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Kaiserslautern American
August 23, 2013
AOC Airmen visit historical bunker Story and photo by Airman 1st Class Trevor Rhynes 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Airmen from the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center took a look at history after visiting the Air Defense Operations Center bunker Aug. 16 in Kindsbach. The bunker was built prior to World War II and was utilized for command and control operations for the German army. After the war it was passed to the French, who used it primarily for storing munitions. The Air Force gained control of the bunker in 1954 and turned the bunker back into a command and control center where air operations could have been led if the Cold War turned hot. When the U.S. vacated the bunker in 1993, it was given back to the German government. The Kindsbach Cave Bunker now belongs to the family who owns the land, and they provide tours of the bunker. During the tour, Airmen saw the conditions in which their previous generation worked. Highlights of the tour included the old air defense operations center and the Cold War-era AOC. “If you’re the owner of something with historical value, you have an obligation to show it to anyone who is interested,” said Wolfgang Wuermel, owner of the Kindsbach Cave. “This was an interesting tour to give, especially since the people on this tour do the same job as those who served here long ago.” For one member of the 603rd AOC, the tour meant seeing the area where
Wolfgang Wuermel, owner of the Kindsbach Cave, details a map of the Air Defense Operations Center bunker Aug. 16 in Kindsbach. The bunker was built prior to World War II and was utilized for command and control operations for the German army. After the war, it was passed to the French, who used it primarily for storing munitions. The U.S. Air Force gained control of the bunker in 1954 and turned it back into a command and control center where air operations could have been led if the Cold War turned hot.
his father worked in the late ’70s. “My father worked here and specialized in communications; we actually have the same job,” said Tech. Sgt. Peter Krueger, 603rd AOC NCO in charge of operational knowledge management. “I figured since I work here now, I would organize a tour to compare where we work now to where we would have worked years ago.”
The newest AOC in the Air Force has multiple differences from what was identified as the first ADOC, Krueger said. “You could tell the differences every sixth room we passed,” he said. “It seemed like every few rooms was broken up by mechanical room. Now our technology is much (more compact).” As the organizer, Krueger was
pleased at the interest members of his organization had about descending into the past. “We had a positive turnout. There were lots of interested people who wanted to learn about the history of our field,” Krueger said. “It’s a link directly from how we operate now to how air defense operations were handled back then. We have come a far way from how we used to operate.”
Officials strive to protect MWR programs amid budget cuts by Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON — Committed to preserving quality-of-life offerings despite ever-tighter budgets, military morale, welfare and recreation officials are scaling back in some areas as they introduce innovative approaches to delivering services and programs. Military fitness centers, swimming pools, lodging facilities and outdoor recreation offices might sound to some like a footnote among competing budget requirements. But Ed Miles, DOD’s MWR policy director, and his counterparts across the military services see a close connection to military readiness. “We have a direct impact on the readiness and retention and resilience of the troops and their families,” Miles told American Forces Press Service. “When you have a healthy and fit force, it has absolute national security implications — in terms of stress reduction, physical and emotional health and esprit de corps.
Congress has long agreed, authorizing funds since 1989 to cover 85 percent of programs with the most direct link to readiness: fitness centers, community centers and library programs, among them, Miles explained. Amenities such as arts-and-crafts centers, outdoor recreation centers and youth programs that are less directly tied to readiness receive a lower authorization of 65 percent. Meanwhile, “nice-to-have” offerings such as military golf courses, bowling alleys, campgrounds, food and beverage services and similar services generally must be self-supporting, with user fees covering all costs and overheads. A variety of factors has thrown this formula off kilter, Miles said. With increased privatization, almost three-quarters of military families now live off installations and tap services and programs in their communities. Many, like their civilian neighbors, have fewer spare dollars to spend on recreation. And with sequestration putting a big dent in already-reduced MWR budgets, the military servic-
es find themselves struggling to provide quality-oflife programs and services to their members. It all converges after 11 years of war — at a time when safe, affordable options for military members and their families to blow off steam are more important than ever, said Bob Vogt, the Army’s division chief for soldier and community recreation. “If we didn’t have the programs offered on an installation for a soldier or his family, they would have to go find a release somewhere else,” he said. “We have a safe, controlled environment on our installations, and we can offer a reduced fee for a lot of programs to help them release some of that pent-up stress and frustration. “So our goal is to try not to reduce or eliminate any services and to try to maintain the current level of services,” Vogt continued. In some cases, that has required the Army to borrow from nonappropriated-fund activities to keep fitness centers and other appropriated activities running. (For the full story, visit the KA online at www. kaiserslauternamerican.com.)