An opinion of how this might be miss understood by you or others that were involved in guarding, transporting, building of facilities for, handling of the nukes.
Anyone feel free to chime in here.
In 82 or 83, I can’t remember which flugtag it was at on Ramstein. I watched at 13 years old, demonstrators try and demonstrate on the base during the airshow. I watched the Military police and German riot police quickly in circle a group in the hundreds mob together and think they were going to accomplish some planned purpose. The group was slowly constricted upon. Next I watched person after person have there hands tied with zip ties on the ground by both governments police. I watched U.S. Air Force VW vans with the back half being a pickup, be used to transport all “arrested” to the newly built high school basketball gym to be used as a holding point. I watched protestors laid next to each other in the back of trucks, and then the next layer of humans being stacked on top of the lower stack. Me and my buddies knew were they were going and walked about a mile to the gym and watched them unload the protestors into the gym. We were asked to leave as they began a perimeter around the gym to secure it.
My point in the story is.
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The protestors were protesting both about Nuclear reactors and the FUTURE deployment of the POSSIBILITY of nukes on German land.
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Protestors wanted the US out of Germany at any level, regardless of nukes.
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Nuclear energy reactors being used was a party subject for the elections. If this was so known should be easy to show which party would go on record in the media to use as a talking point.
You point out that it was well known. Maybe you could produced an article about protestors at ANY US site because they knew they were there? Your idea that the population knew would surely create demonstrations, no? So when Germans protested, they were protesting about the POSSIBLE future deployment. Your Monday morning quarter backing about something 40 years ago, and over 20 years after it was declassified.
Here is an article from 1983. Please note what the protest were about.
I welcome any insight on my view of the subject. I am here to learn.
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/05/world/west-germans-protest-nuclear-missiles-for-4th-day.html
Could you also show which treaty you are stating that allows this and the year it was signed?
My “Monday morning quarterbacking” is about things that I knew when I enlisted in 1983, learned from soldiering within the next few years, and much of what I had read beforehand in professional type publications ( USNI Proceedings, Armed Forces Journel, Janes, etc.) in the early 80’s. Not stuff that I have read after being declassified after I had retired 15 years ago.
I realize that you were an Air Force dependent in Germany around the same time, but the line dogs had a bit different level of information and awareness. Threat briefings, briefings on friendly capabilities, etc. Some info was classified, much was not and available knowledge in open source publications. I learned about the F-4G Wild Weasel in an aviation magazine before the type was operational and the 35th TFW at George AFB was still flying F-105G Weasels.
I just remember the protests in Berlin the years I lived there - '84 -'88.
Honestly I can’t say that I could or could not teach you things. I don’t do the research studies approach. That’s not me. I read stuff, or saw it on news programs, or even lived through a bit of it, put it in this thick skull of mine and occasionally remember some arcane fact or tidbit of information when it fits into the conversation. But I usually don’t remember the source of that tidbit.
Now this is one of my points! How could the German public not know of US nukes on their soil. If there was no local citizen knowledge of nukes in theater, why the demonstrations? It was in open source publications, on television programs, etc. that these two missiles in particular were nuclear weapons delivery systems, and some were to be stationed in West Germany. There were political hearings and debates, public demonstrations, and all other sorts of visible events going on around these things. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, before the Reagan conventional forces rebuild began to field results, the US Army in Europe was known to be a nuclear tripwire force, “a hollow army” was a term used that I recall. It was publicly doubted that they could hold off the Red hordes at that time by conventional arms only for any length of time, and that battlefield nuke usage would be a distinct possibility. It was part of training in field exercises in which I participated, along with chemical warfare (a huge portion of field training was done in MOPP).
About the Pershings: they were aware
Across the Grenze, in the DDR
(it rhymes if you pronounce it correctly)
Or less poetic: Backed by the US, NATO dictates policy with the Pershing.
Some men are students of history.
Some men lived it.
Reagans statement that stirred the pot. This is where what you remember started.
Washington post article about the future deployment of nukes in Germany in 1983.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/10/21/reagan-remark-stirs-european-furor/2a057366-f45b-40e3-8daf-77d8739c5cf3/
Attending demonstrations in Berlin was generally forbidden or US soldiers in Berlin. So was going to certain clubs like Sound or Djungel. Hence they were always popular activities for guys like me. I’ve been been to enough demonstrations to know the difference. Reading and speaking fluent German may have helped. This one, also graciously dated, is clearly against nuclear energy. The ones with images of missiles, as in the above photo I posted, well, one need not understand German for that one…
Here are some anecdotes regarding tactical aircraft standing nuclear alert, aka “victor alert” during the F-100 years in Europe.
https://www.f-100.org/hun602.shtml
Edit- and here is another article more wide ranging on the Victor Alert subject
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/0311victor/
Well, respectfully, I’ll tell you this. I’ve had security clearances, both secret and top secret. I’ve done stuff that I signed a non disclosure agreement forms about afterwards, and am quite aware of classification stuff. And in regards to that, I’ve seen how both the Army and Air Force treat classified stuff during my times spent on respective bases. I will say that the Air Force does tend to go a bit more overboard in regards to such practices. At least that is my personal impression from experience, not something found in any documents.
The articles that I linked were to share tales of nuke alert armed aircraft in USAFE during the era, not to show the locals knowledge of such things. I found the tales interesting and thought that others might as well. Nothing more than that. And of course, yes, they are contemporary works, written long after the fact. Kinda hard to find such work from pre internet days.
And yes, guys talk once they get out of the service. At bars, at work, at family gatherings, etc. when you get a few vets together, it is inevitable that they will swap service stories. They also tend to talk while off duty in the service while out on the town trying to score one way or another with the ladies.
Here’s one nice tidbit that I did remember. John Hackett’s speculative fiction work, The Third World War, published in 1978. Hackett was a former NATO general will all sorts of knowledge from his time in position. His boom specifically mentions NATO forward deployed nuclear weapons in Germany. While some of his tale is speculation, due to some weapons mentioned not yet being in service, but then being in development, most of his basic framework is based upon actual facts of the late 70’s, as well as projected developments. To specifically write in a book that NATO had nukes forward deployed in West Germany would have raised some serious concerns had it not already been known.
Ok, I tried some different search words and found something that fits well. An open source non classified Congressional Budget Office report from January 1977 regarding Theater Nuclear Forces. While not giving away specifics regarding exact locations of nukes in Europe, it does provide rough numbers, and types in Theater in 1977. This was information available to anyone who knew where to look.
1977 CBO Theater Nukes Report
One can only presume that similar such unclassified reports were done by the CBO when funding needs dictated, and available for those who knew where to look for such information. “No bucks, no Buck Rogers”.
Found this archived 1979 New York Times article regarding the debate over proposed deployment of Pershing 2 and GLCM missiles into Western Europe to update the nuclear arsenal there. Near the bottom of the piece is a statement regarding there being over 7000 nuclear weapons in Europe at that time. Also mentioned is the previous years cancellation of the Neutron Bomb by President Carter due to stress in the NATO alliance over its deployment. Good ole Jimmy.
NYT 1979 Missile article
I think the dearth of simliar such articles being easily found online now, is that few have bothered to digitalize such articles and have them easily available. I remember reading many such types of articles back then.
Edit-
Here is a 1978 New York Times article on the Neutron Bomb, that also mention the ~7000 weapon US Nuclear Weapons Stockpile in Europe
978 NYT Neutron Bomb article
The presence of our nukes in Europe was no secret. Only specifics about it was classified.
I went over to the congressional budget office site and see that the report you posted should be public knowledge to anyone back then knowing how to search into getting that info. So not a classified document at any time it seems.
Its funny to read the NATO talk read statement withdrawing 1000 nukes, and then Reagan introducing others.
But then we get into SALT II which is complete tired head talk. 
Well, the weapons were under US control. Facilities hosting US combat aircraft or ground units were only in certain countries such as West Germany, Italy, U.K., Netherlands, Turkey, so that narrows down the possibilities.
As far as the rest of the jack ryan series. It falls flat on it face last three episodes.
