Dr. Thomas de Maiziére, Germany's Federal Minister of Defense, visited Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico on Feb. 15 during his trip to the U.S.
De Maiziére came to the U.S. to visit the German Air Force Flying Training Center here and tour other German units stationed here in the U.S.
"It's a pleasure and honor to be here," de Maiziére said while greeting and shaking the hands of leaders from the 49th Wing, training center and Alamogordo community.
The German defense minister wanted to see some of the different aspects of the German forces in America, said U.S. Air Force Col. David Krumm, the 49th WG commander.
"Holloman is a large part of that with our German Air Force contingent," Krumm said. "He wanted to get out to see the troops, the mission, how they're living, what's going on here and what needs they have."
Krumm also said de Maiziére's visit was important for the wing.
"It's always great to see our allies, to be able to talk and interface with them, and get to know each other's issues," he said. "Because we work together, we train together, and we fight together, having a solid relationship at every level is very important."
Bob Cain, of the Air Combat Command International Affairs, said the current relationship between the German Air Force and Holloman AFB is the best he's ever seen.
"The Germans started flying training here at Holloman in 1992, so we're celebrating basically 20 years of German (armed forces) program involvement this year," Cain said. "It's not only been a great relationship, but also highly successful for them. It's been nearly 10 years since we've had any German aircraft incidents on base. A lot of that goes into not only the ops and the maintenance infrastructure, but also the ability to train realistically in a very safe and controlled environment."
Also accompanying de Maiziére was a group of 18 German and international media members who got a first-hand look at static aircraft and a chance to interview subject matter experts of the airframes.
"I think that's an aspect that we don't always do and that's important for them to see the relationship between their armed forces and the Americans here," Krumm said. "The community has embraced the Germans as neighbors. I think this recognition highlights the good working relationship with have with our German allies."
****************
GERMAN NAVY “SEALS”
German naval commandos are called Kampfschwimmer or "combat swimmers". These German navy counterparts to the US Navy SEALs are Germany's oldest Special Operations Forces. The Kampfschwimmer roots go back to World War II.
Today's Kampfschwimmer formations are heavily involved in international operations against terrorism, including missions in the mountains of Afghanistan.
This e-book is written by a German Navy lieutenant who serves as a Kampfschwimmer team leader -- the equivalent of a US Navy SEAL platoon leader.
"German Navy SEALs" is a profile of the Kampfschwimmer units. The e-book covers the history of the Kampfschwimmer beginning with the World War II era; describes their organization, command structure, capabilities and training; discusses their cooperation with US Navy SEALS and other Special Operations Forces; and their role in German and NATO operational planning.
Other German Special Operations Forces are also briefly discussed.
