Here he was warmly welcomed by Lord Mayor Frank Frühauf and Mayor Friedrich Marx. Tuneke is well known to the city council, as he was the commander of the 345th artillery battalion stationed in the Klotzberkaserne from 2015 to 2018.
"It's great to have you back at the Idar-Oberstein site," said Mayor Frühauf, welcoming the successor to Colonel Dietmar Felber. Just like his predecessor, Colonel Tuneke also holds the positions of General of the Artillery Corps and Site Chief of the Idar-Oberstein site in addition to heading the artillery school. "I'm also delighted to be back in Idar-Oberstein and to have been given the command, it's my dream assignment," said Colonel Tuneke, who has since worked as a consultant in the Ministry of Defense and as a group leader in the Army Development Office.
During the meeting with the city council, the colonel discussed the current situation, which is currently heavily influenced by the training of Ukrainian soldiers on the 2000 self-propelled howitzer, as well as the further development of the artillery school. Due to the changed security policy requirements, the artillery force will grow again in the future, which naturally means a greater need for training capacities. This will strengthen the importance of the artillery school, "so it will remain the mother house of German artillery in the future." Another important aspect is the international training of friendly armed forces. "The artillery school was recently re-accredited as a JFO (Joint Fires Observer) Schoolhouse and performed excellently here."
The standardization team was particularly impressed by the innovations in terms of simulation-based training and new tactical procedures, which led to the following statement by Jacob Sparrows, U.S. Joint Staff, the head of standardization, in the final discussion: "When NATO partner nations want to know how to do it, they should come to Germany." ("When NATO partner nations want to know how to do it, they should come to Germany.") The successful re-accreditation of the artillery school as a JFO Schoolhouse more than confirmed the direction taken. "There is therefore nothing to prevent the continuation of this high-quality training for JFOs at the Idar-Oberstein site," reports Colonel Tuneke.
The head of the artillery school is also particularly keen to maintain the sponsorship with the town of Idar-Oberstein, which has existed since 1988. During the coronavirus pandemic, there were naturally hardly any joint activities, which is why Tuneke wants to focus more on this area again. This was also welcomed by the town council, as Idar-Oberstein is known for its good partnership between military and civilian services and the solidarity of the population with the Bundeswehr soldiers.