Tag: ARMY KASERNE

HUSTERHOEH KASERNE

PIRMASENS GERMANY

Husterhoeh Kaserne was a military facility in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Kaserne is a German loanword that means “barracks.” It was a United States military base 1945–1994. Since then it is a German base, most of which has closed. The base still has some US military operations and German military storage.

Originally built in place of an apple orchard, the Husterhoeh Kaserne covered a large plateau to the North of the city of Pirmasens, as well having an extremely large system of caves and tunnels that ran to adjacent townships. The facility was initially started by the Germans during the 1930s; above-ground facilities were built to house Wehrmacht soldiers manning the Siegfried Line along the French border and included tunneling extensive underground facilities. Work was stopped in 1941 due to the war needs for personnel and resumed minorly in 1944. The facility was captured on 21 March 1945 by the 71st Infantry Division, used as a war materials storage center, then was expanded by additional construction from the late 1950s through mid 1970s; in 1976 it was officially created as a full army base of its own right (US Military Community, Pirmasens). The last construction under US Military control was construction of replacement motor pool facilities for the 59th MP Co, in 1986-1987 and a new Electronic Equipment repair facility on the Kaserne and an underground Circuit Card repair facility in one of the tunnels originally constructed by the German Army. Since return to German control of the majority of the base, additional construction, removal and modification of existing buildings has occurred.

GRAFENWÖHR TRAINING AREA

Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA) is a United States Army training base located near Grafenwöhr, Bavaria, Germany. At 232 km2, it is the largest NATO training facility in Europe. The base is operated by 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command. Facilities include the Tower Barracks. The training area was established in 1907, and used to train troops for the III Royal Bavarian Corps. Undergoing a major expansion from 96 to 230 square kilometers in 1938, the base was used by the Wehrmacht to practice blitzkrieg tactics.  Following World War II, the base was occupied by the United States Army.  On September 2, 1960, 16 American soldiers were killed and 26 injured when an 8-inch howitzer shell crashed into them during a morning roll call. The shell had been overloaded with charge and went 41⁄2 miles beyond its target.

GERMERSHEIM ARMY DEPOT

The 24/7 depot sits on more than 430 acres of land and is about a 90-minute drive from any U.S. military base service. Of the depot’s approximately 850 employees, only about 165 are DOD ID holders so there is a heavy reliance on the local economy. Garrison employees include public works personnel, security staff, firefighters and postal workers.
Originally used after WWII as a U.S. Army storage site for equipment, it was officially established as an Army depot Oct. 18, 1951, and named Germersheim Ordnance Vehicle Park with a mission to store, receive, and issue equipment and supplies in support of U.S. Army in Europe. At the time, it was the only vehicle park in theater that could store 25,000 vehicles, to include trucks, jeeps, ambulances, armored cars, tractors and trailers.