Patch Barracks is a U.S. military installation in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is named after U.S. Army General Alexander M. Patch (1889–1945).

History

Patch Barracks was renamed from the German ''Kurmärker Kaserne'' in 1952; it was originally built for use by the German Army (Heer) in 1936–1937. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it served as the headquarters and barracks for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

's 7th Panzer Regiment, with associated unit shooting ranges and training areas located at the nearby

Panzer Kaserne Panzer Kaserne (German notation: Panzerkaserne) is a U.S. military installation in Böblingen, Germany, part of U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart. The post is administered by U.S. Army Installation Management Command-Europe (IMCOM-Europe), a legac ...

(literally "tank barracks"). After the Second World War, Kurmärker Kaserne was temporarily occupied by French colonial troops. Subsequently, American troops took over the facility, which hosted the U.S. Constabulary during the multilateral occupation of Germany following the war. The Seventh Army was headquartered here from 1950 until 1967, when

EUCOM The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia ...

was relocated to Patch from Camp-de-Loges near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and the 7th Army relocated to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Current units assigned

U.S. European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia ...

(EUCOM), the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

for Europe and Northern Asia. *

Special Operations Command, Europe U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR, pronounced “Sock-Yer”) is a subordinate unified command of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM, pronounced So-Comm). Function Based at Patch Barracks near Stuttgart, Germany, SOCE ...

(SOCEUR), which commands US Special Operations Forces units in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. *

Defense Information Systems Agency The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. DISA prov ...

* Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization *

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...

CSS Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone techno ...

Representative Europe office (NCEUR)

Education

DODEA The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behal ...

(formerly DoDDS) operates Patch Middle School for the

dependents A dependant is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included in this definition. In some jurisdictions, supporting a dependant may enabl ...

of service members. High school students attend Stuttgart High School (SHS), opened in 2015, on Panzer Kaserne in

Böblingen Böblingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Beblenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was found ...

. Patch Barracks hosted

Patch American High School Alexander M. Patch American High School (also known as "Patch American High School" or "Patch High School") was an English language high school in Germany, on Patch Barracks southwest of Stuttgart, operated by DODEA (formerly known as DoDDS). Op ...

(PAHS) from 1979 to 2015, Another predecessor,

Stuttgart American High School Stuttgart American High School in West Germany was first located at Robinson Barracks (old SA (SturmAbteilung) barracks), north of Stuttgart, from fall 1953 to spring 1955. That fall, the school moved a few miles northeast and opened at Pa ...

(SAHS), began in 1953 at

Robinson Barracks Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960s ...

, relocated to

Pattonville Pattonville is a neighborhood in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, northeast of Stuttgart, with the unusual distinction of being a former United States military housing complex, as few U.S. installations returned to German control have been maintaine ...

two years later, and closed in 1992.

Recent history

AFRICOM The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U ...

was started as a cell within EUCOM and then separated and assigned to nearby

Kelley Barracks Kelley Barracks (formerly ''Helenen-Kaserne'') is a U.S. military installation and headquarters of United States Africa Command, and is a part of US Army Garrison Stuttgart in Stuttgart-Möhringen in Germany. The post is administered by IMCOM- Eu ...

. The main community PX was relocated to nearby Panzer Kaserne in 2007 due to a lack of parking for both

staff and the PX shoppers. Other recent activity includes renovations to the housing on base. A highly conspicuous radio tower, familiar to generations of staff and visitors, was dismantled in May 2009. In 2022 Patch Barracks hosted the International Donors Co-ordination Cell (IDCC), the joint international effort to supply

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

with military equipment to defend itself during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

US European Command

Home page of the US Army Garrison Stuttgart

General Information about the Stuttgart Military Community

Official Stuttgart Military Community Newspaper

Stuttgart VVS public transit map for the Patch area

Installation Guide for the Stuttgart Military Community

Stuttgart Community Spouses Club

Stuttgart Subjects at Toytown Germany- an English-language community website for Germany.

Barracks of the United States Army in Germany Military installations established in 1952 Military installations of the Wehrmacht United States military in Stuttgart