The new camp for German armed forces at the U.S. Army's Grafenwoehr Training Area in Bavaria will replace buildings like this one, as seen Aug. 7, 2025. A groundbreaking was held in late July, and the camp is expected to be built by 2032. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — A vast U.S. Army training ground in rural Bavaria is set to become home to a new camp offering German soldiers better facilities and more billets for rotational units.
Located in the Camp Normandy part of the Grafenwoehr Training Area, the German army complex will feature over a dozen buildings, commander Lt. Col. Florian Rommel said Thursday.
A groundbreaking was held July 28 and crews have started tearing down some of the steel maintenance facilities in the area. Soon, they will begin leveling the terrain and installing sewer, water and power lines.
Construction work includes temporary barracks, a medical center, maintenance and dining facilities, range support, warehouses, and even a relocated headquarters from the adjoining Tower Barracks.
“My capacity will go up, which will enable us to use more ranges in the times I have priority on (the training area),” Rommel said. “On the other hand, we will get a better standard of accommodation.”
Lt. Col. Florian Rommel, commander of the German armed forces’ Grafenwoehr Training Area headquarters, looks over plans for a new camp in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on Aug. 7, 2025. Work is already underway on the camp, which will be built south of the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy on Camp Normandy at a cost of approximately $210 million. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The German armed forces receive 23% of the training time per year at Grafenwoehr, Rommel said. They have priority for 12 weeks, during which soldiers can access any range they need.
Most of the German units using the new camp will come from the surrounding area, such as Tank Brigade 12 from Cham.
Replacing the current facilities from the 1950s will increase the Germans’ training capacity from about 700 soldiers to about 1,100 at a time, Rommel said.
The current buildings are cramped, there are limited bathrooms and the dining hall is in serious disrepair, Rommel said. The new camp is expected to cost approximately $210 million and be completed by 2032.
A short distance away, the U.S. Army is building its own set of support facilities for rotational training units called the Operational Readiness Training Complex, according to an Army statement from June.
It will replace facilities at Camps Aachen, Normandy, Algier and Kasserine, and is expected to be completed by February 2029. It will include headquarters buildings and barracks, as well as maintenance and dining facilities to support a full brigade.
Training areas, especially Grafenwoehr, are crucial for the operational readiness of German and allied militaries, Brig. Gen. Michael Oberneyer, commander of the German armed forces’ Domestic Division, said in a July 28 statement.
“Without operational armed forces, deterrence cannot be guaranteed,” Oberneyer added.
Stars and Stripes reporter Marcus Kloeckner contributed to this report.
