Nahbollenbach Army Depot
Communications Zone
Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.

Nahbollenbach Depot
1. Herr Wettmann with co-workers	2. Herr Wettmann

I was stationed at Strassburg Kaserne from Christmas Eve 1966 (yes, I arrived on Christmas Eve) as an E-2 and was extremely nervous. We flew into Frankfurt from Ft. Dix, New Jersey IIRC....long time ago. Three of us boarded a train for Idar-Oberstein, (West) Germany. Each of us did not know one another other than we were going to Strassburg K.

We arrived at the train station about midnight and there was a small phone booth that had a sign on it with the number to call for pickup by US Army; we called and about 20 minutes later a jeep or other military vehicle arrived. Driver asked to see our papers. When ok, we hopped in and headed into the night on a road that had NO straight sections in it at all (remember I'm from Kansas and we can see for miles and our roads are as straight as arrows!).

The driver took us up to Strassburg Kaserne and dumped us out at the first barracks. We checked in and were assigned to #4 (clear at the other end of the street, about 1/4 mile) so we carried every thing we owned (not much) and checked in. Were put up on the 4th floor (attack area) with nice rooms and were told at what time Chow would be served at breakfast across the street and about halfway back down the street.

We were in a "Holding Company" until our orders arrived about 3-4 days later which assigned each of us our barracks. Since I was a 71N20 (MOS - Transportation Movements Specialist), I was put into the HQ Company on the other end of the street just inside the Main Gate. The others were put into the other Company's according to their MOS (I think both were "box humpers", warehouse guys) and really never saw either one of them again other than off and on at the PX.

I was replacing a E-5 who was rotating out of the Army and going home. We would board a bus each morning and ride about 30 minutes to Nahbollenbach General Depot where I worked in the Transportation Dept. There were five (5) in the Transportation Office which was located on the building's 1st floor. The mess hall was on the second floor, so was very 'handy'! I was the only GI in my office. In the next office was the Sgt E-7 in charge, and in the next office to that was the Officer in Charge of all transportation. Across the hallway were three other offices that were all Transportation. Remember, back then all paperwork was either all hand written or typed with non-electric typewriters!! (and now one asks......what's a typewriter?) amazing........

My duty was to Time Stamp a "packing slip," sign it with my name, and then someone would pick it up and take it to the warehouse for the driver to haul it to 'where-ever'. We also had shipping via Rail and, very seldom, via Air. But the shipment would go out of our office via truck to Ramstein Air Base or Frankfurt Air Base.

I might mention that Nahbollenbach General Depot was the largest in Europe at that time. It was being built due to the unrest with our troops being in France for so many years and they "wanted us out" ! (Do a Google Maps search for Nahbollenbach Germany and you'll see that parts of the Depot area are still there but hard to make out. Within the last 10 years the Germans have torn down a large 7-story building that was the main HQ for all Europe Army Freight. The facility now is a huge German Industrial complex with a McDonalds and huge Gas Stations, etc. Of course it has been 45 years since I was there.....but it seems like yesterday.

Source: www.innorev.com

MISSION Receive, store, maintain, and issue peacetime and war reserve materiel to include TR-1, Decrement, Organizational Readiness Float, and Theater stocks as directed by the 200th Theater Army Management Center (200th TAMMC). NOTE: Click on thumbnail for nice aerial view of Nahbollenbach Storage Area after it was released by the US Army to the German Federal Government.

	Line Items On Hand		1,100
	Short Tons On Hand		23,000
	$ Value		250.0 MIL
	Wheeled Vehicles On Hand		2,200
	Tracked Vehicles On Hand		500

I commanded 7th CEC at Idar-Oberstein from summer of 1974 to summer of 1976. Our barracks were at Strassburg Kaserne with equipment stored at both Nahbollenbach Depot and Winterhauch Storage Site. We had a very busy time in many respects. Issues to projects 9dd and 9jj, Reforger 74 in September 1974, Brigade 75 in January 1975, Reforger 75 in September 1975 and Reforger 76 in March 1976. Additionally, when Depot Command closed Nahbollenbach Depot facility, I became installation commander there and concurrently we civilianized the majority of the unit, hired several hundred of Nahbollenbach's personnel and moved the barracks from Strassburg to a very small Kaserne behind the depot. At that point 4 officers; 1 Warrant Officer and 15 to 20 enlisted all E-6 and above.