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"To me, this was like a grand
hotel... |
after living in tents for a
month." |
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Bldg. №12 Carl Shurz
Kaserne |
REFORGER 85 and Operation CENTRAL GUARDIAN -
"My first night in country I didn't sleep at all, I worked 24 hours
straight. My second night was spent in a pup tent, in 3 ft. of
snow, with the chill factor at -65°, on top of
a mountain near Baumholder. When I woke in the morning and broke
down the tent to pack it, there was an imprint of my body melted
into the ice. I went without a shower for the next 11 days. We were
constantly on the move during the war games, working our way to the
Fulda Gap, then running missions. There were many other sleepless
nights and a few short naps grabbed in a vehicle."
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January and February 1985 was a very tense time in the Cold War: U.S. -
Soviet relations were frozen from 1979, when the Russians invaded
Afghanistan until March 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev took power. This
period is sometimes referred to as the "Second Cold War" after the thaw
in the 70's. In just 28 short months (November 1982 to March 1985), the
Soviet's went through 4 leaders; Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko and
finally Gorbachev. During this time the U.S. was led by one man,
President Ronald Reagan.
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REFORGER 85: |
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Nahbollenbach Army Depot in
Idar-Oberstein, (actually only near
there). Vehicles being removed from the mountain and taken to
the gathering area. |
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We had brought only our specialized
equipment from Colorado. Standard equipment such as trucks, jeeps
and trailers were drawn from a very unique storage area. The storage
facility was inside a huge mountain! Much of
the equipment was brand new when it was placed inside the mountain
in the 1950's and had not seen daylight again until now. Really, the
efficiency with which this phase of our operation went, was truly
astounding.
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This is just the beginning of some stories I will tell about my
experiences in REFORGER 85 and Operation CENTRAL GUARDIAN. Stories like,
the Russian monitors observing our activities in the exercise, a Russian
spy ship following us for three days across the Atlantic and my camera
and pictures being stolen.
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First, let me say that nothing I say or show here in these
pages is "CLASSIFIED INFORMATION".
This is simply a mini-documentary of a young enlisted
man's two-year active duty service in the United States Army. These
two years (1984-1985) went by faster than any other twenty-four
month period that I can recall in my lifetime. The elderly German
gentleman pictured here, walked his dog named "Fritz" everyday. He
always came by my post and talked to me. He bought a pair of German
Paratrooper Boots for me. I still have those boots today, twenty-one
years later. Their insulation came in handy during that cold,
winter exercise, but after my return to the states I boxed them up. |
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The old German guy spoke little English and I spoke practically no
German. It's a wonder we were able to communicate at all. He
expounded on the superiority of the German paratrooper boots to my own
regular U.S. Army issue boots and I
understood that very well. I explained to him, "Ich plane nicht auf dem
Herausspringen irgendwelcher Flugzeuge", that I didn't plan on jumping
out of any airplanes. I'm not sure, but I think he told me "du weißt nie,
wann du von einem Flugzeug herausspringen müssen kannst", which either
means "you never know when you may need to jump out of an airplane" or
else he was simply correcting me. We both laughed as though we
understood each other perfectly. The American and German boots were as different as night
and day. My American boots were thin with no insulation whatsoever, but
I could move fast (run) in them. On the other hand, the German boots
were so thick and rigid they really slowed you down if you were in a
hurry. The soles were thicker and heavier and the ankle area was heavily
reinforced to prevent an ankle sprain when parachuting out of airplanes. The thing is, at the time I needed warmth more than speed so the
boots with their thick and heavy insulation/padding were very helpful.
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Cars |
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Porsche Boxster:
My wife's "everyday - driver" car. See pictures and read the
whole story! |
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Cars: 1971 Porsche
911-T, Targa - Read about and see pictures of the restoration project! |
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S-Type Jag:
This Jaguar was my every day driver for five
years. |
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BMW 328i:
Pam's car before the Boxster.
This is a great story. |
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1964 Chevy Truck:
This truck was a one-owner for almost 40 years. |
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Ford Ranger:
This is an XLT Super-Cab 4x4. Everyone needs a
truck. |
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Travel |
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Travel: Charleston,
South Carolina - June 2006 Pictures and stories of some of our trips! |
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St. Simons Island:
Christ Episcopal Church. |
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Atlantic City:
The Boardwalk in Atlantic City is a wonderful place. We visited
there in 1993. Check out the pictures! |
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Jekyll Island:
Summer 2006 - We stayed at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. |
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Two tickets to...
Opryland, 1993, just four years before they closed their
doors forever. |
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Guns |
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Gun Collecting:
A 1962 Colt Python, 1992 Colt Mustang and a 1968
Baby Browning. Pictures and stories about guns! |
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Blogging |
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Adventure:
On the high seas. Harbor Pilot boat pulling
along side our ship on approach to the Georgia coast. |
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The Army:
Greg, standing on the deck of the American Eagle,
a super-cargo ship crossing the Atlantic in March 1985. |
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REFORGER: The Diary of a
Soldier. |
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A BAT Missile:
Pictures and stories about anti-aircraft missiles! |
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Hammelburg,
Germany:
REFORGER was the code name, which stood for
"Return of Forces to Germany". |
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River Street
Savannah, GA:
I took this picture from ship deck while
entering the harbor. |
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The Cold War:
January and February 1985 was a very tense time in the Cold War, and
it was about to get colder! |
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Music |
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Music:
Greg on stage New Years Eve 1994, Guntersville,
Alabama. The same stage where Ricky Nelson gave his last performance! |
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Knives |
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Knife Collecting: If you're thinking of starting a
knife collection, consider this tip. |
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Ads |
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