Modern, US Army, Mech. & Armor Uniforms:
826 Armored Regiment, 1st Lieutenant, Khaki Blouse:
826th Tank Battalion was activated on December 17, 1954, and organized by reflagging of the 322nd Tank Battalion.
Cold War change in Germany: Tensions between East and West, with the end of WWII, Stalin's paranoia, and the Western Powers going through internal frustrations, in the bix, was Korea, and Vietnam, the fear of Communist intentions real, and of their fear of us, building this huge Nuclear supply where were thing leading, and escalating, we tested each other-at the cost of other nations getting ripped apart.
Germany's Plight in the Post-War: It's amazing how in the big picture, how quickly several small events lead to a change of the tide of the world, how we let people control our lives, and others, would policy, our friends of the moment, and enemies of tomorrow? It's so true- how we would all be the best of friends if say-and an Alien force came to us.... that may be what it takes, and by then it will be too late.
A Country Divided by fences and walls. So the ‘Iron Curtain' as Westerners called it, went right across Germany, and surrounded the Western-controlled sections of Berlin....this was disturbing at best, crushing Germany, and shocking to the people- when they found out they could not leave anymore, both sides I suppose were puppet states of the two sides, NATO vs 'Eastern Block' and the saber-rattling began.
A Country Divided by Fences and Walls: The West became officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and/or Bundesrepublik Deutschland, (BRD) from 23 May 1949 till the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990. The East - had become officially the 'German Democratic Republic (GDR) or in German, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik or (DDR), in 1990, with the 'Soviet Union imploding, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and accede to the (FRG) of the West and was absorbed into their system, there was some inner-conflict, but there was not a lot of easy options. Some closure came over the world for a while...but would not take long before there was a clash between people would come again the world is a very dangerous place to live.
The 826 Armored:
Ok so on the web I was able to get that the outfit (826 Tank Battalion) was using the M48 Patton Tank when in Hammelburg, Germany in 1955, and in Mid-1956 they Moved to Schweinfurt. The post being turned over to the 'New Bundeswehr' West-Germany's own Army also issued the M48 Tank, but with their modifications and that was a good idea, as there were a lot of spare parts there. Germany was slowly getting control back to its own people, and being an occupational force was expensive, so the US was phasing down its presence.
The Bundeswehr I gather was a very sharp group of individuals, made up largely of veterans, as the 19–20-year-old age group was very diminished with the war and its aftermath. But these were people, who wanted a job and knew that they, wanted to feed their families, have their respect back (which they got) like the profession, and protect their country.
So we’re looking at Post Korea, which proved Tanks were still a formidable foe, and Before Vietnam, that was one of the worst places to be with the US. tanks! where the M41 Walker Bulldog would come to play with the ARVN Forces and Marines there, and the M48 would see its get first blood. As we were gearing up with the new M-46 Patton, and experimenting with the M-47, they were developing the Leopard Tank....a vehicle that would set the standard for tank Warfare for some time. state-of-the-art vehicle to this day with multiple upgrades of course. And their weapon of choice, now a 120mm Gun, the US and UK both use on their own vehicle.
We were using the M-26 (Derived from the T-26 of Late WWII) and following the Korean Cease Fire, became the M-46, which morphed into the M-47 (The U.S. never used the vehicle in action but other countries did) and by the 1960s was using the M48 that eventually re-armed with the 105 mm weapon, and then a new larger turret, making it the M-60. and variants followed. The M-60s started to become vulnerable to the enemy's weapons at farther distances, is the weapon’s ability with SABOE and explosive-directed shot rounds were able to go through it like butter, so they started at this point really to develop better Standoff Armor Protection for Crews Safety-otherwise the tank is useless.
I'm not sure when this battalion arrived in Germany, but in the 50's the opposing forces generally had the T-34/85s and late IS-3s and the like-lots of Self-Propelled Weapons, The T-54 & T-55s came out accordingly, and T-64's followed, all making our Vehicles seem obsolete, and then came out the T-72. And they were made in large numbers, and the Chinese copied the Russian Equipment so there were vast numbers of modern, fast-wide tracked, heavily armored, and long guns, even auto-loading canons, we were up against a big problem...
The use of explosive reactive armor was used on the M60, as well as spaced armor and various experimental materials of ceramic, spectra laminated plates, etc. Ok, where was I... the U.S. Cold War Armor, The M60 really was followed by an all-out effort to take the playfield, the M1 Abrams, and it was, but in a lot of ways, it was an American Leopard. The Tank, the M1A1's there a bit long in the tooth now really, and not the best out there-awesome trained and gung-ho troops, but the UK had gone through the modernization of their Armor- with wonderful vehicles, they are but few, and expensive to operate, when a drone with a mortar round under it, and someone flying them from 50 miles away can do the same thing.
The Final M-4s: The Shamans being produced in 1944-45 would be the last, they were at their peak, they had been made by 11 companies, and in the end, they had a 76 mm main gun and wider tracks with a fine remodeled suspension. but most went to the scrap yard that survived or stored in Japan, the rest were stationed on Germany's borders, or never left the US, and were in depots here. Those in Japan were soon to be sent to Korea for permanent duty in Korea.
The M-26 in Pershing in Germany. The 90mm Gun used in M36 Tank Destroyers in 1944, gave up the armor for the weapon, because of the weight and expedient need for the weapon, they filled a gap when the Germans had an edge. The first Tank to field the weapon was the T-26, which managed to fight in the final months of the war, -but sold the weapons platform, as the heavy tank, and the M26 would fight in the next war.
Note: It’s been pointed out, that the uniform would not pass inspection, and a…no it certainly would not, it’s not been taken care of very well, and has been used much as a work shirt for some time. But still it’s unique- as they all are, and all tell a bit of history military story. That is that tanks are historically greasy and messy with lots of lube oil, hydraulic oil, and Deisil Electric systems being maintained constantly works as the Military Lube Shop.
4th Armored Division, 1950’s:
Following the end of the Second World War, the 4th stayed and did a tour of occupational duty in Germany. Officially then the 4th AD returned to the United States to be inactivated. Technically the Armor then was still the Sherman Tank Force but starting to change into the (T-26) Pershing Tanks.
Most of the 4-TD's various elements had stayed assigned to occupation duty in Germany but had been re-designated as the First Constabulary Brigade, and they had been given, the M-8 Greyhounds and M- in 1949, it was redesignated the 4th Armored Division and inactivated on 20 May 1949.
Sometime later the 4th AD was then reactivated in mid-1954, at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. They were nicknamed there the "Breakthrough Division".
but that name didn't stick around too long, maybe too much like the "Spearhead Division", I'm thinking this is about the time this uniform comes into play. a 50's style cover-all suit, with WWII style rank and 1950s-60's nameplates, and the rarely seen 4th Armored triangle on the right chest, rather than the left.
By 1957 they had again deployed to West Germany, the main elements were located at Cooke Barracks in Goppingen. So, it was assigned to the VII Corps area of operations, and under command by them while there.
In mid-1958, what was known as Combat Command "A" was located at Wiley Barracks, The outfit was made up of a lot of different specialty forms many more than I can name Brigades, Regiments, Companies, and Platoons than I can write here.
Now in re-shooting and re-writing the story for this fellow. The Corporal (Tech) had left some matches in the pocket.... some 70 years ago......I forget the pocket all the time and sometimes you do find some interesting objects, lighters, glasses, saved insignia and medals, ribbons bars, Dog-Tags... and the like, I had one with several. Badges, none of which I have ever seen before, and no idea what they represented other than maybe -' ya did good son' recognition badges, that I have not ever seen before though.
The 4th AD stayed in Western Germany until its final inactivation in May 1971, it became the 1st Armored Division, and this would be another story.
Like the Corporal's Stripes on his cap, implying old stock too, the new 'ball cap' starting to make its presence. it is much like what my dad war with his dungarees in 1947, in the Marine Corps. Thinking this was one of those times during budget cuts, the nave saw them too, what a concept right? way to practice, so we think of it as hard times.
But the Military had gone through changes in sizing, training, and employing the troops...times had changed, and the gear and weapons were starting to show their age, change was coming. The Korean War soon came, when the equipment would show its age, and the soldiers really pushed and did magnificent work, but upgrading was necessary to the military, a different kind of war lay ahead.
With a little guesswork, and juggling, I'm thinking this Tanker, would still have been using the WWII Style 'M38 is it' crash helmet...they do get banged around a lot- especially if hit.... but of course, it would not matter there, as then you would be shattered and burn...instantly. I digress.
But figuring with the transition from the M4A3E8's, to M-26 Pershing, and even into the M-47 I think the helmet was used, 1957-58 maybe. The gear was worn out then, likely re-issued by then, and the using up of old stock.
Now I have 4-5 of these helmets, that have unfortunately been completely beaten to hell, not hardly savable, and some nice-looking repos that fell apart, this one has seen better days too.
M-47 Patton Tank: The M47 Patton Tank. This was the third variant to hold the Generals Title, a spin-off of the Pershing-who General Patton thought of as a mentor. I think the M-47 introduced new features to the existing basic hull so kept the name, but had some major components changed, like turret size, storage, and I imagine Engine or rangefinder target acquisition upgrades, it now has a bore evacuator.
M48A1 Patton Tank: The M-48 was a charged-up M-47 really, but modernized and complete cast construction. This tank would go on threw the cold war as our main tank for some time-well past passed up by the Russians, it’s just that the Russians couldn't afford the T-55s and 64s either, or fuel...or pay anyone to drive them anymore.....but we didn't know that the Iron Curtain was very quiet when it wanted to be.
*Sergeant Major, 49th Armored Division:
Several of the original divisional units received federal recognition from the National Guard Bureau on February 27, 1947, one was the 49th Armored Division, a date used thereafter as the formation's "birthday".
In 1947, all four battalions of the 144th Infantry Regiment were placed into the Division as Mechanized infantry units. Beginning in the northern and northeastern areas of the State, there were 111 units in 56 Texas cities by 1952.
An executive order In September of 1961 alerted the division for mobilization, due to the 1961 Berlin Crisis developing. On October 15, 1961, the division entered federal service and deployed to Fort Polk, LA.
In May 1962, the division staged the large-scale Exercise Iron Dragoon, a major National Guard armor-exercises. Now the Yellow cord (Armor) on the left shoulder and the orange lanyard on the right (this is a unit recognition decoration for the Netherlands liberation) are both not confirmed for use on this uniform, and it may be un-appropriate, but they were there when I acquired the uniform. these are old pictures, and the lanyard does not hook on the pocket like this I don't think now. So, apologies to those who may have worn the uniform.
Again, I presume the nameplate, and decorations are likely not original either, I may be wrong but would not be the first time, in fact, it’s likely with each uniform, and it often takes in-depth research to confirm these. I just want to show them right, so this may have to get re-vamped at some point in the future.
The Ribbons bar's decorations include from top to bottom (L to R) the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with oak-leaf, the Army Commendation Ribbon with 2 oak-leaf clusters, the Good Conduct medal ribbon, with 4 knots (Does not equal his hash marks and should have been upgraded for uniform use), the Occupational Duty ribbon, National Defense with star, Korean Service with 2 stars, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 5 Stars, Vietnam Gallantry Cross with the branch, (looks like one of the Navy Medals, possibly from prior service there?), UN Service Medal, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. I suppose it fits? will check up on this one day.
While stationed at 'Fort Polk' the division's missile unit became the first Army National Guard unit to ever launch an “Honest John” Nuclear Missile. The 49th Armored Division reverted to Texas State control in August 1962.
The 49th was deactivated in 1968 but then reorganized into three separate brigades, the 36th, 71st, and 72nd. They were reactivated on 1 November 1973, and headquarters at Camp Mabry, Austin Texas.
At the end of the Cold War, the division was a unit of the Texas Army National Guard and organized according to the Army of Excellence...
The U.S. Army III Corps was the only fully functional, Reserve Component / Armored Division in the United States Army. Then on 18 July 2004, the division was 'Reflagged' and was designated again as the 36th Infantry Division.
The 50th Armored Division stationed in the northeastern United States had been eliminated by consolidation with the 42nd Infantry Division by the 1990s. These dress caps- are another of the anomalies with the uniform, as these were nearly never used only on special events, the overseas (Side Cap) being the norm, even for officers on most occasions.
The uniform would be typical if not for the few oddities in it, class A is used as a dress / and walking-type jacket for some time. The Sergeant Major's uniform came with a jacket and cap only. He has Hash Marks galore, meaning 9 enlistments, 9 times he took the oath, depending on enlistment lengths, could be over 27 years. He has battle bars equaling over 3 years.
*Just updated: 10.13.22 with a bit better pictures.
1st Leutenant, 11 ACR. Platoon Leader, late 1970s:
APCs in Europe. With the development of the fully tracked personnel carriers (APC) the M One-thirteen vehicle was soon sent to the training areas, to develop tactics and test the men and their vehicle, many faults were found, and fixed and they were dialed in....but in Vietnam-in Real War, the downside soon showed its ugly face, finding the APC was no match to the hand-carried RPG weapons....the armor started using new material, and the vehicle has been a huge success, even due to their evident Achilles Heel.
Merchandised-Infantry: The M-113A1s were tried and tested, while an RPG can still take them out, they have proved dependable, and able to do what is asked of them, the crews have been throwing lots of training and trust their vehicles. and they learned a lot of hard lessons in Vietnam and the Fa-East, and the Desert Wars learned again, but they do what they have to do.
11 ACR. Post-Nam The 11th ACR has history on either side of the Cold War, here we will just cover their service in the Cold War stationed in Germany. The 11th (ACR) is one of those units that is 'Famous' if not one of the Legendary, Army units of the Cold War their history is told largely in the Vietnam War.
The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment had been assigned as General Eisenhower's bodyguard and was with him and at the end of the war when he went home, they stayed. They had crossed the Rhine, fought at the Battle of Munster, and the seizure of the Ricklingen Bridge spanning the Leine River.
They had fought across Northwestern Europe, Troop B/44th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was the mechanized escort and security force for the headquarters of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. When they finished their mission in August 1945, they were located in Gross Ilsede, Germany.
HHT, 11th Cavalry Group was converted and reorganized as HHT / 11th Constabulary Regiment on the 1st of May 1946. During this period, the regimental was in Regensburg around its headquarters. Their mission was no longer to find and destroy the Germans, but to help restore order, and police up the country.
When they were a constabulary unit, the called the "11th Constabulary Regiment" patrolled the occupied Area, performing law enforcement operations, while keeping public order later they were reorganized and were redesignated again as the HHC, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the 30 of November 1948.
Reassembly and organizing of the 11th ACR were completed on 30 November 1948 by reconstitution and reorganization of elements of the 11th Cavalry Regiment and HHT, 1st Constabulary Regiment. HHT-1st Constabulary Regiment was converted, redesignated, and consolidated into 11th ACR now 'HHT, 3rd Battalion, 11th ACR 'on 30 November 1948.
The 11th Tank Battalion was absorbed into the bix that then made the 11th ACR on 8 January 1951. The 95th Tank Battalion was then consolidated into the 3rd Battalion, 11th ACR, on 1 October 1958. The 'Air' element was inactivated on 20 March 1972 in Vietnam.
(The uniform here is from the late 70's period, I believe), and well some have speculated on the use of the coverall then, seems pretty practical, and even if old stock, I think many a tanker well-preferred coveralls to the 2-piece official fatigue uniform.
M2 Bradley: The Replacement, for a bigger, faster, more hard-hitting vehicle, was the M-2, And well it fits into the Reconnaissance role well, I don't think the Army was completely happy with it, while it remains in service and there are many of them, the M-113's are still in the Army registers, and well they have been upgraded, still light vehicles and still a workhorse for the Army. I may have to change the ribbons bar down the road or add, some battle bars onto the uniform. but then, he’d want to have his battle patch on his right sleeve.
Captain, 14th Cavalry Regiment Cold War Tanker:
This unit’s story starts in 1901, with the 14th Cavalry was constituted on 2 February of that year and, with the War Department's General Order Number 14 the group was then organized at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in March of 1901. They would be deployed to the Philippines for the insurrection and would fight the insurgents...they would earn their first battle streamers there, they then would chase Poncho Villa, and Bandits through Mexico into 1916.
While patrolling the border until 1918, then they were slated to go to Europe to serve in the First World War...but then the Treaty of Versailles was signed, and they did not get sent across the Atlantic going back to the border patrol mission, why'd they ever stop? In 1920, came back to a home in Iowa, for decades they would serve in peace. but that had to be broken again, there was trouble in Europe again and an embargo on Japan, leading to the assault on Pearl Harbor, the US was at war again, and Hitler declared war on us a few days later!
They would battle into Losheim Gap, in Belgium, in 1944 and fight at the Battle of the Bulge, into 1945. After taking the brunt of the German Army they got reorganized and became part of the 7th Armored Division. they would re-equip again and serve with the XVIII Airborne Corps, and went back to the fighting.
They fought at the Battle of Remagen, and in the end, they were serving with the 3rd Army. Near the Austrian border. They would take it easy for a while, then there was a new development...a Cold War. In the post-war they were issued orders to the 14th Constabulary Regiment they would serve as a police-type unit until 1948, as it reorganized, they became the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment stayed there until 1972. In Germany, an Iron Curtain had been closed and the troops would serve along "Freedom's Frontier" involving the Fulda area, Bad Kissingen, and Bad Herzfeld.
Their mission was in reconnaissance and the border guard duties now that they worked for 'NATO', unit the day their colors were cased, they were to be removed and replaced by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The New so-called 'Ballistic Shell' Helmet...would not stop any bullets, the side-mount microphone has an early mount, but a bit large microphone itself-the early one bury bulky and not popular.
The 1st Squadron deployed to Northern Iraq in 2003. After serving with various squadrons, and being restricted into different squadrons serving several tours, they came home to Fort Lewis, Washington in September 2007. The uniform shows the use of subdued format, I think this was actually used and common there, while it took a while to become common in Vietnam.
Then in December 2011 over a year, the TF 1/14 CAV. was deployed to Zabul Province, Afghanistan, to work with the Afghan National Army, and National Police, with the local government, conducting wide-area security and building the legitimacy of the Afghan government. They have been in the Zhari District, Spin Boldak District, and the Afghan-Pakistan border.
The uniform really was the same that went to Vietnam in the '60s but would have retained the strait-slacks like fatigue trousers, and an insulated jacket over it much of the time, black boots, and little else, and generally the canteen was not too far away.
Warrant Officer, 11th Armored Cavalry Division, into the 1980s:
The regiment's border surveillance mission was large the - German-Czech frontier. In 1964, the 11th ACR returned to the United States and then two years later bound for Vietnam. The war in Vietnam soon escalated, and the Black-horse Regiment was slated for an assignment to Southeast Asia, on 11 March 1966. The regiment began specialized training for combat in a counterinsurgency environment. and jungle fighting, several modifications were made to the organization and its equipment (MTOE) the emphasis was on the use of the M113 armored personnel carriers with the ACAV kits. this introduced Two M-60 machine guns with protective gun shields to the flanks of the vehicle, and a circular armor plate cupola structure and gun shield for the commander's .50 caliber machine gun. The GIs coined the APC ACAVs, During the draw-down of U.S. forces in Vietnam in early 1972, the 11th ACR was inactivated in stages, 1st the (Air Troop inactivated on 20 March 1972 then the 2nd Squadron inactivated on 6 April 1972 also in Vietnam.
As part of the Gyroscope unit rotations operations, the 11th ACR was sent to Germany in March of 1957 for another round at the border surveillance mission along the Iron Curtain, replacing the 6th Armored Cavalry Regiment. They Headquartered the 1st Squadron in Straubing while the 2nd Squadron was stationed in Landshut and the 3rd Squadron in Regensburg.
And subsequently reactivated in Germany (Air Troop and 2d Squadron activated 17 May 1972 in Germany) by reflagging the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The unit, based at Downs Barracks, had the mission of patrolling the East-West German border. During the late 1980s, the 11th's 4th Squadron (Air) operated the first air assault school in Europe, known as the Blackhorse Air Assault School, based in Fulda.
The regiment's modifications emphasized the use of ACAV personnel carriers rather than the Patton tanks and removed the M-114's Reconnaissance Vehicles (which may have existed in European and CONUS areas of operation for a while longer). The M114 had been deployed to Vietnam in 1962 but was quickly withdrawn in 1964, it had been completely useless as in the recon role - or anything else, it had a costly and disastrous performance.
The 11th drove home the value though in 1968, against mass forces in the open patties during Tet 68, the delivered Hell on to the NVA stuck out in the open, and though they continued being RPG targets throughout the war, really were an advantage the US. and ARVN forces held. M48- tank companies, remained the same in each squadron so there was a lot of firepower in the Mechanized 'Armored’ Regiment. The 2nd Squadron was inactivated on 6 April 1972 in Vietnam. The 'Air Troop' 2nd Squadron was then activated on 17 May 1972 in Germany.
Then, Colonel George S. Patton IV, the son of World War II General Patton, was commander of the 11th ACR while it was in South Vietnam. He recommended to General Creighton Abrams that one of the squadrons be issued the new ‘Airborne' Class’s Sheridan Tanks made of lightweight aluminum to be used for combat testing.
In January of 1969, some M551 Sheridans were issued to the 3rd Squadron 4th Armored Cavalry, and the 1st Squadron of the 11th Armored Cavalry. The price of learning with this vehicle would be very trying and show it was not completely satisfied with its fighting ability, and better in the support role, being vulnerable to RPG threat, and having no use for the rocket projectiles it was designed for. In Vietnam, a canister shot was needed for the close-in enemy.
Somewhere around 1984, the Air Troop was enlarged more, so became the 4th Squadron (Thunder-Horse), this was their new Combat Aviation Squadron. They were coming under the United States Army Regimental System on 17 June 1986 but then they were completely Inactivated by 15 March of 1994 while still in Germany.
The picture shows a later-80's period helmet and that is what this uniform would depict too. just prior to receiving the new 'Woodland BDUs, and I think the Overalls were out, going to old stock.
The outfit was again reactivated on 16 October 1994 but without the 3rd and 4th Squadrons.
The M-60 Tanks: About the time the new battle uniform came along going from Battle Fatigues, and Jungle Utilities, the BDUs came along a 4-color pattern that we know as woodland camouflage, the US. Army's Vehicles, and some, with their own colors and patterns, for the Marine Vehicles got new paint in the 1980s.
M-60 A2: The next model, was M-60 A2 a Patton Tank with a modified turret. It was to be a force multiplier to work alongside the M-60's. The Soviet threat of the time was more than 2 to 1, this tank was sometimes called the Starship (it was high-tech for the time!). The theory and Development were started early in the 1960s, entering service in 1972. Something over 526 M-60 A2s were built. I failed miserably, and the Army soon dropped it from the inventory.
Enlisted-Tank Crewman, 2nd Armored Division:
Because of their outstanding combat record, on 4 July 1945, They were paraded through Berlin, the fallen Nazi capital, The city had been Bombed and Beaten up by the American Army Air Force and the English 'Bomber Command', but they had been at Berlin’s doorstep when they were halted by higher command, and the Russians Allowed to take it, the price was high, and we did not know they wouldn't wont to give it up afterword's.
Because of their outstanding combat record, on 4 July 1945, They were paraded through Berlin, the fallen Nazi capital, The city had been Bombed and Beaten up by the American Army Air Force and the English 'Bomber Command', but they had been at Berlin’s doorstep when they were halted by higher command, and the Russians Allowed to take it, the price was high, and we did not know they wouldn't wont to give it up afterword's.
In Berlin, Germany, the 2nd Armored became the honor guard for the President of the United States during the Potsdam Conference held between July 17-August 2, 1945. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union were attendees during the Potsdam Conference. General Patton, former commander of? Hell on Wheels? also attended. This was to be General Patton’s last appearance with the division before his untimely death a short time later.
Six months later, in 1946, the division came home to the United States, arriving with band and parade as well., and moved to what was 'Camp Hood'(now Fort Hood) in Texas, and they regrouped, and trained more, with updated and upgraded equipment, but under a constrained budget, a legitimate peacetime armored division.
Then 2nd Armored Division returned again to West Germany, assigned to the '7th Army' operating with them from 1951 through 1957, called back to the States, and assigned to III Corps, Fort Hood. it would be around this period that this uniform may have been used.
While stationed in Germany in 1952 with the 7th Army, they were quartered in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, commanded by General Williston Palmer. The 1st/50th Infantry; 2nd/1st Cavalry; 1st/40th Field Artillery; and 1/92nd Field Artillery were deployed to do a tour of Vietnam, but the Division as a whole did not get involved.... probably a good thing.... another consecrated 3 months of bombing Hanoi and the war could have ended off the get-go.....any way’s, we don't look threw 1960's eyes anymore. Most of the division would be based at Fort Hood over the next 35 years.
They were one of the 'On-Call' units available in the Cold War. There '2nd AD' was one of our main forces that would have had to take on the huge and heavily armored-'Warsaw-Pact forces'. A part of 'NATO' the division was part of the U.S. military's plan to move 'ten divisions in ten days" to Europe as a quick reaction force in the event of a Soviet threat to NATO, they would ship over quickly and immediately go into action (you could say 'Quick Reaction Force' Operation).
The exercises would come to be known as the 'Re-forger' mega-international maneuvers from 1967 through 1988. It was good for the division's maneuver brigades to be involved with the semi-annually over to the National Training Center in the US, this is where they learn the latest Soviet Tactics, with the 'Opposing Force' unnamed but built around Soviet military weapons and tactics. With the end of the Cold War as we knew it, came the inevitable budget cuts, the U.S. Army tightened its belt, but had to shelf a large part of good units and the 2nd Armored Division was one, and it was scheduled to inactivate in the spring of 1990.
In 1975, it was decided by someone to send the 2nd Armored Division's third brigade to West Germany assigning it to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). They added several new elements to the organization and re-designated it the "2nd Armored Division - Forward". They were sent there to secure certain airfields and the staging area for III Corps to come over from the United States, and race to the Inter-German Border (IGB) to blunt the forces attacking the NATO combat forces that would be there.
From 1975 through 1978, some of the elements were located at Grafenwuhr, along with several REFORGER Operations, The division was involved with many other 'NATO' exercises, like "Trutzige Sachsen" (in 1985) and "Crossed Swords" (in 1986) also the major - "Return of Forces to Germany" (REFORGER II) (1980 and 1987).
They were called up for operations in the Gulf War afterward they received several inactivations and re-designations. Once again, the Army was restructuring and the division was ordered off the active-duty rolls, thus ending more than 50 years of continuous service. They came home to Fort Hood in 1991, the Tiger Brigade and the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Aviation Regiment is all that remained of the division, they were redesignated as the 3rd Brigade, of the 1st Cavalry Division, and then the 2nd Battalion, of the 101st Aviation Regiment.
In December of 1992, the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Polk, Louisiana, got a re-designation, and became the 2nd Armored Division! And they moved to Fort Hood in 1993. In, December 1995 they were again redesignated, becoming the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and stationed at Fort Carson, CO. Formally ending the 2nd Armored Division's 55-year history.
M-60s in Europe. While they did fit the bill, and were up against a huge foe, greatly outnumbered, their life span was measured in minutes, It was not a perfect tank-pretty popular-but one knew his adversary's round would likely go right thew them with 1 shot his...they remained steadfast, Trained heard, with regular NATO maneuver drills. With regular maintenance, they were dependable, a match for the T-54s and 64's but dated fast.
M-60 A3, Upgrade's continued: The 'Patton Tank' was morphing from M-46,47,48 to M-60 and 90mm to 105mm gun the infantry was receiving new uniforms, and kit and new weapons coming out, much time and effort going into training the cold war was always hot somewhere, there was Korea, Germany, South America, Africa....stuff in Cuba, and the Mid-East. The Israelis continued for some time with modifying their M-60 and I might say they did a marvelous job of it too.
M1 Abrams. When the M1 Abrams came out-it was a big endeavor, and commitment, as all older M-60s were to be phased out as obsolete-and this new venture emphasized crewman safety as well-in a big way (Crewmen take time to train) and the new (considered the best weapon at the time) the 105 Rheinmetall guns on it. these would upgrade to a 120 mm weapon, and so has the armor, close-in battle, city battle packages, stand-off armor, reactive armor, laminate packages, and M1A3s with a multi-target system if going to a big gunfight.....
Staff Sergeant, 11 Armored Cavalry Division, Medic, BDUs:
PFC, 2nd Armored Division, BDUS 1980s:
Sergeant, 2nd Cavalry Division, Gulf War 1:
1st Cavalry / Armor Major 1990s:
The Chocolate Chip prove to be...well less than popular, and the 'Rocks were soon dropped. This made a world of difference in popularity and really works well, and there has been used quite a bit now with the people serving in the Middle East, it is a different pattern, now using only 3 colors tan, gray, and brown.
The new - Desert Combat Uniform (DCU), this example was worn by a member of the First Cavalry Division, not a flyer, but commanding some of their armored vehicles.
This pattern was used by all 5 of the United States Armed Forces from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s, mostly in the Mid-Eastern operations. In terms of the pattern and material and textile cut, it is nearly identical to the U.S. military's Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) uniform of the '80s.
I was developed in the late 1980s and first issued in very limited numbers in 1990 as experimental test patterns, with Special Forces and the like. The 'DCU’ and its camouflage scheme, officially known as the Desert Camouflage Pattern uniform, as the soldiers came up with a name, they call it...this one is the "coffee stain camouflage". He has prior time with the 3rd Infantry and may have gotten some Grunt time there as well, but very well may have been attached to their Mechanized and/or Armored section.
Notice unlike the older Chocolate Chip pattern uniforms, that retained the green-backed subdued insignia in their uniforms, is no longer the case here, and now there tan and rust-brown.
Obviously getting groomed for a higher position in the military, he has earned his Jump Wings and Flight Wings, and he carries personalized collar insignia. Now he's getting some, maybe more, 'Battle Time' for the record.
While the 1st Cavalry Division, is still very much the main 'Air-Assault element of the Army and is very active always, they do have their contingent of M1 Tanks, and M2 Assault Vehicles, likely still some M113 APCs as well.
The military contracts all this out of course, and historically the US. Uniforms were well made and strong, they sometimes seemed to be logical colors. In WWII Olive and Browns were used and they were great colors, then they turned green for Europe Operations...and stayed there for a long time. It must have been comforting when they found out that samples of the Desert soil were taken from parts of the Middle East, namely Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, and tested there too.
His helmet is still the CVC of the '80s but has received a desert tan overpainting of the dark green, likely some paint was bought and applied prior to his deployment overseas.
The officer had applied his name and rank in a respectable but not really authorized format.
