Last 11th ACR Patrol 20th Anniversary Celebration at Point Alpha

On a cold, blustery Spring day last month – much like those so many of us older Blackhorse troopers can personally recall – several hundred visitors and distinguished guests gathered at the former US Border camp, Observation Point Alpha, near Rasdorf, Germany. It was March 31, 2010, twenty years after the final elements of K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th ACR, patrolled and reported along the former Inter-German Border (IGB). These individuals, both US and German, came together to celebrate the final US patrols that occurred so long ago. But their message was much more than merely commemorating the former US Constabulary, 14th and then 11th ACR troopers who professionally guarded the line between east and west, rather the speakers focused on the separation between freedom and oppression, good and evil, and the huge contribution the USA, its military forces, and NATO provided over an extended period to allow the former West Germany to grow, develop and become a strong partner in Europe and NATO. Their gratitude was overwhelming, with speeches from current senior officials from both sides of the former border …