RMAS comes to Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr to train, including USMA cadets. Its a good experience to see the European theater. EU is our #1 trade partner, and our #1 priority is NATO, more so than the Pacific. Having a primer on NATO and what Europe is like, if you come here after USMA is perhaps one of the best opportunities especially for a young 2LT.

Stateside, you may brief a convoy that goes from your motor pool to the range a few miles down the road. Here you’re submitting diplomatic clearances and crossing several nations’ borders to train with partners and allies a thousand “klicks” away. There is no equivalent in the Army to the technical competence and diplomatic interactions you garner from these forged-by-fire experiences; we’ve had 1LTs brief heads of state, as they were the lone platoon leader and US Army rep in that country at the time.