BAMBERG, Germany -- When students from Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg visited with Soldiers on Warner Barracks June 19, for many it was their first experience exploring Bamberg's military community.
Known to many of the students as "the place behind the fence," students quickly realized why Warner Barracks is often called a "city within a city."
"Since both the American presence and the university have played a significant role in the development of Bamberg over the course of history, we deemed it necessary to attempt to bridge this gap," said Lars Funke, a member of the German student community society Feki.de.
Funke arranged the tour, with the assistance of Capt. Jamel Carr, a member of the Outreach KONTAKT Club, to give the German students a greater understanding of Bamberg Kaserne and bring Soldiers and students in the community closer together.
The Outreach KONTAKT Club is a program designed to promote German and American friendships.
"The club is always looking for ways to attract membership from the German and Warner Barracks community," Carr said. "The great turnout and interest of the students and the U.S. Soldiers shows that there is a need for our program."
Students were familiarized with the history of the post, services offered to Soldiers, and some of the training Soldiers experience. Tour stops included the Freedom Fitness Facility, Chapel and Community Activities Center; students even had an opportunity to try the Engagement Skills Trainer, an interactive video game that enhances Soldiers battlefield readiness, reactions and weapons skills.
Before the end of tour social, Lt. Col. Gary A. Rosenberg, U.S. Army Garrison Bamberg commander, provided the students with a brief and a questions and answers session.
Rosenberg spoke about the plans for the post and the cooperation between the Polizei and the Military Police as well as the City of Bamberg and Warner Barracks.
"It's a wonderful environment we have here, and a lot of that comes from the community," Rosenberg said.
The military installation is a self-sustained community and its community members support training exercises throughout Europe, Rosenberg said.
The tour gave Sarah Jendrzejewski, a sociology and international management student, a better understanding of how the installation supports the Army globally and how important the base is to Bamberg.
"It's interesting how there is a village inside of the city," she said.
Jendrzejewski said the tour was informative and beneficial toward establishing a lasting relationship between the university students and military community.
The idea for the tour was developed about six months ago.
Funke, who had been on a guided tour of post before because of his father's work with the German-American Men's Club, realized that an "average student in Bamberg spends 4-5 years here without ever having any significant contact with Warner Barracks or the American community."
When a college friend of Funke thought Warner Barracks was a German Army post, Funke spoke with his student community society peers about the possibility of arranging a tour.
Organizing the event took a lot of coordination, Carr said. Finding a date that worked for both students and Soldiers was difficult, but in the end, the two were able to work out the details.
The event was advertised on www.feki.de and the response was overwhelming, Funke said.
"I'm surprised at the interest of the students," Funke said.
Within a few days, the advertisement was taken off the Web site because the response was so great, he said.
About 60 applications came in for what ended up being 30 slots for the tour, he said. Of the 30, 28 showed up.
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