Outgoing commander Col. Christopher R. Danbeck, right, and incoming commander of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, Col. Kevin A. Poole, overlook a change of command ceremony at Tower Barracks, Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 12, 2022. The ladder truck lift symbolizes the current commander showing the incoming commander all of his responsibilities. (Michael Slavin/Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria welcomed its new commander Tuesday, and his previous posting meant he didn’t have far to travel.
Col. Kevin Poole, the former director of manpower and personnel at U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, took command from Col. Christopher Danbeck at a ceremony.
The garrison comprises Grafenwoehr, Vilseck, Hohenfels and Garmisch as well as the sprawling Grafenwoehr Training Area.
Poole previously spent time at Hohenfels as an operations officer and rifle company commander.
Col. Kevin A. Poole, incoming commander of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, stands at attention during a change of command ceremony at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 12, 2022. (Michael Slavin/Stars and Stripes)
Col. Kevin A. Poole, incoming commander of U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, receives the guidon from the diirector of Installation Management Command Europe, Tommy R. Mize, during a ceremony at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 12, 2022. (Michael Slavin/Stars and Stripes)
A joint team of American and German armed forces comprise the color guard for the U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria change of command ceremony at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Germany, July 12, 2022. (Michael Slavin/Stars and Stripes)
“We so love to be back here,” he said Tuesday in a message on the garrison's Facebook page.
Danbeck is headed to his next assignment as deputy director of Installation Management Command Europe in Wiesbaden.
In that role, he will be responsible for training facilities, power projection platforms, family housing and base operations support services for seven garrisons across Europe.
As the garrison commander for the past two years, Danbeck was in charge during the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It was scary, but we made it through it all together,” he said in his farewell speech.
