What did you think when the Cold War came to an end?

Did you give it much thought? Or was it just another day?

I remember I was working on an aircraft and I looked up and saw the last nuke laden B-52 taxi off the alert pad. The pilot was waving an American flag out the window. I asked another guy what was going on. He said the Cold War was over. I said "Oh" and went back to work.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

It ended on December 25, 1991, when the USSR finally went belly up and the Hammer and Sickle was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time.

it ended for me while in Turkey in the spring of 90 when I saw a picture of a McDonald's grand opening in Moscow. this was on the front page of the Stars and Stripes. next day I went down and filled out my retirement application. lee

For me it was when the wall came down in Berlin. Never thought I'd live to see the day.

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Minimize the variables

The Berlin Wall came down on my 52nd birthday--a nice present, I thought. Then the USSR broke down, and people rejoiced.

Now we have that evil thug Putin to deal with, still KGB to the core and devoid of any scruple whatever while wielding tremendous power. I for one am not prepared to say that the Cold War is entirely over, despite the reduced risk of nuclear combat.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I agree, It ain't over.

I disagree, Nuclear risk is getting worse.

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Dum vivo cano

When our money printing presses beat there's. President Reagan set the wheels in motion with huge increases in the military budget and I got to see the reaction in West Germany. We brought in the Pershing rockets and Moscow reacted and found that it could not keep up.

It took brave men on both sides of the wall to allow a peaceful transition. Sadly, I still believe the "Cold War" is ongoing. Yet, I find hope working and eating alongside our former foes here in Afghanistan!!

The WP countries have shared a lot of the risk in bringing peace to Iraq and Afghanistan and our shared experiences and exposure to each other will maybe make tommorow's military leader think twice before jumping off the cliff!!

I thought you were talking about the last 10 years of my marriage!

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War Eagle!!!

my first thoughts were about all the nukes and who controlled them now that the old soviet system was gone.
and today I still wonder if Ivan and his buddies hid one or two away for a rainy day.

Me too. I was assigned to Berlin Brigade, detached to Allied Checkpoint Alpha in Helmstedt '85-'86. Seeing the East and West Germans pounding away with hammers on top of The Wall on television was a really big deal for me. Figured I'd never live to see it either.

Berlin was my first overseas assignment - the things I got into..

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Live to Ride

The Cuban missile crisis scared the **** out of me as a teenager. I was thrilled to see things warm up.

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

The Cuban Missile Crisis scared the *** out of me as a Captain on active duty at an Air Defense Installation. We thought we were going to war and I was trying to get mentally prepared for it.

I remember being caught completely by surprise by the fall of the Wall and the quick disintegration thereafter of the Soviet Union (back) into individual countries. I just didn't think it would happen seemingly that easily, but I was glad to see it.

It was a relief, but who would have guessed that Russia would turn out so corrupt, or that terrorism and Muslim extremism would become the top threat to us. Looking back, the era of mutually assured destruction seems to have been a state of equilibrium and predictability that we're not likely to see again for a long time.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

I know there are many on here that remember the school drills where we crouched under our desks. Once while visiting my grandparents in Pittsburgh there was a civil defense drill that shut down all traffic and we were on our way to the zoo and had to pull over to the side of the highway. The traffic was stopped for miles. Don't remember the date exactly, but had to be '48,'49 or '50. By the time the Cuban missile crisis came along I was "drilled out" and didn't believe there would be a nuclear war. It was just too stupid a concept. So the official end of the Cold War was a non-event for me. Today I believe we are facing a far more dangerous scenario with Middle Eastern extremism and it's heavenly rewards for martyrdom. Being prepared to die for your country and comrades in arms is one thing, but wanting to die in battle because it is a greater reward than life itself is quite another. I fear the Cold War will turn out to be little more than a historical footnote compared with what is to come.

the end of the cold war was still a long ways off when I got out. I was stationed at Rhein Main AB from 1970 to 1973. some of the C-130's we had belonged to the 7406 Support Squadron

http://www.7406supportsquadron.com/main.asp

We used to cross our fingers every time the klaxon horn went off that our birds wouldn't actually launch. If they did we knew we had about 15 minutes to live.

For me, it was hard to believe that the Great Terror the Soviet Union had become had simply collapsed like a cardboard facade. All of our mission plans seemed to have changed overnight and the next thing I knew, our attention shifted completely to another part of the world. We switched from an enemy that had some decent sense not to have the desire to completely destroy the world to one that was insane and vicious enough not to care what, who and how they destroyed. In other words, I think we went from the frying pan into the fire.

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S&W Model 15-3

When they stopped alerts and we no longer exercised the GDP. That ended everything--your TOE, METL, basic loads, qualifications-etc. Fortunately Desert Storm allowed the old war horses to make massive armored moves-and our Cold War air power ruled the skys. By 1993 we had lost an entire Corps-(+ a few Brigades)-so we went into the next war with about half of what we had.

I don't know when the Cold War ended, but I do remember vividly when it heated up to the boiling point. I was on active duty, involved in atomic weapons training, logistics and security when the Cuban Missile Crisis developed. I thought for sure I was either going to Cuba (I actually got my required yellow fever shot and had my bugout bag packed) or was going to be vaporized instantly. That was white knuckle time. Everything after that was a cool-down period.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I was on duty in France when the Cuban missile crises happened. There were about 50 of us given emergency orders and we processed out all tools and cold weather dear needed to support a detachment of fighters and told to "stand by" which lasted about 4 days with all our stuff loaded on a C130 sitting on the runway. Didn't find out till later we would have gone to a small outpost base just outside Berlin as they thought something might happen there also. Very glad we never took off. I still have the zip hood wolf fur lined flight parka I got issued.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I was in Germany when the wall went up in Aug. 1961 and would have loved to have been there when it came down.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

It looks to me like Putin is gradually restarting the cold war. When is everybody going to realize that we have the same enemies?

I've never been in the military, but I recall the impact of watching the Berlin Wall coming down on TV. I was at a buddy's place and he usually took little interest in the news or world affairs. I said to him, "You know you are watching history here, don't you".

"Yeah, I guess I am. Seems strange to watch history on live TV though".

I think you all get what he meant.

H Richard..I was a dependent in France at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. My Dad was stationed at Phalsburg and later Toul. We left when DeGaulle kicked us out!

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War Eagle!!!

I miss it. At least you knew who the enemy was.

Though im not a Vet, I never believed the Cold War ever ended--especially with Vlad in office. All it did was change its face.

I had two good friends stationed in various parts of Germany between 69 and around 85 or so? One friend was in command of a Missile Battery and Radar Station--I cant remember where he said they were or what year? but he was also there when the wall came down-that time-on vacation.

The other friend whom I roomed with for several years till he passed away from Brain Cancer--was stationed in Germany for around 7 of his 15 years in the Army. In Germany--he was part of some unit who were and forgive me if im wrong on what they were called? First Responders. They were sent to some barrier river and when they got there-"Sarge Bill" said they faced at least 50 Russian T-series tanks. He had only 10 men with him till other help started to arrive in the name of German Paratroopers. Bill told me his hair stood on end (which had to be a tough thing because he was mostly bald since age of 20 :-)) but whatever incident that sparked that ordeal-ended soon and everything im guessing? went back to a more normal.

Anyway, forgive me if I can't prove times and dates and places--my memory is almost dead as it is.

PS, Sarge Bill was also stationed in Korea almost half his service time, and HAD the distinction of being on the DMZ the most of any American Soldier then stationed in Korea and was awarded the ArCom for it.

When Sarge Bill arrived in Germany as a Combat Medic during Vietnam--I remember he mentioned that the class he graduated with--75% were casualties in Nam. Anyway, ill not keep this off topic so will end with that two of Sarge Bills favorite memories were 1) When he first was sent to Germany-he snuck into East Berlin on some kind of tour. 2) He is in Korea also during the Tree Incident--and about that time, he was also known for burying a load of Whiskey across the border in North Korea.

If you were from West Germany when it happened you might not be to happy. Many that came from the east were basically Russians. Many think they were owed something. Socialist.

Kinda like the Euro. The hard working lost so the non-working could get their share.

W.Germans are hard workers. They've bounced back thus far. How much more can they carry?

Don't get me wrong. The threat on the other side was realized and was a relief. Hitler got them into this mess with Russia and the rest of Europe and the wall tells us which side of Berlin was lucky to get beat by whom.

I'm just pointing out things I heard from people that lived there during the cold war. Germany's Baby Boomers if you will.

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Dum vivo cano

I recently read a book by Masha (not "Marsha") Gessen, a reporter and editor with both Russian and U.S. citizenship. It's called The Man Without A Face: The Unlikely Rise Of Vladimir Putin. Very informative and chilling.

You might want to give it a look.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Thanks for the tip, I sure will look for a copy. Ive always been interested to know more-especially on someone who looks funny when not wearing a shirt and riding a Horse

Somehow, he doesnt look natural riding a Horse :-))

Sorry I can't tell you the publisher--I took my copy to my sister this afternoon.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Spent about twelve years over three tours as a Cold Warrior looking across the Fulda gap at the Russians looking at me. I remember sacrificing for my country. Spent many a night with nothing between me and the cold hard ground but a thin German girl.

The first picture is a view of the Fulda gap.

The second picture is of my tank, during one of many trips to Grafenwöhr, at the ammo pad on Range 42. Tank Table VIII, Tank Crew Qualification


"Im Himmel gibt's kein Bier, Drum trinken wir es hier."

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Great post. That to me was more scary than the wall.

Thanks,

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Dum vivo cano

I think the realization in Kremlin leaders started when Khrushchev went to a supermarket in Texas. He saw the meats, the vegetables kept fresh with mist and realized that this was available to all americans and in the USSR even the top leaders couldn't get it all the time.

To me, I was a teenager during the Cuban Missile crisis. I guess I wasn't paying close attention, I never realized how close the USA came to war until years later. I will say the Kremlin leaders had some signal they misinterpreted that they could place missiles in Cuba and get away with it. I never heard what that was, but thankfully Kennedy had the cojones to stand up to the Kremlin. I would say whomever in the USSr that decided to locate missile batteries in Cuba lost a lot of face over that.

The time I really realized the cold war was over was when the Berlin Wall came down. I will say the Germans did a wonderful job of reintegrating their country. I wish I had a piece of the wall. I have never been to Germany and never saw the wall.

Regarding Putin, he is an ex KGB thug. If you understand that then things make sense. I am sure he is not sympathetic to the wishes of the USA, but at the same time I don't believe he sees us as an enemy. He will be glad to see us get out tit in a wringer and may even help put it there. Still, I don't think he is crazy enough to sell Russian Nukes.

I believe our president genuinely believes he can sit down with foreign leaders and convince them to help us. Apparently he has had such an easy time in his political career. There are foreign leaders who operate on a criminal mentality. If you are known as badass and you are well armed they will act one way and if you want to sit down with them, share a latte and sing Kumbaya, they act much more aggressively. Also I believe folks who are not true believers in some religion do not understand that if your enemy's religion tells him he should kill or convert you, there is nothing you can offer him that will make him change his mind.

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Luke 22:36

He is going to get a nasty sunburn on his mostly bald head.

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Luke 22:36

I joined the US Navy in 1962, and was assigned to the Destroyer USS Stormes DD-780 . First stop Cuba . It was HOT and I was sea Sick, scared and fired up to kick some Soviet Axx, we were so "gung ho" Thank God it never came to that.

This is just my take and I could be all wet (and frequently am), but I would rather have the USSR as my enemy with MAD then have fundamentalist Muslims that feel they either have to convert me or kill me (or die trying).

There are probably too many Muslims to kill them all (Note, I am not suggesting this) and it is hard to tell the dangerous ones from the ones who practice a more mainstream version of Islam. Their religion actually allows them to lie to non Muslims.

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Luke 22:36

During the 80's , I spent many long hours in the back of a Navy P-3 Orion , hunting Soviet subs up and down the Atlantic. Even read Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October during some 8hr patrols.

Yes, it changed its face... the Cold War threats of communism and Marxism are running our own country now and most Americans don't even realize it. No nukes needed when a country is destroyed from within. Even Khrushchev knew this.

How many of you old SAC people out there remember the old unofficial SAC patch,that had the saying ' To Err is human,To forgive is not SAC policy!!!!!

I still remember the special weapons jets kept in the hangar bay with the marine guards. I was a snipe and we'd just pop up out of our holes (slang for the engineering spaces) look around and see some sun and get some fresh air and go turn to. Frank

I got around as an Air Policeman (later renamed Security Police)in the mid-to late 60s. My first duty station was a SAC base which kept B-52s on nuclear alert--8 combat loaded aircraft, each with a guard 24/7, rain or shine, day and night.

Periodically the klaxon would go off and alert crews come screaming out to their A/C in pickups, board, and then stand down. Rarely did things go any further. But I have vivid memories of the day when all those B-52s started engines and with clouds of black smoke pouring out of eight engines each, taxied out to the active runway for takeoff. Scared the **** out of me and no doubt everyone else nearby--and that's putting it mildly.

Seeing the trailers routinely come to and from the nuclear weapons storage area, each with four hydrogen bombs aboard also got your attention--these people were serious...

Also spent a short time pulling security duty in the Minuteman missile field up at Malmstrom AFB and got familiar with the launch control facility, launch capsule, and silos. Spooky. A few years ago my wife and I went through the deactivated Minuteman facility at Cooperstown ND (now a state museum). Hadn't been in one for over 40 years--and it still gave me the chills. Actually a pretty unpleasant experience for me. I wound up being the ad hoc tour guide for my group as the young lady squiring us around didn't really comprehend what had been at stake there.

When they used the acronym MAD for "mutually assured destruction" they were spot on.

I remember seeing the old USSR flag being lowered for the last time on TV and thanking God that my kids wouldn't have to live under that threat. Others, perhaps, but not Armageddon.

Armageddon refers to a battle between good and evil forces. Many believe the location will be in Israel. It is still predicted to happen, so MAD is gone but not Armageddon.

Actually, I think I prefer MAD over religious zealotry.

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Luke 22:36

I was right behind you in Gelnhausen with 1/48 inf.I remember our gdp was at the border,we were the far right plt for the 3rd AD

I can only partly agree. I'd second the sentiment quite readily if the "M" in "MAD" were still a two-party deal in some kind of balance. Now with one rogue state nuclear-armed, another on its way there, two adjacent countries that hate and fear each other (India and Pakistan) possessing nukes, etc., etc., not to mention the threat of nuclear nastiness being sold to terrorist groups, it's not so simple.

But I fear religious zealotry of any stripe whatever. I've said it before on these pages, but I'll say it again: my motto for many years has been, "God deliver me from humorless devotees of any cause." I can deal with most people if they have the capacity to laugh at themselves. That assures me they are relatively sane.

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Oh well, what the hell.

There are plenty of problems with MAD. One is you have to keep spending and two is the problem that the "enemy" gets a breakthrough (Missile defense) and either the other fears this or the party with a perceived advantage decides to take advantage.

Now we have nuclear proliferators, N Korea and Pakistan. Soon if nothing is done Iran will have nukes and then there will be a desire in the middle east to arm other countries.

If my enemy's religion tells him to kill me, what can I offer to get him to change his mind? Would he be satisfied to cut off one leg and one arm? The people in power today do not practice their religion fervently. They do not understand that a religious tenet is not negotiable.

What we are seeing happen is one side with religious zealots is becoming armed with nuclear devices. That side has no compunction against waging war against civilians. The USA no longer wages war against civilians. We have laser and other guided smart bombs and civilian casualties are due to locating targets in areas with high civilian presence. during WWII the Germans waged war on British civilians and it had no beneficial effect for Germany. In fact it served to salve the conscience when allies did the same thing. The next war IMHO will be a religious war.

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Luke 22:36

I spent some time in Fulda and Bad Hersfeld, here's the rest of it.


IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER

In heaven there is no beer (no beer!)
That's why we drink it here
And when we are gone from here
Our friends will be drinking all the beer

In heaven there is no wine (no wine!)
So we drink till we feel fine
And when we leave this all behind
Our friends will be drinking all the wine

In heaven there is no fear (no fear?)
So we worry too much here
And we drink ourselves full of beer
To help us when we deal with the fear

In heaven there are no drugs (no drugs!)
It's why we hang with thugs
And when the lord pulls the plug
All the thugs will still be selling drugs

In heaven there is no sex (oh, no!)
So let's do that next
And when our muscles no longer flex
Someone else will be having sex

In heaven there are no wars (no wars)
Or cars or movie stars
And when we no longer are
The world will probably still be having wars

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

During the "Berlin Crisis" at Fort Bragg, we (82nd. Airborne) went to special alert training called "XYZ". This meant 4 days a week in the field one week, and 3 days the next. My outfit,82nd. DIV.Arty. was divided evenly and rotated back and forth. I do not recall how many weeks,or months this lasted..... I do know I missed going down to "combat alley" in town to the night life and bar-maids!... I felt no particular threat or fear that harm would come to us. What 20 year old ever does?

I well remember the mid to late 1950's pulling 2 minute alert and "scrambling" fully armed to either identify a friendly unknown or prepared to fire at some Russian aircraft delivering a nuke on US soil.Thank God we never had to shoot.Exciting times but not the dread I feel now with the greatest Muslim invasion in over 500 years.As we sleep at the wheel the infiltration is taking place,even at sensitive positions in our government.It is said just due to population alone Europe will be an Islamic State in 15 to 20 years.There are areas in Paris now that police stay out of due to violence and reluctance to "offend"Not long ago I read at least 100 cars were burned nightly but hardly reported.The hesitancy to face the challenge due to political correctness will be our downfall.It was more fun facing the Russians in a conventional conflict.