Manuel - Experiences of the Reforger 82 NATO Exercise (100)

Manuel Alzaga returns to the podcast after his debut in episode 57 with his experiences as US Army 18-year-old assistant artillery gunner in West Germany. He tells of his first impressions of West Germany, details of the 1982 Reforger exercise (return of forces to Germany) Exercise, as well as the life expectancy of a front line soldier on the East German border, should the Cold War had turned hot. Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month.  You join a select band who help cover the show’s increasing costs, keep us on the air and bask in the warm glow of being official supporters of the podcast – they also receive the sought after CWC coaster too. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ So to today’s episode, Manuel's story starts as he steps off the plane at the Rhein-Main Air Base which was the primary airlift and passenger hub for United States forces in Europe. We welcome Manuel Alzaga back to our Cold War Conversation... Don't miss extra videos on our show notes page at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode100 Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Experience the Cold War like never before through award-winning, real-life stories told by those who lived it. Each week, we bring you firsthand accounts from soldiers, spies, civilians, and more, capturing the full spectrum of Cold War experiences. Host Ian Sanders takes you beyond the history books, delivering raw, personal stories where every breath, pause, and emotion adds depth to understanding this pivotal era. This is Cold War history, told from the inside. We cover subjects such as spies, spying, the Iron Curtain, nuclear weapons, warfare, tanks, jet aircraft, fighters, bombers, transport aircraft, aviation, culture, and politics. We also cover personalities such as Fidel Castro, JFK, Ronald Reagan, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Mikhail Gorbachev, Konstantin Chernenko, Margaret Thatcher, John F. Kennedy, Josef Stalin, Richard Nixon, Lech Walesa, General Jaruzelski, Nicolae Ceaușescu. Other subjects include Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, West Berlin, East Berlin, Cuban missile Crisis, Berlin Airlift, Bay of Pigs, SALT, Perestroika, Space Race, superpower, USSR, Soviet Union, DDR, GDR, East Germany, SDI, Vietnam War, Korean War, Solidarność, Fall of the Wall, Berliner Mauer, Trabant, Communist, Capitalist, Able Archer, KGB, Stasi, STB, SB, Securitate, CIA, NSA, MI5, MI6, Berlin Wall, escape, defection, Cuba, Albania, football, sport, Bulgaria, Soviet Union, Poland, China, Taiwan, Austria, West Germany, Solidarity, espionage, HUMINT, SIGINT, OSINT, IMINT, GEOINT, RAF, USAF, British Army, US Army, Red Army, Soviet Army, Afghanistan, NVA, East German Army, KAL007, T-72, T-64, Chieftain, M60 The podcast is for military veterans, school teachers, university lecturers, students and those interested in Cold War history, museums, bunkers, weapons, AFVs, wargaming, planes, A Level, GCSE students studying Superpower Relations and the Cold War.