Guests explore the Training Support Center warehouse at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, March 22, 2023. The new center combines all training aids, devices, simulators, classrooms and visual information in one building. (Gertrud Zach/U.S. Army)

STUTTGART, Germany — A project in the works for two decades came to fruition this month at the Army’s garrison in Grafenwoehr, where a 70,000 square-foot training center has consolidated a range of activities under one roof.

The new Training Support Center is on the Camp Normandy site of the service’s largest training ground in Europe. Services previously spread out at 11 different facilities between the barracks at Grafenwoehr and Vilseck are now in one place, the Army said in a statement Monday.

The Army began considering the concept in 2003, but it wasn’t until 2016 that the building was designed, said John Doyle, director of Training Support Activity Europe. Construction on the $22 million project started in 2019.

The site includes more than 8,000 training aids and devices, including simulators to practice rifle and pistol shooting. Virtual Stinger missile and artillery training also are available.

The center’s high-tech capabilities include a “home station instrumented training system” that involves soldiers donning laser-equipped gear. Their field training then can be viewed on a screen several miles away in the facility, the Army said.

Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Hilbert, head of the 7th Army Training Command, speaks during the Training Support Center opening ceremony at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, March 22, 2023. The center combines all training aids, devices, simulators, classrooms and visual information in one building. (Gertrud Zach/U.S. Army)

Invited guests explore the Training Support Center at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, March 22, 2023. The new center combines all training aids, devices, simulators, classrooms and visual information in one building. (Gertrud Zach/U.S. Army)

The upgrades reinforce the role of Grafenwoehr as the Army’s main training hub on the Continent. The sprawling grounds are used both by Army units based in Europe and stateside-based units on deployments.

The base also is playing a key role in U.S. efforts to train Ukrainian forces, who come for instruction on weapons systems.

“When I look at this building, what I see is readiness for U.S. Army Europe as well as our allies and partners that train here,” Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Hilbert, head of the 7th Army Training Command, said in a statement.