Connecting the Troopers of Today with the Veterans of Yesterday.

Amberg--LTA

Did some training out there, but pulled many hours of gate guard there when I was in the Unit Police in '88. I know it was outside Amberg near the German's Schweppermann Kaserne. It is still there--I looked when I visited in '06. I remember being told it was an old Hawk Missle site. Does anyone have any memories of this place?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by howard maxwell tritt on February 6, 2009 at 10:43pm

Yep, I remember it sucked! The sand pits across the highway were alot of fun in the summer!

Permalink Reply by Roger Troxell on August 9, 2009 at 10:19pm

Yes, I also remember the sand pits as well. We also used the LTA as a location for Sergeants Time Training. Our Troop would also conduct AA procdure there as well. Think there was a pond out that way some guys would use det cord for fishing.

Permalink Reply by Chris Scheibel on September 3, 2010 at 12:18pm

Spent a lot of time at those sandpits and saw the Hummer there for the first time.
We just came out of the water and sat down in the sand when there was a lot of engine noise and the THING came down the slope.
We had a friendly talk talked a bit about the Hummer but could not talk them into giving us a ride.
I never believed they could drive it back up to the road, it was the steepest part of the lake - but they did - backwards. Needless to say I was pretty impressed :)
Going through the LTA was the quickest way from Ebermannsdorf, where I lived to the sandpits. We were told it's dangerous but I encountered troops only two or three times there - including a close encounter with a tank that raced across the road 15m in front of me - I guess they never noticed there was someone there.

Permalink Reply by Steve Wesnoski on February 13, 2009 at 5:17am

Yes I am still here working in Vilseck Right now it is being used during rotations at Hohenfels. So still used by the US Army to train in.

Permalink Reply by David McGuire- Mac on February 22, 2009 at 5:23pm

Oh yeah, I remember the cold nights on "guard duty" chasing the big snow rabbits to pass the time. Needless to say the rabbits were faster and smarter than us. I think they were using us to pass the time as well!

Permalink Reply by Charles Downs on February 23, 2009 at 8:23pm

I can say that in the late 70's it was a Hawk missile site it was also the local training area for Amberg. I saw the missiles on there launchers, there were 3 per emplacement and they were aimed at the missile sites across the border. The German's had a nice drive thru wash rack for tracks there also

Permalink Reply by Gary Moore on February 24, 2009 at 1:42am

While I was Amberg, 80-'82, the LTA was also the Hawk missile site for D Battery (the ADA Battery that was stationed on Pond Barracks with 3d Squadron). We used the LTA for section and platoon maneuver training, really too small for a Cav platoon, but it's all we had close by, and conducted all our Troop Pre-Combat Inspections out there before rolling into the Hohenfels box for Troop ARTEPs

Permalink Reply by Tom Russell on April 1, 2009 at 11:02pm

Gary Moore said:

While I was Amberg, 80-'82, the LTA was also the Hawk missile site for D Battery (the ADA Battery that was stationed on Pond Barracks with 3d Squadron). We used the LTA for section and platoon maneuver training, really too small for a Cav platoon, but it's all we had close by, and conducted all our Troop Pre-Combat Inspections out there before rolling into the Hohenfels box for Troop ARTEPs

I was on Pond Barracks in 68 and 69, visiting twice, once in the late 80s and again in the mid 90s. It was still a military base during my first visit, although pretty shabby compared to the late 60s. When I returned in the mid 90s it had been converted to refugee housing. Very sad to see the old place just brushed aside.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Ireland on April 16, 2009 at 3:08pm

Pulled guard duty out there several times while in I -Trp 87-89. Also while f-ing off in the Mortar sections M113s threw a track while going thru the pond that was out there. Worse part was it was in the winter and the water was COLD!!!! Layton who was the M88 guy made me go into the water first to hook up the vehicle then to recover the track..... After that the medics had to treat me for hyperthermia! Told CPT Knapenberger that we were doing drivers training when it happened. Just goes to prove that when you are f-ing off bad things happen!!! Can laugh about it now but I wasn't back then!!

Permalink Reply by Donald Fassberger on April 29, 2009 at 12:38am

I was a mechanic at the Hawk missile site outside Amberg, 2/57 ADA from 81 to '83..Our small motorpool was up behind the Cavs at Pond Barracks.I got stuck doing guard duty for a couple months in the tiny shack at the entrance of site.I remember long nights listening to German radio stations trying to stay awake,staring at the dark empty entrance road all night. It was a cold spot on top of that hill in the winter,The trucks would never start.Nice spot in the summer. A-10s and fighter jets used to buzz over the site all the time.You can still see remnants of it on Google maps.

Permalink Reply by Marc Jones on April 20, 2010 at 12:22am