Spangdahlem Travel Forum

My name is Bristan Keller and I was wondering if anybody could give me some insight or info on what the process is or what I need to do as far as housing and tranportation goes. This is my first duty station and my wife and I don't have any clue on what to expect. Also what should I expect for pt because I heard our base is really serious about physical fitness.

Probably a good site to check is: www.military.com. They have a lot of information that might be helpful for you. I was in the army, and wasn't married, so my personal experience with your situations is limited. Enjoy Germany, and the rest of Europe. Gary

Bristan, you need to contact your local MPF and Family Support, if you already haven't. They will have most of the info that you need. Do you have orders? They should have assigned you a sponsor to answer all your questions...especially since you are a first term airman. Also, talk to your supervisor and 1st Sgt. They can steer you to the local offices that will have all the info that you need. Where are you currently stationed? If you want, you can e-mail me for specific air force questions that you may "afraid" to voice with your chain of of command. I just retired 2 years ago from the air force and had my family with me on every tour except my last one.

Bristan, The nearby village only has about some 800 souls, 5 pigs and 2 hens. For that reason alone, I'm certain your will find everything you need on your base's own property, if that was part of your concern.

There are special procedures for members of foreign troops if it comes to housing, shipping of household/car, registering a car etc. Not really the subject of such a travel forum.

homepage of the base is
http://www.spangdahlem.af.mil/

Next bigger town is Bitburg. Approx. 15-20 minutes by car.
http://www.bitburg.de
The airfield in Bitburg is no more used by the airforce. Bitburg Housing Annex still exists, but will be probably also closed in a few years.

Next bigger city is Trier. Approx. 35-40 minutes by car.
http://www.trier.de
The oldest city in Germany. In Roman times the biggest city north of the Alps.

For German circumstances Spangdahlem is in a really remote area.
It is however well connected by federal roads and the autobahn A60.
Public transport connections are not the best as one could expect from such a small village, but do exits.

DB timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
To: Tor, Spangdahlem

Tor means gate. Albeit the roots of the word Tor are identical with door in English.
In this case the main gate of the base is meant.

I was going to give you some transportation information and a link to the base's website, but it appears abalada has already helped you there.

You might want to contact the outfit you're joining. I'd hope they would have some sort of system to help new people arriving.

Good luck -- I think you and your wife will have a lot of fun in Europe!

Cheers,

Mark

You can also look at the following web sites: http://benefits.military.com/misc/installations/Base_Content.jsp?id=1915, and also: www.spangdahlem.af.mil/library/newcomers.asp. Gary

Thank you for your help and answering my questions on the forum. Do you know how long it is from Spangdahlem to France, Belgium, or the Netherlands? My wife is dying to know. lol

I spent a lot of time in that region of Germany, but it was in military vehicles, on unfamiliar roads, looking for very specific areas, so my time and distance recollections would probably be invalid for you. You might take a brief look at the following site: www.bahn.de. This is the site for the German rail system. The site translates to English. You can get a rough estimate of travel times, and train fare costs there. Gary

I lived in Traben-Trarbach many years ago, so I know a bit about the area. Luxembourg is the closest country, not far at all from Spangdahlem. The town of Vianden is especially lovely if you enjoy hiking. Echternach is also quite interesting. Luxembourg City is a unique place to visit, especially to enjoy the "Casemates" (stone fortifications) that played a key role in the creation of Luxemourg as an independent Grand Duchy.

As for France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, you should be able to cross into each country within an hour's drive of Spangdahlem. The historic Belgian town of Bastogne is an easy day-trip by car. Paris is not all that far, either -- maybe a 4-hour drive, or about 5 hours with public transportation from Speicher or Trier train station (accessible by bus from the Air Base).

Sounds like you don't have a very good sponser!!!
Everyone answered what you need to do, but I thought I'd say something about PT. PT is up to each squadron. Some do it 3 times a week, others don't do it at all and just really on the "honor system" of their people. I was at the 606 Air Control Squadron and we did PT every Tues and Thurs. One day was push ups, sit ups, and a run, the other day was push ups, sit ups, and open time. Open meaning playing basketball, treadmills, aerobics class, whatever.