Hunting class offers rare opportunity

Volunteers share love of sport with service members, civilians

By Karl Weisel

U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Public Affairs Office

“The opportunity to hunt these animals in Europe is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

That’s how Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brian Humbert of the 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion described the appeal of dedicating 100 hours of his free time to learn the ins and outs of hunting in Germany.

“A lot of people think this is too difficult and too expensive. That may have been the case a long time ago, but it’s not anymore,” said Humbert, adding that he was happy to find people with similar interest in the sport and a class in Wiesbaden, currently being taught on a volunteer basis by Army Community Service’s Michael Boehme.

“He’s (Michael Boehme) done a lot for this class. He’s given up a lot of his personal time to make sure we have a really good understanding of the fundamentals,” said Humbert, adding that getting the chance to go out on a rabbit hunt and a wild boar drive hunt were highlights of the experience.

Boehme explained that because there is no Rod and Gun Club in the Wiesbaden area, people from this community who are interested in hunting have to travel great distances to such places as Kaiserslautern, Heidelberg or Baumholder to take part in hunting classes. That can entail many hours of travel which is all but impossible with today’s operational tempo.

“I’ve been hunting all my life, but I earned my German hunting license with my dad when he was stationed here in 1980 — and we have incorporated the German customs and traditions into our hunts throughout the world,” said Boehme.

“The USAREUR German hunter’s course is very interesting. It costs $150 dollars and takes 100 hours of instruction. Hunters who are willing to commit the time and money to participate in the program usually have a lot of hunting experience,” said Boehme. “The German system requires German citizens to complete a year of training and apprentice work to earn the hunting license, and it can cost them up to x2,000. And although most Americans will only stay in Germany for one or two tours — and they most likely won’t ever become managers of their own hunting areas in Germany — we still test to their standards.”

Class participants learn about every aspect of hunting, from special German hunting words to mating seasons, care of the animals and the hunter’s responsibility in the wintertime to recognizing diseases that affect the wildlife population. The tests include law, safety, marksmanship, game recognition, plants and animals native to Germany, diseases, trophy preparation, customs and traditions.

German hunting traditions

Unlike hunting in the United States, the sport in Germany is steeped in tradition, Boehme said. “They’ve been doing it this way since the 14th century.” Rather than simply shooting game, hunters in Germany observe a number of traditions such as honoring the animals, with musical signals from hunting horns, awarding successful hunters with branches and sharing social time after a hunt. “When animals are shot, we give them a ceremonial last bite of food from one of the native trees in Germany.”

Hunting is also a great way to strike up enduring German-American friendships, Boehme said. “Our brothers and sisters in the hunting community are our family. That’s the kind of bond we’ve experienced.”

“I’ve been told there isn’t enough interest in the Wiesbaden community to support a hunting program, but it seems like there is an interest — these guys want it,” said Boehme, explaining that he’s received a lot of feedback from both local potential hunters and service members currently in Iraq who will be returning to Wiesbaden in the near future. “We’ve been without an active hunting and sport shooting program for so long that people don’t realize it is possible. Wiesbaden is an enduring installation — and like the other enduring installations, we should have a Rod and Gun Club and a hunting and sport shooting program. It’s important to me and it’s important to these gentlemen.”

“I was so interested in hunting, I was willing to drive to Baumholder,” said class participant William Demaske, who said he particularly liked the skills he was learning and discovering the culture surrounding the sport in Germany. “You’re like a special breed after earning your hunting license.”

“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” added Michael Mellons, a fellow class member and civilian employee with the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office. “It’s not the same as hunting in the States. It’s great getting out there and getting back to nature.” Mellons said he also enjoys the camaraderie — “the brotherhood of hunters.”

“I had to wait three years for a class like this to come around,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Jesse Jens, who will leave the Wiesbaden community next year. Jens, like his fellow class members, praised the sense of tradition and respect shown by the hunting community for the natural world. “It’s a whole different style of hunting over here — it’s very ritualistic. They do everything in their power to keep the animal from suffering.”

Jens said having the opportunity to obtain a weapons permit to take back unique European guns to the United States after obtaining his hunting license was also a motive for taking the course.

Healthy wildlife population

“Everything is very regulated here, so it’s important to know the rules,” said Boehme. “They like to have a healthy wildlife population — and because deer, boar, foxes and other animals have so few natural predators, they can quickly become overpopulated and be a threat to farmers and the forests. The hunters take the role of natural predators and protectors of the woods.”

Boehme and his students said they would love to have a Rod and Gun Club in Wiesbaden so they wouldn’t have to travel to use facilities in other communities. “If people are interested in a hunting and sport shooting program, they should let community officials know through public forums such as the Interactive Customer Evaluation program and other sounding boards. If there is sufficient interest, we’ll host another hunting class in the spring.”

For more information about hunting and sport shooting opportunities in your area call the Baumholder Rod and Gun Club and Outdoor Recreation at mil 485-7182, or Wiesbaden Outdoor Recreation at mil 337-5760.