Germany was my jam & since I learned German so quick & thoroughly, I always got trotted out to hobnob with local officials or when we’d train with the Bundeswehr. I got to chill in the shade & hang out while everyone else was performing in the dog & pony show.
First Sergeant made me the company dog robber, ‘cos I could get things done with a phone call, that he couldn’t do in 2 months with all paperwork properly submitted, with the German civilian employees on base.
Got to train, hang out & drink with them regularly, both in the medical field & especially in PSYOP. Been to the woods with their OpInfo BN both in Scotland county & on the Polish border. On my last tour over there, we jumped with their Fallschirmjäger frequently, so I ended up being the unit LNO/terp. I like to think I got my German wings the correct way- their bird, their chute, their JMs & their DZ.
Another perk of that last tour was the NATO angle. Invited to teach a 2 day class at the Brit PSYOP school at Chicksands & went to Romania for a week to evaluate a couple of their units. Got to attend a week long Order of Battle planning software course in Holland. Even got sent to Pristina on a lark. My Major just wanted to see if I could figure out how to get manifested on the rotator, get the country clearance & get there & back on my own 😆