During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union deployed both theater and tactical nuclear weapons into their respective zones in Europe. In the west, the US organized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an operational military coalition, while in the east the Soviet Union did the same with its east European satellites creating the Warsaw Pact. In the west, especially in West Germany, the US deployed a large number of tactical and theater nuclear weapons in an effort to offset the vast Soviet advantage in military forces and manpower. Over time the Soviets did the same. In both zones, these weapons were closely guarded in a large number of storage sites scattered across the countryside. The most significant American unit was the 56th Field Artillery Brigade that was equipped with the Pershing missile, a theater weapon capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Nuclear weapons in storage and held under American control for use by NATO allies were managed by the 59th Ordnance Brigade. The missions of both the 56th and the 59th were demanding and difficult and had to be performed with great care on a daily basis. Theirs was truly a “zero defects” existence. Both units met that challenge for over four decades.
Many junior officers, me among them, pulled guard duty at storage sites in Europe during the Cold War, commonly referred to back then as “NATO Sites.” The procedures and processes that had to be followed at the sites were quite strict, as one might imagine. The incident with the “rabbit hunter” described in Chapter 5 actually occurred – to ME while the officer of the guard at one such site. Fortunately, it was an innocent event that ended with none of the sinister implications described in the book.
When I was first assigned to the Pentagon in the mid-1980s, I had the “fire support analyst” desk within the office of the Army Chief of Staff. My portfolio included the Pershing II missile, an enhancement of the existing Pershing 1a missile first deployed in Europe in 1971. The Pershing II had about twice the range of the Pershing 1a, greater accuracy, and quicker reaction time. Getting the PII fielded was a high priority of the Reagan administration intended to counter the Soviet deployment of its SS-20 missile. But efforts continued to negotiate the elimination of such theater systems, hence the “two-track” strategy of developing and deploying the PII while simultaneously seeking its elimination along with the SS-20. The eventual result was the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) treaty of 1987, concluded by President Reagan and new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, an agreement that eliminated the PII and the SS-20 along with similar weapons. Today, you can see these two missiles standing side-by-side in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.