7th Army Training Command

U.S. Army Europe's Training Command

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WHO WE ARE

Headquartered in Grafenwoehr, Germany, the 7th Army Training Command is the U.S. Army's largest overseas training command. Our combat maneuver and simulation centers, live-fire ranges, classrooms and facilities provide realistic, tailor-made training solutions to U.S., NATO and partner-nation units and leaders.

MISSION

The 7th ATC is a unified command consisting of seven directorates: Combined Arms Training Center, Grafenwoehr Training Area, International Special Training Centre, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Joint Multinational Simulation Center, 7th Army NCO Academy and Training Support Activity Europe.

The 7th ATC provides dynamic training, preparing forces to execute Unified Land Operations and contingencies in support of the Combatant Commands, NATO, and other national requirements. The 7th ATC is a unique institution; efficiently and effectively providing innovative multinational training solutions for an uncertain future.

We are centrally located among the highest concentration of U.S. allies and partners in the world.

By routinely training together at 7th ATC, U.S. and multinational forces build trust, develop interoperability and set the conditions for creating the strong coalitions that will guarantee peace and security in the region

LEADERSHIP

7th Army TrAining Command History

  • 2016

    In 2016, the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command was returned to its original designation as the 7th Army Training Command.

  • 2005

    In 2005 it became the command element for the Joint Multinational Training Command comprising the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Combat Maneuver Training Center in Hohenfels, the Combined Arms Training Center in Vilseck, and the Training Support Activity, Europe. The JMTC assists the militaries of the former Warsaw Pact countries and Russia in transforming their forces and our NATO allies in preparation for current conflicts. At the same time, CMTC transformed into the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. Additionally, the JMTC’s 7th Army NCO Academy at Grafenwoehr trains hundreds of allied and partner nations’ Noncommissioned-officers every month.

  • 1975

    Grafenwoehr becomes the headquarters for the Seventh U.S. Army Training Center, which becomes the Seventh Army Training Command the following year.

  • 1959

    Grafenwoehr becomes headquarters of the Seventh Army Training Center, incorporating the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas to become the largest training complex in Germany.

  • 1953

    Between 1951 and 1953, the camp was renovated to the form and structure seen today. The construction projects completed in this time frame included, among others, the field camps Tunesia, Cheb, Kasserine, Aachen, Algiers and Normandy. These facilities could house 42,000 troops.

  • 1950

    With the threat of communism apparent from events in the Soviet Union, China and the Korean peninsula, a defense force for Europe was needed. Headquarters Seventh Army is created from the Constabulary headquarters at Stuttgart.

  • 1948

    In 1948, the Grafenwoehr Training Area was assigned to the 7th Army and designated a tank training center.

  • 1945

    In May 1945, after the surrender of Germany, the U.S. Army occupied the Grafenwoehr Training Area and established a tank training area in 1947.

  • 1945

    During the Battle of the Bulge, the Seventh Army extended its flanks to take over much of the Third Army area which allowed the Third to relieve surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne. Along with the French First Army, the Seventh went on the offensive in February of 1945 and eliminated the enemy pocket in the Colmar area. The Seventh then went into the Saar, crossed the Rhine, captured Nürnberg and Munich, crossed the Brenner Pass, and made contact with the Fifth Army – once again on Italian soil. In less than nine months of continuous fighting, the Seventh had advanced over 1,000 miles and for varying times had commanded 24 American and Allied Divisions.

  • 1944

    In March, Lieutenant General Alexander Patch was assigned to command the 7th Army which moved to Naples, Italy. In August, Seventh Army units assaulted the beaches of southern France in the St. Tropez and St. Raphael area. Within one month, the Army employing three American Divisions, five French Divisions, and the first Airborne Task Force had advanced 400 miles and had joined with the Normandy forces. In the process, the Seventh Army had liberated Marseilles, Lyon, Toulon, and all of Southern France. The Army them assaulted the German forces in the Vosges Mountains, broke into the Asiatian Plain, and reached the Rhine River after capturing the city of Strasbourg.

  • 1943

    The shoulder patch for the Seventh Army was approved June 23. The letter “A” for “Army” is formed by seven steps indicating the numerical designation of the unit. The colors suggest the three basic combat branches which make up a field army – blue for Infantry, red for Artillery, and yellow for Armor (Cavalry). Veterans of the Seventh Army wore a tab reading “Seven Steps to Hell” under the patch, but this tab was never officially authorized.

  • 1943

    The Seventh Army was the first U.S. Field Army to see combat in WWII and was activated at sea when the I Armored Corps under the command of Lieutenant General George Patton was re-designated July 10, 1943. The Seventh Army landed on several beaches in southern Sicily and captured the city of Palermo July 22 and along with the British Eighth Army captured Messina Aug. 16. During the fighting, elements of the Seventh Army killed or captured more than 113,000 enemy soldiers. Lorem ips