Grafenwoehr 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.[1]

History

The training area was established in 1907, and used to train troops for the III Royal Bavarian Corps.[2][3] Undergoing a major expansion from 96 to 230 square kilometers in 1938, the base was used by the Wehrmacht to practice blitzkrieg tactics.[4][5] Following World War II, the base was occupied by the United States Army.[6][2] 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 ​4 1⁄2 miles beyond its target.[7]

From December 2018 to February 2019, Grafenwoehr Training Area housed more than 5,000 Soldiers of the Ironhorse Brigade [8] which is the current Regionally Aligned Force in eastern Europe. As the current Regionally Aligned Force in Europe, one of the brigade's main mission is increasing interoperability with other NATO nations [9]. Grafenwoehr Training Area allowed the entire brigade to re-consolidate all forces in preparation for redeployment back to Ft. Hood, Texas. Within the training area, Camp Aachen and Camp Algiers are located on the Grafenwoehr Training Area and provide housing support as well as an MWR, USO, and AAFES shoppette facility. In addition, Grafenwoehr Training Area is home to the Joint Multinational Sim Center specifically located on the Camp Aachen portion of the training area.

References
  1. "Army Garrison Grafenwoehr Information". The Balance Careers. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  2. Morgenstern, Gerald (June 23, 2010). "Grafenwoehr Training Area celebrates 100th anniversary". United States Army.
  3. James A. Yannes (June 2013). The Encyclopedia of Third Reich Tableware. Trafford Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-4669-9985-5.
  4. Ruth Hanna Sachs (13 July 2011). Evolution of Memory, Volume I: Historical Revisionism as Seen in the Words of George J. ( Jürgen¿) Wittenstein. Exclamation! Publishers. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-9822984-9-7.
  5. Egnash, Martin (September 6, 2017). "Relics of Germany's past dot Army's Grafenwoehr Training Area". Stars and Stripes. In 1938, the Third Reich drastically expanded the base from a small artillery range to a large training area, and forcibly evicted more than 3,500 people from the villages.
  6. Neal Griffin (19 August 2016). Soldier: a Memoir. AuthorHouse. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-5246-2510-8.
  7. "Wild Shell Kills 15 in Army Camp", Oakland Tribune, September 2, 1960, p. 1.
  8. "Ironhorse Soldiers reflect on rotation, lessons learned". www.army.mil.
  9. Maucione, Scott (2014). "NATO TO WORK WITH INDUSTRY TO SOLVE INTEROPERABILITY PROBLEM". Inside the Pentagon's Inside the Army. 26 (43). ISSN 2164-8182. LCCN 2011207105. ProQuest 1616439581.

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