Welcome to the Bavarian Millitary Community2021/2022

24 Welcome to the U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr. World War II, highlighting NATO strate­ gic access. Upon their return, Dragoon soldiers conducted a large military parade through Rose Barracks Vilseck and were welcomed home by the mili­ tary community and German partners. A partnership tree was put up at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr on May 4, 2015. It is decorated with the crests of the units stationed at Tower and Rose Barracks and their German partner communities and units, as a symbol of German-American friendship and partnership. Swift Response 15 was the largest combined airborne training on the con­ tinent since the end of the Cold War. It was designed to integrate multiple allied nations’ high-readiness forces to operate as a cohesive team and demonstrate the alliance’s capacity to rapidly deploy and operate in support of maintaining a strong and secure Europe. Paratroopers from 11 NATO nations conducted a massive airborne combined joint forcible entry operation across four European nations during the U.S. Army-led exercise. On June 26, 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter visited Grafen­ woehr Training Area and the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command. Carter met with U.S. and Romanian Soldiers participating in Exercise Combined Resolve IV. He observed a Combined Arms Life Fire Training Exercise which demonstrated the superior firepower capabilities possible through tactical level teamwork and successful interoperability. The training also showcased the capabilities of the Grafenwoehr Training Area and its abil­ ity to integrate a variety of weapons platforms for realistic training. 2016 The 2d Cavalry Regiment conducted a 2.200 kilometer tactical road march (Dragoon Ride II) of its Stryker combat vehicles from Rose Barracks Vilseck, Germany to Estonia, validat­ ing NATO allies’ and partners ability of rapidly movement within NATO countries. Nearly 5,000 participants from 16 NATO and European partner nations participated in Exercise Saber Junction 16 at the U.S. Army’s Hohen­ fels Training Area in southeastern Germany, Mar. 31 – April 24, 2016. Countries participating in the exercise included Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Saber Junction 16 evaluated and assessed the readiness of the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade to conduct land operations in a joint, combined environment and to promote interoperability with participating Allied and partner nations. The U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard also supported Saber Junction 16 by providing a personnel air drop and air landings in support of airfield seizure and reinforc­ ing the U.S. commitment to stability and security of Europe. The Joint Multinational Training Com­ mand changes its name to the histori­ cal 7th Army Training Command. 2017 U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria created a centralized garrison operations cell to promote rapid combat-readiness, tak­ ing a lead in what has become a region wide operational shift, as the U.S. Army moves out with plans to perma­ nently cycle brigade sized troop numbers in Europe for its cross conti­ nental deterrence initiative. Rotational troops began appearing in Europe as early as 2014 with the onset of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the Army's renewed promise of commitment History of the Grafenwoehr Training Area