New medical facility discussed at mayors' forum

  • Published
  • By Major Paul D. Baldwin
  • 3rd Air Force Public Affairs
SCHÖNENBERG-KÜBELBERG, Germany --  The 3rd Air Force commander led a delegation of Air Force and Army leaders who met with local German mayors during a meeting Sept. 14 to discuss ongoing plans for construction of a new medical facility.

Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, Kaiserslautern Military Community commander, and the delegation uses semiannual mayors' forums to share information affecting both Germans and Americans living in the surrounding communities.

Construction plans for a new $1.2 billion medical facility set to be built on the Weilerbach portion of Rhine Ordnance Barracks adjacent to Ramstein Air Base was the topic of the forum.

Dwane Watsek, Landstuhl recapitalization program manager, U.S. Army Installation Management Command - Europe (IMCOM), is overseeing the project and updated the mayors.

The new medical center will consolidate the aging Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the Ramstein Air Base Clinic (RABC) into one facility and is projected to be completed by 2018, he said. The RABC is operated by the 86th Medical Group.

A variety of construction issues were discussed, including the environmental assessment.

"The German Ministry of Defense will determine what information from the environmental study is made available for public review," said Watsek. "A full environmental study is expected to be completed in November."

Sean McDonald, chief of construction programs, IMCOM - Europe, said that because of the size of the project the environmental study would last a full year to account for every season. It will "investigate the water, any environmentally sensitive areas, species or plants" and would take into account local conditions and concerns, he added.

"Everything we are doing in the process is consistent with German law," said General Gorenc. "All of this is in compliance with established procedures."

The U.S. currently plans to retain the facilities at Landstuhl because the installation provides significant community support to U.S. military personnel stationed within the KMC. Landstuhl has administrative areas, barracks, housing, and an elementary and middle school.

"There will be something at Landstuhl, it just won't be a medical center," Watsek said. "There are a lot of valuable services and facilities there that we rely on and can't do without."

General Gorenc emphasized that this was the latest information available, and cautioned that changes are always a possibility with construction projects this large.

"Changes will occur, and that's an important distinction on the information we provide you," said the general. "My goal with this forum is to make sure we understand all of the issues and challenges in your communities and that we provide as much transparency as possible in a timely manner."

Karl-Heinz Schoon, Union Community Schönenberg-Kübelberg mayor, hosted the forum.

"It is a great honor to host this important meeting today," he said. The mayors' forum is a critical connection to the KMC because not only do Americans live in the communities here, but also because Germans work alongside them, he said.