encore Red Alert I
When MPs cordon off his neighborhood in Heidelberg, Germany, a military aide is taken aback by reports he and his family have been taken hostage in their own home.
In early spring of 1984, while I was serving as the aide to the deputy command- er in chief (DCINC) in Heidelberg, Ger- many, we returned from the airfi eld around 1730 hours. The driver dropped the general at his quarters and then dropped me off . I came in, greeted my wife, and went to the bedroom to change clothes. Our daughter had a friend visiting, and they were wait- ing for the other child’s mom to pick her up. Our other two children were outside. While I was changing, our son came in and told my wife there were people out- side hiding in the bushes. My wife looked out the window and then asked me to take a look. “Let’s get the kids inside,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going on.” Then the phone rang. It was the general’s
driver. He said, “Major, have they got you?” I replied, “You just saw me fi ve minutes ago. What are you talking about?” He said, “Sir, after I dropped you off , I noticed the MPs cordoning off the street. I asked what they were doing, and they told me the DCINC’s aide had been taken hostage.” I asked to speak to the NCO in charge
(NCOIC) of the MP detail. He asked me if I could talk freely. I assured him I could, and he instructed me that if I had freedom of movement, I should exit our quarters, lay my ID card on the sidewalk, and step away from it. I complied with the instructions. After confi rming my identity, the MPs asked if they could take a look inside my quarters. I gave permission, and they searched our house. After convincing themselves there
80 MILITARY OFFICER JULY 2011
was no hostage situation, the NCOIC got on his radio and issued an all clear. The NCOIC informed me they had re-
ceived notifi cation from the “red phone” operator that my quarters had issued an “under duress” signal. The red phone al- lowed each of the general offi cers’ aides in Europe to quickly connect with any other aide through an operator; the duress signal was the red phone handset being left off the cradle. Ap- parently, as my wife dusted the bottom shelf of the nightstand in our bedroom that day, she had inadver- tently bumped the handset slightly off the cradle of the red phone, thus activating the duress signal. After receiving this noti-
fi cation, the Heidelberg MPs cordoned off the housing area we lived in, as well as several major streets that led to it. It turned out the cordon had prevented our daughter’s friend’s mom from picking up her daugh- ter and had kept my in-laws from getting to our house for dinner. The next day, I discovered it also had prevented guests attending a dinner at the commander in chief’s quarters from arriving on time.
Tell Your Story Share your service- related adventures (or mishaps) by email to
encore@moaa.org or by mail to Encore Editor, 201 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
MO
— James M. “Jim” Allen is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. He lives in North Carolina. For submission information, see page 18.
ILLUSTRATION: ELWOOD SMITH
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