Hey K.
Stuttgart is great for families; there is a lot of support and there are many fun things to do. We lived here 12 years ago when my husband was on active duty; we just came back last summer as contractors. (He is still a reservist) I strongly, strongly recommend you consider living on Kelley, especially if you're going to work there (AFRICOM?) Patch is crowded, there is no place to park, the school is over-crowded, etc etc. The apartments on Kelley are all brand new, completely renovated and very very nice. It's a great location because you are near woods and a farm, bike trails, etc. There is a very cute little commissary that you can walk to; they are expanding their hours because of the influx of people coming in. The CDC is nice an small and not over-crowded (you will have a waiting list for after care on Patch; however they can bus your daughter to Kelley and then she'll be close to home or can go right home if you're mom will be there) There is a shoppette, a brand new gym, a dog park and gas station. Besides there is not much left on Patch except a food court, the big commissary, and the shoppette (there is a shoppette on Kelley) everything else (PX, etc) is out at Panzer. Panzer would be another consideration as far as living, but I would think long and hard about living on Patch. You may have a long wait to get anything available and like I said, we loved living on Kelley. We live on the "economy" now, enjoy that but I think you might like the ease of the post better? I don't know what OPTEMPO means so I can't answer that. I don't know about PT I think it's up to each individual unit.
Hope some of this helps. I think you'll enjoy Germany; Stuttgart is a great location because you can be in France, Switzerland, or Austria in a matter of hours. It is quite woodsy with forests all around walking/biking trails and a beautiful downtown (It's the capital city of the state of Baden_Wurtemburg) The weather is fairly temperate--lots and lots of rain but the sun will shine a little every day. I enjoyed last summer because we came from Saint Louis which is a sauna--boiling moist heat all summer long. Stuttgart was more mild, it never got raging hot and most of the time is was quite comfortable, need a sweater in the evening. Feel free to email me directly: ____@____.com Good luck with your move!