 This is where the free world ends and the Communist Dominion begins. This is the border between West Germany and Eastern Europe. Here is where Winston Churchill Simile of the Iron Curtain is made terrifyingly real. Hundreds of miles of high steel fence along the boundaries of East Germany and Czechoslovakia. It is from somewhere behind this steel barrier that attack would come should the Communists employ armed force to press their dream of world domination. So it is that men of the United States Army patrol the roads along the fence on watch day and night. Keeping their vigil in the air as well as on the ground. Reports flow back constantly to two United States cavalry regiments that are poised along the border of West Germany. Ready to hurl themselves at the foe should invasion come. Determined to slow his advance until the free world deploys its armed might. For this is the frontier of freedom. These men are the border watchers. One of the most honored unit insignias in the United States Army is the regimental crest of the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment serving its country since 1836. Today its motto to sure pray always ready is more significant than ever as the men who wear it carry their vigil into the skies. That is Czechoslovakia in the distance occupied by armies of the Soviet Union. A totalitarian power that has used armed force to dominate its neighbors. It is lush countryside, a landscape painters delight. Massive castles frown over sunny fields. And dark forests, red-tiled roofs of ancient towns gleam like illustrations from a medieval storybook. Rolling metal lands, fertile soil for wheat and other crops breathe a tranquil peace. Only the frontier fence marrs the pastoral scene. It runs like an ugly scar, interminably across metal land and valley. Ominous watchtowers link it at regular intervals. High steel barrier dips into forests and plies the mountains of the lower Bavarian Elves. Right to the summit of Cracky Peaks. Scarcely a stone's throw away from ski lodges that defiantly hug the slope. This evil partition sunders towns and villages. Below lies Eisenstein, riven apart by the border, which even runs through the railroad station. The locomotive is West German. The rails on the Czech side of town, called marked Eisenstein, lie rusting in disuse. On the ground, an iron barrier at the railroad station marks the division between two worlds. Even the waiting room inside is split in two. A chain runs across it, warning that passage beyond is forbidden an absurd yet sinister token of communist hostility and suspicion. The communist obsession with secrecy requires us to calm the enemy side for signs of suspicious activity. Vigilance is unceasing. Everyone is on constant alert. The helicopter crew must check with base every 10 minutes. Any delay is a cause for alarm. The roving patrols are backed up by a series of fixed observation points, operated on a 24-hour, 7-day basis by troops of the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment. Atop the tower, trained eyes constantly scan enemy territory. Women walking northeast, northeast of tower two seem to be checking fence, carrying on right shoulder 58 Papa automatic weapons, still observing. The search is for anything out of the ordinary. Even slight changes in familiar scenes can be significant. Traffic on a road seldom used, a new building, a fresh clearing, an increase in personnel at a Czech watch tower. Whatever the activity reported by the observer, the sergeant in charge immediately phones it back to higher headquarters. A photographic record of the activity is also made to be relayed back to base for study. The hundreds of miles of Czech border the Second Armored Cav must patrol. Its remoteness from regimental headquarters has required the establishment of semi-permanent base camps, like this one, Camp Gates. Line troops of the regiment rotate monthly duty assignments here, sending out mounted patrols and the men who man the outposts. It is at the base camp that each jeep patrol is carefully debriefed. Sergeant Farber, on your patrol last night, did you or any member of your patrol enter into Czechoslovakia? No, sir. Did you have any use for your weapons? No, sir. Did you fire them? No, sir. Did you at any time, you or your men, enter into the 50-meter zone? Yes, sir. Point out on the map exactly where? We're in the 50-meter zone at this location, this location, and this location here. Were any of these points outside of your normal patrol route? No, sir. Then would you go into more detail on those personnel carriers which you spotted last night? Yes, sir. There were 13 personnel carriers, AT-64s at this location loading on flat cars with approximately 30 men with them. About a platoon, then? Yes, sir. Could you tell whether or not they were Czech or Russian carriers? It was difficult to tell, sir, but I'm pretty sure they were Czechoslovakian. Very good. Thank you, Sergeant. Yes, sir. Cavalry means movement, and the border watchers must be ready to roll day or night. This constant readiness demands the highest quality of maintenance. The mechanics of the second CAV perform prodigies of labor to keep equipment operational. The same sense of urgency motivates signal technicians. Operational standards are rigidly maintained by inspection teams from higher headquarters. CMMI stands for Command, Maintenance, and Management Inspection. These experts seek one simple but vital goal, 100% operational readiness. Men, as well as equipment, must be kept in a high state of readiness. Repeated practice alerts, called without warning, train the troopers to move out fast, but in perfect order, without getting in one another's way. While this mechanized infantry squad enters its armored personnel carrier, tank crews mount their M60A1 tanks. The main gun is unlocked. Tube and turret action are checked. The tank commander secures the radio antenna while the powerful diesel engine warms up. The steel giant stirs into motion. The convoy is rolling. This alert usually develops into a field training exercise in which combat elements take up defensive positions or engage in tactical maneuvers. Frequently, the maneuvers are large-scale, testing the operational readiness of major cavalry units such as squadrons. These operational readiness tests, ORTs, are carried out under simulated battlefield conditions. Attack and counterattack are executed with the aggressiveness and verve that are typically cavalry in style. The maneuvers are often joined by West German paramilitary troops whose job is border defense. They are called Bundesgrenschutz, BGS for short. Here, they are acting as enemy soldiers, a role they frequently reverse with their American allies. Although live ammunition is not used, the mock skirmish is fought in deadly earnest. More than skill in skirmishing is at stake. Public are prepared to defend their country and the nation's allied to them in NATO. The performance of American troops is evaluated by umpires who roam the maneuver area. These men are officers or high-ranking non-coms of great experience. They grade the skill and teamwork of fighting units. Particular attention is paid to the leadership qualities shown by those in command. Their reports go back for study to the regimental command post in Nuremberg. This is where the headquarters of the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment is located. It is in a former SS Cassarne in which der Führer himself lived when he came to this ancient city to address Nazi party rallies. The famous stadium where the rallies were held stands empty nearby. Once it rang with marching boots as 100,000 stormtroopers crowded its vast area. From this podium, Hitler exhorted his followers and received their frenzied adulation. In disuse since the Nazi downfall, the stadium today is a bleak expanse of quiet desolation. A grim reminder of how fleeting are dreams of martial glory and world conquest. In contrast, modern Nuremberg frogs with the light and noise of a busy metropolis. Nuremberg is one of West Germany's major metropolitan areas. Virtually leveled by Allied bombing raids, the famous medieval city has been meticulously rebuilt. No sign of devastation remains. Nuremberg is a favorite of cavalry troopers on leave. Its glittering shops, excellent and inexpensive restaurants, many theaters and nightclubs offer ample diversion from the strain of border watching. The Second Armored Cavalry Regiment has a vigorous recreation program. It is often combined with the goal of improving community relations. This soccer game is being played by German and American teams. Sharing the border watch with the Second Cav is the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment. It patrols a shorter stretch of border along East Germany running north. The northernmost section of the border is manned by British troops. Headquarters of the 14th is at Fulda. Since its squadrons are located close to the border, no advanced base camps are required. Border watch activity is carried out much like the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment. There are a series of fixed observation posts manned by troopers on 24-hour ships. Here too, the watch reports any and all activity on the East German side no matter how routine or slight. There is an added stimulus to observation. This area of Germany is known as the Fulda Gap. Peaceful in appearance, it is an historical invasion route from the East. So the border watchers keep their powder dry and their weapons ready to use if need be. Flying cavalry men make daily border sweeps. They are grounded only when inclement weather limits aerial observation. The main task of watching the enemy side falls on the mobile ground patrols. Their visibility is least impaired by bad weather. Communist border guards scrutinize us with equal intensity. The East Germans seem to make themselves more visible than the Czechs. Note that the fence that runs here is a double one. The East Germans are diligent in keeping them in good repair. Also conducts surveillance from the air. Their helicopters are Russian made and fast. Their pilots are skilled. Communist watchfulness is meant more for their own people than for us. A trap for would-be escapees is seen below from one of our helicopters. Long strips of earth are plowed close to the fence. When the earth is soft, it leaves tell-tale footprints of anyone attempting to flee the Communist paradise. The soft fresh earth holds a deadly menace. It is seated with mines. The warning sign is ours. Concrete bunkers crop up at intervals. They are sighted so as to command a wide field of fire along the fence. The striped border markers bring a slight touch of color relief to the grim scene. Stones painted yellow also serve to mark the boundary line. One of the grotesque results of the division between East and West Germany is this house that straddles the boundary line. Its occupants abandon the part on East German territory and live only on the West German side. There are a few authorized openings in the East German barrier. This is a legal crossing. A customs station through which flows a meager amount of traffic from the two German aids. The men crossing to check the automobile are West German. One is a Solner, a customs official. The other is a member of the German border troops, the BGS. The West Germans patrol their border jointly with the U.S. cavalrymen. They make contact frequently to exchange information. Over to their post office and into 107 where we are presently located. An American sergeant is doing the interpreting. We have made this observation so far. The 14th armored cavalry regiment has been promoting German language classes among its troops with great success. Three weeks of classroom courses teach basic conversational German. It is supplemented by a special vocabulary of military and border watching terms. In the fourth week, Americans and Germans go on joint patrol. To promote speaking proficiency and mutual understanding, German and American border patrol units live and eat together. The Americans also attend courses in German on weapons used by the Bundesgrenschutz. This mortar is of West German manufacture. On exchange day, BGS soldiers visit the 14th Cav posts and vice versa. Here, a BGS captain explains to American visitors some features of a German patrol vehicle. But contact with Germans is not all military. Social relationships are encouraged by both forces. The 14th armored cavalry regiment probably has the most outstanding record in German-American relations of all United States forces in West Germany. This sustained effort to cultivate friendship reaches deep into German civilian life. A popular activity is a week on the farm, during which cavalrymen help out in spring planting or fall harvesting. Preference is given to farms in the border vicinity. The cavalrymen also have a highly successful emissary of goodwill in their band. The band travels throughout the 14th Cav area, giving enormously popular concerts, participating in holiday celebrations and ceremonial affairs. These acts of friendship are strongly appreciated and reciprocated by the local Germans. No city in West Germany is more hospitable to American soldiers than is Fulda, regimental headquarters of the 14th. Fulda is also one of the most attractive. Its municipal castle was once the home of Fulda's great prince bishops. It is considered to be, along with St. Paul's Gate, and the organerie among the finest examples of German Baroque architecture. The magnificent St. Boniface Cathedral is an international shrine, since it houses the bones of St. Boniface. In stark contrast is this modernistic church. Parts of Fulda have a decidedly modern look. This is University Square, named after its centuries-old center of higher learning. The charm of Fulda and the friendliness of its citizens, that's the Lord Mayor addressing his people, is cherished by the 14th Cavalrymen. The bond is strengthened by a common awareness that the hostile border lies close by. That is why the 14th is in constant combat training. Like its sister regiment, the Second Cav, the 14th has a dual mission in Germany, to patrol the border and to carry out a delaying action should the enemy pour his massive strength across the border. The modern U.S. Cavalry Regiment is formatively equipped for this purpose. This impressive array of tanks and armored vehicles belong to just one line platoon. Each platoon is backed up by the additional firepower of a squadron tank troop and the heavy guns of a self-propelled 155-millimeter howitzer battery. Helicopters add an aerial dimension to its ground reconnaissance capabilities. Training in an armored cavalry regiment is rigorous. Tankmen must pass an annual tank crew qualification course. Their effectiveness in simulated combat situations is carefully judged. The Cavalry's foot soldiers must also undergo strenuous tests in what is known as MISPIC, Mechanized Infantry Squad Proficiency Course. Like the tank crew qualification course, MISPIC sets up typical combat situations in which the squad leader and his men must display a high level of skill, teamwork, and aggressiveness. Howitzer batteries and 4.2 mortar crews must also pass annual qualification tests. It is all a far, far cry from the horse and saver days. The Cavalry's steeds are of iron now and have even taken wing, like Pegasus. The thunder of horses hooves has given way to the clank of treads and the beat of rotor blades. But the spirit of the past still rides with the 2nd and 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The Cavalryman's traditional dash and boldness, his fierce pride in the battle history of his regiment, burn as strong as ever. The 2nd Cav, which fought valiantly in almost all of America's historic wars. The Mexican, the civil, the Spanish American, World War I and World War II. The 14th Cav, which fought the Philippine morows two generations ago and won imperishable fame in World War II in the breakout at San Loh, the Battle of the Bulge, and the capture of the Ramagan Bridge. Yes, the Cavalry traditions of honor, valor, dedication are very much alive today. Here on the West German border, there is no questioning as to why men are prepared to fight. The issue is clear. Freedom is at stake. And these two great Cavalry Regiments, the Border Watchers, will if need be fight to preserve it.