Warriors in Peace Operations - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

gaining the sense of teamwork and satisfaction that comes
with accomplishing something to a high standard.
One issue created some controversy with my Base
Support Battalion and Area Support Group. I decided to
secure the installations at Friedberg and Kirchgoens with
guards, and to secure the railheads with guards in combat
field gear and with weapons. I had several reasons for that
decision. First, during the deployment, I wanted the
installations and railheads to remain secure. I had no
information that a terrorist threat had developed, but I
believed it made sense to mitigate the risk.
More likely, however, was the possibility of criminal
activity. At the Friedberg Training Area, there is an old
Hawk air defense artillery site. The Hawk battery was
inactivated or redeployed long ago, and I remembered the
first time I saw it. It looked from a distance like a great
facility—nice buildings and maintenance areas. On closer
inspection, I noticed parts of roofs missing, windows broken
or missing, and most things of value, down to electrical
fixtures and outlets, stripped. I learned that local Germans
had stripped the facility of all usable items after the battery
departed. I was concerned that with a practically deserted
post at Kirchgoens and portions deserted at Friedberg, we
would see similar problems if we maintained open posts.
Finally, there is a significant refugee problem in Germany,
and I was concerned that homeless people would be tempted
to try to occupy vacated barracks if the opportunity
presented itself.
The Base Support Battalion Commander felt securing
the installations was unnecessary and would cause more
anxiety in the community. There was also a turf battle of
sorts. Technically, the BSB is in charge of installation
security. However, I found the security plans nonexistent.
The security manager for Friedberg was a disabled civilian
employee who apparently had no supervision and little
purpose. Also, the BSB had no assets to secure the
installations. Therefore, in the absence of anything better, I
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