Frequently Asked Questions
General information
Q1. What is the USAREUR mission?
Q2. Where is the USAREUR Headquarters located?
Q3. How many Soldiers are assigned to USAREUR?
Q4. What units and commands are in USAREUR?
Q5. What are the time zones of the USAREUR Area of Responsibility?
Q6. How many countries are in the USAREUR Area of Responsibility?
History
Q10. What is the history of the U.S. Army in Europe?
Q11. When were the most U.S. Soldiers in Europe?
Q12. Why is the Army still in Europe after the end of the Cold War?
Q13. How can I find information about U.S. Cemeteries in Europe?
Q15. What is the history of Elvis Presley's military career?
Visiting US Army in Europe
Q18. Is there an Army recreation center in Europe?
Newly Assigned Personnel
Q7. I have orders to Europe, now what?
Q8. What communities are in the USAREUR footprint?
Q16. How does the postal service work in Europe?
Q1. What is the USAREUR mission?
A1. U.S. Army in Europe trains and leads Army Forces in support of U.S. European Command and Headquarters, Department of the Army by:
- Training and preparing full spectrum capable forces for global employment
- Strengthening alliances and building partner capacity and capability
- Providing Army Service Component Command and Title 10 support
- Continually seeking to improve the readiness and quality of life of our Soldiers, Army Families and Civilian workforce
Q2. Where is the USAREUR Headquarters located?
A2. At Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Q3. How many Soldiers are assigned to USAREUR?
A3. Approximately 29,000.
Q4. What units and commands are in USAREUR?
A4. View a list of USAREUR units and commands.
Q5. What are the time zones of the USAREUR Area of Responsibility?
A5. Central European Time: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vatican City.
Eastern European Time:
Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Greenwich Mean Time + 2:
Israel
Greenwich Mean Time + 4:
Armenia and Azerbaijan
Moscow Standard Time:
Georgia and Russia
Western European Time:
Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Scotland and United Kingdom.
Q6. How many countries are in the USAREUR Area of Responsibility?
A6. There are 51 countries in the USAREUR Area of Responsibility. View an interactive map.
Q7. I have orders to Europe, now what?
A7. The place to start is the Total Army Sponsorship Program website. TASP is a one-stop, real-time, web-based portal for Soldiers. Get the latest available information on your assignment, family travel, & sponsorship status - to include points of contact.
Find localized newcomers information on the garrison webpage of the location you're moving to. You can find websites for the garrisons in the region on the garrison page.
Q8. What communities are in the USAREUR footprint?
A8. Belgium:
Brussels and Chievres.
Germany:
Ansbach,Baumholder, Garmisch, Grafenwoehr, Hohenfels, Rheinland-Pfalz, Stuttgart and Wiesbaden.
Netherlands:
Schinnen
We also use facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia and Romania.
A9. No. However, the U.S. is a founding member of NATO. As the U.S. Army's component command headquarters for Europe, USAREUR works closely with our NATO allies.
Q10. What is the history of the U.S. Army in Europe?
A10. Visit our history of USAREUR page.
Q11. When were the most U.S. Soldiers in Europe?
A11. During the Cold War, the USAREUR strength reached an all-time high of 277,342 Soldiers in June 1962.
Q12. Why is the Army still in Europe after the end of the Cold War?
A12. U.S. forces originally came to Europe to stand with our allies in the fight to defeat tyranny and help Europe develop peaceful, prosperous societies based on democratic values. We stayed to defend Europe with our NATO allies against tyranny during the Cold War.
Today, U.S. Army in Europe, with NATO and other coalition partners from throughout its 51-country area of responsibility, trains for, conducts, and supports contingency operations. Headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, USAREUR has forces throughout Germany as well as in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Romania, and in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Q13. How can I find information about U.S. Cemeteries in Europe?
A13. The American Battle Monuments Commission is the guardian of America's overseas commemorative cemeteries and memorials.
Q14. I'm an Army veteran who was stationed in Europe, and I want to visit where I was stationed. What must I do to come and visit?
A14. If you have a CAC or military retiree ID card, you can access USAREUR installations upon arrival. You will be granted access and reminded to get registered in the Installation Access Control System (IACS). USAREUR does not accept the DoD Civilian Retiree card, the FiXs contractor card and the blue or red striped CAC cards issued to non-US citizens for installation access. If you are a veteran but do not have a military retiree ID card, you will need a sponsor to access a USAREUR installation. You can be signed on by an authorized individual, usually a CAC card holder, for a short visit. You must be accompanied by the sponsor while on the installation. Unfortunately, there is no process in place to provide you with a sponsor for your visit. Due to force protection requirements and the reduction of forces in USAREUR, we are unable to facilitate visits. While we understand and appreciate the desire to visit your former duty assignment, we do not have the assets needed to support the many requests we receive.
Q15. What is the history of Elvis Presley's military career?
A15. Elvis Aaron Presley entered the United States Army at Memphis, Tennessee, on March 24, 1958, and then spent three days at the Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, Reception Station. He left active duty at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on March 5, 1960, and received his discharge from the Army Reserve on March 23, 1964. During his active military career Presley served as a member of two different armor battalions. Between March 28 and September 17, 1958, he belonged to Company A, 2d Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armor, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. During this assignment he completed basic and advanced military training. Presley's overseas service took place in Germany from October 1, 1958, until March 2, 1960, as a member of the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor. For the first five days of that period he belonged to Company D of the battalion, and thereafter to the battalion's Headquarters Company at Friedberg. While in Germany Presley wore the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 3d Armored Division.
Q16. How does the postal service work in Europe?
The Military Post offices operate as an extension of the United States Postal Service (USPS), consistent with public law and Federal regulations. For the purposes of the USPS, mail sent to you at your Consolidated Mailroom (CMR) here is treated just like, and costs the same as, mail sent to a post office box in the United States.
Requesting a mail box
Soldiers and self-sponsored civilian employees can request a P.O. Box within 60 days of reporting to Europe. If possible, your sponsor should request the mailbox in person at the Consolidated Mailroom. To do so, the sponsor must bring their ID, orders for the incoming personnel and a memo from the gaining unit. We will not provide the combination for the mailbox to the sponsor. If your sponsor cannot assist you, send a copy of your orders to the servicing CMR.
If you send boxes to this location prior to your arrival, you must claim those items immediately upon arrival. Unfortunately, we do not have the space to provide long term storage.
Only sponsors are authorized a mail box and must share the box with their Family members. Family members who have documentation from the Civilian Personnel Office showing that they are their own sponsors can get their own box.
Civilian government employees must provide a letter of employment issued by the Civilian Personnel Office. Government contractors must provide a copy of their contract indicating they are authorized logistical support. Some government contractors are not authorized logistical support.
Some companies such as Amazon.com do ship via USPS to Army Post Offices (APOs), but even that depends on the specific product you are purchasing.
FedEx, DHL and UPS do NOT ship to APOs; however, they do ship to physical addresses in Europe. Even so, if you live on post, their delivery drivers may not be able to get onto the post, but these companies may allow you use the "Hold for pickup" option. The receiver will then be able to pick up the shipment at the company’s local terminal. The international shipment pricing will likely be much higher than having it shipped through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
Address format
Your mailing address will follow this format:
Name
CMR xxx BOX xxxx (4 digit box number)
APO AE xxxxx-xxxx (4 digit zip code suffix)
“APO” stands for “Army Post Office” and is used in place of the city in a typical US address, and “AE” stands for “Army Europe” and is used in place of the State. Do NOT add your physical location to your address. APO addresses are within the U.S. postal system and postal rates are the same as sending items within the United States. Explain this to your families who may be sending mail. Writing “Italy” or “Germany” will delay mail and may cause people to pay extra for international shipping.
All must have a complete delivery address and full return address. Mail should have first and last names, and should not use nicknames. Items that cannot be easily identified will be returned to sender.
Q17. Are there space-available flights in Europe? What do I need to do to book a space-available flight?
Q17. Space-A flights near USAREUR garrisons are available at U.S. Air Bases in Aviano, Italy; and Ramstein and Spangdahlem, Germany. For more information, visit Air Mobility Command or the Ramstein Passenger Terminal Facebook page.
Q18. Is there an Army recreation center in Europe?
Q18. As the Executive Agent for the Department of Defense, the Army operates the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) http://www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com/home.html a full-service resort hotel in the German Alps town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, south of Munich.
Edelweiss Lodge and Resort authorized patrons include active-duty Service members, military retirees, reservists, guardsmen, current Department of Defense and Coast Guard civilian employees stationed in USAREUR, foreign military and DOD civilians stations in the U.S, ON ORDERS assigned at a U.S. military installation overseas, the family members of authorized patrons. Room rates are determined by pay grade and apply to both active and retired military and DoD/Coast Guard civilians. NATO personnel with a AE Form 600-700 (USAREUR Privilege & Identification Card) are also eligible to stay.
Reservations are taken up to 365 days in advance and can be made by calling our Vacation Planning Office, sending an email to vacation@edelweisslodgeandresort.com or book online.
The Rest and Relaxation (R&R) program offers discounts to service members and their Families on R&R or block leave serving in combat deployments. The Armed Forces Recreation Center Survivors Family Program extends to survivors and sponsored guests of these authorized users. Gold Star Families receive a 50 percent discount from normal guest room rates.