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	While the new OP Tennessee was under construction, we moved down the hill towards the border.  Here is our temporary OP one cold Winter day. --Brian Reed		US Patrol and a BGS patrol observe an East German town in the Eaglehorse sector. Note the Mercedes "G" type vehicle on left. These had taken the place of the M151's as used on the border in the mid 1980's. Maintenance support was partially passed off to TMP and repair parts were locally sourced. They were 4 x 4 and offered a " nice ride " but were not the robust combat vehicle the Cav might have preferred. --Favia / Ritter

Starting in the second half of 1981, change was in the air in the Army and at Camp Lee. German engineers were frequently seen at the border camp, on escorted trips to OP Sierra and elsewhere on the trace. One of the first noted improvements at Camp Lee came that summer as "new" latrine / shower areas were added as "mini" buildings attached to the ends of the existing barracks. The old design, part of the pre fabricated buildings, simply could not support the traffic of a cavalry troop and this low cost solution was designed, funded and built to fix a long standing problem. Later that year, the first camouflage BDU uniforms began to show up in the duffel bags of new troopers arriving from Fort Knox.

As each company, troop and battery in turn rotated through Camp Lee the pace of change seemed to quicken. Long rumored new OPs suddenly were becoming reality, the fielding plan for the M1 tank was announced, border jeeps gave way to Mercedes 4 x 4 SUVs, it was off to Hohenfels for Pony Fights followed by Vielseck for the fielding of the M3. The beer hall built by LTC Paul Palmer was gone in day, splinters and sheet metal loaded into an open top container. Construction started the following morning on the new Beer Hall. Ted Prescott, Troop E Commander and Tom Favia, Border NCO a few years later, help fill in the detail.

Ted Prescott:

"Here are some observations about Border Ops and Camp Lee during my tenure 1983-1986."

"When I first arrived Border operations were still pretty much conducted the way they had been done in the past. Units rotated to the border every 30 days with all the normal pain-in-the-ass inventories of ammunition and other items. We still used the old reliable ¼ ton jeeps for patrols, but I think all would agree they were on their last leg from all the mileage and abuse heaped upon them. Sometime in the 1984-1985 we received new mounts. The old jeeps were replaced with Mercedes 4x4 jeeps. These vehicles were a godsend since they were closed in and the heater kicked ass in the winter. For once you could cruise the Grenz in comfort-at least when compared to the old jeeps. I don’t know who was responsible for the change, but I would sure like to buy them a beer. These vehicles were sturdy too. A German rear-ended one in Bad Neustadt leaving only a scuff mark on the bumper. The Audi didn’t fare as well. The entire front end and hood was crumpled."

"On the Trace, the OPs were the new modular variety. Sometime between 1980-1983 they had been constructed replacing the shacks from the earlier years. The new structures were heated, had running water (including toilet facilities) and the living quarters were full of bunks for the OP teams."

"During my stay there were some significant changes at Camp Lee. I don’t know how long the changes had been in the works, but I think SCOs LTC Bruce Clarke and LTC Tom Ramick had their hands in it. One of the first changes was the addition of the radio tower, which I believe was completed during one of my E Troop rotations. I climbed to the top as the commo guys were putting the finishing touches on the wiring. Shortly afterward a commo specialist from HHT had the unexpected honor to ride the old antenna mast down as it collapsed onto the roof of the old BOC as they were dismantling it. I think he broke his arm and was evaced back to Bad Kissingen. Such were the hazards of border duty!"

	A well attended open house at Camp Lee, 1988. Vehicle displays and presentations by the BGS, Bavarian Border Police, Bundeswehr and the Eaglehorse Squadron. --Favia, Tom		J Nichols and Hyder on the observation deck of OP. --Todd Stach

"Another change was the moving of the BOC. I believe it was moved from the original structure by the gate to a newer building by the Learning Center in 1984. The BOC was still operating out of the new location when I left in December 1986, but I heard a new one was to be built on the site of the original BOC."

"The BOC, though, wasn’t the only change. The barracks were either renovated or replaced with newer modular buildings (I can’t remember which), a new beer hall was constructed, the motor pool was revamped, and a picnic area was added outside the Mess Hall. It really spruced the place up."

"As for the patrols, we witnessed large-scale minefield activity during 1984-1985 as the East Germans removed the SM-501 fence mines and the land mines. Much to watch and occasionally the engineers were injured or killed in the process. Additionally, there was still some border and signal fence construction in various areas."

"There were also a few successful escape attempts and I believe the Bavarian Border Police snatched up a real-to-life East German spy roaming the southern border area in our sector. He was walking through the area when the BBP stopped and quizzed him. He didn’t have the right answers so he was arrested. He had infiltrated through the border fence."

SFC (Ret) Tom Favia:

1. "The ( Mercedes ) G-Wagons were introduced as a TMP vehicle. The logic was that they would be easily maintained by TMP motor pools regarding scheduled maintenance and local contracted Mercedes garages on the economy could do major work. They were also intended to give a certain high profile look to the patrols along the border. Unfortunately, these models were not the best in terms of power and reliability for such a mission. Therefore, they quickly proved themselves as more of a POV (suv) than a system intended for military operations. The introduction of the hmmwv (Kevlar hard top version) was an immense improvement. It returned the missions to a proper military posture. It proved extremely reliable in any type of terrain and environment. Naturally it created some logistical problems and challenges in the beginning. We had to set up a small motor pool within the operational border camps along with the necessary personnel in order to support these new workhorses. However the benefits of the hmmwv were enormous compared to its disadvantages. The missions consisted of two vehicles, as with the old Mercedes g-wagons, in order to accommodate a squad size element."

	Interior view of the OP. Todd Stach		Todd Stach by the Mercedes " G " type vehicles used for border operations. Todd Stach

2. "The border mission itself was not affected by the introduction of new combat equipment into the regiment. The M1s and M3s simply continued showing the combat presence at the border camps and permanently manned OPs. There were, however certain problems, due to the insistence of certain troop commanders, in conducting combat patrols directly along the border with these systems. It often raised a few serious eyebrows from the East German border troops who considered such matters as an incident along the border (since gun tubes were always pointing across the border in order to utilize their respective optics). However, after I assumed duties as the Border Recon and Intel NCO drastic changes were implemented in terms of the overall conduct of mission. The Regimental Co and the Regimental Border Team naturally blessed these changes. The patrols had become simply a routine demonstration of U.S. military presence along the IGB, but had long lost their effectiveness as a serious reconnaissance patrol. The DDR Border forces new precisely each checkpoint utilized by the U.S. patrols, and once a few checkpoints had been visited they also could easily determine the direction of travel. So, they could adjust their presence and activities appropriately. I ensured that the patrols became effective military recon patrols. Placing the proper responsibility within the hands of the patrol leaders easily did this. Check points were eliminated and the border sector was divided into operational sectors named after Primary Intelligence targets across the geopolitical border. The Patrol schedule was based on overlapping sector coverage over a specific period of time. The patrol leader decided his movement within the sectors utilizing military planning techniques and implementing such into a five paragraph operations order which he submitted first to the border team, and once approved, was given to his patrol. This ensured that movement in the sector was constantly varied based on movement techniques, from north to south, and vice-versa. The vehicles did not drive up and park at a checkpoint, rather one vehicle remained in over watch some distance away and concealed. The primary vehicle would also seek cover and personnel would then dismount and tactically move towards a vantage point in order to conduct reconnaissance of the specified PRI and surrounding area. The entire regiment under the order of Col Abrams then assumed this system, which was first introduced into the Eaglehorse area of operation."

	SSG Favia, Eaglehorse Border NCO, by the entrance to the new Camp Lee Border Operations Center.

3. "The communications systems were all secure during my tenure and later on I am certain the SINGARS replaced the older secured radio systems. The landline to BK and Fulda were still in place and was simply a daily commo check requirement, which in fact was never used. We relied more and more on the STU-III secure telecom system for more rapid and extensive secure comms with the regimental border team."

4. "During my tenure the role of the Border Team changed drastically. The Border Intelligence Officer was responsible for the overall liaison between the Squadron Border facilities and operations and the Squadron/Regimental HQ´s respectively. He spent most of his time on the road between BK and Fulda. When he was on the Camp he received full detailed sitreps and updates from me, and we spent many hours on the trace, day and night. My role was primarily that of the reconnaissance and intelligence expert on the border for our sector. I was basically on duty all year round and day and night. I lived in a small village near the camp, which gave me immediate access and mobility to the border. As the Recon and Intel NCO I was also responsible for all military operations on the camp/border and ops. This included training of units/personnel to inspections and operation center functions. As a German linguist I was also the liaison NCO between our facility/operations and all German agencies. The third member of the team was the Director of Logistics. He dealt with all aspect of logistical requirements from a thru z!"