Base guide

USAG Hohenfels

5 min read

  • 8 sections
  • 8 sources
On this page
  1. Before you leave
  2. Arriving and in-processing
  3. Housing: what is on post, and for whom
  4. Schools and child care
  5. Medical and dental care
  6. Pets
  7. Legal assistance
  8. For a family with a junior enlisted sponsor

Hohenfels is one of the four locations of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria rather than a garrison of its own; MilitaryINSTALLATIONS lists it as “USAG Bavaria, Hohenfels”. The Hohenfels MilitaryINSTALLATIONS page describes a single installation about an hour south of Grafenwoehr and Vilseck and about two and a half hours north of Garmisch, including the Hohenfels Training Area, 163 square kilometers. The garrison-wide rules (the S-Bus from Ramstein, mandatory assignment to government quarters, the dog rules) are in the USAG Grafenwoehr guide; this page covers what is different at Hohenfels.

Before you leave

The Hohenfels page lists the points to settle stateside:

  • Command sponsorship. “If your dependents are not command sponsored, you cannot be assigned Government-controlled quarters until they are command sponsored.”
  • EFMP. Required EFMP screening and family-member travel screening must be completed before PCS travel to Germany.
  • Driver’s license. You need a valid stateside license to be eligible for the USAREUR license, and the USAREUR license before you drive in Germany.
  • Hand-carry orders, school records, EFMP documentation (DA Form 5888), passports, driver’s licenses, birth and marriage certificates and account information rather than packing them.
  • Power. Germany uses 230 volts and 50 Hz; the page warns not to plug a 120-volt appliance into a 230-volt outlet with a simple plug adapter.

If you marry en route, the Hohenfels check-in page says to check with your losing installation before you depart; otherwise you come to Germany unaccompanied and start the command sponsorship process from there.

Arriving and in-processing

Hohenfels is a stop on the Sponsorship Bus from Ramstein. Soldiers arriving by commercial air report to the Military Personnel Division in Building 10. Temporary lodging is Army Lodging, located in the Hohenfels Training Area. Spouses may attend any part of in-processing, schedule their own driver training and testing (bring the stateside license), and can take “Hallo Hohenfels”, an Army Community Service class on basic German, local transport and life on post.

Housing: what is on post, and for whom

The Hohenfels government housing page gives the numbers: 131 government-owned quarters, 450 government-built or leased units and about 580 private rental units, 1,161 in all. Only the government-owned quarters are on post, and on-post units are restricted to grades E-1 through E-6, who also receive priority in government-built and leased housing.

The garrison-wide policy applies: mandatory assignment to government quarters, a Certificate of Non-Availability for private rental only when government housing is not available within 60 days of arrival, and an average six-to-eight-week wait as listed in October 2026. On day one at the in- and out-processing facility in Building 10, the Housing Division briefs you and gives you an appointment to start the process. The Housing office is in Building 85 on General Patton Road, open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Plan your furniture around German homes. The page warns that leased and private rental homes often have two or three stories of stairs and that “it is not uncommon that a king-size bed will not fit up the stairs”. Government-owned and build-to-lease quarters are wired for both 110 and 220 volts. The Housing Services Office has bilingual staff who help with private rentals and make sure leases include military release clauses.

Schools and child care

Hohenfels has an on-post elementary school (pre-K to 5th grade) and an on-post middle/high school (6th to 12th), according to the Hohenfels education page. Bring previous school records, your child’s Social Security number, a report card, birth certificate, orders showing command sponsorship of the child, a passport and valid ID card, and current immunization records. Age cutoffs are September 1: 4 for pre-K, 5 for kindergarten, 6 for first grade. The School Liaison Officer, Building 10A on General Patton Road, does not take walk-ins; email for an appointment.

The Child Development Center is in Building 111, with full-day care from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., part-day preschool and before- and after-care for Universal Pre-K. Every child must first be registered at Parent Central Services in Building 94; the Hohenfels child care page lists +49-9472-708-2078 and asks for immunization records, a local emergency contact other than the spouse and sponsor, a health assessment from within 30 days, and a family care plan for dual and sole military parents.

Medical and dental care

The Hohenfels Army Health Clinic is open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed weekends, federal holidays and the third Thursday afternoon of each month. The Hohenfels health care page describes outpatient care, sick call and routine appointments for active duty and family members, with retirees and their families seen on a space-available basis, and says that care requiring a hospital stay is provided by one of the local hospitals surrounding the post. Central appointments: 06371-9464-3300.

According to the same page, the dental clinic primarily treats Soldiers stationed at Hohenfels and “often extends open slots to family members”; the clinic keeps a list of local German dentists who accept TRICARE dental insurance.

Pets

Register dogs and cats with the Veterinary Treatment Facility during in-processing. The Hohenfels pet page sets a two-pet limit for on-post housing and off-post government-leased housing, and reminds owners that the microchip must be implanted or read before the rabies vaccination used for EU entry. Before you ship a dog, check its breed: Germany bans the import of Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers and their crosses for anyone staying longer than four weeks, as German Customs explains in the source linked from the Ramstein Air Base guide.

The Hohenfels Legal Assistance Center, Building 313, provides free assistance to service members, family members, DoD civilians and retirees with a valid ID card, with walk-in service for powers of attorney, notarizations and bills of sale. The Hohenfels legal assistance page notes that German attorney services are in Grafenwoehr and Vilseck: 09472-708-5565, DSN 314-522-5565.

For a family with a junior enlisted sponsor

At Hohenfels, on-post housing is reserved for grades E-1 to E-6: confirm command sponsorship before you fly, measure your largest furniture against German stairs if you might end up off post, and register your children with Parent Central Services and the school before you arrive.

Sources

installations.militaryonesource.mil