8th USAFAD

The 8th United States Army Field Artillery Detachment (8th USAFAD) was a specialized unit of the U.S. Army during the Cold War, primarily stationed in West Germany. Its mission was to provide custodial and technical support for NATO nuclear artillery warheads assigned to Belgian Army units as part of the alliance’s nuclear sharing arrangements. The detachment played a critical role in maintaining, securing, and, if authorized, releasing nuclear munitions for use by allied forces. The 8th USAFAD was deactivated following the end of the Cold War and the subsequent reduction of forward-deployed U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe.