{"id":8418,"date":"2023-05-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=8418"},"modified":"2023-05-03T06:50:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T06:50:01","slug":"germany-knights-new-americans-as-jungjaegers-following-garrison-mwr-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=8418","title":{"rendered":"Germany \u2018knights\u2019 new Americans as Jungjaegers following Garrison MWR course"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Air Force Staff Sgt. Kaden Norwood receives the first \u2018strike\u2019 from Rheinland-Pfalz State Hunting Master Hubertus Gramoski during the graduation ceremony of U.S. Forces Europe German Hunting Course 23-1 April 28, 2023. The \u2018knighting\u2019 ceremony Norwood and nine others participated in included three \u2018strikes\u2019 with differing meanings.
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\n German hornblowers play the \u2018welcome\u2019 tunes before the start of the graduation of U.S. Forces Europe German Hunting Course 23-1 April 28, 2023. The horn playing is part of wider tradition that accompanied earning a German hunting license, or Jagdschein. Ten Americans graduated from the course.
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\n Students Brantley Ensor and Tony Promo examine the features on a taxidermized rhebok during U.S. Forces Europe German Hunting Course 23-1. The course lasted 10 weeks and saw 10 Americans graduate. The course is a regular offering of the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz\u2019s Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
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\n Brandon Cowell, a volunteer course instructor for U.S. Forces Europe German Hunting Course 23-1, stands at the shooting range located at at Sch\u00fctzengesellschaft Hubertus, a shooting range in Kaiserslautern, recently. Cowell and other Americans volunteer their time to help teach the course, which runs about 10 weeks. The course is a regular offering of the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz\u2019s Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
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\n U.S. Army Warrant Officer Tyler Berry, 16th Sustainment Brigade, points a shotgun at the moving target at Sch\u00fctzengesellschaft Hubertus, a shooting range in Kaiserslautern, recently. Berry was one of 10 graduates of the U.S. Forces German Hunting Course offered by U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz\u2019s Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany (April 30, 2023) \u2013 During a \u201cknighting\u201d ceremony that reaches back almost four centuries, 10 Americans earned honors as German young hunters, part of a regular recreational activity offered by US Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz.<\/p>\n

The conclusion of U.S. Forces Europe German Hunting Course 23-1 on April 28, 2023 followed almost three months of classroom work. The course — managed by the garrison Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation\u2019s Outdoor Recreation team — is offered a handful of times during the year.<\/p>\n

The course caught the attention of Air Force Staff Sgt. Kaden Norwood because his grandfather, a former Soldier stationed in Baumholder, finished it almost 70 years before.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandpa was stationed here in 1954, and he got his Jagdschein (hunting license certificate). I have that hanging on the wall in my office,\u201d said the Kansas native.. \u201cI also have a coworker who took the course and was pretty involved in hunting . That got me interested, so I found this course.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Course<\/strong><\/p>\n

In finishing, the 10 graduates could eventually join just over 350,000 Germans with hunting licenses, about 0.4%of the population who are able to hunt an area of German land \u2013 primarily owned privately or by cooperatives — about three times the size of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

The course taught to Americans is an abridged version of the nine-month course taught to local-nationals. Offered six times annually in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, the hunting course is a minimum of 58 hours of instruction on firearms safety, range time, time at a local hunting area, species identification, basic animal biology, farming and forestry, and more.<\/p>\n

Potential American students must clear an FBI background check, be 18 years old and buy a Hunting, Fishing, and Sport Shooting membership from Outdoor Recreation or the Kaiserslautern Rod & Gun Club. The German government offers the abridged version to American servicemembers since few stay in theater for more than two or three years.<\/p>\n

Volunteer Brandon Cowell, a C-130 Hercules simulator instructor at Ramstein Air Base, assisted with instruction. Cowell \u2013 who assisted lead course instructor Beau Jager — has helped teach Americans to hunt in Germany since 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great privilege to be given the ability to use firearms in Germany. There\u2019s so much paperwork and a lot of things that go into getting the license, but at the same time, the day students leave, they have 100% knowledge of how to get it done,\u201d Cowell said.<\/p>\n

According to many students, conservation is the most apparent theme that resonates throughout the course. Tyler Berry, a warrant officer with the 16th Sustainment Brigade in Baumholder, said the emphasis on conservation is what differentiated this from other hunting courses in the US. \u201cThere\u2019s always discussion about how we can make the animals\u2019 lives better and how can we improve this for the next person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Graduation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The knighting ceremony, or Jaegerschlag, is an event filled with music and tradition. The hunters dress in traditional lederhosen, the hunter\u2019s hat (jagd hut), and other garb. The ceremonial meal served is as German as it gets \u2013 meat, potatoes, sauerkraut, fresh bread, and more. At the start, during, and after the ceremony, a group of horn blowers played tunes that signify greetings, the time to eat, the induction, and saying \u201cuntil next time.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the knighting ceremony, students approach the Rheinland-Pfalz State Hunting Master Hubertus Gramowski in groups of three. Kreisjagdmeister Gramowski \u2018strikes\u2019 each graduate on the shoulder three times. The first strike is to appoint the graduate to the hunter\u2019s guild. The second \u201cis to give you the strength always to do what is right.\u201d The third strike binds the student to \u201ca true vow of huntsmanship.\u201d When the students rise, Kreisjagdmeister Gramoski greets them with \u201cWaidmannsheil,\u201d the hunter\u2019s greeting, to which the graduate responds, \u201cWaidmannsdank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreisjagdmeister Gramowski also adorned the right side of their hats with a small pine branch marking their symbolic first kill and signifying their Jungjaeger (young hunter) status they will carry for at least three years. At course completion, graduates receive a Jaegerbrief and, eventually, after turning in all the paperwork to their local city hall, the Jagdschein — much like the one Norwood\u2019s grandfather accepted 70 years before.<\/p>\n

The Enduring Partnership & Family Traditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Linda Sevigny works for the Department of Defense Education Activity and is the president of the cadre of volunteers, a group of about 13 people who organize and run the courses. They also support local hunting, fishing, archery, and sport shooting events sponsored by Army MWR and others in the region.<\/p>\n

Sevigny and her husband, Ron, graduated from the hunting course and now serve as volunteer instructors. Her dad, a career Soldier, earned his Jagdschein while living in Germany during the 1950s and 1960s. She said she is honoring his memory and legacy as a hunter by serving as a volunteer instructor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I do this together to give back to the community and reinforce the emphasis on Conservation, which is near and dear to our hearts,\u201d she said. \u201cPer German hunting tradition, we\u2019re conservationists first and hunters second, and that nourishes my soul!\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Army Col. Reid E. Furman, USAG Rheinland-Pfalz commander and one of those \u2018knighted\u2019 during the graduation, highlighted the opportunity to learn unique aspects of German hunting language and culture and join a German-American hunting and education partnership that has endured for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarning the German Jadgschein is an incredible opportunity for U.S. service members. This course builds on centuries of hunting tradition and is recognized around the world as the gold standard for hunter education. We have incredible instructors and volunteers who continue to improve this course with our German partners,\u201d Furman said. \u201cAnd having Herr Gramoski here to officiate, along with the hornblowers, to conduct the ceremony is a tremendous honor that we will always remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

ABOUT US Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz: U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz serves, supports, and secures the total force community enabling power projection for the European Theater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Air Force Staff Sgt. Kaden Norwood receives the first \u2018strike\u2019 from Rheinland-Pfalz State Hunting Master Hubertus Gramoski during the graduation ceremony of U.S. Forces Europe German Hunting Course 23-1 April 28, 2023. The \u2018knighting\u2019 ceremony Norwood and nine others participated in included three \u2018strikes\u2019 with differing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8420,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8418"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8426,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8418\/revisions\/8426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}