Mannheim military bases

I went to Mannheim on Friday, a three hour drive away, to video an alternative rock band play in a club on an American military base. It turns out that there are many bases in Mannheim. And they encompass a huge area of land, at least the few that we drove next to. Some of the American bases may have been closed since the end of the Cold War but there are many, many still here. I don't have the slightest idea how many soldiers there are, but there are thousands.

The gig didn't take place because one of the band members forgot their passport. We were, therefore, denied entry to the base and had to drive back. The whole experience got me to think about the continued American military presence in Germany, which I may now begin to write about from time to time.