Neatly tucked away amid the greenery of the Baumholder golf course, sits the only Army Aquatics facility in all of Germany or as Aquatics Manager Kimberly Bailes calls it, one of Baumholder's "best kept secrets."
On any given day throughout the year, you can find community members happily splashing up and down the facilities' five lane indoor pool. The facility offers lifeguard training courses, water aerobics, water safety instructor courses, youth and adult swim classes, aquatics training and Army Physical Fitness swim tests.
"This is not just for Baumholder, but for all Army in Europe," Bailes said. "Not only is this pool the only Army aquatics facility in all of Germany, but it's also only one of two Army aquatics facilities that we have here Europe," she said. "We are free, we don't charge, so that's good for our community members who want to come in and just swim for recreational purposes or do lap swimming."
Soldiers can also enjoy a variety of alternate physical training activities such as water aerobics, aqua jogger, water polo and circuit training. Bailes added that the facilities' main mission is to support Soldier training.
"We lose Soldiers to accidents in, on and around the water. Both in the recreational and the military realm, and we want to make sure that they are the best prepared that they can be to go out there when they are in and around water, whether they are working or having fun in a recreational setting," she said.
According to Bailes, the pool was originally built for outdoor use by the German military. When U.S. forces acquired the area, they enclosed the pool and created the facility community members enjoy today.
The Baumholder pool is open to SOFA ID cardholders and their family members, contractors and local nationals with installation passes (that authorize use of Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities). Non SOFA ID cardholders must be escorted by an ID card holder and pay a small guest fee.
Social Sharing