KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- Sembach Kaserne has seen many changes over the past decade. Several organizations and units have left the installation in the last few years, and just as many have moved to Sembach. Before the Army took over responsibility of Sembach in 2010, it was an Air Force support installation, and before that an active air base with reconnaissance, close air support and tactical air control units.
But the latest change at Sembach involves no operational, supporting, or tactical missions.
Instead, it involves food.
A healthy food snack shop opened at Sembach Oct. 21, nestled between the shoppette and the barber shop. The BUN-D offers community members fresh dining options, Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sembach didn't have a lot of food options, so the snack shop is a healthy alternative to the typical menu of burgers and fries one might find elsewhere, said Kim Sanders, the Kaiserslautern Military Community Exchange Services business manager.
"The military is focused on healthy lifestyles and exercise, and this is right in line with that," she said. "We are here to cater to our community, and this is one of the ways we do so."
But the new snack shop isn't the only change that's happening on Sembach. Robert Floyd said he has seen many activities, organizations and units move to the installation in the three short years he's been working as the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Sembach site manager.
The Service Federal Credit Union's European headquarters currently at Pulaski Barracks and the American Red Cross currently at Ramstein Air Base are in the initial stages of moving to Sembach. Other organizations that have moved operations to Sembach in the past few years include the Army and Air Force Exchange Europe Headquarters; American Forces Network Europe Headquarters; Defense Acquisition University Europe; U.S. Army Corrections Facility Europe; Department of Defense Education Activity Europe; 409th Contracting Support Brigade; U.S. Army NATO Brigade; the U.S. Army Europe Band; and the 598th Transportation Brigade.
Also located at Sembach are the Installation Management Command Europe Headquarters; Regional Health Command Europe Headquarters; 30th Medical Brigade; European Regional Dental Command; Sembach elementary and middle schools, Garrison single Soldier barracks facilities and the Navy Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center, among other units and activities.
"We've put quite a bit of money into Sembach since the Army took it over from the Air Force a few years ago," said Nick Sifer, the strategic planner at the garrison's Plans, Analysis and Integration Office. "We look to continue using Sembach's capabilities as we execute various moves within Europe due to European Infrastructure Consolidation and U.S. Army Europe transformation directives."
There is a lot going on at what many people would consider a relatively small installation, said Floyd. Even though the housing area is gone and the Air Force has departed, there are headquarters-level operations, training, and a multitude of activities happening at Sembach every day.
For example, the Garrison's newest Child Development Center opened at Sembach just a few weeks ago, said Floyd.
"There are signs going up nearly every day, parking spaces being marked off and facility construction underway -- all kinds of work," Floyd said.
Part of that new construction includes two former Air Force housing units that are being repurposed and turned into administrative buildings, said Richard Glass, the master planning division chief at the garrison's Directorate of Public Works. "The garrison is the property owner and bill payer, and we work through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who design, schedule, oversee and inspect all the contracted work."
"We just completed one building and are nearing completion on a second," Glass said. "Except for the outer walls, some windows and any load bearing walls on the inside, these building were completely stripped and gutted."
New interior walls, floors, and ceilings, as well as all new water lines, sewer lines, electrical, communications, bathrooms and kitchenettes were installed. What would have cost nearly $12 million to build from the ground up was done for about $3 million, Glass said.
"That's a lot of bang for the taxpayers' buck," he added.
Sembach is becoming a major administrative headquarters, not just in the Rheinland-Pfalz, but the entire European region, said Glass.
"I do feel that Sembach will be an enduring site for USAG Rheinland-Pfalz and USAREUR for many years to come due to its large amount of administrative facilities, as well as specialized facilities like the U.S. Army Corrections Facility Europe," said Sifer.
Sembach continues to evolve and change in order to support USAREUR and its Soldiers, civilians and family members. And now that the new healthy food choices eatery is open on Sembach, in its own way it will also provide support.
Other dining options at Sembach include a German bakery also co-located with the shoppette, the Java Cafe, a mobile lunch and snack truck located in the parking lot outside the shoppette, and the Sembach Community Activities Center.
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