Exercise REFORGER (REturn of FOrces to GERmany) was an annual exercise conducted, during the Cold War, by the United States Army. The exercise was intended to ensure that the United States had the ability to quickly deploy forces to Germany in the event of a conflict with the Soviet Union. The exercise was begun in 1967, as some forces were withdrawn to back to the U.S. mainland, and continued past the end of the Cold War, to 1993. REFORGER was not merely for show—in the event of a conflict, it would be the actual plan enacted. In that instance, it would have been referred to as Operation REFORGER. Important components in REFORGER included the Military Airlift Command , the Military Sealift Command, and the Civil Reserve Air Fleet .