KALLMUENZ, Germany -- Senior leadership from across U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria-Hohenfels met with the mayors of more than 15 of the surrounding communities to discuss partnership initiatives and joint concerns at the 32nd Community Connector Conference, Sept. 30.
The Community Connector is designed to preserve and strengthen the partnerships between the Hohenfels Military Community and the neighboring communities through information sharing.
Col. Thomas Mackey, Joint Multinational Readiness Center commander, stressed the importance of open communication between the military and the surrounding communities. He encouraged the mayors to feel free to utilize their "direct link to the military chain of command at Hohenfels" through their partnership with the leaders of the various JMRC observer-coach trainer teams.
Mike Haney, USAG Bavaria-Hohenfels garrison manager, explained the significance of the recent transformation of Hohenfels from a garrison to a satellite site as part of the Army's initiative to consolidate resources and create a more centralized organization.
"These redesignations will improve not only the USAG / host nation relations throughout Bavaria, streamline the regions organizational structure and operational standards, but will also reduce and free-up base funding for other mission critical requirements," Haney said.
With Tower Barracks, Rose Barracks, Hohenfels and Garmisch now together under one banner, USAG Bavaria is the largest garrison outside of the U.S. with a total population of 35,000. That translates into 515 million euros that gets pumped back into the local economy.
Various leaders from Housing, Directorate of Public Works, and Civilian Personnel Advisory Center gave briefings touching on topics such as the 534 private housing units rented by Hohenfels personnel, the $41 million construction projects either underway or in development, and the 602 local nationals currently employed on post.
Velburg Mayor Bernhard Kraus raised the question of personnel reduction among the local national employees and Haney pledged complete transparency, stating that while the workforce will be reduced due to constrained funding requirements, decisions as to total numbers have not been finalized.
"Senior leaders are still trying to determine what is the right number of mix between local nationals, military, and Department of Army civilians," Haney said.
Mackey also emphasized the training center's durability, pointing out the importance of JMRC to the U.S. and its NATO partners. He said a meeting is scheduled later this month between U.S. Army Europe and its European training partners to finalize training plans at Hohenfels into fiscal year 2018.
Social relationships with the surrounding communities were also highlighted as Norbert Wittl, USAG Bavaria-Hohenfels public affairs officer, commented on the success of the German American Volksfest and various other functions such as tours through the training area for assorted neighborhood clubs, and pilgrimages and reunions for local nationals to old villages once located within the training area.
Wittl also pointed out partnership efforts between emergency services on post and off, such as when firefighters from the city of Hohenfels joined garrison firefighters to combat a wildfire the broke out in the training area.
To further spotlight the close connection between Hohenfels and the neighboring communities, conference members witnessed firsthand some of the training shared with local firefighting teams. JMRC units simulated a helicopter crash while Kallmuenz firefighters practiced rescue operations.
Upcoming joint celebrations such as Thanksgiving dinner and a New Year's reception were discussed, as well as a proposal by Hohenfels to increase the frequency of the Community Connector to biannually.
"Our relationship with our host nation German partners continues to be key and instrumental in meeting our daily mission," said Haney.
Social Sharing