DARMSTADT, Germany — The new U.S. Army Europe off-limits list is finally out ... and is considerably shorter than in previous years.
Only three military communities in Germany have establishments or individuals that are blacklisted. The rest of the list consists of swimming areas throughout Germany that are banned.
Two clubs in Baumholder, one in Darmstadt, and a handful of people and establishments in the Kaiserslautern area make up the entire list. No other establishments in the other European countries housing U.S. troops — the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Turkey — made the list.
“None of the other countries submitted anything for the list,” said Kim Walz, an Installation Management Agency-Europe spokeswoman.
The new list is a far cry from the old one, which included 24 entries, ranging from bordellos and insurance agencies to contractors in communities throughout Germany. A Stars and Stripes investigation in October found that most of those establishments no longer existed — some for more than a decade — at the addresses listed.
The old list was overhauled as a result of the story, Walz said.
“[Stars and Stripes] brought to our attention that the list was outdated. A complete scrubbing needed to be done,” Walz said in a telephone interview from her Heidelberg office Friday.
The off-limits list applies to all servicemembers stationed throughout the U.S. European Command, including Air Force, Marines and Navy personnel, Walz said.
The list is supposed to act as a sort of punishment for people or businesses who did not operate appropriately with U.S. servicemembers and their families. The swimming areas that are banned are mostly outdoor lakes because of “health, safety, or other reasons,” according to the off-limits circular released Friday.
Servicemembers caught patronizing banned businesses could be punished by their local commanders and brought up against charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
However, Walz said the intent is not to get the troops in trouble, but to look out for their good.
“We want the troops and their families to be able to go out there and relax off post,” she said. “We want these establishments to get off the list. We will cooperate with any establishments, but if they are not abiding by the rules that make an establishment safe for troops to visit, then they’re going to stay on the list.”
Some German establishments said they don’t believe the military really wants to work with them, though. Dr. Eduard Klement, a pharmacist at the Stadt Apotheke in Kaiserslautern, said he was surprised to find out he has been blacklisted for the past eight years.
He said he received a letter from the Department of the Air Force in March letting him know he should send a letter in if he wants his pharmacy off the list. He said eight years ago, a servicemember had a fake prescription and sold medication to his friends, without the doctor even knowing about it.
Now, he said after telephone calls and a letter, he’s not getting any information from the military.
He said that barring his facility didn’t make any sense because he doesn’t have any American clientele. He asked why would Americans come to the German pharmacy to pay double the price when they could get it cheaper on base.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “Americans would never do that. But it’s still not fair for me to be on a list.”
Blacklisted businesses
The following areas, establishments, firms, individuals and organizations in Germany are off-limits to U.S. forces and their family members:
Baumholder
Flash Disco, Grabbenstrasse 10, St. WendelGranada Disco, Schönlautenbach 71, Idar-ObersteinDarmstadt
Natrix Discotheke, Landwehr Str. 89, DarmstadtKaiserslautern
Brian Sachs, Steinwender Str. 15a, Ramstein, (only involving the sale of cars and automotive parts)Debbie Rouse, Weiherstr. 14, Kindsbach, (child care)Khoud, Rami Ben, Portland, Ore., and the Kaiserslautern area, (travel and tour agency)Stadt Apotheke (Pharmacy), Eisenbahnstr. 34, KaiserslauternTannenhof Kennel, Im Harzofen 5, LandstuhlOff-limits swimming areas
The following swimming areas in Germany are off-limits:
Altrip
Lake Blaue Adria, Adriastrasse.Lake Kief’scher Weiher, near Altrip.Silbersee, Rheindamm.Böhl-Iggelheim
Lake Niederwiesen Weiher, Landstrasse 532, (between Böhl and Iggelheim)Frankenthal
Lake Kräppelweiher, Bundesstrasse 9.Lake Silbersee (and gravel pit areas), Bobenheim-Roxheim.Ludwigshafen
Lake Begüten, Langgarten Strasse, Ludwigshafen-Friesenheim.Lake Grosse Blies, Bruchwiesen Strasse.Lake Grossparth, Langgartenstrasse, Ludwigshafen-Friesenheim.Lake Strandbad Melm, Ludwigshafen-Oggersheim.Lake Willersinnweiher, Ludwigshafen-Friesenheim.Mannheim
Lake Karlstern, Mannheim-Käfertal.Lake Pfinstberg, Wachenburstasse, Mannheim-Pfingstberg.Lake Rheinauer See, Mannheim-Rheinau.Lake Stengelhof, Stengelhof Strasse, Mannheim-Rheinau.Lake Stollenwöhrt, Rheingoldstrasse, Mannheim-Neckarau.Lake Vogelstang (South) (and gravel pit areas Vogelstang (South), Mannheim-Vogelstang.Strandbad (Rhine River), Strandbadweg, Mannheim-NeckarauNeuhofen
Lake, In der Schlicht, Medenheimer Strasse, Neuhofen.Speyer
Lake, Binsfeld-Weiher, Speyer (North).Lake Bonnet-Weiher, Franz-Kirrmeier-Strasse, Speyer (North).Schweinfurt
Lake Knetzgauer BuchtSchonunger BuchtMain River, SchweinfurtLake EllertshausenLake Grafenrheinfeld (and lakes in the vicinity), GrafenrheinfeldLake Horhausen, HorhausenLake Sennfeldersee (and lakes in the vicinity), SennfeldLake Wipfeld, WipfeldWachenheim
Camping and gravel pit areas, WachenheimWaldsee-Otterstadt
