WELCOME TO THE U.S. ARMY GARRISON ANSBACH!
HISTORY: U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Ansbach is located in the German state of Bavaria, in the region of Franken (also known as Franconia). The Franconian landscape is best described as rolling terrain dotted with lakes and streams, interspersed with low mountain ranges. Franconia is further divided into three regions: Upper Franconian, Middle Franconia, and Lower Franconia. USAG Ansbach is located in Middle Franconia and covers an area of about 40 square kilometers and consists of the city of Ansbach and the town of Illesheim. Within these two areas are eight different installations: Barton Barracks, Bismarck Kaserne, Bleidorn Kaserne, Franken Kaserne, Katterbach Kaserne, Shipton Kaserne, Storck Barracks (located in Illesheim) and Urlas Kaserne.
USAG Ansbach was originally designated as the 87th Support Battalion on October 16, 1991. It was re-designated as the 235th Base Support Battalion (BSB) on November 27, 1991 and assigned to VII Corps. Upon activation, the battalion was placed under the 99th Area Support Group (ASG) - Nürnberg with the primary mission of managing base operations. The battalion originally consisted of a headquarters and headquarters detachment located in Ansbach and three area support teams in Schwäbisch Hall, Crailsheim, and Illesheim.
With the drawdown of U.S. forces in the fall of 1991, the battalion went through several significant changes and, in 1993, the 99th ASG inactivated and the 235th BSB became part of the 98th ASG in Würzburg. The drawdown also initiated the closure of Dolan Barracks in Schwäbisch Hall on September 30, 1993 and McKee Barracks in Crailsheim on January 15, 1994. In 1993, the 98th ASG in Würzburg inactivated and became U.S. Army Garrison Franconia, assigning the 235th BSB to U.S. Army Garrison Franconia, whose headquarters was located in Würzburg.
In 2006, the Installation Management Agency (IMA), Community and Family Support Center, and the Army Environmental Center were consolidated to create the Installation Management Command, or IMCOM. On October 13, 2006, USAG Franconia was deactivated in a ceremony at Leighton Barracks in Würzburg, and USAGs Ansbach, Bamberg and Schweinfurt were all realigned as separate reporting garrisons under the command and control of IMCOM-Europe. In 2014, the military communities in Bamberg and Schweinfurt were subsequently closed.
POPULATION: The garrison takes pride in its support to more than 12,000 Soldiers, civilians, family members, and retirees living throughout the garrison footprint.
SIZE: USAG Ansbach consists of six sites and nine kasernes dispersed between the City of Ansbach and the village of Illesheim. Bismarck, Katterbach, Urlas, and Shipton Kasernes are located to the northeast of Ansbach while Barton Barracks and Bleidorn Kaserne are in southwest Ansbach. Twenty-four miles northwest of Ansbach, Storck Barracks is adjacent to Illesheim, and the Oberdachstetten Training Area and Franken Kaserne are located near Marktbergl.
INSTALLATION ACCESS: All non-DoD ID card holders who request access to a U.S. military installation are required to either be escorted by a DoD ID card holder at all times, be on an approved access roster or be issued an installation pass. The INSTALLATION ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS office registers DoD ID card holders into IACS, issues installation passes to contractors/vendors and visitors, and processes installation access rosters for special events or persons needing short term access but are ineligible for an installation pass.
ABOUT THE USAG ANSBACH INSTALLATIONS:
- BARTON BARRACKS: Barton Barracks is the home to the 7th Engineer Brigade and the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. Additionally, vehicle registration, vehicle processing center (POV shipping), and the vehicle inspection station are located here.
- BISMARCK KASERNE: Bismarck Kaserne has been the command center of USAG Ansbach since 2022. Located here is the USAG Ansbach Garrison Headquarters, U.S. Customs, Equal Employment Opportunity, Army Family Housing, bachelor officer/bachelor enlisted quarters, a movie theater, a car care center, and the Von Steuben Community Center. Bismarck Kaserne is co-located with Katterbach Kaserne, from which German Federal Highway 14, commonly known as B14, separates it.
- BLEIDORN KASERNE: Bleidorn Kaserne is made up of Army Family Housing, the garrison's library, and the garrison's live community theater, the Terrace Playhouse.
- FRANKEN KASERNE/OBERDACHSTETTEN: Franken Kaserne is located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city of Ansbach in the direction of Storck Barracks, is situated near the towns of Munasiedlung and Marktbergel, and is used as a training site. It also houses the IMCOM-Europe Costume warehouse, which holds more than 100,000 costume pieces for the Army in Europe Theater program. Franken Kaserne is co-located with the Oberdachstetten Training Area, which hosts an obstacle course, a shooting range, and additional training spaces for U.S. and NATO forces.
- KATTERBACH KASERNE: Katterbach Kaserne is home to the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, the garrison's biggest unit. This kaserne also hosts the Community Central Processing Facility for in- and out-processing, a child development center and school age center, the garrison's elementary and middle/high schools, a fitness center, a chapel, a U.S. post office, two banking facilities, a AAFES shoppette, Army Family Housing, and much more.
- SHIPTON KASERNE: Shipton Kaserne is home to the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment as well as the USAG Ansbach Network Enterprise Center (NEC). Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation operates a recreation facility close to the entrance of Shipton Kaserne called Soldiers Lake which offers outdoor grills and facilities for picnics and is a favorite fishing spot for the USAG Ansbach community. Additionally, this area features the only Army beehives in Europe!
- STORCK BARRACKS (ILLESHEIM): Storck Barracks is located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Ansbach and is adjacent to Illesheim. Storck Barracks also has an airfield to accommodate rotational aviation forces and one of only two flight simulation building complexes in Europe. At Storck Barracks, there is a fitness center, banking facility, Postal Service Center (the combined community mail room and U.S. Post Office), a gas station with AAFES shoppette, and the Storck Recreation Center.
- URLAS KASERNE: At what used to be a training area, Urlas Kaserne is home to the AAFES Post Exchange with food court, the Ansbach Commissary, Military Clothing Sales, a barber shop and hair salon, dry cleaners, flower shop, the Ansbach Army Lodge Brainard Hall, a gas station with AAFES shopette, an auto skills center with car wash and dog wash, and Army Family Housing. Urlas also hosts the U.S. Army Health Clinic Ansbach as well as the dental clinic and the IMCOM-Europe Fire Training Center.