Letter from the Edge of Detente

We lunch with the young troopers of the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, in their dining facility. “Mess hall” is passé in this modern volunteer Army which, for the first time in its history, is spending more to feed and pay its soldiers than it is to arm and train them. The food is good. We have our choice of a four-course hot meal with three types of meat or a quick lunch of the hot dog/hamburger/ French fry variety. The soldiers look like garrison troops anywhere in Europe, except that many of the NCOs and officers carry .45 calibre automatic pistols in shoulder holsters. The .45 has been the standard issue sidearm of the United States Army since 1911, and was lately publicized by Lynette Fromme’s choice of it for her misadventure. I hope that the soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry are more proficient in its use.

Forty of us are directed to a tour bus by a polite, double-starched Staff Sergeant who will be our guide. His pistol has a magazine inserted in the grip. We leave the post and drive through the nearby city of Hof.

JA

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Joseph A. Rehyansky

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We lunch with the young troopers of the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, in their dining facility. “Mess hall” is passé in this modern volunteer Army which, for the first time in its history, is spending more to feed and pay its soldiers than it is to arm and train them. The food is good. We have our choice of a four-course hot meal with three types of meat or a quick lunch of the hot dog/hamburger/ French fry variety. The soldiers look like garrison troops anywhere in Europe, except that many of the NCOs and officers carry .45 calibre automatic pistols in shoulder holsters. The .45 has been the standard issue sidearm of the United States Army since 1911, and was lately publicized by Lynette Fromme’s choice of it for her misadventure. I hope that the soldiers of the 2nd Cavalry are more proficient in its use.

Forty of us are directed to a tour bus by a polite, double-starched Staff Sergeant who will be our guide. His pistol has a magazine inserted in the grip. We leave the post and drive through the nearby city of Hof.