The United States Army
10/17/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/17/2023 09:15
JMRC critter teams, USAG Bavaria connect with communities in Schmidmühlen
[Link] 1 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- Members of the U.S. Army and community leaders surrounding the Joint Multinational REadiness Center gather for a group photograph. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 2 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- Peter Braun, the Bürgermeiser (or mayor) of Markt Schmidmühlen, speaks during the annual Community Connector. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 3 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 4 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- Maj. Keith Chiro, left, the director of Emergency Services at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria at Hohenfels, and Karlheinz Dietl, right, the police chief of Parsberg, Germany, pose for a photograph together. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 5 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- From left, Command Sgt. Maj. Larry Foster of the Adler Team, Kallmünz Bürgermeister Urlich Brey, and Lt. Col. Daniel M. Galloway, commander of the Adler Team, pose together for a photo. The Adler Team at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center is partnered with the city of Kallmünz. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 6 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- Brunn Bürgermeister Karl Söllner, left, shakes hands with U.S. Air Force Maj. William West, right, commander of the Bigfoot Team at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. The Adler Team at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center is partnered with the city of Kallmünz. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 7 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- From left, Command Sgt. Maj. Randy Rivera, senior enlisted fire support trainer for the Vampire Team; Hohenburg Bürgermeister Florian Junkes; and Lt. Col. Adam Ropelewski, Vampire Team commander, pose for a photo together. The Vampire Team at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center is partnered with the town of Hohenburg. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 8 / 8Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- From left, Patrick Rothbauer, deputy garrison manager at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria - Hohenfels; Dr. Markus Perpeet, federal forestry service director at Hohenfels; Schmidmühlen zweiter Bürgermeister Martin Bauer; Schmidmühlen Bürgermeister Peter Braun; Col. Justin Reese, Joint Multinational Readiness Center commander; and Lt. Col. Christopher Blaha, deputy commander of operations group for JMRC, pose for a photograph together. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL
JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany - The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center members and partner communities leaders during the annual Community Connector event.
JMRC's observer coach trainer teams, colloquially "the critter teams" because of their animal nicknames, partner with the cities surrounding the training area; during the connector event the team leaders sat down with many of the mayors to discuss issues.
Aside from the event being an opportunity for food and good fellowship, JMRC and the garrison informed the host nation communities of forthcoming training, ongoing projects and more.
Patrick Rothbauer, Hohenfels deputy garrison manager, explained the informative nature of the event to the gathered leadership. He also explained that beyond sharing information, the members could bring up issues that the other parties may not be aware of.
"Partnerships are important, but even with great partnerships, problems, misunderstandings or other incidents come up," he said. "We can only fix those issues if we know about them."
Presenters with JMRC discussed training set to take place during the fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024). Presenters with the garrison briefed airfield operations, construction, housing issues, local national employment and upcoming events.
Col. Justin Y. Reese, commander of the operations group for JMRC, spoke at the event, thanking the participants not only for their role in the day's event but in their continued partnership.
"You all contribute to ensure that supporting our warfighters remains a collective and meaningful endeavor," he said. "I appreciate the opportunity to spend the day with you to develop shared understanding amongst our command and our communities. Thank you for your discussion, your dialogue and your commitment to your communities. We're all better for it."
Reese also took the opportunity to thank Dr. Markus Perpeet, the federal forestry service director at Hohenfels. Perpeet, in addition to briefing meaningful historical background about one of the villages, provided venison hunted in the training area as lunch. This year's event marked the last time Perpeet would take part in the event as he is soon to retire from his position after 22 years at Hohenfels.
[Link] 1 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- Joint Multinational Readiness Center Command Sgt. Maj. Alexander Yazzie, left, and Col. Justin Reese, JMRC operations group commander, presents Dr. Markus Perpeet, center, the federal forest service director at Hohenfels, a flag and a plaque in appreciation of his more than two decades of service. he city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted members of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center and leaders from their partner communities during the annual Community Connector Sept. 21, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 2 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- Dr. Markus Perpeet, center, the federal forest service director at Hohenfels, talks about the former village of Enslwang within Joint Multinational Readiness Center. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted members of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center and leaders from their partner communities during the annual Community Connector. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL[Link] 3 / 3Show Caption +Hide Caption -JOINT MULTINATIONAL READINESS CENTER, Germany -- Dr. Markus Perpeet, right, the federal forest service director at Hohenfels, presents a piece of historic wood from the former village of Enslwang to Col. Justin Reese, left, Joint Multinational Readiness Center operations group commander. The city of Markt Schmidmühlen recently hosted members of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center and leaders from their partner communities during the annual Community Connector. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell)VIEW ORIGINAL
Reese and JMRC Command Sgt. Maj. Alexander Yazzie presented Perpeet with the U.S. colors encased in a triangular wood-and-glass display.
Perpeet also spoke about a former village within the training area called Enslwang, which a sinkhole had largely swallowed portions of. Perpeet and his team had found two tiles from the former village more than a decade ago, and he presented the tiles to the Schmidmühlen mayor, Peter Braun, so the town could use it in their museum. He also presented a large piece of wood found in Enslwang jointly to JMRC and USAG Bavaria in recognition of the decades of partnership between the U.S. Army and the German forestry service.
The mayors and the critter teams stood on the venue's lawn and took their photo together before eating lunch together.