Sigonella's Mikolaj Czernielewski pushes past Alconbury’s Taye Vickerstaff during a game at the DODEA-Europe soccer finals in Landstuhl, Germany, in May 2024. All DODEA athletic events in Europe have been postponed this weekend due to executive orders pausing non-mission essential travel and government travel card use, agency officials announced March 12, 2025. (Stars and Stripes)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Defense Department schools in Europe are being allowed to review a decision to cancel sports events, hours after announcing to staff and parents that the activities couldn’t take place due to Pentagon orders pausing non-mission essential travel and government travel card use.
“We have been given authority to relook at some of the funding and how we travel to see what might be possible for this weekend,” Jessica Tackaberry, Department of Defense Education Activity Europe spokeswoman, told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday night.
The orders also affect nonathletic extracurricular events. It remained unclear Wednesday how DODEA schools in the overseas Pacific region will be affected, but the Pentagon orders apply there as well.
In a note that went out late Wednesday afternoon to staff and families, Michelle Howard-Brahaney, the director of DODEA Europe, said “there will be an attempt to reschedule once funding and travel become available.”
“This cancellation impacts all planned or upcoming travel related to student athletics, extracurricular activities, and associated staff travel requiring transportation, airfare, or accommodations,” she said.
Travel in direct support of military operations and permanent change of station moves is still allowed, in line with Pentagon guidance, Howard-Brahaney said.
More than a dozen athletic events were scheduled on Saturday throughout Europe, including an early-season track invitational at Kaiserslautern High School with 14 teams slated to participate.
Rota shortstop Taylor Zimmerman throws to first base after Naples' Madisun Myers heads to third during the Division II/III DODEA European softball championship game in May 2024, in Kaiserslautern, Germany. All DODEA athletic events in Europe have been postponed this weekend due to executive orders pausing non-mission essential travel and government travel card use, agency officials announced March 12, 2025. (Matthew Wagner/Stars and Stripes)
The Wiesbaden High School soccer team’s trip to England on Friday for a match at Lakenheath had been postponed, Tackaberry said.
Ramstein girls’ and boys’ soccer teams will still play at Kaiserslautern on Thursday since the schools are about 8 miles away from each other.
In Bavaria, Hohenfels also can play softball and baseball at Vilseck on Friday, but without Lakenheath, unless DODEA’s second look at its funding changes that.
There aren’t any nonathletic extracurricular events in Europe on the calendar until April but those could be affected if the guidance remains in place, officials said.
The Defense Department on March 5 paused the use of government-issued travel cards for civilians for all travel that isn’t exempted.
The guidance aligns with an executive order issued Feb. 26 by President Donald Trump, directing actions to ensure government spending “is transparent and accountable to the American taxpayer.”
In Europe, student and teacher travel for athletic events and activities is paid through a combination of government travel charge cards and a centrally billed account, Tackaberry said.
Both fall under the Defense Travel System, she said. If coaches are traveling with their teams for more than 12 hours, they have to go on orders and use a government travel card or get reimbursed, which is on hold right now due to the current guidance, Tackaberry said.
Many of the sporting events scheduled this weekend required coaches to be gone more than 12 hours, whether by bus or air, Tackaberry said, which was why they were slated to be postponed.
