As a new military police platoon leader, Robin Fontes unexpectedly found herself present at a turning point of strategic significance. Assigned to the Berlin Brigade, Fontes and her soldiers were part of the American effort to maintain an outpost in the German capital, keep tabs on the Soviets, and stay ready for the start of World War III. Fontes found the diversity of missions and chance to live in a major world city irresistible but not without peril. The Berlin Brigade was an isolated unit, standing almost alone against the might of the Warsaw Pact.
Across the Berlin Wall, and throughout Eastern Europe, citizens were demanding additional freedoms and political representation from their communist governments. Tensions inside East Germany continued to rise and Fontes had a front-row view. In October 1989, everything changed. The Berlin Wall came down, and Fontes found herself thrust into a delicate balancing act in the midst of geostrategic uncertainty in a profoundly historic moment.
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Image credit: Image credit: Command Master Sgt. Don Sutherland (via: National Archives and Records Administration)