Watching and waiting

DW-WORLD.DE: For how long were you stationed at Point Alpha?

Steven Steininger: No one was ever stationed there. It was a temporary location where people would take their unit for two to six weeks. I was there several times as a company commander from 1987 to 1990.

Why did the US army set up Point Alpha?

There were several border camps, but Observation Point Alpha was probably the most famous, because it was the entrance to the Fulda Gap, which was one of the traditional approaches between the East and West through that part of Europe. If you could get through the Rhön Mountains, then you could get to places like Frankfurt and you could move quickly on the autobahn through large open valleys.

How many people were at Point Alpha?

You had to have 40 people to run the border camp. There were always two people in the tower observing, ground patrols, who would walk, patrols in jeeps and mounted patrols. Occasionally we would have aerial patrols in helicopters.

Did you have contact with Germans?

We coordinated with West German customs officials and the Federal Border Guard. We were all together in one boat. When the opportunity arose, we would relax and have fun together. It was a small band of brothers.

What was it like to serve there?

Generally we didn't see our families. We did not have any normal life when we were at the border. We were there from the very beginning to the very end -- not always working, but we didn't leave. We celebrated people's birthdays, Christmas, Easter. We made the best of it. It was always a very stressful time, because if you were there, you had to do everything perfectly. There was no room to make mistakes, because the other side was always watching. There were a set of rules that both sides, the forces on the West side and the forces of the Warsaw Pact, had agreed to and you had to fulfill.

What kind of rules?

You couldn't cross the border. You had to be very professional, very respectful, very disciplined. We would be inspected several times by our higher headquarters and if you did not pass the inspections, it could be very damaging to your career. While you were patrolling the border, it was difficult to relax and have fun. It was one of the most difficult missions a normal solider could participate in, and it made it very clear why we were there. You could see the differences between East and West and we truly knew we were on the very edge of the frontier of freedom.

Do you remember any tense situations?

In 1988, a ground patrol walked into East Germany. Fortunately no one was detained, but it was a very difficult situation. Another situation was behind the actual fence. The East German patrols and observation guys had dogs, mines, explosives all throughout the wood line and secondary fences. I remember a couple of nights when flares and explosions went off in parts of the forest. I don't think we ever found out what happened. But it caused us some great stress. It was the fear of the unknown.

You were there after the fall of the Iron Curtain. What was that like?

The immediate reaction was: "Yes, we were successful in our mission, which was to defend freedom." The former East Germany collapsed; the former West Germany was successful in remaining a viable and strong country. We were very happy and emotionally swept up. But after emotions subsided, we began to wonder: "Where do we go now?" November 1989 was high stress. We really were never sure what was happening until it happened. You always thought: "Will people be peaceful or will you have to do something?" I was there when the border crossing at (the nearby West German town of) Rasdorf opened up, which was very touching. We continued to patrol the border until March 1990. Then we stopped all patrols and began to close the place.

You're still in Germany. How come?

When I retired from the military, I was offered a civilian job with the US army in Mainz and decided to stay a few more years. I like Germany. People can say my last name here.