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| Combat Training Center Hohenfels | |
|---|---|
| Name | Combat Training Center Hohenfels |
| Location | Hohenfels, Bavaria, Germany |
| Coordinates | 49°12′N 11°45′E |
| Country | Germany |
| Controlledby | United States Army Europe and Africa; German Army |
| Used | 1938–present |
| Garrison | Hohenfels Training Area |
Combat Training Center Hohenfels The Combat Training Center Hohenfels is a multinational tactical training center and training area in Bavaria, Germany, that supports brigade and battalion-level readiness for NATO, United States Army Europe and Africa, and partner nations. Founded as a prewar and Cold War training ground, the center evolved through alignment with doctrines from NATO and interoperability frameworks used by Bundeswehr and allied forces. It hosts combined-arms, combined-joint, and multinational exercises integrating units from across Europe, North America, and beyond.
The site originated as a German Reichswehr and Wehrmacht training area in the late 1930s near Hohenfels and continued to be used by United States Army Europe after World War II during occupation and Cold War deterrence. In the 1970s and 1980s the area expanded to support large-scale maneuver training involving elements of V Corps (United States) and various British Army formations. Following the end of the Cold War and the reorientation of NATO, the center underwent transformation aligned with the creation of the Joint Readiness Training Center concept and interoperability initiatives with the Bundeswehr. The post-2000 era saw incorporation of lessons from Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom into scenarios emphasizing hybrid threats and stability operations. In the 2010s the center increased multinational participation including exercises related to Very High Readiness Joint Task Force concepts and NATO enhanced forward presence rotations.
The center's mission is to provide realistic, scalable, and demanding collective training for brigade combat teams, multinational battalions, and headquarters, enabling integration of combined-arms capabilities and staff processes originating from NATO Standardization Office, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command, and allied doctrine. It roles include support for force certification for deployments, rehearsal of concept plans drawing on Allied Joint Doctrine, and execution of mission command evaluations used by European Command and partnering militaries. The center emphasizes interoperability with systems and procedures from partner services such as Royal Canadian Army, French Army, Polish Land Forces, and numerous NATO members.
The training area comprises maneuver grounds, urban fighting villages, observation posts, and range complexes configured for live-fire, combined-arms maneuver, and force-on-force scenarios used by units from 1st Infantry Division (United States), 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and European armored brigades. Facilities include a computerized opposite force (OPFOR) command, simulation centers compatible with Close Combat Tactical Trainer, and integrated casualty evacuation lanes linked to medical treatment nodes patterned after Role 3 medical facilities. Urban training is conducted in mock towns and infrastructure reflecting features from the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan, while artillery, air-defense, and engineer ranges support combined-arms integration with assets from NATO Air Command, German Luftwaffe, and allied aviation units.
Hohenfels hosts major exercises such as multinational rotation cycles tied to NATO certification frameworks, brigade combat team rotations, and specialized programs including opposing force (OPFOR) rotations modeled on adversary doctrines derived from Russian Ground Forces and hybrid threat constructs observed in Crimea crisis scenarios. Programs include partnership training with the Joint Multinational Readiness Center exchange programs, combined-arms live-fire events, and command post exercises used to rehearse mobilization and reinforcement plans originally developed with inputs from Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. Training rotations have integrated units preparing for deployments to theaters such as Kosovo Force, Syria contingency planning, and NATO reassurance measures in Eastern Europe.
Tenant organizations have included elements of United States Army Europe and Africa, the German Army Training Command, and multinational OPFOR units drawing personnel from allied militaries such as the British Army Training Unit Suffield liaison teams and cadre from NATO Force Integration Units. Visiting units range from mechanized brigades of the Polish 11th Armoured Cavalry Division to light infantry battalions from the Estonian Defence Forces. Support and training augmentation has been provided by teams from NATO Training and Doctrine structures, defense contractors providing simulation technologies, and academic observers from institutes like the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.
The installation's infrastructure includes simulation centers, maintenance and logistics hubs supporting heavy equipment transport, barracks, and life-support services aligned with standards used by U.S. Army Installation Management Command and allied garrison models. Range control and safety are coordinated with Bavarian civil authorities and the Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany) for environmental and airspace deconfliction. Logistics corridors link Hohenfels to strategic railheads and motorways used for prepositioning by formations influenced by NATO logistics doctrine and the European Defense Agency planning processes.
Operations at the center have occasioned controversies over environmental impact on the Hohenfels training area and noise complaints addressed through mitigation agreements with local Bavarian municipalities and the European Court of Human Rights-adjacent advocacy by regional groups. Safety incidents have included live-fire mishaps investigated jointly by U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division and German authorities, prompting procedural reforms consistent with lessons from other training center inquiries such as those following incidents at Grafenwöhr Training Area. Political scrutiny during force posture debates and NATO burden-sharing discussions has periodically highlighted Hohenfels in parliamentary debates within the Bundestag and in statements by U.S. Department of Defense officials.
Category:Military installations in Bavaria