew
the
Sergeant Rock
comic book series for
many years.
The PS home office was initially
located
at
Aberdeen
Proving
Ground, MD. In 1955, it was moved
to Raritan Arsenal, NJ, with subse-
quent moves to Ft Knox, KY, in
1962, Lexington, KY, in 1973 and to
its current home at Redstone
Arsenal, AL, in 1993.
What does the future hold for PS?
The only sure thing is that as long as
PS exists it will continue to provide
soldiers the best, most up-to-date
maintenance information available.
PS 583
7
Eisner’s creation was very similar to the one you’re reading now. As a “post-
script” to official Army publications, PS still tries to catch soldiers’ attention with a
mixture of comic book characters, vivid graphics and color, gags, talking equip-
ment, and informal writing. It still sends its message as clearly as possible, empha-
sizing pictures over words.
But, as our society and our Army
have changed over these 50 years,
so has PS.
In the early days, Half-Mast and
Connie were assisted by Privates
Fosgnoff and Joe Dope, two Beetle
Bailey-type soldiers who were
constantly screwing up.
As the
number of African-Americans in
the Army increased, an African-
American woman, Bonnie, was
added to the PS staff in 1970.
Writers get info from mechanics,
repairmen and supply specialists
As many retired Army main-
tainers can tell you, Connie and
Bonnie were presented as pinups
for many years. Their scanty out-
fits were designed to lure male
readers to the maintenance stories.
The Army decided in the 1950s
that it didn’t want soldiers por-
trayed
as
incompetent,
so
Fosgnoff and Dope were both
gone by 1957. After complaints of
sexism from inside and outside the
Army in the early 1970s, Connie
and Bonnie were transformed
from pinups to modestly dressed,
intelligent maintenance experts.
Other characters who have
come and gone over the years
include Sergeant Bull Dozer (who
specialized in construction equip-
ment) and SFC Macon Sparks
(who was the PS commo expert).
Connie, Bonnie and
Percy the skunk,
from PS 264
From PS 17
PS 583
Macon Sparks,
from PS 375
PS Magazine: 50 Years of PM
PS Magazine: 50 Years of PM
We give
you info
you can
count
on!
583. 04-07 (C)
4/28/01
5:50 PM
Page 3
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