TOWER BARRACKS
Brig. Gen. Christopher R. Norrie, commanding general of 7th Army Training Command, presents an award to Mayor Hans-Martin Schertl of Vilseck during the Good Neighbor Award ceremony at the 7th ATC Headquarters in Grafenwoehr, Germany, May 21, 2021. Ten Bavarians were awarded the inaugural Good Neighbor award in a ceremony recognizing their contributions to supporting American Soldiers and Families in communities surrounding U.S. Army installations in Bavaria.
Mayor Manfred Hauser were honored for their partnership and efforts to welcome Americans into their communities, as was former Illesheim Mayor Heinrich Foerster. “Mayor Hauser and the people of Lupburg do amazing things to welcome Americans and so graciously share their culture and traditions with us,” said Lt. Col. Jay Bessey, senior brigade trainer for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center’s Mustang Observer-Controller Team. “This award is a great way for us to show them that their efforts are noticed beyond just our smaller community.” The Mustangs have been partnered with the town of Lupburg since 2013, a town near JMRC in the Oberpfalz region founded in the 12th century, with approximately 2,400 residents. Karl Balk of Herrieden in the Franconian area was also honored for five decades of sponsoring partnerships between Germans and Americans, and Gerald Morgenstern from Grafenwoehr was honored in part for the hundreds of tours he voluntarily provides of the training area for Germans and Americans which discuss the importance of both the American mission and the Morgenstern also authored the book ‘Grafenwoehr Training Area: Yesterday and Today.’ Good Neighbor honorees were inducted into 7th ATC’s ‘Order of the Towers,’ and are invited back annually for future ceremonies.
Photo Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Spc. Austin Riel (3)
“It’s a great honor for me, especially receiving the Order of the Towers,” said Morgenstern. “The water tower is my favorite building. I have always strived to keep up the relationship between the US Army and the German population in Grafenwoehr to promote mutual understanding and that’s why I am really happy about this award.” According to Norrie, the nominees from the initial class of Good Neighbors “invested great amounts of their time, both personal and professional, into strengthening our relationships, and welcoming our Soldiers, units and Families into their communities.” All U.S. Army units stationed in Bavaria were asked to provide nominations for Bavarians, who through their efforts, increased the quality of life for U.S. Army Soldiers, Civilians and their Families. There are over 40 official partnerships between units stationed in Bavaria and the towns and cities in the areas surrounding the installations. “The hardest part about putting this ceremony together was capping the number of worthy honorees,” said Norrie. | by Maj. Michael Weisman, 7th Army Training Command
7 | Bavarian Times
GERMAN-AMERICAN VOLKSFEST 2021 HAS BEEN GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — After an intensive assessment, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria has decided to not host the traditional German-American Volksfest Grafenwoehr this year due to the current Corona protective measures and restrictions. As always, the health and safety of our staff, families and potential visitors is the garrison’s top priority. Even with the current improvements in infection numbers and increasing numbers of vaccinations we are choosing to make what we feel is the safest choice at this point in time. While it was not the desired course of action, we are following the example of our host nation to remain cautious in our return to large events. We look forward to the coming year and continued recovery efforts so that we may once again welcome our host nation guests to the annual event. | by USAG Bavaria
