Soon after arriving in Germany the Regiment added four separate units to its ranks, and eliminated its medical detachment and service company. The personnel and equipment of the latter units were distributed throughout the three battalions and the headquarters company. The 83rd Army Band was added to the Regiment in Straubing, and the 502nd Armored Medical Company in Regensburg. Later the 619th Armored Engineer Company joined the unit in Straubing, and in August the 8th Ordnance Company (DS). The addition of these units gave the Regiment the fighting capabilities of a small armored division.

In keeping with the Seventh Army policy of bringing more direct control to lower echelon units, the Regiment also gave more authority to its Battalions so to give them a freer hand in carrying out their administrative tasks more effectively.

With its arrival in Germany the 11th Cav immediately took up Border operations and patrol along the German-Czech border. The 11th Cav is a front line unit, its mission -- to protect and guard the border against any Communist aggression toward the West. Along with this the Regiment forms a vital link in communications with other units in the Seventh US Army and NATO Forces here in Europe.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
M Troop was the first building by the main gate. 

I did look at the pic of Ft Skelly taken in 2005.  The surrounding land has changed!!! In front of the main gate used to be open fields (often pasture for sheep).

Looking down on the picture, the first building was HHQ, across the street was the troop barracks.  M troop first, then the 502nd Med, then L, etc.  The final barracks was the Engineer barracks. 

Across the parade field was the motor pool. It appears the Germans reconfigued the back portion of the facility (we always exited the Fort at the back portion (past the ammo dump). 

I have a lot of fond memories of Regensburg and my time as a Cav trooper.  Thank you very much for sharing these memories with me.  I am attaching a picture of me outside the main gate in early 1963.

The American flag and the Tricolor fly side-by-side in front of the camp headquarters building. The flags are raised and lowered daily in colors ceremonies.

When it comes to equipment, the French and Americans maintain their own weapons. French equipment includes a 76-MM self-propelled gun which operates with two drivers and moves forward or backward with the mere flick of a lever.

This gun knows no forward or reverse. It's all the same, the gun turns 360 degrees, a French sergeant explained.

American weapons include personnel carriers and tanks. Both French and Americans maintain their own ammunition trucks and both are equipped for extensive on-the-spot maintenance.

French soldiers on duty at Whalen seem to enjoy their assignment.

"I haven't minded the isolation" said reserve officer 2nd Lt Bernard Baudot. "I would say this has been a fitting climax to my active duty in the French army."

Regular officer 2nd Lt Jacques D'Achon, a new arrival at the camp said: "I think I'm going to like Camp Whalen. It should be an experience I won't soon forget"

BORDER MISSION

Freedom ends at the East/West German border. Mile upon mile of fence centered in a wide, sterile strip of earth, and hundreds of slotted, ominous guard towers bring this fact home to the soldiers of the 11th ACR daily.

As guardians of this frontier, the Blackhorse Regiment is the first line of defense for the Fulda Gap, the traditional avenue of approach for many westward-bound armies throughout European history. Every moment of every day, Blackhorse soldiers are manning observation posts (OPs), providing security, and collecting vital information along the 368 kilometers of 11th ACR border responsibility.

When troopers, especially newly-arrived personnel, arrive at the border, there is an inescapable feeling that they have entered a different world. There is a dismal, oppressed air in the border region that is as much real as imagined. It is true that the weather is usually worse than at home-station cities because of the higher elevation and different terrain along most of the border area.

The initial oppression one feels is quickly replaced by an exhilarating sense of mission. One never hears the protesting question: "What are we really doing here?" There is no doubt when a soldier is staring an armed East German soldier in the face, or watching a fully-loaded Russian attack helicopter passing him. The feel of the "Iron Curtain" has instilled spirit and an urgent sense of mission leading to true career dedication in more than one young soldier.

Although the overall border mission is the same for all squadrons, each has its own facilities and methods.of accomplishing the border mission.

The First Squadron operates out of OP Alpha. The units rotate their combined arms elements through the OP every few weeks. OP Alpha has a dining facility, troop billets, and a dayroom equipped with games and a weightlifting machine.

Unlike First Squadron which uses its OP as a home station, Second Squadron operates its base out of Camp Lee and periodically mans three OPs at different locations. A fourth OP is manned on a twenty-four hour basis. Camp Lee becomes home for a troop-size element for about a month. The camp is a "mini-kaserne", complete with a motor pool, PX, billets, dining facility, and aid station.

Third Squadron's operations are much like those of First Squadron, except that they man two separate OPs at all times. Both OP Romeo and India are self-sufficient, with a dining facility, billets, and an aid station.