Dagger Complex, Military architectural complex in Darmstadt, Germany
This site is a military installation in Darmstadt, Germany, composed of several interconnected structures serving different operational purposes. The buildings are spread across a fenced perimeter with guardhouses and entry checkpoints surrounding the entire area.
The site opened in 1951 as an operations base of the US Air Force Security Service, housing the 2nd Radio Squadron Mobile "G" with headquarters in Wiesbaden. From 1999 it was rebuilt as the German headquarters of INSCOM at a cost of 18 million dollars, and the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade moved there from 1998. The European Cryptologic Center operated here until 2015, after which the site became a military data center.
The name is simply the English word for "dagger", not a unit name; the German Wikipedia glosses it as "Dolch-Anlage". The site has carried several official names, among them "USAF Security Services, 2nd Radio Squadron Mobile, Operations site" (1951), Darmstadt Training Center and Local Training Area 6910. In 2015 the Peng Collective dropped leaflets over the fence urging employees to quit, and the group's website was then blocked on computers inside.
The entire area is a restricted military zone and not open to the public, so it remains visible only from a distance along some surrounding roads. Visitors to the neighborhood occasionally see signs along the outer boundaries indicating the special use of the site.
In 2015 the Peng Collective flew leaflets over the compound as part of its Intelexit campaign, urging employees to quit on ethical or psychological grounds; the group's website was then blocked on computers inside the complex. The site lies at Eberstädter Weg 51, on ground transferred from Griesheim to Darmstadt in 1937.
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