Kaserne
Encyclopedia
Kaserne is a loanword
taken from the German
word Kaserne (plural: Kasernen), which translates as "barracks
". It is the typical term used when naming the garrison
location for NATO forces stationed in Germany. American forces were also sometimes housed in installations simply referred to as "barracks", such as Ray Barracks in Friedberg
.
American forces within a kaserne could range anywhere from company
size, with a few hundred troops and equipment, to brigade
level formation with supporting units, or approximately three to five thousand troops and their equipment. The largest single unit combat force in Germany, the First Brigade of the U.S. 3rd Armored Division
was housed at Ayers Kaserne in Kirchgoens, also known as "The Rock". While several dozen kasernes with NATO forces were once spread all across Germany, after the end of the Cold War
, many were closed, and some have been demolished.
Most army posts within the United States house units and/or multiple units of a much larger size than one would find in a kaserne. These installations are typically called "forts", such as Fort Knox
, Fort Campbell
, Fort Dix etc. National Guard and Reserve installations, though sometimes designated as "forts", are more often referred to as "camps".
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
taken from the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word Kaserne (plural: Kasernen), which translates as "barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
". It is the typical term used when naming the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
location for NATO forces stationed in Germany. American forces were also sometimes housed in installations simply referred to as "barracks", such as Ray Barracks in Friedberg
Friedberg, Hesse
Friedberg is a town and the capital of the Wetteraukreis district, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 26 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main.-Division of the town:The town consists of 7 districts:* Bruchenbrücken...
.
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
size, with a few hundred troops and equipment, to brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
level formation with supporting units, or approximately three to five thousand troops and their equipment. The largest single unit combat force in Germany, the First Brigade of the U.S. 3rd Armored Division
U.S. 3rd Armored Division
The 3rd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. Nickamed the Third Herd, the division was first activated in 1941, and was active in the European Theater of World War II. The division was stationed in West Germany for much of the Cold War, and participated in the...
was housed at Ayers Kaserne in Kirchgoens, also known as "The Rock". While several dozen kasernes with NATO forces were once spread all across Germany, after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, many were closed, and some have been demolished.
Most army posts within the United States house units and/or multiple units of a much larger size than one would find in a kaserne. These installations are typically called "forts", such as Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
, Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astraddle the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee...
, Fort Dix etc. National Guard and Reserve installations, though sometimes designated as "forts", are more often referred to as "camps".
Kaserne Links
- http://www.usarmygermany.com/USAREUR_Kasernes.htm
- http://www.3ad.org/kasernen/area_butzbach/ayers1_kaserne.htm
- http://www.3ad.org/kasernen/area_gelnhausen/coleman1_kaserne.htm
- http://www.3ad.com/history/cold.war/article.pages/ayers.2001.htm