How I Won the Cold War

I served in the U.S. Army during the last years of the Cold War... I was stationed in Germany from 1989 to 1991, where I served as medic in the 7th Medical Command. Here's my Cold War story:

The week after REFORGER (a large annual military exercise in Europe during the Cold War, simulating a Soviet invasion of Germany) in 1990 (or was it 89?), I was driving an ambulance from Landstuhl to Karlsruhe. The highway was clogged with military convoys and I pulled off at a rest stop to use the restroom. I pulled in behind a small blue Opel and noticed that it had an strangely familiar license plate. Realizing where I'd seen it before, I jumped out of the ambulance and fumbled for my wallet... there, behind my 1k Zone card, Code of Conduct card and military id was my SMLM card.

SMLM's, or Soviet Military Liaison Missions, were Soviet Military observers who were allowed to observe military forces in West Germany. However, there were certain circumstances where NATO forces could detain them. U.S. Army forces were required to carry a helpful card in their wallet that identified the SMLM license plate, who to call if you saw one and described the circumstances in which they needed to be detained. As fate would have it, one of the circumstances was close proximity to military exercises (but not, as you will see on the SMLM card, on the autobahn).

As I stood in stunned silence trying to figure out I if I should try to detain him and if so, how, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Emerging from the restroom, was a smallish fellow in strange combat fatigues. Our eyes met. He saw me fumbling around with my SMLM card, staring dumbstruck at his license plate. Effortlessly lighting a cigarette, he walked briskly past me and got into his vehicle, no doubt speeding off to report to his overlords. I was left with nothing to do but phone military intelligence (their number was on the back of the SMLM card) and report his plate number.

Less than a year later, the Berlin Wall fell. Coincidence?