Nearly Closed - Final Curtain & Lights Out-Back On again

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Need to Know
Disbandment and Closure of Employment Agencies
Published: 14 November 2017
Disbandment and Closure of Employment Agencies in Paderborn, Sennelager and Bielefeld

On Thursday 2 November 2017, Commander British Forces Germany addressed the Locally Engaged Civilian Workforce regarding imminent action to close the employment agencies in Paderborn, Sennelager and Bielefeld. This action directly relates to the closure of Headquarters British Forces Germany and has implications on the locally employed workforce.

Following direction in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) and as confirmed on 5 March 2013 by the Secretary of State for Defence; the British Army will rebase from Germany by 2020. The Ministry of Defence confirmed on 5 November 2015 that the final Field Army units would withdraw from Germany in 2019. As a consequence of this rebasing instruction, Commander British Forces Germany has decided that the Agencies in Paderborn, Sennelager and Bielefeld are to disband and close on 31 December 2019. This decision will mean job losses for those locally employed civilians employed by these Agencies.

The British Command in Germany will strive to ensure that DEL employees are supported as far as possible with the transition from their current employment. Retraining opportunities will be made available and staff will be provided with a notice period of at least 12 months, where possible. Headquarters British Forces Germany has a dedicated team responsible for providing guidance and assistance to current employees and they will also play an active role in providing training courses in liaison with the Agentur für Arbeit. Employees will be given paid time off for appointments to consult with those representatives and for participating in early profiling exercises. Where operationally feasible, DEL employees will be released from work on continued full payment of salary to attend training courses organised either through the Agentur für Arbeit or other training providers. In addition, paid release from work may also be granted for work experience and attendance at job interviews. Our Dependant staff will also be fully supported throughout this period.

Information on further re-basing activities scheduled for 2018 and 2019 will be published when final details are known.

It's poignant, but we all knew it was coming sooner or later. There's a beginning and an end to everything and BAOR is no exception. However we still have this wonderful web page to keep us together and re-live the old times. Not only were they old, they were GOOD times!

Cheers!

recce83 wrote:

It's poignant, but we all knew it was coming sooner or later. There's a beginning and an end to everything and BAOR is no exception. However we still have this wonderful web page to keep us together and re-live the old times. Not only were they old, they were GOOD times!

Cheers!

Hear, hear! Would the last person to leave BAOR please switch off the light.

I guess there'll be some kind of final ceremony, (probably with a Bundeswehr band playing "Will Ye No Come Back Again") somewhere or other in Germany. Maybe it will be time for the King of Procrastinators to finally make it over there for the big event, especially if there's free beer and food, after 52 years.

Actually, my big excuse for not visiting the old haunts is due to other people I soldiered with  regretting their trips to see their old barracks and environs, which seems to fall under the You Can't Go Home Again Act. Just a quick look at Google Earth seems to substantiate that, however maybe I should just grit my teeth and go, especially if the free beer is cold and the free food plentiful. I'll even turn off the lights if I manage to empty the keg!

Nemo Me Impune Lacessit

Do you think so, I won't be holding my breath. A couple of years ago we were in Scotland on holiday when we got chatting to two German girls who were on the "Whisky Trail", they were probably mid to late 20s. One girl was from Hamburg and the other from Essen, when they asked where we learnt to speak German we explained that we had been stationed with the British Army in various locations in NRW. Neither of them knew that there had been a British Army presence in Germany, I could understand the girl from Hamburg being unaware, but the girl from Essen?

Before you all go:

And the show goes on   ..........

Following the success of the British in Westfalen exhibition that ran through the winter 2017/18 in Paderborn,
(Curator:  bettina-blum@web.de)
a mini-exhibition is on tour through Westfalia .  The size has been reduced not just because some exhibits
were on loan and have been returned, but to fit the surroundings and to be easily transportable  - keeps costs down,

In the mean time, Bettina Blum's team is collecting memoribilia, ephemera, pictures, maps and memories from
the many people and families who had been touched or were affected by the "Brits" in Barracks, in Town, on Exercises,
or socially engaged in their (German) environment.

They want to meet and hear from whoever remembers or has photos/photo albums, or kept any souvenirs from:

      -   soldiers boosting skills in village and local football teams,
      -   trucks, antennae and cook sites moving on to a farmyard in the middle of the night
      -   Colourful (loud) Marching bands at Schützenfests and Open Days
      -   Karnival and Schützenfest, Feuerwehrfests and other beer-drinking competitions
     -    Rhine Army Summer Shows at Bad Lippspringe - back when it was a Horse Event and an early Floh-Markt
          (or the copy event at Rheindahlen)
     -    the Golf courses at Garrison towns
     -    Grape Harvest in the Rhineland
     -    Children's Christmas parties, Carol services
     -    BFBS / BFN  radio shows
     -    Went to a BFES School in Germany ?
     -    Forces Post Offices and their First Day Covers

and the many other points of contact between the Forces and the world outside camp!
     
The touring exhibition will be at these venues:

           From  
           26 Aug 18             Mindener Stadt Museum
           28 Oct 18             City Archives  Hamm
           13 Jan  19             Ermschertal Museum Herne
           17 Mar 19             Historisches Museum Bielefeld
           19 May 19             Städtisches Museum Herford
           21 Jul   19             Kreismuseum  Wewelsburg (nr Paderborn)

The virtual tour and highlights of the original Paderborn exhibition are on-line here:

            www.paderborner-konversion.de/briten-westfalen/virtueller-rundgang

The organisers have not forgotten that many Nations contributed to the British presence
in  Nord Rhein Westfalen, and contributions and memories are invited from:
Canadian, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, Danish, Norwegian, Maltese and American communities that
had been a part of modern history, and whose inclusion and participation is foreseen for future exhibitions.

In similar vein it is appreciated that the British community included the British Army (much of which has
been whittled away in modern terms), the Royal Navy  (Minden, Oeynhausen, Bad Salzuflen, Krefeld (Uerdingen),
and the Rhine), the RAF (Bad Eilsen, Scharfoldenforf as well as the major flying sites),  CCG (BE) - all 25,000
of them, British Resident Officers and the JSL Organisation, Defence Estates,  MPBW and its  succesors,
and the CVWW groups (Red Shield, Toc H, YMCA, WVS/WRVS) that supplied welfare support inside and outside camp.  
NAAFI (BFI) with its in-camp canteens and shops, Families mini shops and supermarkets.   All had some interface with
civilians outside the camps.

A very large subject being treated robustly and sympathetically to record Brits at peace in Westfalia and the Rhineland,
and linking the  Brits who have made their home in what had been the British Zone of Germany.

Stand Fast the Rear Rank


https://www.forces.net/news/200-british-soldiers-remain-paderborn

Normandy Barracks, Sennelager (Image: Stadt Paderborn).

One hundred and eighty-five military personnel and 60 Ministry of Defence civilians will continue to live in Paderborn with their family members, the MoD has confirmed.

The figure came after the Paderborn local government announced that 200 British Army soldiers would be staying.

In addition, British troops will also continue to use Sennelager Training Area.

The 45 square mile facility allows for large-scale manoeuvres to be rehearsed and there is also an urban warfare training centre.

Welsh Guards used the site's combined arms tactical trainer (CATT a Lockheed Martin simulator product) to prepare to deploy to Afghanistan.

Paderborn's local government said efforts to convert the Sennelager Training Area into a national park “would be put on hold”.

Gavin the UK Defence Minister met up with  German counterpart Ursula von der Layen in Minden (on an M3 Bridge over the Weser) and promised at least 2000 BR vehicles would stay in Germany with the UK troops to operate them.  Minden, Paderborn, Wulfen and Monchengladbach to remain and Sennelager Training Centre & Area stays as a training asset.

This link (with photos)>  https://www.westfalen-blatt.de/OWL/Fotos/Kreis-Minden-Luebbecke/Verteidigungsministerin-Ursula-von-der-Leyen-zu-Besuch-in-Minden-und-Augustdorf    may vanish with time!

[Augustdorf (home of 21 GE Pz Bde) is where the Host welcomed her visitor is on the Northern tip of the Sennelager Trg Area - most of the Tank action is on B Range - and they seem to have signed an agreement
[url=https://servimg.com/view/19594078/40][img]
]

Lifted from Royal British Legion (FB) page Germany:
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/22431762749/?multi_permalinks=10156174338267750¬if_id=1562594985565509¬if_t=group_activity&ref=notif)

British Army in Germany / Britische Armee in DeutschlandLike Page
4 hrs
Paderborn says 'Auf Wiedersehen' to 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade

The City of Paderborn said farewell to the Servicemen and women of 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade with a series of events in the town centre on Friday, 5 July.
First was a Drumhead Service, also attended by the German clergy, with 300 soldiers representing the Brigade’s units still serving in Germany.
The Mayor of Paderborn, Michael Dreier, presented the units with a framed certificate as a mark of appreciation and respect for the British Forces for their contribution to peace and security in Europe since the end of the Second World War.
Herr Dreier said: “It will be strange not seeing British soldiers of 20 Brigade on our streets, but there is always a home for you here. You haven‘t left us, you are just somewhere else. May God bless all of you.”
The city also laid on a street party next to the historic town hall to be enjoyed by British soldiers and their families with the local population as a sign of close friendship between the two communities.
The evening concluded with a spectacular ceremony of the Beating Retreat where the British and German national flags were lowered for the last time, symbolically bringing to an end the Brigade’s presence in Paderborn.
“It is sad occasion, but also a very proud one,” said Brigadier Dom Biddick, who commands the Brigade.
“We have had the privilege of serving as part of your community for the past 74 years. During that time Central Europe has witnessed its longest ever period of peace. You could say we have fulfilled our mission, but you have repaid us many times over by your warm friendship.
“Without your support to our people, life would have been much more difficult for them, particularly during their frequent and often dangerous operational deployments.”
The Brigade is relocating to the Wiltshire area this summer as part of the UK Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010.
The relocation from Germany has been a complex and huge undertaking as plans were drawn up to move thousands of soldiers, their families and military equipment while working around operational deployments.
There were some 20,000 soldiers in Germany in 2010 and 16,000 have been rebased over the past years.
But the British Army is not leaving Germany completely.
It will retain the Sennelager Training Centre, a Squadron of amphibious Royal Engineers working with the German Army to maintain NATO’s specialist amphibious bridging capability, and other storage facilities.
Photographs: Dominic King, Army Media Office (Germany)

WE ARE BACK - SENNELAGER courtesy of Soldier Mag Mar 2020    

https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=1a92be17-44b0-4dd4-b740-89057cd9a275    flick pages to page 29

Welfare of British Veterans in Germany (British Army Germany former BAOR)

I live in Germany.  A recent enquiry from an old soldier in UK regarding an older soldier in Germany,
really needed the support / intervention / assistance of the Royal British Legion (RBL).   The RBL
is alive and well in the former British Zone and Berlin.

The contacts list below has been compiled following a trawl on the Internet, but will serve to
jump start anyone needing welfare advice from a reputable source.
(I haven't been paid by the RBL to say this!).  

They do need members/fresh blood and anyone interested should contact
the membership secretary (Robert Millar - ex 12 Regt RA  at Paderborn-Sennelager  
Paderborn.memsecretary@rbl.community)

All quotes from various RBL Sites;

>>The Royal British Legion is here to help members of the Royal Navy, British Army,
Royal Air Force, veterans and their families. And we’re not going anywhere.  We support
serving and ex-serving personnel all year round, every day of the week.

Our support starts after one day of service and continues through life, long after
service is over.

Germany Branches are at:

Bergen-Hohne  https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/bergen-hohne

Berlin https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/berlin


Bielefeld  1) http://www.rblbielefeld.com      

               2) The German version: http://www.rblbielefeld.com/wer-wir-sind.html

Dortmund https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/dortmund

Fallingbostel-Heide https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/fallingbostel-heide

Gütersloh https://www.facebook.com/events/1465139980627189/

Hannover https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/hannover

Herford https://rblherford.de/

Lippe   https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/lippe

Minden https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/minden

Münster https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/munster

Osnabrück https://www.rblosna.com   0541 683874  Tom Harrison

Paderborn https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/paderborn/branch-information/

Rheindahlen https://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/rheindahlen

Sauerland  https://www.facebook.com/groups/142143739880167/

District contact: Germany.Secretary@rbl.community

https://counties.britishlegion.org.uk/counties/germany/contact-us/

We administer and support the delivery of welfare services and the membership and fundraising
activities of the Legion's branches throughout Germany.

If you require welfare assistance please contact
the District Welfare co-ordinator Mary Jansen via e-mail: germany.welfare@rbl.communty

or call Mary on 05162 979 1197.