The United States Army

04/24/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/24/2026 13:06

Colors, awareness permeate morning runs throughout USAG Bavaria

1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption - TOWER BARRACKS, Germany -- Runners bound through the inflatable start-finish line during a color run April 10, 2026 from Tower Barracks Fitness Center. Community members from across U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria took part in four color runs to commemorate April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Alcohol Awareness Month, and National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Runs took place at Tower Barracks April 10, at Rose Barracks and USAG Bavaria - Hohenfels April 17, and at USAG Bavaria - Garmisch-Partenkirchen April 24. (U.S. Army photo by Paula Edwards, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: USAG Bavaria) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption - USAG BAVARIA - HOHENFELS, Germany -- Volunteers pelt runners with chalky colors on the home stretch of a fun run April 17, 2026 along Patton Drive at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria - Hohenfels. Community members from across USAG Bavaria took part in four color runs to commemorate April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Alcohol Awareness Month, and National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Runs took place at Tower Barracks April 10, at Rose Barracks and USAG Bavaria - Hohenfels April 17, and at USAG Bavaria - Garmisch-Partenkirchen April 24. (U.S. Army photo by Paula Edwards, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Bryan Gatchell) VIEW ORIGINAL 3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption - U.S. Soldiers and civilians participant in a 5k Color Run/Walk for Child Abuse Prevention and Alcohol Abuse Awareness at Rose Barracks, Vilseck, Germany, April 17, 2026. Over 800 runners and walkers participated in the event in support of Child Abuse Prevention and Alcohol Abuse Awareness Month. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Francisco Torres) (Photo Credit: Spc. Francisco Torres) VIEW ORIGINAL

TOWER BARRACKS, Germany - In four different communities across U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria, Soldiers, civilians and Family members ran through colorful, chalky plumes as part of a broad-ranging awareness campaign during April.

The Army Substance Abuse Program, the Family Advocacy Program and Sexual Harassment / Assault Response and Prevention hosted a run at Tower Barracks April 10, 2026 at Rose Barracks and USAG Bavaria - Hohenfels April 17, and at USAG Bavaria - Garmisch April 24.

In addition to the sponsoring organizations, other on-post organizations came out to support the event, including the American Red Cross, USO and others. The month of April is recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Alcohol Awareness Month, and National Child Abuse Prevention Month. These monthlong observations promote prevention and awareness in the military by promulgating the causes and sharing the corresponding resources available to service members, Army civilians, and their Families.

During the run at Hohenfels, Angela Lane, the deputy garrison manager for the community, talked with the participants.

"While you're running, please keep in mind what you're running for: child abuse prevention, and sexual assault prevention, and alcohol abuse prevention," Lane said. "Every step you take helps raise awareness and reinforces that no one in our community has to face these challenges alone."

Clarissa Lamar, the Army Substance Abuse Program manager, talked about the events and why the different organizations were teaming up for them.

"We know there are a lot of harmful behaviors that are affecting our communities," Lamar said. "When we all come together - especially when alcohol is usually at the root of the other functions that we're here to represent - we think that a collaborative approach is best.

"We do what we can to spread out our resources and make sure that everybody knows that we're here," she continued.

Sgt. Pete Schroeder, 7th Army Training Command victim advocate who is based out of USAG Ansbach, supported the run at Hohenfels.

"It's an opportunity to bring our community partners together," he said. "We have so many events throughout the year that we have an opportunity to share our community with. This is just one of those opportunities."

"Anyone can call our hotline, and whether it's actually SHARP or whether it's domestic violence or something else, we're not going to just, say, hang up on them," said Steven LaPlume, supervisory sexual assault response coordinator. "We're going to assist them by conducting a warm hand-off to the appropriate agency."

"They have community support overall from so many different amazing community partners," said Schroeder. "We're here to support them in any way they need, and we're overall a transparent, supportive team. We all work together, no matter what program it is, you can contact us on any of our hotlines."

Here are some of the resources USAG Bavaria community members can reach out to in times of struggle:

SHARP (Sexual Harassment / Assault Response and Prevention):

ASAP (Army Substance Abuse Program):

Family Advocacy Program:

  • Prevention phone line: 09641-70-599-1101, DSN 599-1101,
  • Military OneSource: CONUS 1(800)342-9647, OCONUS 00-800-3429-6477, collect with operator assistance OCONUS +1(484)530-5908.
  • USAG Bavaria FAP: https://www.samhsa.gov/.

For further photos from the events, visit:

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