During the Cold War, American troops stood watch at many places on earth including one very remote mountaintop in Turkey which was the home of The United States Logistics Group (TUSLOG) Detachment 150, U.S. Air Force, at Sahintepe, Turkey. 

The next few pages contain some pictures and interesting items from my year there while I was a very young staff sergeant in the Air Force.

Believe it or not, that's me, a few months past age 23, leaning against the one and only sign that pointed the way towards Sahintepe (pronounced "shon-tep-ee or "shawn-tep-ee"). 

We're on the Kumla to Gemlik road and the dirt road to the right led to Detachment 150.  This seven and a half mile dirt road was totally rebuilt by the US Air Force during my August 81 - August 82 tour of duty.  The TUSLOG general called the resulting gravel road his "TUSLOG highway" upon his visit in early 1982!

We were located about 25 miles north/northeast of Bursa, a city of half a million people and 10 miles north/northeast of the town of Gemlik, population about 20,000.

The next few pages provide you some idea what life was like at Detachment 150, virtually on the frontier of the Cold War, 3 minutes by air from Bulgaria and Romania and about 10 minutes from the USSR.

Background on TUSLOG Det 150's Purpose

Sahintepe (TUSLOG) Map
Driving up the Sahintepe Road to the site (aka "TUSLOG Highway")
Daily Site Life
The 7-day and 7-night Snowstorm
USO Shows
Sightseeing trips
Camel Rides and More 
Saying Goodbye & Cardburnings
Interesting Stories
TUSLOG Det 150 & Sahintepe Documents On the Internet
Were You At TUSLOG Det 150???
Photos From TUSLOG Det 150 Alumni
TUSLOG Det 150 Coffee Mugs
Who Transmitted to TUSLOG Det 150?
Take a Walking Tour of TUSLOG Det 150
Circuits Diagram for US Armed Forces Radio Sites In Turkey
Sahintepe in 2003
Sahintepe in 2007
Find US Tropo Sites in Turkey on Google Earth
Why TUSLOG Det 150's Mission Ended
Where's TUSLOG Det 150's American flag?
Get your Top of the Mountain Site Lounge Items !

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I would be remiss if I did not point out the heroism of the men of TUSLOG Detachment 150 who performed their duties without fail during a twenty-two day terrorist threat in early 1982 by Carlos the Jackal and his gang of thugs. 

Any of us there would be lying to say we weren't scared, especially after the Turkish gendarma (military police) arrested two of the thugs down in Gemlik.  We were left unarmed except for a Turkish soldier with 20 bullets in a Sten gun.  I know many of the guys kept baseball bats, pipes or clubs handy with the idea we would go down fighting no matter what if the terrorists struck on site or on the site road.  (Yes, my choice was an aluminum baseball bat!)

Through it all we kept the radios up and running, generated our electrical power, and made our twice-weekly 300 mile round-trip mail and classified materials runs to TUSLOG Detachment 184 at Balekesehir Air Base.  Such quiet devotion to duty tells you why our motto was "Proud To Be On Top" !

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