16 Welcome to the U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr. 1967 March President Johnson announces plans to withdraw two divisions from Europe. 1968 August Approximately 200,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers, led by the Soviet Union invade Czechoslovakia, for the second time. The soldiers were sent to stop political reforms and freedoms and set-up a new government more closely aligned with the Kremlin. 1969 January The largest NATO Exercise to take place in Europe, the first Exercise REFORGER [from return of Forces to Germany] begins. About 12,000 Soldiers come from the U.S. to join the 220,000-man, U.S. Seventh Army in West Germany. In addition, 96 F-4 fighter bombers attend from Stateside to participate. The Soviet news agency, Izvestia, describes REFORGER as, “a new western plot directed at increasing tension in Europe”. The exercise is hosted in Bavaria at Grafenwoehr, 50 miles from the Czechoslovak border. 1970 President Nixon’s Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird visits Grafenwoehr, where he meets Helmut Schmidt. Schmidt will later become Chancellor of West Germany. Historical note: Every Cold War West German Chancellor with the exception of one, Konrad Adenauer visits the Grafenwoehr Training Area in one capacity or another from 1947 to 1991. May The M-16AI rifle, the TOW anti-tank weapon, the AH-1G Cobra and the OH-58A observation helicopter are added to U.S. Army Europe’s arsenal. 1971 November A Pentagon reorganization study proposes adding more combat units to USAREUR. 1972 April V Corps Headquarters and the Terrace Club in Frankfurt are bombed by terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF). The RAF would bomb USA-EUR headquarters in Heidelberg one month later. 1972 to 1973: The Seventh Army Training Center’s responsibilities dramatically expand. It is now responsible for all U.S. Army training activities in Europe. Combat support courses from the Combat Support Training Center in Oberammergau are moved to Rose Barracks. 1975 January The 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry is activated at Lee Barracks in Mainz, and moves to Vicenza, Italy. At the same time, the 8th Infantry Division‘s 1st and 2nd Battalions, 509th Infantry were discontinued and replaced by two mechanized battalions, making the division fully mechanized. The USAREUR Soldier in the mid 1980s was many things. More than any other institution, the Army had become America’s great melting pot. As a member of an all-volunteer Army the Soldiers assigned to U.S. Army Europe experienced cohesion, teamwork and esprit de corps in picturesque Europe, and by 1987 the Army’s recruitment slogan, “Be All You Can Be” was an open invitation to talent from every part of the country, and to individuals from every social or ethnic background. History of the Grafenwoehr Training Area
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