Reminiscences of Berlin Germany Detachment A, Berlin 1982–1984 by Eugene G. Piasecki The signing of the unconditional surrender of the Berlin. East Berlin was solely occupied by the Soviet German armed forces on 7 May 1945 divided the country Union while West Berlin was divided among the United of Germany into four zones of occupation by American, States, France, and England. Since there had been no British, French, and Russian armed forces. These zones agreement among the occupying powers concerning of occupation represented the final troop dispositions. land and water routes into Berlin from West Germany, As a result, the city of Berlin was entirely surrounded by the Soviets took every advantage to make movements territory occupied by Soviet forces. In 1949 this became in and out of West Berlin by these means as difficult as the German Democratic Republic or East Germany. possible. Conversely, air access had been regulated and The city of Berlin was partitioned into East and West three corridors were established from Hamburg, Han- nover, and Frankfurt allowing access to the airports at This map depicts the Allied Occupation Zones at the end of World War II. The city of Berlin was also divided between Tegel (French sector), Tempelhof (American sector), and the four Allied powers. Gatow (British sector). These air corridors saved West Berlin from ruin during the Soviet blockade of the city in the winter of 1948–1949. Germany DENMARK The final Soviet attempt to control access to Berlin after WWII occurred in 1961 when West Berlin was surrounded, first Soviet American B a l t i c S e a with temporary fortifications, and then by a concrete N British French wall entirely around West Berlin. In the city, East Berlin 0 50 100 Kilometers Kiel building windows and doors that faced the western sec- 50 100 Miles 0 tors were bricked-up. The only openings in the wall were N o r t h S e a two guarded crossing points at Checkpoint Charlie and Hamburg Schwerin Invalidenstrasse. The rationale for this action by the East Bremen NETHER- LANDS POLAND Berlin government was to prevent military aggression Berlin The devastation around Brandenburg Gate of Berlin im- Hannover mediately after the end of the war. Magdeburg Dusseldorf Dresden Erfurt BELGIUM Wiesbaden CZECH Mainz GERMANY LUX. REPUBLIC Saarbrucken Stuttgart FRANCE Munchen AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND Vol. 2 No. 3 9 Crossing points between West and East Berlin: 1 Checkpoint Charlie 2 Heinrich-Heine-Strasse 3 3 Bornholmer Strasse U.S. troops con- 10 Tegel 4 4 Chausseestrasse front Soviet tanks 5 8 5 Invalidenstrasse 6 Oberbaumbrücke at Checkpoint 1 26 7 Sonnenalle Charlie on 12–13 Gatow 8 Friedrichstrasse Station August 1961. The Tempelhof 7 Crossing points between West Berlin and the movement of German Democratic Soviet armor in 11 Republic: the vicinity of this 12 9 Heiligensee/Stolpe N U.S. checkpoint Schönefeld 10 Staaken 0 10 Miles 11 Deilinden/Drewitz was a screen for 12 Waltersdorfer Chaussee 0 10 KM the construction Soviet American British French sectors of the Berlin Wall. Traffic into the city of Berlin via road, rail, and air cor- ridors was tightly controlled. Crossing from East to West Berlin and from East to West Germany took place only at designated check points. and political interference from West Germany. This situ- the basic plan was unchanged, but in a revision dated 1 ation lasted until 9 November 1989 when private citizens July 1959, the six ODAs were reorganized into five mis- took it upon themselves to begin demolishing the wall. sion task groups with the actions of each more clearly No government interference came from either the West defined. After completing the assigned demolition mis- or the East Berlin authorities. Final sections of the Wall sions, the five groups would be under the control of the were removed with the assistance of the East Germans 10th Special Forces Group whose primary focus was and in 1990, East and West Germany were reunited as Central Europe. Two of these five task groups were to one nation. be prepared to move to predesignated operational areas The purpose of this article is to present a snapshot or to return to West Berlin for “stay behind” operations.1 in time that highlights the training and operations of With only a few modifications based on command rela- Detachment A, Berlin Brigade. It was experienced by me tionship changes and the general threat in the European during my tour as Detachment Commander. I was the Theater of Operations, this concept of operations was the last commander of this unique, multi-missioned unit. basis for the Detachment’s primary mission under the Detachment A was formed in 1956 with six operation- USEUCOM Operational Plan. al ODAs and a staff element. It was assigned to the 6th The Detachment had the secondary mission of coordi- Infantry Regiment in Berlin. Immediately upon the out- nating and developing plans and conducting operations break of general hostilities, or under certain conditions of in support of the USEUCOM counter-terrorist Contin- localized war, the teams gency Plan. This meant that an operator had to be pro- were to cross from West ficient in unconventional warfare and special operations Berlin into East Germany in an urban environment, as well as tactics, techniques, and attack targets desig- and procedures to neutralize or contain potential terror- nated by the U.S. Com- ist threats. mander of Berlin as vital In the 1980s, the U.S. Army emphasis was on the in his fight for the city as sustainment and employment of heavy ground forces well as priority targets to fight and win land battles on the continent of Europe established in the U.S. against the vast Soviet armies. Little to no emphasis or European Command’s encouragement was given to individuals or organiza- (USEUCOM) Uncon- tions that proposed other ways to make contributions to ventional Warfare Plan. the total Army effort. Such was the situation with the Priority targets were: U.S. Army Special Forces. Officers who volunteered for rail lines; rail communi- Special Forces were frankly told that whatever career cation systems; military success they had enjoyed was over and that the Regu- headquarters; telecom- lar Army didn’t want them back in its ranks when their 6th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia. munications; petroleum, tour with SF was over. They had been “ruined” for any oil, and lubricant facili- other type of duty. Likewise, many of the personnel who ties; storage and supply were afforded the opportunity for SF duty were those points; and utilities and inland waterways, in that order. whose respective branch did not want them for develop- Upon mission completion, teams were to conduct fol- mental assignments. Fortunately, some talented officers low-on operations as directed by the Commander, Sup- volunteered, became SF qualified and made significant port Operations Task Force Europe. At the end of 1961, contributions not only to Special Forces, but to the Regu- Veritas Checkpoint Charlie in a photo taken in 198 at the time of On 26 June 1963, President John F. Kennedy and West the author’s tour with Detachment A. The shot is looking into Berlin’s Mayor Willy Brandt visited Checkpoint Charlie. East Berlin from the American sector. During his visit to the city, Kennedy made his famous declaration: “Ich bin ein Berliner. [I am a Berliner.]” lar Army as well. been more true. Upon arriving at Andrews Barracks in While attending the Infantry Officer Advanced the Lichterfelde District of West Berlin, I was escorted to Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1980, I was notified Section 2, Building 904. After entering through cipher- that I had been accepted for SF training. Upon successful locked doors, I was greeted by the stares of several completion of the Special Forces Qualification Course, I loosely groomed individuals in German civilian clothes. was to report to the Defense Language Institute (DLI) No introductions were made. This was normal. In-pro- in Monterey, California, for thirty-two weeks of basic cessing began in the S-1. At 1000 hours, I reported to the German language training. In early April 1982, my fel- Detachment A Commander, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) low Q-course classmates at Monterey began receiving Darrell W. Katz. LTC Katz briefly explained that this assignment instructions to the 1st Battalion, 10th Special was an all-volunteer unit. I would become an ODA com- Forces Group, located at Bad Toelz, Federal Republic of mander in approximately thirty days. If I didn’t want to Germany. With DLI graduation two weeks away, I final- be assigned now or any time later, all I had to do was to ly received my assignment to Detachment A, Berlin Bri- tell him. He would arrange a reassignment. gade. Having no idea what this unit was, I began asking After assuring him that I wanted to stay, I finished questions. No one at DLI could shed any light on Detach- my in-processing. Then I tried to learn as much as pos- ment A. One week later, I received a welcome letter from sible about the organization, its standing operating pro- my sponsor, Captain Dennis Warriner, with instructions cedures, and its missions. Detachment A was organized to bring all military uniforms and relax my grooming somewhat like a standard SF battalion except it was com- standards. He further explained that he could not say pany sized and supported six ODAs. anything more about the unit except it had a classified Each staff section (called the Forward Control or mission. I would be met at the airport by the unit execu- FC) was headed by a senior non-commissioned officer tive officer since Warriner would not be present in Berlin (NCO), except Operations which had a captain who had on the day I arrived.