Here’s a post from the past, from my old blog.

In 2012, I traveled throughout Germany for several months to explore parts of the country that I hadn’t yet seen. During that extended visit, I made a point to visit Muenster Kaserne, my first duty station in my time as a US soldier in the Army.

I was reminded of this post as I was doing some writing earlier today. Even though I haven’t even finished and released The Stone Harvest, I’m already working on the next book and a short story, both with Karl Warren. The third book is a continuation of Warren’s adventures and takes place in his past … at Muenster Kaserne.

22 July, 2012

I didn’t join the Army out of patriotism. Nor did I sign up for the pay or benefits. My primary reasons for joining was my desire for adventure and travel. While I did get to travel quite a bit while over in Germany and I did have a few adventures but I’m not going to lie. The duty station was quite a disappointment.

Yes, I had fun at times. Yes, I made some life-long friends. Yes, I did meet the woman that would provide me with sons that are better than I could have ever hoped for. Let’s not ignore a few plain truths, though.

During my time there (1988-1991) we were using the same rounds that had been in the armory for years. As far as I knew, we never swapped them out other than when one of the heads fell off during our daily loading or unloading. We never test fired them and, thank goodness, we never actually had to fire them on-site.

When I was issued my anti-ballistic vest, it should already have been a museum piece. Thin, flexible and threadbare, it couldn’t have stopped harsh words let alone an AK round. When they started to stink from wear, more than one squad leader told me to machine wash it and I did that countless times before an inspection.

The unused, unwanted, soon-to-be decommissioned weapons we guarded weren’t in anyone’s load plan if the balloon went up. The one true “security incident” that we had ended up being two drunk German hunters popping off a couple of rounds in the 4-J. Had there ever been a true threat, we all know what 41st Field Artillery would have done to the poor schmucks on-site. They had our coordinates locked in and would have leveled the place regardless of who was on site.

So, the duty sucked. Period! But, like most other soldiers stationed there, I have a list of folks that, if they showed up in the middle of the night needing $1000 bucks and asking for my help to dig a hole no-questions-asked, I would. Living through such times does that.

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Though we had more than our share of duds, I had some spectacular leaders there, not the least of which were Capt Stramara (it was he that got us the label of Silver Knights) and 1SG Ahlensberg. They set the bar high early in my career and all others had to meet it. I also had many great non-commissioned officers above me. A few years later, when I finally started to mature, pulled my head out of my ass and got some stripes of my own, I had several great role models from my time in Münster.

Here is one bright spot. Someone bought the Motor Pool complex and did a fantastic job of restoring and improving it. The whole compound looks like a well-kept villa.

Though it would have been smart for me to save up more of my pay during my stay there, I came back to the states with not much at all. It’s not that I was a bad planner (OK, I am), it’s that I spent so much on train tickets and hotels and trips to so many towns in the area. Paris and Amsterdam and countless cities and small towns around Germany. I did my best to support the local economy. There was so much to see and do (and drink) in that land. The few, sad souls that stayed on the kaserne their whole time wasted a great opportunity. Their loss.

I do regret missing the final load out of all the weapons. I’ve heard a few stories of the craziness of that time and it seems like a fine piece of history to have been a part of. Mainly, though, I was just glad to be gone.

Today, the kaserne has a new name. It’s its own dorf. Not much of one, though. All of the old barracks and HQ buildings for 6th MP and 545th Ordnance have completely been let go. It looks like, at one point, some effort had been made to begin renovations on Bldg 4703 but those efforts were abandoned and the supplies are still rotting in place today.

6th MP HQ has not been touched since the last boot left it. It’s a true relic. It has not been used for anything since we left it. This is the view of the place form the road. You can only see part of the roof.

My very first night in the kaserne, the unit had returned from the field, HQ was in chaos and my fellow newbie and I were put on hold in the foyer and told to wait for someone from our platoon to collect us. A hundred dirty faces streamed past us, going in and out of the offices or up and down the stairs. Coming back from the field is always a crazy time as all the gear needs to be accounted for and put back in its hole before anything else us attended to. Keeping track of spare PRC-77 batteries was far more important than finding racks for two new privates.

After three hours of watching this circus parade back and forth, the other newbie who got sent to a different platoon walks past us. Kindra Arthur is showered, dressed in civvies and is headed out the door (laughing at us, mind you) to Ludwig’s (our local Gasthaus) while Sneddon and I are sitting with our thumbs up our asses. WTF?!

Except for the first few days, I spent my whole time in the same room in the new barracks. Today, that building looks to be a place where new immigrants are housed or where one might go to hide out after a killing spree.

That was my home for two and a half years. Right there in the center. I had three roommates in my time: Gilmartin, Sneddon and Williamson. Good guys and we got along well ….. most of the time.

Are you ready to see what out HQ building looked like?

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I didn’t get the chance to go visit the dog kennels or out into the old site because everything was fenced off and secured. I’m assuming that there would be more of the same. Google satellite pictures show a lot of overgrowth out there so I don’t think that I missed anything.

Just like my original visit here, I’m glad that I got a chance to go, but I was happy to leave.

Silver Knights!