Item:
1Kilometer Zone sign
Image Provided by:
Scott C. Pierce, 2ACR Lieutenant from 1987-1990
Location of item when in service:
Coburg Sector of 2/2 ACR circa 1989.
Description:
The image attached is of a 1 Kilometer Zone warning sign. Many of these signs dotted the countryside of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) during the Cold War.
Notes:
The signs were in place to keep U.S. Forces from blundering into the restricted zone adjacent to the German Democratic Republic (DDR, GDR, or East Germany). Specially trained soldiers under the control of the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment were authorized to patrol in the 1 Kilometer Zone in the southern sector of the U.S.A.’s sector of the FRG. (Another Armored Cavalry Regiment was responsible for the northern sector — the 11th ACR in 1989) Other U.S. Forces Personnel who were found in the 1 Kilometer Zone were apprehended and taken to the nearest Border Operations Center where they were held until their unit came to pick them up. This would normally result in an UCMJ violation for the individual.