BORDER SITE SUMMER: Tales from the Super-Secret Army Security Agency

by Jeremiah Davis

Take a measure of M*A*S*H , a dollop of Animal House , stir in a bit of Catch-22 and you'll have life at an Army Security Agency (ASA) border site in Germany during the Cold War. These remote signals intelligence listening posts looked down from isolated mountaintops onto communist East Germany and Czechoslovakia and were manned by small detachments of linguists, intelligence analysts, and technicians. Most of these men were reluctant soldiers who volunteered for ASA rather than being drafted into the infantry. Many were college drop-outs, and nearly all had well above average scores on Army IQ tests. Adult supervision was minimal at these outposts; discipline was lax, and alcohol and immaturity often led to incidents that would strain the credulity of by-the-book soldiers.
One outpost was on Hohenbogen in the Bavarian Forest where a tightly knit group of men worked at a mountaintop intercept site and lived in hotels at the foot of the mountain. This book peeks behind the curtain of secrecy surrounding the activities of ASA’s border sites and describes how the men of the Hohenbogen detachment worked, lived, partied, loved, and sometimes struggled with loneliness.

350 pages, Paperback

Published March 2, 2022

Reviews

[Kent Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I just finished reading my second book by Jeremiah Davis titled "Border Site Summer - Tales from the Super Secret Army Security Agency." Whether you served at one of the Border Sites or were in the ASA, INSCOM, or just stationed in Germany during the Cold War, I think you will find this book is a wonderful account of life as a soldier in Europe. Jeremiah recounts (usually comically) the entertaining situations which many troops face when serving overseas while tackling social, political and personal issues as well. I highly recommend sitting back with a cup of coffee or a Bier and reminiscing. His first book, "Snow Mountain Misfits" is also very well worth reading, it led me to immediately order the second... You won't be disappointed!!

[Jerry Grassel]

Again and yes: more good writing and thus good reading by Jerry Davis. In his follow-up to his previous book Davis brings his readers to more places and more varying events during the seasons of the year that were not covered in his first book.. Davis brings along several of his friends, from his first book, and also introduces new characters. He blends them together as they all contribute to fascinating and colorful journey's through the cold war in he southern regions of Western Germany. Descriptions of "new antics" and travels and tales with Davis, and his service friends, compel the reader to read on! (And on - and on)
Again, his apt use of descriptive words, ( i. e. especially adjectives, verbs and adverbs) placed strategically, in the stories, makes the flow a joy to visualize and appreciate!

Thanks Mr. Davis for the enjoyment!