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24th Constabulary Squadron
Seventh Army
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

Squadron History

HHB Troop

A Troop

B Troop

C Troop

D Troop

Squadron History

Home of the 24th Constabulary Squadron
1949 - 1952
(Source: 24th Constabulary Squadron Yearbook 1952.)
24th Constabulary Sqdn DUI

On May 1, 1946, the 24th Reconnaissance Squadron was redesignated as the 24th Constabulary Squadron, 4th Constabulary Regiment, and was assigned occupation duty with the United States Forces in Austria.

The 24th Squadron was relieved from assignment to 4th Constabulary Regiment and assigned to the United States Constabulary in February 1949.

The 22nd Constabulary Squadron who was then performing border patrol duties along the US-USSR Zonal Border from Coburg in the south to Hebemshausen in the north, a distance of 225 miles, was ordered deactivated by the Department of the Army and redesignated as the 24th Constabulary Squadron.

In this redesignateion all personnel and equipment from the 22nd Squadron was absorbed by the 24th Squadron with its headquarters at (Bad) Hersfeld, Germany.
(Source: US ARMY BORDER OPERATIONS IN GERMANY, 1945-1983, by William E. Stacy, Headquarters US Army, Europe and 7th Army, 1984.)

24th Constab Sq crest
   Excerpts from Chapters 2 and 3

Special Border Operations
After the reorganization of the Constabulary in the summer and fall of 1948, the 22d and 53d Constabulary Squadrons were given responsibility for border operations on the Soviet-American interzonal border and the Czechoslovak-German frontier. Although they had been on border duty since 1946, it is not before December 1948 that clear documentary evidence gives the squadrons the distinction of conducting "special border operations . . . on the US-USSR zone and US-Czechoslovak boundaries."

The 53d Constabulary Squadron had been located at Schwabach since its activation in 1946, while the 22d Constabulary Squadron -- first activated in 1946 and then inactivated on 7 Jul 1947 -- was activated again on 20 September 1947 at "Hersfeld" (contemporary histories referred to Bad Hersfeld as "Hersfeld").

The 22d Constabulary Squadron's parent unit was the 14th Constabulary Regiment, which was assigned to the 1st Constabulary Brigade, while the 53d Constabulary Squadron's parent unit, the 6th Constabulary Regiment, was assigned to the 2d Constabulary Brigade. The 22d Constabulary Squadron was responsible for the northern portion of the eastern border and the 53d patrolled the southern part.

There are indications in other Constabulary unit histories that they sent detachments to the border to aid these two units, but the primary responsibility for "special" border operations remained with the 22d and 53d.

Although the Constabulary headquarters was of the opinion that border operations were ". . . of little or no use . ." along the French and British interzonal boundaries, it did think they served a useful function on the eastern boundary where they gave ". . . visible evidence of continuing support to German police agencies by patrolling in rear of [the] Russian Zone border and the Czechoslovakian border."

The units conducted 2-vehicle patrols, composed of M8 armored vehicles and/or 1/4-ton trucks, with six armed soldiers These daily patrols were varied in such a manner as to make their appearance at any point on their allotted routes unpredictable. By varying the time spent at listening posts and observation posts,* they made it even more difficult to determine their time table.

As border incidents became more common, the Constabulary headquarters became very concerned about ambushes along the patrol routes. The soldiers on patrol were instructed to have one round in their chambers, but machine guns would not be loaded until it was decided they would he fired. A "fire support element" would be available to assist patrols that had been ambushed, and would consist of an M8 and one or two 1/4-ton trucks fully manned and armed. Other duties of the patrol included maintaining border warning signs on all primary and secondary roads leading to these sensitive borders and sending any Soviet military or civilian personnel seeking asylum to the 7827/31 Military Intelligence (MI) Section at Bad Kissingen. Unfortunately, more specific information on patrolling procedures and rules of engagement are not available for this period.

  On 27 April 1949 EUCOM directed the US Constabulary headquarters to inactivate the 22d and 53d Constabulary Squadrons and replace them with the 15th and 24th Constabulary Squadrons.

On 20 May 1949 the 15th Constabulary Squadron replaced the 53d, which had moved from Schwabach to Weiden, and was still assigned to the 6th Armored Cavalry Regiment and 2d Constabulary Brigade, while the 24th Constabulary Squadron replaced the 22d at Hersfeld, with assignment to the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Constabulary Brigade.

Both the 6th and 14th Constabulary Regiments had been reorganized and redesignated as armored cavalry regiments in the latter part of 1948 as part of the ongoing transition of the Constabulary from a police force into a tactical force. Although the squadrons were attached to their regiments for administrative purposes and would revert to their control during wartime, both were directly supervised by their respective brigades in their border operations responsibilities. The 2d Constabulary Brigade took it one step further when it directly attached the 15th Constabulary Squadron to itself on 15 October 1949.

(Webmaster Note: The 24th Constabulary Squadron, based at Bad Hersfeld, also had troops in Fulda and Schweinfurt. Up to 1951 this squadron patrolled the border area from a point east of Kassel to a point west of Coburg. The 15th Constabulary, based in Weiden, took over the border patrol along the East German and Czech borders from Hof and Coburg, to Passau.)
The Emerging Tactical Force
In the fall of 1950, President Harry S. Truman announced a build-up of American forces in Europe to meet American commitments in the new NATO alliance. This decision was to have a major impact on the border security mission as a more mature theater army grew in place of the US Constabulary. The US Constabulary headquarters was inactivated on 24 November 1950 and its personnel absorbed into the newly activated Seventh Army, with the 1st Infantry Division and the Constabulary units being assigned to Seventh Army.

The 1st Constabulary Brigade was inactivated on 15 August 1951, followed by the 2d Constabulary Brigade on 15 November, leaving only the 15th and 24th Constabulary Squadrons using the Constabulary designation in their titles (the armored cavalry regiments continued to use it in parentheses after their titles).

The V Corps was assigned to Seventh Army on 3 August 1951, followed by the VII Corps on 2 November. By the end of 1951, Seventh Army's major tactical units were the V Corps, which included the 2d Armored Division, 4th Infantry Division, and the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment; and the VII Corps, which was composed of the 1st, 28th, and 43d Infantry Divisions, as well as the 2d and 6th Armored Cavalry Regiments.

After inactivating the Constabulary brigades, Seventh Army reorganized its armored cavalry regiments into regimental combat teams by adding an armored infantry battalion and an armored field artillery battalion to each regiment. The 14th ACR was assigned a tactical border screening and security mission in front of the 4th Division, with the 2d ACR doing the same for the 1st Infantry Division, and the 6th ACR for the 43d Infantry Division. (See map above)

Although Seventh Army and its tactical units had been made responsible for the security of the eastern borders on 2 May 1951, the peacetime border security mission was still being carried out by the 15th and 24th Constabulary Squadrons and a troop of the 6th ACR. As in the past, other units contributed small detachments for relief purposes during shorts periods of time.

The two Constabulary squadrons also went through several transfers and changes during this transition period. The 15th Constabulary Squadron, which had been directly assigned to the 2d Constabulary Brigade, was attached to the 1st Infantry Division from 22 March 1951 to 28 November 1951, when it became attached to the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment. During 1952, the 15th passed back to the 1st Infantry Division and then back again to the 2d ACR, where it remained until its inactivation on 15 December 1952.

The 24th Constabulary Squadron had been assigned to the 14th ACR and, the 1st Constabulary Brigade, but with the inactivation of the 1st Constabulary Brigade (which had provided most of its day-to-day supervision) and the arrival in Germany of the 4th Infantry Division, the 24th was attached to the 4th for operations only on 28 June 1951 (Troop C of the 24th, however, remained under operational control of the 15th Constabulary Squadron). Technically the complete border security mission was assumed by the 14th ACR of V Corps and the 2d and 6th ACRs of VII Corps on 8 December 1952, although the 15th and 24th Constabulary Squadrons were not inactivated until 15 December.
1950

Organization Day pamphlet w/ rosters, 1950
 
1951
(Source: Seventh Army Troop List, 30 June 1951)
ORGANIZATION (June 1951):

UNIT DESIGNATION

LOCATION COMMENTS
HH&S Trp, 24th Constabulary Squadron Bad Hersfeld
A Troop Bad Hersfeld  
B Troop Bad Hersfeld
C Troop Bad Kissingen
D Troop Fulda
Medical Detachment Bad Hersfeld
A Troop
 
1949

Christmas menu 1949 w/ rosters & photos (John Pruett)
1951

Christmas menu 1951 w/ rosters & photos (John Pruett)
B Troop
 

"B" Troop, Bad Hersfeld, December 1951
 
(Source: Email from Ray Martinez)
Ray's father, Sgt Ramon T. Martinez, served with the 24th Constabulary Squadron from 1946 or 1947 until it was inactivated in December 1952.
Yearbook 1952
 
   
     
   
 
Related Links:
24th Constabulary Squadron - Hank Doktorski's excellent web site