European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Memories of theby Mark k1nkade staff writer i t was once known As observation Post Alpha and it overlooked a Patch of Earth where East and West glared at each other through a barbed wire Fence that Cut along the hillsides and dipped into the Fulda Cap near the town of Ceiba. Now it is Alpha Point where some of those who lived behind the wire and minefields have gathered before moving deeper into Western Europe. Up Alpha once the Symbol of deterrence against invaders from the Warsaw pact is now a refugee Center. More than 50 refugees from former soviet bloc countries live in the. Compound where soldiers from the 11th army Cav regt in the nearby town of Fulda once waited for a Wall of soviet Armor to rumble through the Valley and push toward the Rhine River. Of Alpha was built two Kilometres East of Rasdorf in West Germany and less than two Kilometres from Ceiba in East Germany americans manned the outpost and watched As East German Border guards under the command of the soviet military stationed in Ceiba and Weimar stopped people trying to Cross the Border. Alpha was the first in a string of six observation posts spread along a 368-Kilometer Section of the Border. In cold War briefings at Downs Barracks in Fulda somber american Border guards told distinguished visitors and new troops that the towers guarding the Fulda Cap were the key to the defense of Western Europe. Army sgt Philip works was one of those who walked the Border fences called the Trace he arrived in Fulda in april 1986 As a private and for four years was part of the Force that would be the Quot tripwire or the Speed bump Quot for an attack by the Warsaw pact. Quot we had a Concrete Job there a definition of Why we were there Quot he said. Quot we knew that the Border was Why this multimillion Dollar orchestra had been built up in Europe. In a Way i miss it because it gave us something real to  because it is the shortest route Between the Rhine and Elbe Rivers the. Fulda Cap has been the stomping ground of invaders since the Days of the roman Empire. Armies have gravitated to the moderate terrain rather than attempt to pass through the More a amps Dwa Casey like cold War ghosts observation Post Alpha foreground and its last German counterpart Mark the former Iron curtain. Rugged Hills and forests of this part of Europe. Napoleon captured Leipzig and Dresden by pushing East through the Gap in 1813. He also used the Gap As an escape route when he was pushed Back toward France. Quot Cen. George s. Patton was the last invader to traverse the Gap. With his 3rd army Patton pushed through to Kassel from the South in 1945 and. Stopped at the Elbe River in Turgan. Later the americans withdrew to the historical Boundary used by the King of Prussia in the 1800s. Until the barriers collapsed in 1989, the original Border stones of the King bearing the initials Quot up Quot were still used to Mark the Zigzag lines of demarcation Between the West and East. One Day in november 1989, the phone rang in the regimental Border operations Center in Fulda. Another Border patrol regiment was calling to ask if the Fulda folks had seen the news works said. The Border had opened in Berlin. After that people began crossing. Works said he remembers one of those Early Days when an East Cerman civilian wandered across the Border and asked to visit one of the observation towers. Once inside the civilian. Borrowed a pair of binoculars and peered Back across the Valley at the buildings in the nearby town. Quot i be been watching you watching me for years Quot the Man said. Quot i just wanted to see what my House looked like from your Point of  eventually the Cerman Border guards melted into the population of the neighbouring towns and the soviets packed their tanks and went Home. The fences were torn Down. Now the Tower is closed for safety reasons. Bicycles and broken baby carriages litter the motor Pool where tanks once coughed and belched Black smoke in the cold foggy mornings. Piles of furniture scavenged from Rasdorf and Ceiba by the refugees litter the Back of the maintenance Bay. The Concrete red and Black Border osts planted in the soft dirt have been locked Down or taken As souvenirs their Pewter Republic of East Germany identity plates stolen. The King of Prussia s markers have also disappeared. Concrete posts that had held barbed continued on Page 18 a Short subject cavalry marches to new order by Mark Kinkade staff writer. With no Border to defend the 11 the army Cav regt at Downs Barracks in Fulda Germany has had to redefine its Mission. The results rely heavily on the traditional mobility of the cavalry from which the regiment draws its name. Quot we used to have a primarily defensive Mission Quot said the commander army col. William s. Wallace. Quot it was better defined than the Mission we have now we knew what areas we would occupy if hostilities broke out. Now we have to be prepared for different scenarios a situation much like the horse mounted cavalry of  but the Basic Mission of the regiment Hasni to changed said v corps spokesman it. Col. Dick Bridges. It still serves As the first element in an offensive plan designed to move into an area and hold it until reinforcements arrive. Quot the what is easy to define Quot Bridges said. Quot where and when Ine unit May be needed is the question. It s no longer a race to the Fulda Gap the 11 the army Cav regt began its tour in a Fulda in 1973. It maintained a watch on the fut a Cap until april 1990. Wallace who took charge of the regiment in june said it has two roles now. First it still responds to the needs of the nato Mission. That Means being ready to react to whatever european crisis  the unit is prepared to move out of the theater to places such As Somalia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Quot we Are essentially a Small self contained fighting Force that can deploy anywhere anytime Quot he said. Quot we can go anywhere and do whatever wended to do to secure an area. We re not anchored to the Border  a Mobile regiment with a complement of m-1 tanks Bradley fighting vehicles howitzer batteries oh-58 observation helicopters and Apache attack helicopters is a powerful Force to deploy around the world Wallace said. Being in the Middle of a newly United Germany Means the unit is Central to Many. Potential hot spots. That mobility makes the regiment valuable and should ensure a Long stay in Europe Wallace said according to Bridges there Are no plans to remove or reduce the presence of the regiment. In fact the regiment is expanding while other units Are drawing Down. A new unit will be added bringing in approximately 180 people Wallace said. The regiment is in Fulda to stay and that suits him Fine Quot we consider Fulda our Home turf Quot Wallace said Quot we re proud of our relationship with the town and the area and we want to stay Here. They have told us they want us  monday january 25, 1993 the stars and stripes