u/LastDanceInFulda

Fair chance this isn't the first time that old German fellow has seen American tanks roll by. Not impossible that this isn't the first time he's seen a Blackhorse tank roll by.

Note the lack of hardware behind the turret, one of the few things that crews disliked about the original Abrams.

January 1st, 1987. Photo from NARA/DVIDS, extra information from M1 Abrams on Facebook. "Strike Swiftly Thunderbolts!"

"Dreadnaughts" September, 1988. The current 34th AR just returned from Poland by the way... And got sent the NTC immediately after Ha!

The orange Gatorade Bucket(?) is one of the most iconic symbols of Army tanker culture- they might as well be standard issue. I have rarely been a scenario when there isn't at least one tank with one of those in a platoon.

Examples 1, 2, 3, 4

A number of these were made before the Soviet Union fell (and suddenly real T-80s were being displayed). A number of these mock-ups can be found at US military bases in the US and in Europe, and this particular one is still at Fort Irwin (alongside one made to look like a T-90), a similar one is at Hohenfels, Germany by the OPFOR wing of the airfield.

Colored smoke near British armored vehicles acting as opposition forces indicates hits by tanks of the 1ST Battalion, 6th Armor, during SPEARPOINT '84, a phase of Exercise REFORGER '84 near Odagsen in West Germany.

Trying to branch out into more NATO/PACT Cold War kit then American (Difficult since the US kept the best photo archives). The TUA is the exact kind of vehicle that would have wreaked hell on Pact formations, but it only deployed to Germany from 1990-1993, a bit late. They were preceded in service by a simpler TOW equipped M113 variant. Only 72 were produced, they were out of service by 2002.

"SEMPER IN HOSTES" D Company, 2nd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Division
Location likely near modern-day Vilseck Army Airfield (At Rose Barracks) and Grafenwöhr training area.

In April of 2013, with the Cold War far into the rear mirror and with US policy on Russia favoring cooperation over deterrence, America completed a major step in its withdrawal from Europe, a process thought to be final, with the exception of some smaller exercises involving portions of armored units.

On February 20th 2014, 10 months later, Russian forces began a campaign to seize the territory of the Ukrainian nation. Since then, America has shifted to keep a constant armored presence in Europe, this time in Poland and the Baltics- Nations the United States previously avoided long-term deployments to as method of avoiding escalation.

3rd Squadron, 11th Cav?

In the first photo, the tank on the left is an M1, the right, an IPM1.

Probably 194th Armored Brigade, primarily a training unit but also assigned to CENTAG if war broke out.