Since the day AFN Bremerhaven signed on the air (from Bremen in those days) on 28 July 1945, the station has always shown a certain amount of inventiveness. For example, soon after going on the air the station lost its First Sergeant due to rotation home. Who could now sign passes, morning reports and other vital documents? Being good broadcasters, the staff advertised for a new First Sergeant on the air. They got one!

Initially the station operated out of a mobile van located on Gabriel-Seidl Strasse in Bremen. In those days Bremen, in the British Zone, had the majority of the troops although more and more were moving in to Bremerhaven. Suddenly "by command direction" it was announced that the station in Bremen would be closed. Once more inventiveness took over and Major General Harry Vaughn, the local commander, (and who was to be heard from again soon as President Truman's aide in Washington) received a petition signed by 10-thousand listeners - and the station remained in Bremen for three more years.

By October 1948 the majority of the listeners were in Bremerhaven and the station moved to Building 2, Carl Schutz Kaserne. A 1-thousand watt transmitter occupied the basement. This was soon moved to the dock area where it remains. In 1962 the station moved to Building 1 where it still is but the power of the transmitter was increased to 5-thousand watts. On 21 August 1979 the station began transmitting to troops in Osterholz-Sharmbeck on FM 92.9 MHZ.

One month after its 30th birthday in 1975, AFN Bremerhaven became the first of AFN's color television stations. The AFN Headquarters in Frankfurt was still converting its building to accommodate color. Bremerhaven signed on with color TV on 25 August 1975.

Once again staff inventiveness paid off. Although not designed to do "live" television, they wanted to produce local interviews. Unfortunately there was no room big enough for guests AND a camera. The inventive solution? Put the guests in the studio and the camera in the latrine across the hall. Things have improved considerably since that primitive beginning but AFN Bremerhaven continues to serve well its radio and TV audience in Norddeutschland.