An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir October 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie 20 | By FRANK REID PhoToS AS CREDITED reminiscences of A cAnADiAn coLD WArrior E very year in Germany during the Cold War, NATo would play at war during Exercise 'Reforger' (named for 'return of forces to Germany'). The uS, supported by Great Britain, Canada, and other allies, would muster large numbers of soldiers and equipment and move towards the border with the Eastern Bloc in a show of force, trying to intimidate the mighty Russian Bear and its allies. This was insanity at its best considering there was always someone in the West and his counterpart in the East with their fingers on the red button. (In my opinion red was a poor choice of colour, either literally or figuratively, as to most people 'red button' would equate to 'panic button', and you definitely didn't want anyone panicking near a button that could launch enough 'nukes' to obliterate the human race in a matter of seconds.) The premise for Reforger was a simple one: keep us in readiness for a possible attack from the Soviet Union. Our purpose was to stop the Soviets at all costs for 48 hours. If we could pull that off, it was theorised, we could reinforce Germany and save Europe from Communism: otherwise, all was lost! At the peak of the Cold War the US, Britain and Canada between them had 385,000+ troops sta- tioned in Germany, Turkey and Britain, ready to react quickly should war break out. During Reforger, in addition to the troops already stationed in Germany, soldiers were flown in on an air bridge from a num- ber of countries. Planes would fly 24 hours-a-day and, in some cases, civilian planes were used to augment the military fleet. This type of exercise gave military pilots, air crews, air traffic controllers and loadmas- ters the chance to work the bugs out of the process without lives being lost. In a real war, the troops flown in on the air bridge would be sent to pre-designated depots where they would draw weapons, ammunition, tanks and other vehicles and be thrown into the battle exactly where the Soviets were attacking. This mode of operation would deny crucial information to the enemy such as what units would be brought into which area and how rapidly they could be deployed. It also allowed the Allies to "When I first arrived in Germany I was told by a grizzled old sergeant that we were all just cannon fodder and if the Soviets attacked, none of us would survive. he was right, of course." US Army during Reforger, 1982.

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