Little Berlin

The 2nd ACR was unique in that it patrolled the Iron Curtain along the borders of two communist nations. Of the 731 kilometers of the Iron Curtain it watched, 375 kilometers of the Regiment's front was along the East/West German border while another 356 kilometers followed the West German/ Czechoslovakian border. This, though, was not the first time the Regiment worked on the Frontiers of Freedom.

A group of visitors on a tour along the border "Iron Curtain"

In 1946 the Regiment was re-designated the Second Constabulary Regiment and helped maintain order and peace along the zonal border during the chaotic years of the Iron Curtain. In 1955 the Regiment packed its bags and headed back to the States, only to return three years later and re-establish its headquarters in Nuremberg at Merrell Barracks where it would stay until 1992.

The city of Hof (population of 48,000), located just a few miles from “Little Berlin”, was home to the Kingsley Barracks, home of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Kingsley Barracks (Hof)

To conduct border operations the 2nd ACR utilized six, remote  border camps near its area of operations. These camps were Camp Harris (Coburg), Kingsley Barracks (Hof), Camp Gates (Brand), Camp Pitman (Weiden), Camp Reed (Roetz), and Camp May (Regen). The Dragoons also utilized Camp Kronach which was closed during the early part of the 1980s. These camps served as a home away from home for the deployed border troops and provided a logistical and operations base for the Regiment's 24-hour-a-day border operations.

Kingsley Barracks (Hof)

On May 1, 1990, the border patrols that had rolled out the gates of these camps for so many years were discontinued as the reunification of East and West Germany loomed on the horizon. 

For border security, the US Army utilized tanks,...

... helicopters ...

... and starscopes