Martini's, a club with a piano bar atmosphere, is one of several attractions at the Ramstein Air Base Enlisted Club which officially opened Thursday. (Lisa Horn / S&S)
Martini's, a club with a piano bar atmosphere, is one of several attractions at the Ramstein Air Base Enlisted Club which officially opened Thursday. (Lisa Horn / S&S)
Air Force Staff Sgt. John McCullough tries to add to his winnings at the new Ramstein Air Base Enlisted Club. The club officially opened Thursday. (Lisa Horn / S&S)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Airmen at Ramstein Air Base have waited nearly 48 years for a new enlisted club. On Thursday, they got their wish.
The $13.8 million facility officially opened with a ribbon cutting by area officials, including Brig. Gen Rosanne Bailey, 435th Air Base Wing and Kaiserslautern military community commander; Lenny Bouchy, enlisted club manager; and Airman Raffinee Johnson, 20, the youngest airman currently at Ramstein.
“When you see what [the enlisted] have, you will be green,” Bailey said in her address to those who gathered for the ribbon cutting and a tour. “I know I am.”
Plans to construct a new enlisted club go as far back as 15 years, said Cheryl Pierce, project manager. The facility includes a Chili’s Restaurant, open to all ranks. It is expected to open in October.
“We basically just about doubled the size of the existing club,” Pierce said. “This is not a traditional club as everyone is used to. … It’s an entertainment center.”
The building is actually several clubs in one. Club E is a pulsating discotheque that New York City clubgoers would feel right at home in. A space tunnel leads guests inside the disco, where amoebalike designs float on the walls and TV screens are suspended above the lighted dance floor.
Next door, Martini’s offers a mellower, piano bar atmosphere with soft lighting and music to set the mood.
J.R. Rockers Sports Café has been open since Monday and the sports-bar environment has already become a favorite with Master Sgt. Norma Click, assigned to Spangdahlem’s 52nd Operations Support Squadron.
“Can we get one of these in Spangdahlem?” she asked. “This is really great. [The food] tastes just like in the States.”
In between Martini’s and the sports cafe, gamblers can strike it rich at the slot machines where Staff Sgt. John McCullough had won $550 on Thursday afternoon. It is the only section of the club that permits smoking.
“It looks like a downtown place — not an Air Force club,” McCullough said. “… Lots of light, bells and whistles.”
