In Germany, GIs back from Iraq receive warm welcome

Stars & Stripes ^ | 30 Jan04 | Rick Emert

[xzins]

In Germany, GIs back from Iraq receive warm welcome

By Rick Emert, Stars and Stripes European edition, Friday, January 30, 2004

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — The Grafenwöhr, Hohenfels and Vilseck military communities welcomed home from Iraq about 500 soldiers from the 94th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) in a ceremony Thursday at Grafenwöhr.

The 500 engineers returned home Jan. 17.

The remaining 137 soldiers from the battalion are in Kuwait working to get the unit’s equipment back to Germany. They are expected to return later this week, according to Lt. Col. Paul Grosskruger, battalion commander.

The 94th deployed in January 2002 and provided support with building base camps, refurbishing the Baghdad airport and participating in Task Force Neighborhood, an outreach program that helped the people of Iraq with rebuilding needs, Grosskruger said.

Although the battalion’s companies are spread out in Vilseck, Hohenfels and Grafenwöhr, Grosskruger said the battalion pulled together for the missions in Iraq.

“There never was a mission we didn’t rely on each other for,” he said in remarks during the ceremony. “I think we’ve all grown from this and found more understanding of ourselves and those around us.”

Later, he told troops the mission ahead of them now is to get back into their prewar lives.

“Now, I’m going to give you an order,” he said.

“You will spend quality time with your families, and you will get your lives back in order.”

[xzins]

"Now I'm going to give you an order....You will spend quality time with your families, and you will get your lives back in order.”

LOL!

Sounds just like a battalion commander, doesn't it?

[LibWhacker]

Oh, great . . . From Iraq to Graf. When I was in Germany, Graf meant only one thing: Living in the mud and in tents. They ought to send those guys to Berchtesgaden!

[Michael81Dus]

Grafenwöhr isn´t that bad. It has its own Burger King and cinema.

[Michael81Dus]

Of course I refer to the Grafenwöhr US Army Training Area, and not to the town, which has fast food franchise and a cinema as well, I suppose.

[blackie]

Germany, GIs back from Iraq receive warm welcome ~ Heros Bump!

[xzins]

Actually, the grafenwoehr community is not bad at all. It has grown significantly since the 80s and is now one of the places that the US has said it definitely intends to stay.

They have a really great ribs/brisket/barbeque place in their PX area that would do well here in the states as a franchise (maybe it is....I can't remember the name.)

Graf/Hohenfels community sports the best community services of all except places like Heidelberg, K-town, Ramstein.

[serurier]

1ID !

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Happy2BMe]

Welcome back troops!

(This is a far cry from how the Germans were treating us this time last year.)

[LibWhacker]

Glad to hear this. Shows how out-of-date I am in my knowledge of Army bases in Germany. Graf was the worst TDY assignment for guys in my unit when I was there. They used to b*tch about it like you wouldn't believe.

[xzins]

Interestingly, a former commander (and parishoner/fellow church attender), now a LTG assoc. of Rummie, had command at the Graf/Hohenfels area before he took command of the 1ID. He also led the ground forces into Kosovo. LTG B. John Craddock is an extremely competent, extremely real, soldier's soldier. But he had a heart for families, chapels, communities.....he did GREAT stuff for the area.

[Night Hides Not]

I did a few TDYs at Vilseck. Don't remember much from those few weeks, it was 25 years ago. For the short duration it was ok.

I was lucky to be stationed on AF bases. The Zoomies take much better care of their people.

Those returning soldiers do deserve a couple of weeks, gratis, at Berchtesgaden or Oberammergau.

[M1Tanker]

The last time I was at Graf (July 2000), it snowed! We were at gunnery and there was an ice storm.

Vilsek also had a great Italian restaurant servicing the professional schools on the post.

Hoenfels is a nice little base, but the training area still meets its pre-WWII mission: Be the worst place in the world to maneuver tanks. The best part about Hoenfels now is that they are only 40 minutes from the Czech border (ironically, this used to be the worst part...) so now families go shopping in Czech at bargain prices.

As for me, I was in Baumholder (The Rock). Now I'm training the tankers and scouts who go there.

[Night Hides Not]

Sounds like you're a few years younger than me. I spent a fair amount of time at Baumholder, as we received our conventional support from you. Our missile support came from other areas, mostly Miesau, IIRC.

Our battalion (now inactive) provided SHORAD to Hahn, Bitburg, and Spangdahlem. I spent two years at Hahn, and two at Spangdahlem.

It was a very different Army back then: crappy morale, Carter, no funds, aging equimpment, etc. For a young bachelor like me, it was more of an adventure than anything else. Never got bored, to be sure!!!

[Gamecock]

Did someone say 1ID?

We are proud members of the oldest continuously serving division in the United States Army. Since 1917, we have kept our nation safe, making the selfless sacrifice to preserve freedom. From fighting with Gen. Pershing in Cantigny, to rebuilding nations in the Balkans, the 1st Infantry Division was there… We are the Big Red One! DUTY FIRST!

In the beginning when the Black Lions of Cantigny sought revenge against the Kaiser’s forces at Cantigny... From the Soissons and Meuse-Argonne till we crossed the Rhine on to Victory, we leaned forward… We are the Big Red One! DUTY FIRST!

With our reputation for 'no mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great,' FDR called upon us in '42, and once again we saluted proudly and moved out. From Oran through Tunisia, we were there… we took a pounding at the Kasserine Pass, but pressed onward with Patton to Gafsa until the Afrika Korps bowed…Through mountainous terrain, I broke the back of German resistance in Sicily for… We are the Big Red One! DUTY FIRST!

From the beaches of North Africa, across the rocky terrain of Sicily, we stepped out of the surf onto Omaha Beach, where our leadership took charge of a desperate situation and said, "Two kinds of people are staying on this beach! The dead and those who are going to die! Now, let’s get the hell out of here!" So on once again to Soissons, we helped liberate France and Belgium… and stood our ground at the "Bulge" in the Ardennes. Breaking through the 'impenetrable' Siegfried line we swept through Aachen and crossed the Roer and the Rhine, proclaiming... We are the Big Red One! DUTY FIRST!

We accepted a different challenge in '65 when we were the first division to set foot on the soil of Vietnam… Not only were we fighting a different enemy, we also fought the jungle… we cleared the Trapezoid, the Iron Triangle, the Catcher’s Mitt, both the Song Be and Saigon Corridors, and Thunder Road… we showed the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong they couldn’t win an all-out war against us, and won the hearts and minds of an entire nation for… We are the Big Red One! DUTY FIRST!

In the Persian Gulf, duty called and we answered. Over a span of 100 hours, we destroyed the will of an Iraqi army and Hussein’s elite Republican Guard units through sheer firepower and speed, for… We are the Big Red One! DUTY FIRST!

We wrote another chapter in our annals when we deployed as a covering force to the war-torn country of Bosnia- Herzegovina. Instead of fighting a war, we were fighting to enforce an unstable peace agreement between three former warring factions. We were tested at Celic and Gajevi, when an armed altercation threatened the fledgling peace process, but we kept our cool and focus, bringing a tense situation under control for… We are the Big Red One! DUTY FIRST!

From Brcko to Tuzla, and Doboj to Uglivic, we worked side by side with countries we trained for years to fight against. We brought families back together in Tuzla and helped rebuild schools and roads in Brcko. You were with me when I took command of Multinational Division-North... where we proved we were just as good as peacemakers as we are being warfighters, for… We are the Big Red One!

[Valin]

I was stationed at Osan in 68-69, and have strong memories for the place, a couple of years ago I ran across some new photos of it...SHOCK, how that place has changed. Then I realized that it's been a looong time.

[geedee]

Now I'm training the tankers and scouts who go there.

I salute you, Sir. You and our other warriors are the main reason we're the greatest country the world has ever known. We're proud of every single one of you.

[geedee]

Damn good homepage! While I don't share EVERY view expressed on your homepage, LOL, I do share your pride in the Big Red One.

The quality of our soldiers never fails to impress me. It's comforting as hell knowing soldiers like y'all are manning the fences.

[Gamecock]

Baumholder?

I'm heading there this summer. I understand that it is much better than it once was....