FORT BENNING, Ga. - The Armor School has its first foreign liaison office at Fort Benning, and Germany's outfit will be the only one moving to the Maneuver Center of Excellence from Fort Knox, Ky.
LTC Dirk Schubert and SGM Frank Zindel arrived in early June and have begun mapping out plans for future exchanges and swaps in hopes of maintaining a long tradition between Armor elements of the U.S. and German armies.
"Germany is one of the closest and most reliable allies the U.S. has," said Schubert, the 14th and final German Armor liaison officer to serve at Fort Knox. "Our posting down here is a symbol of that commitment ... There has been a long and close partnership between the Armor Center and School at Fort Knox and the Armor Training Center and School in Munster, Germany, and I hope we can carry it over at the Maneuver Center of Excellence."
The same nations with Infantry liaisons at Fort Benning - Germany, Italy, France, Canada and Great Britain - also were at Fort Knox, but as Base Realignment and Closure unfolded during the past two years, other countries opted to pull their Armor representatives out.
When Schubert came to Fort Knox in the summer of 2008, only the French and Canadians remained. Canada left last July, leaving Germany as the sole liaison office.
Schubert, who joined the German army in July 1980, served in Afghanistan for a year with COL Charles Durr, the MCoE chief of staff.
With the U.S. and Germany fighting together in Afghanistan, their Armor schools need to share expertise in training and equipment, Schubert said. Communication between the two commands is vital.
"The Army is a learning institution, and many lessons learned are exchanged between allies," he said. "We will work hard to play our little piece in that by providing relevant and timely information in both directions.
"For us, it was a distinct honor to be the first Armor LNO at Fort Benning, and the last at Fort Knox ... We have received a tremendous welcome, from Major General (Michael) Ferriter and the MCoE leadership, COL (Michael) Wadsworth and his Armor School team to the other foreign LNOs. It has been above and beyond."
Schubert said he hand-picked Zindel to be his top NCO, but the sergeant major had a short stint at Fort Knox. He got there just five months ago. The two first worked together in 1993 at the German Armor School's tank gunnery department.
"We want to keep the German profile visible here at Fort Benning," Schubert said. "It's something we'll do together with our Infantry LNO office."
Zindel, a 28-year veteran, will help U.S. Soldiers compete for the German army proficiency badge, a decoration earned in marksmanship, first aid and sports.
Columbus and the tricommunity - with more than 200,000 residents - offers big-city appeal, similar to what's found in Germany, the sergeant major said.
"Fort Knox is more remote," Zindel said. "My first impression of Fort Benning is there are lots of opportunities to see and learn and experience different things. The climate is very different. There is much more humidity we have to deal with, but I like it."
Schubert will be at Fort Benning until 2012. He's joined by his wife, Amy, a native of Killeen, Texas. They will reside near downtown Columbus.
"We're very happy to be here," he said. "There's so much to do, not only on post but lots of culture off post as well."
Zindel, who has a three-year assignment, is accompanied by his wife, Sabine, and their 9-year-old son, Fabio. The family lives on post.
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