Getting stationed in Vilseck, Germany as a soldier. What am I getting myself in to?

Question

Well, to elaborate, I'm trying to find someone, another soldier perhaps, to tell me some things about the area, the kind of job I'll be doing, things to do on weekends, especially long weekends, what the workload is like and so on and so forth? Kinda vast, I know, but anything will help, I'm in the dark about all this. Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi, My family and I have been stationed in Vilseck since last June.  We love it here.  I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.  Are you coming alone or with your family?  Will you be living in the barricks?  The soldiers get a long weekend once a month.  Everyone travels and carpools.  It is amazing that from Vilseck you can be in Italy in about 8 hours, Prague in 2 hours and Paris in 9 hours.  If you are a single soldier there are lots of travel choices from BOSS.  If you enjoy bike riding you will love it here.  There are all sorts of trails all over the country.

  This is our 7th duty station and I have to say that it is our favorite.  It will be hard to go back to the states.

  The Germans here are very nice and most know some English.  Have you asked for a sponser?  If not ask your 1st Sgt. to explain the program to you.  My only advice is about your car.  Make sure that it has snow tires before you leave the states.  It is very hard to find tires here.  Also if you are bringing a large car you may want to change your mind.  Parking spaces are much smaller here.  I have a Santa Fe and it is almost 2 big.  Many people bring their large cars here and then find out that it is hard to take it anywhere off post.  When they try to sell them it is hard to find a buyer for a large car.  If you plan to buy a used car here there are tons for sale.

  I hoped this info has helped you some.  Keep a open mind and get excited!

Answer 2

Some very good answers you got!

What about the housing situation. If you don't live in the barracs  but live on or off post, be sure not to bring too much furniture. Many Americans carry so much furniture which then does not fit into the rather small rooms. After all this country is crowded (not in Vilseck, but geneally). The housing offices provide loaner furniture and appliances for you, so you can always get something you might miss.

In Germany, the utilities costs are quite high. Heating will cost you a lot of money. When you get a large place, you have to consider how many sqare meters you will have to heat. Some rooms have 4 meter high ceilings (in the old fashion apartments). Many soldiers have problems paying utilities because they use electricity, water and gas in the same manner as home. At the end of the year then, they realize  that OHA does not cover a great part of it and they end up paying out of pocket. Try to not use a transformer, as this uses a lot of electricity. Buy smal equipment like coffe maker or microwave locally (or AAFES) so you can use it with the 220 Voltage.

I think it is very wise of you to gain information beforehand. So, I wish you al lot of fun here!

Answer 3

hi, I´m having many friends living in barracks here in Germany and they all take their chances and visit as many sights as possible, Europe is fascination somehow, you´re surrounded by history, that´s about what to do in your free time, can´t give you other infos, I´m not a soldier yet. But if you need some more information about Germany and how to behave, the language, etc, feel free to contact me! :-)

Answer 4

The other 2 answers are very good in describing the Vilseck area. I have a friend(civilian) that works there and I visit him 2-3 times a year. The car advice is right on the money! After 20 years in Germany I drive a compact diesel. Depending on your status(rank, single or married, etc) you might be better off getting a car once you get to Germany.

To be direct; Vilseck is out in the sticks. Very beautiful country, but still out there. Similiar New England so take that into consideration for clothing - from hot summer weather to cold snow weather.

You are lucky in that you are US Military so you have the advantage of PX and Commisary shopping, APO(ie cheap postage to and from the US) and a lot of other benefits. The Vilseck-Graf area has a great Militray support system. I make a special trip at Thanksgiving for the fantastic dinner buffet at the Mess Hall - oh excuse me, Dinning Facility.

Vilseck has a train station with connections to major cities so even without a car you can get around Germany(and Europe) pretty well.  Make sure you do The Oktober Fest!

If you can learn a bit of German, and adventure of post you can have a great time!

If you want more practical advise about having 'Fun' let me know.

Answer 5

I've never been stationed in Germany, but have been there on vacation.  Germany is a very car oriented country and you will find it helpful to have a car.  You could buy a used car and then sell it for about the same price you paid.  Or get a car (BMW 3 series for example) via European delivery and bring it back to the states.  Buying a car that way through a US dealer means that the car will meet all US standards.  I am not sure about the ins and outs about buying a German car from a German dealer and then bringing it back to the states.  I've heard that converting it to US standards can be an expensive headache.  It really helps to know some German bc in Germany, you cannot count on the German ppl to know English.  Many study it, but don't really have the chance to speak it and are rusty.  And you will find that many ppl don't speak English at all (especially in the smaller towns, smaller hotels, etc.).  Have a nice time;  not everyone has the chance to live and work in Germany.  And thank you for serving our country.

Answer 6

The person who answered before me was correct on all accounts.  To fill in some of the gaps, Vilseck is a smaller post attached to the southern end of a larger training area, GTA, or Grafenwohr Training Area.  What you'll be doing every day will depend entirely on your job, and on your unit, but you can expect to spend much of your training time up at Graf.  Grafenwohr itself does have a small post which is being greatly expanded to make room for the 2nd Stryker Brigade which just moved there from Ft. Lewis this past summer.  You'll see them cruising around in those things all the time now on the tank trails.  There is another training area to the south, called Hohenfels (in Armyspeak known properly as JMRC, or Joint Military Readiness Center, or as its old name, CMTC, Combined Miltary Training Center).  Hohenfels is where you go for the monthlong field problems that most units have to do once or twice a year--although as I said before, that all depends on your unit.  Graf is mostly for weapons ranges, although there are other kinds of training done there.  Vilseck itself is where a lot of folks from all over the USAREUR theatre get sent for classes, such as WLC (formerly PLDC).  Vilseck is a nice little post, with more modern amenities than many of the other Army posts you'll find around Germany (it was certainly nicer than McCully Barracks near Mainz, where I was).

Vilseck isn't THAT close to any large cities, but Amberg, Regensburg, and Nurnberg are all reasonably close... or comparitively close, depending on how you look at it.  Graf, Vilseck, and Hohenfels are in northeastern Bavaria, close to the Czech border (as the other poster pointed out, you're nice and close to Prague--and Prague is a MUST-SEE).  Be sure to bring plenty of warm clothes, because Graf, Vilseck, and Hohenfels all get the coldest weather earlier than the rest of Germany and see snow sooner, and more of it.  I was at Graf for the last time this past September and it was unusually nice; and I was in Hohenfels this past November and it snowed on November 1st.  The weather changes suddenly there, so be sure to expect it.  The other poster's advice about snow tires is right on the ball--if you do bring a car, be sure you have what you need with it to make it winter-proof.  Many Americans bring their ridiculously large vehicles to Europe... why, though, is beyond me... but if you do, be mindful that gas is far more expensive in Europe than it is in the states.  Granted, you can buy gas on post, and buy gas coupons to use on the German economy; but those only work at Esso stations and some Aral stations, and they only work in GERMANY.  They won't help you if you drive out of the country.  Americans laugh at Germans driving Smart cars and other little things, but in Europe they make sense.  They're far more fuel-efficient than your standard gas-guzzling Ford F350, and you can forget trying to park one of those American monsters in the downtown area of any European city.  My advice would be to bring a smallish, or at most a medium, sized car with you... or buy a used German car in Germany (lots and lots of Americans do that).

I would be happy to answer any other questions you might have... I know what you must be feeling because no one helped me before (or after) I got to Germany, and I had to learn everything myself.  I doubt you'll end up in the same predicament, though.  I was stationed in the Wiesbaden/Mainz area, which is a few hours to the west of Vilseck, but like almost everyone else I had to spend a lot of time in Graf and Hohenfels... you'll know what I mean once you get there.  Feel free to send me a message if there's more you might want to know.