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    V Corps junior leaders attend historic staff ride

    V Corps junior leaders attend historic staff ride

    Photo By Sgt. Devin Klecan | V Corps Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion junior enlisted Soldiers pose for a...... read more read more

    BERCHTESGADEN, GERMANY

    08.22.2022

    Story by Spc. Devin Klecan 

    U.S. Army V Corps

    BERCHTESGADEN, Germany – V Corps Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion leaders afforded the opportunity to staff sergeants and below to visit Adolf Hitler’s Eagles Nest, a part of an educational staff ride, Aug. 17-19. The staff ride allowed Soldiers of today to step in the same path as Soldiers of the “greatest generation.”
    “The staff ride is more than a mere historical tour that only relates what happened,” wrote former U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Carl E. Vuono, in 1988. “The staff ride is primarily an analytical experience, one that allows the student to understand how and why events occurred as they did and to gain insights into what these observations mean in today’s military environment.”
    Junior Soldiers attending entered a long, dark, and damp tunnel inside of the Kehlstein mountain. They gathered into a shiny, brass-lined elevator that directly led into the Nazi Dictator’s luxurious diplomatic house, known as the Eagles Nest, overlooking the town Berchtesgaden. The current generation of Soldiers saw and felt unchanged history within the same walls that Hitler and other top Nazi officials used to conduct social and government meetings.
    A vibrant and lively red marble fireplace, gifted to Adolf Hitler by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, sits in the center of the great hall. It still bears scars when past Soldiers left their mark on it, sitting inside of the previously 3rd Infantry Division and 101st Airborne Division-seized chalet in May 1945.
    The U.S. Army presence in Europe was vital to the defense of European allies, as still relevant in modern day. Just as V Corps supported allies during World War II, the corps has a presence in Europe once again.
    “We had two tasks we wanted to accomplish: introduce the concept of battlefield staff rides to junior noncommissioned officers and execute a quality training event. We were able to accomplish both with the Eagle’s Nest,” said Capt. Joseph Lively, V Corps Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion chaplain and main host of the staff ride. “Through a combination of lectures and group discussions prior to our visit, we were able to provide the Soldiers an understanding of the significance of the Eagle’s Nest, Berchtesgaden, and the surrounding areas during WWII. Being able to then walk the terrain with Soldiers and provide additional information during the historical encounter solidified our previous lectures and discussions. Overall, this particular historic site provided an excellent training opportunity and location to invest in our Soldiers.”
    By understanding the past, junior Soldiers in attendance received the opportunity to integrate lessons derived from V Corps’s participation in the European theater of the past.
    “I saw that history repeats itself, and it really never ends,” said Spc. Demarcus Britton, a human resource specialist a part of Headquarters Support Company and staff ride participant. “I think that if we were to stop what we were doing today that people like Hitler would probably come back and take over. It helps me see the significance of us being here and helping defend Europe.”

    -30-

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.22.2022
    Date Posted: 08.23.2022 11:42
    Story ID: 427748
    Location: BERCHTESGADEN, DE

    Web Views: 118
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN