Patch Barracks

Patch Barracks is a well-known US military installation in Stuttgart-Vaihingen in Germany. It is named after U.S. Army General Alexander M. Patch.

History
Patch Barracks was renamed from the German Kurmärker Kaserne in 1952; it was originally built for use by the German Army Wehrmacht in 1936/37. During World War II, it served as the headquarters and barracks for the Wehrmacht's 7th Panzer Regiment with associated unit shooting ranges and training areas located at the nearby Panzer Kaserne (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 US Constabulary during the multilateral occupation of Germany following World War II. The US 7th Army was headquartered here from 1950 until 1967 when EUCOM was relocated to Patch from Camp-de-Loges near Paris, France. 7th Army relocated to Heidelberg.

Current Units Assigned

 * US European Command (EUCOM), the Department of Defense Unified Combatant Command for Europe & Northern Asia.
 * Special Operations Command, Europe (SOCEUR), which commands US Special Operations Forces units in Europe.
 * Defense Information Systems Agency
 * Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization
 * NSA/CSS Representative Europe office (NCEUR).

Education
DODEA (formerly DoDDS) operates Patch High School for the dependent children of service members.

Recent History
AFRICOM was started as a cell within EUCOM and then separated and assigned to nearby Kelley Barracks. The main community PX was relocated to nearby Panzer Kaserne in 2007 due to a lack of parking for both EUCOM staff and the PX shoppers. Other recent activity includes renovations to the housing on base. A highly conspicuous 314 ft radio tower familiar to generations of staff and visitors was dismantled in May 2009. Further downsizing may cause EUCOM moving to new facilities at USAG Wiesbaden and the closure of Patch and all of USAG Stuttgart.