http://www.bunkertours.co.uk/BRIXMIS.htm
An interesting link.

Funny how growing up in the circumstances surrounding being a Dependent of the Canadian Armed Forces colours ones perceptions or even awareness.

for instance, while quite familiar with SOXMIS, it never occurred to me, even all these decades later, that the NATO troops would probably have something similar bipping around the Eastern Sector/East Germany. I'd never heard of BRIXMIS, for instance. Well, colour me naive!! LOL

The site offered up by nobby is quite interesting. Nice cars too! Better than what I remember the poor slobs who were SOXMISers having to put up with.

I also wasn't aware the Americans and French had parallel outfits. Did the Canadians and Belgians have any? I doubt the Belgians did...a more impoverished Army would be hard to find!

the Cold War was an interesting time, more so actually when we all just viewed it, as children and teens, as completely normal!

LIke having tanks rolling down the Ringstrasse in Soest...no big deal to us, but when my mother mentioned it, totally in passing, to her mother in a letter, the next letter from home was full of alarm...Nana was sure my Mom was describing some sort of invasion and was worried sick.

Only the four occupying powers had military missions: Britain, USA, France and the USSR. It was before your time, Steve, but up to the mid or late 1950s the three western zones were quite clearly defined although the word 'occupation' was avoided. Canadians weren't allowed into Berlin at all, except under special circumstances (we had an intelligence unit at the Olympic Stadium in the latter cold war years). Can't speak for the Belgians. As for the books cited on that excellent web page: I've found used copies at both Barnes & Noble and Chapters web pages. They want the earth for them, though. Still debating how badly I want to read them. Glad I got my copy of "Brixmis" by Tony Gerahty when it was in print.

Once saw a soxmis vehicle forced of the road just down from 24 missile in Paderborn. The officer that got out was a six footer and looked very smart ,he seemed unperturbed by the event but was obviously outside his allowed inspection area.

i still have my thankyou card from the RMP for reporting a soxmis car,i still remember the day it happend,i had just picked my mother up from the airport and i sppotted him on the way back to detmold,itold my mother what was happening it was the most exciting part of her stay,[her words not mine her stay wasent that boring].

In reference to BRIXMIS I've read some where that there were Canadian Officers on secondment to them. Would make sense as were were part of BAOR. Which believe it or not we were still technically after we moved to Lahr.

There was nothing more fun than a 5 ton wrecker bearing down on a SOXMIS car. The drivers look on his face was priceless. Took some fine judgement when to brake, but our guys were good at it. The SOXMIS always took great interest in the SSM Bty as they were a nuculear delivery out fit.

On an exercise in the early 80's (I was in a Brigade Sig Sqn) an odd voice suddenly broke into the Brigade Command Net. One of our watchkeepers, an Education Corps officer was a Russian linguist and identified the language as russian.

If he is breaking in I thought he must be close by - turns out there was a Soxmis car nearby and the RMP chased them in a Landrover. Thing is, I know Brixmis and the other allied Missions didn't carry radios, assume Soxmis did - otherwise it's a massive and unlikely coincidence !

Later - maybe on the same exercise our MT Staffie "lost" his SMG and the whole troop ended up combing the woods for the weapon, which we never did find. Didn't do the Staffie's career much good and he was posted out soon after......

Of course we found out Soxmis had been sniffing around our locations once we packed up and moved.

We had a fella lose his FN C1 (SLR) in a German village. As was pointed out by the Meatheads (MP's ) it was probably well hidden with weapons that had been stashed when Napoleon was last through. I remember when the RCMP from the embassy in Bonn came down to Lahr to investigate said FN C1, the fella was crying out, " For Kriss sake do they want to make it a federal case". It was pointed out to him that the RCMP are the Federal Govt's police. Silence ensued.

Does this bring back memories ...

Len (Ciphers)

Soxmis had there base at Bunde,and the building had more antenna,s on it, than the BT tower, used to see them in the NAAFI shop escorted by RMP all the time buying booze and cigarettes [Yes the did get a BAOR Ration Card] There there was allways RMP cars outside the misson, and when a SOXMIS car left the RMP followed.

The whole 4 pages of British Army SOXMIS card



Sighting Report Confirmation Postcard



and the smaller US Army item



Note the differant plates for differant missions.

Ciphers

Have you got one of those chits they gave you on the Berlin train?

I lost mine in a move