March 19, 2024

Origins 2019! War College Presentation on the 59th Ordnance Brigade

Armchair Dragoons Public Affairs Office, 19 June 2019

COL(R) Guillory discusses his time in the 59th Ordnance Brigade, who were the nuclear weapons custodians for many of the NATO allies during the Cold War.

This presentation is on the mission & organization of the 59th Ordnance Brigade (and its predecessor, SASCOM) from Cold War-era Europe. Some discussion of the specific types & quantities of warheads held by the detachments, as well as their expected field operations during wartime.  The audience Q&A also includes a discussion of the US Pershing II missiles of the 56th Field Artillery Command, which was not a part of the 59th ORD BDE but was another unit in which COL(R) Guillory served in the 1980s.

Spread from Jutland to Turkey, the 59th’s disparate artillery detachments maintained & deployed tactical nuclear weapons to allied delivery systems, whether 155mm howitzer rounds, or Pershing 1a missiles.  Several ordnance battalions within the brigade also maintained the stocks of nuclear & chemical weapons for US use.

The video is approximately 45 minutes, and includes multiples questions with the audience.


Thanks for reading!  We’d love to have your feedback either in the comment area below, or in our discussion forum.  You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

Brant G

Editor-in-chief at Armchair Dragoons

View all posts by Brant G →

Tell us what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: