Since 1959 there has been a Bundeswehr barracks in Gärmersdorf (municipality of Kümmersbruck) on the B85. In 1964 the location of the Panzer Engineers 120 and the Panzer Brigades 123 and 124, previously known as the Panzer Barracks, was renamed the Schweppermann Barracks. Today, 60 years later, both the Panzer Brigades 123 and 124 and the Engineer Brigade have long since been disbanded. In 1994, 30 years ago, the Logistics Battalion 472 moved into the Gärmersdorf Barracks, the last remaining barracks in the region.
Bike tour and family celebration
The logistics battalion organized several events to mark the 60th anniversary of the Schweppermann barracks. The army music corps from Veitshöchheim played on the market square in Amberg, there was a family celebration for the soldiers’ relatives, and a bike tour went from Neumarkt to Gärmersdorf. And at the end of September a daycare center will be inaugurated.
On Monday, a blood donation event was organized in the barracks’ sports hall. Lieutenant Colonel Martin Hillebrand, the commander of the 472nd Logistics Battalion, was one of the first to have 500 milliliters of blood drawn that morning. “With this event, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the naming of the Schweppermann barracks, we want to give something back to the people here in the region for their enormous support,” said Hillebrand about the intention of the blood donation campaign.
Around 140 soldiers had registered for the donation drive. Not only blood was taken. The soldiers were also able to have their blood typed for the bone marrow donation drive and be entered into a worldwide database. “We need around 2000 cans every day for our hospitals in Bavaria,” said Rainer Endres, calculating the need for blood. The regional representative of the Bavarian Blood Donation Service (BSB) is very grateful to the commander of the logistics battalion for the blood donation drive. “We have many first-time donors among the young soldiers here. On average, every second one comes back,” he knows from experience. However, only a few will probably reach the commander’s record. For Lieutenant Colonel Martin Hillebrand, this Monday was the 73rd blood donation.
