OT - Last US Tanks Leave Germany

[cavtroop]

Interesting times we live in, that's for sure. I'll never forget driving through small German towns, across the countryside during REFORGER and other field exercises.

Is POMCUS and REFORGER still a thing? Do we still have the tanks in storage in Europe, or are those gone now, too?

[Neal5x5]

Originally Posted by cavtroop

Do we still have the tanks in storage in Europe, or are those gone now, too?

I believe those are gone as well. They have been moved out over the years and from what I understand most sitting at the Sierra Army Depot in California.

[Schone23666]

Wow....that is weird to read. Hell, when I was stationed over in Germany in the late 90's during the drawdown, they still had some armored units there.

At least they're leaving under more favorable circumstances, not like in the T2k "Going Home" module where they had to abandon whatever armor they had left for the Germans (Correct me if I'm wrong there) with everything around them and at home in ruins. Strange world indeed...but not necessarily a bad one, all things considered.

Unfortunately, history goes in cycles, and I fear it's only a matter of time (perhaps not in our lifetime, but our children or great grandchildren's time) before those tanks return to the beaches again.

[ToughOmbres]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

Wow....that is weird to read. Hell, when I was stationed over in Germany in the late 90's during the drawdown, they still had some armored units there.

At least they're leaving under more favorable circumstances, not like in the T2k "Going Home" module where they had to abandon whatever armor they had left for the Germans (Correct me if I'm wrong there) with everything around them and at home in ruins. Strange world indeed...but not necessarily a bad one, all things considered.

Unfortunately, history goes in cycles, and I fear it's only a matter of time (perhaps not in our lifetime, but our children or great grandchildren's time) before those tanks return to the beaches again.

Wasn't it Twain who said "History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes?" Here's to hoping it doesn't repeat itself or rhyme with Putin as an aggressor.

[kato13]

Thread begins with a stripes article and comes full circle with another one.

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...-14325181.html

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — The first Army tanks and vehicles that could one day supply an entire armored brigade as a bulwark against Russian aggression along NATO’s eastern flank have arrived at a new storage facility in Poland.

Fourteen M1 Abrams battle tanks and an M88 armored recovery vehicle arrived by rail Thursday at the Army Prepositioned Stocks-2 worksite in Powidz, Army spokesman Terry Welch said in an emailed statement Friday.

The site, approximately 250 miles west of the Ukrainian border, will soon host as many as 85 battle tanks, 190 armored combat vehicles, including the M2 Bradley, and 35 artillery pieces, such as the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer and munitions.
...

[Raellus]

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

[Targan]

Strange days indeed.

[ToughOmbres]

Originally Posted by cavtroop

Interesting times we live in, that's for sure. I'll never forget driving through small German towns, across the countryside during REFORGER and other field exercises.

Is POMCUS and REFORGER still a thing? Do we still have the tanks in storage in Europe, or are those gone now, too?

REFORGER per SE, is gone I think. Exercises like Atlantic Resolve or similar ones test rapidly moving personnel into Eastern Europe and Germany. REFORGER-esque in scope and size. Last years' was the largest in some twenty odd years if my memory is correct?

I would bet $ that the 21st Century equivalent of POMCUS and Pre-P0 (the USAF version of POMCUS) are being prepped if they are not already in place.

As far as actual tanks, I suppose the only MBT's are the ones that rotate through Poland, Romania and the Baltics on deterrence/tripwire duty although I may be mistaken.