re: You Vets that were stationed in Europe for an extended amount of time I have a question.

More than the countries national politicians will admit

Less than people in this thread will think


Everywhere just adapts, there was a big US Air Force presence near where I grew up, my parents were thankful for the cheap housing when the base closed

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t isn't going to crash the German economy, but there are certain groups who are going to feel it the most. The landlords, the locals who work on the bases, and select moving companies are my big three.

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I'm just going by what I saw personally after being stationed in Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Schweinfurt. And folks that I knew in Wurzburg and Bamberg.

Was there some impact? Sure. But not much.

As I said, a place like K-Town or Graf would feel it much more. But they're the exception.

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We have several bases (very large bases) in Germany. If we shutdown one major base in one city in Germany it would seriously injure its local economy.

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It’s a short term impact though.

When USAREUR shutdown in Heidelberg about 20 years ago, it hit the community hard. But one large neighborhood, Patrick Henry Village was converted to Syrian refugee housing. Another, was leveled for condos. Other bases have been repurposed or replaced. Now, Heidelberg is barely recognizable as once the home of US Army Europe.

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I was part of the last group that closed down Coleman Army Airfield (Mannheim) and can attest that us leaving had very little impact on the local economy.
I guarantee the number of fist fights between Americans and Turks dropped significantly though since we didn't have to walk through Schonau to catch the Strauss to downtown anymore though

Mannheims metro population was too large to feel the impact of the handful of units we had left pulling out. We had been slowly down sizing our personnel numbers on the surrounding housing installations for years prior so it was a gradual transition. Towards the end, most of the NCOs and Officers all lived in Heidelberg and commuted to Mannheim. After we left, the installation was turned over to the German housing authority who had plans to turn it into affordable housing. I don't know if that ever came to fruition, but thats what was being discussed at rhe time. The next time I'm visiting I need to go check out what they've done with the place.

I lived in Heidelberg with my then girlfriend / now wife while having my barracks room on CAAF and would spend my time split between the two cities. In my opinion, Heidelberg as a whole felt us pulling out more than Mannheim, but the shift was more cultural than fiscal.

The Army played a big part in Heidelberg's history post WW2 and you could find a touch of Americana intertwined into the local area. Lots of mixed American/German families in the area. Many of which stayed after the soldiers got out. The city as a whole probably didn't suffer too much from lost revenue, but the small suburbs of Heidelberg where the base and housing installations were located definitely did. I spoke with several restaurant and shop owners who were within a couple miles of the installations (Think Patrick Henry Village, etc.) who mentioned their revenue was down significantly after we left. More than anything, the locals had become accustomed to the large presence we had there for decades and were saddened that we were leaving. Especially the older generation who grew up alongside the installations after the war ended.

As others have mentioned - The Ramstein / Landstuhl / K town area would be hit pretty hard economically if I had to guess. Maybe Graf just due to our overall numbers (or atleast what I remember of them) in what's a very rural area, but it's hard to invision much more than that.

We had a little flat over off Schmitthennerstrausse (I don't miss pronouncing that) in Kirchheim. We got married at St. Peter's Catholic church right around the corner from our flat so that area will always hold a special place for me. We also stayed off of Langgarten St. right by the train station that divided Kirchheim & Rohrbach.

Those were some of the best times of my life. We're heading back to Kirchheim this summer to visit family and I can't wait.

You're bringing back some nostalgia

Mannheim was a dump relative to Heidelberg, but we had some amazing times there. When we closed down Coleman and moved to Weisbaden, I held out as long as I could and commuted from Heidelberg to Weisbaden for 6+ months before the drive wore me down and I finally gave in and got housing.

Wiesbaden was another fun city, but I don't think anything will compare to Heidelberg for me. Especially bouncing between the hauptstrasse and untere str. on a summer night. I know you know what I'm talking about

You mean there are actually German women that you would want to see sunbathing topless lol? I don’t think I would consider Germany as a hotbed of hot chicks even though I’m sure they have a few.

I grew up in the 80’s. I guess when I hear the words Germany and women I instantly jump to the thoughts of the East German woman that could make a pit bull look attractive if they were standing next to it lol.