In 1988, the city council of Idar-Oberstein decided to offer sponsorship to the then leadership of the artillery school, which was then officially documented on June 12, 1988 between Lord Mayor Erwin Korb and Heribert Göttelmann. Since the interpersonal interaction between the citizens of the garrison town of Idar-Oberstein and the soldiers at the site is of particular importance, especially in this day and age, the artillery school and the town of Idar-Oberstein held a joint sponsorship event "on the Rilchenberg" on Thursday, October 19, 2023.
In order to introduce the technical capabilities of the Bundeswehr, in particular the artillery troops, to the city's representatives, the General of the artillery troops and the Lord Mayor invited the soldiers of the artillery school and representatives of the city council as well as other officials of the Idar-Oberstein site to an information event followed by festivities as part of the "school bivouac". The head of the artillery school and general of the artillery troops, Colonel Olaf Tuneke, and the mayor of Idar-Oberstein, Frank Frühauf, used this opportunity to personally reaffirm and renew the sponsorship that has existed since 1988.
At the beginning of the event, a static weapons and equipment display was used to present various modern weapons and command systems as well as Bundeswehr recovery vehicles to those present. The participating soldiers and citizens' representatives were able to gain their own impression of the capabilities of the systems and vehicles presented, including those outside the artillery force.
After the weapons display, Colonel Tuneke and Lord Mayor Frühauf addressed the participants of the school bivouac with short speeches. In their speeches, both reported on the status of the mutual relationship and emphasized that the existing sponsorship between the artillery school and the gemstone city is more alive than ever.
Examples of this include the civic festivals on Schleiferplatz, the annual New Year's reception of the Lord Mayor, the Nahe-Zeitung and the General of the Artillery, mutual information events and the city's support for the annual street collection for the "German War Graves Commission".
An outstanding example in the recent past was the cooperation in the context of training support for Ukraine, which once again demonstrated the safe environment in which the soldiers in Idar-Oberstein can fulfill their mission.
Especially in times of a tense security situation in Europe, close cooperation between the citizens of the garrison town and the soldiers is indispensable. The past has shown that the sponsorship between the artillery school and the town of Idar-Oberstein stands for more than joint celebrations and the exchange of certificates. It stands for lived friendship, mutual appreciation, care and helping hands. This outstanding cooperation is to be strengthened and intensified in the future. The significance of the sponsorship was symbolically confirmed with the signing of a new certificate.
This was followed by an entry in the Golden Book of the city of Idar-Oberstein. After the tapping of the keg beer by Mayor Frühauf and Colonel Tuneke, the evening ended with a spit roast and an interesting exchange between soldiers from the artillery school and representatives of the town of Idar-Oberstein.
The school bivouac was a seamless addition to the many sponsorship events held in the past. We can rely on each other - in good times and bad.