Construction program at Baumholder supports overall quality of life and growth in personnel

SMITH BARRACKS, Germany - Crews recently broke ground on new annex facilities here on Smith Barracks for Special Operations Forces, which are just the latest projects to get underway as part of more than $1 billion in investments in facilities focused on supporting personnel and families assigned to the Baumholder Military Community.

Much of this construction boom, roughly $500 million, is directly focused on delivering new and renovated operational facilities to enable the ongoing move of SOF personnel from U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart to the Baumholder Military Community. The annex facilities are just the latest projects in that portion of Baumholder's transformation.

"SOCOM genuinely appreciates the dedication of the EUCOM team that has been working so hard to ensure that Baumholder is prepared to receive Special Operations Forces and their families in the next several months," said U.S. Special Operations Command Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Guillaume Beaurpere. "The Corps of Engineers has been a critical partner in this effort, having completed dozens of construction projects already and will continue to deliver dozens more to support the move."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages the design and construction program in close partnership with U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz and German construction partners.

"The renovation and construction of facilities on Smith Barracks will ensure the relocation of Special Operations Forces here from Stuttgart is on schedule to finish welcoming special operators to the BMC by 2026," said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division Commander Brig. Gen. John Lloyd. "Between design and construction, this half-a-billion-dollar initiative covers more than 50 projects, including a mix of new construction and a majority that are gut renovations of existing structures, some of which date back to the second World War or earlier."

The SOF facilities are part of a larger ongoing transformation of Smith Barracks and the broader Baumholder Military Community. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District - which is a part of the larger North Atlantic Division - is currently overseeing design and construction on a wide range of renovation projects and new builds across Baumholder that also includes major quality of life projects.

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proud to work with our partners and be part of this historic transformation for the Baumholder Military Community," Lloyd said. "All told, with the SOF design and construction projects, combined with the broader installation improvements that help deliver the Army's quality of life priorities, we are helping realize a more than one-billion-dollar investment in the BMC's future and capabilities."

Many of the planned quality-of-life improvements, which will benefit SOF personnel and families as well as other units already in Baumholder, are already underway on the housing area at Wetzel Kaserne.

Crews are already building more than 100 new, modern townhomes on Wetzel Kaserne with garages, lawns, patios and driveways. Shared green spaces, with amenities like playgrounds, gathering spaces for social events and dog parks are being built into the new housing neighborhoods.

Construction is also underway on the new Baumholder Elementary School on Wetzel Kaserne, the first of two new Department of Defense Education Activity schools planned for Baumholder. As a 21st-century design concept school, the new Baumholder Elementary School is being built to emphasize collaboration, adaptable spaces and enable multidisciplinary teaching and real-world skills development for children.