USAG Bavaria reaffirms decades of German-American friendship with Volksfest

TOWER BARRACKS, Germany – U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria’s 62nd annual German-American Volksfest in the Grafenwöhr and Vilseck communities opened Aug. 1, 2025 with good cheer and an emphasis on the ongoing importance of the friendship between two nations.

Rolling clouds and occasional breakthroughs of sunshine greeted U.S. Army leadership and German leadership as they cut the ribbon to officially begin the large-scale festival.

A color guard and band led the officiating parade to the festival tent, where the leadership gathered on stage to welcome the visitors and tap the festival beer keg. The group included Dr. Florian Herrmann, chief of the Bavarian State Chancellery; Tobias Reiß, vice president of the Bavarian parliament; Dr. Julius Tsai from the Consulate General of the U.S. in Munich; Edgar Knobloch, Bürgermeister of Grafenwöhr; Hans Martin Schertl, Bürgermeister of Vilseck; Brig. Gen. Terry Tillis, commanding general of the 7th Army Training Command; Col. Florian Rommel, the German military representative at Grafenwoehr Training Area; and Col. Stephen C. Flanagan, USAG Bavaria commander.

Flanagan opened the fest tent ceremony by thanking those who came the Volksfest and reminding them that the ties between the U.S. and Germany date back to the founding of the U.S. when Prussian officer Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben helped train and professionalize the new U.S. Army.

“Our German-American friendship has also grown immensely in the last 80 years right here in Bavaria,” he said. “We work together to uphold our shared values of freedom and democracy and defend all we hold dear.”

“Eighty years ago, it was the first summer after six years of war, and the war was ended because of brave American Soldiers, who made all the sacrifices from the United States to Europe to free Europe and to free Germany,” Herrmann said.

Herrmann went on to say the Grafenwoehr Training Area is the “heart chamber” of NATO readiness and that there is “no readiness without training and no training without Grafenwoehr.”

Tillis, during opening remarks, iterated the importance of readiness and emphasized the role community partnerships have in maintaining readiness.

“We have to be ready to respond wen we’re called into action,” he said. “I do think that the partnership here at Grafenwöhr, spearheaded by our teammates here with Mayor Knobloch and then also Mayor Schertl of Vilseck help us do that.”

Knobloch also thanked the leadership and the crowd.

“The Volksfest is as important for us as for you is the Super Bowl,” he said. “It’s very important.”

The Volksfest continues for three days, and it includes vendors selling both American and German food and beverages, games and rides for families, displays of German and American military equipment, and live musical entertainment.

To learn more about the 62nd German-American Volksfest, visit the page here.