STUTTGART, Germany – Serving as an active-duty Soldier in the Army for 28 years is well above and beyond what most people end up doing when they sign on the dotted line at 18- or 19-years-old, but not Javier Gonzalez.

When the 55-year-old logistics management specialist retired from active duty in 2018 as a master sergeant working with the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Carson, Colorado, he applied and was brought on board to work as an Army Civilian with Logistics Readiness Center Stuttgart, 405th Army Field Support Brigade.

Initially hired as LRC Stuttgart’s food service program manager, over the past five years Gonzalez has progressed considerably and grown professionally, according to his supervisory chain of command, and he’s now in charge of all future operations planning for LRC Stuttgart.

“I also support all the emergency and crisis action operations for the LRC in coordination with U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart, supporting contingency operations and other requirements,” Gonzalez said. “And I handle all the taskers and requirements for the LRC coming down from the brigade. In addition, I’m an acting IT [information technology] specialist, and I assist with many of the administrative duties – filling in whenever there are vacancies within the LRC.”

Gonzalez said he’s still got a lot of fuel in the tank and he’s still serving in the Army because he’s loves what he does, and he loves being part of a team supporting Soldiers. And having a well-organized plans and operations section with a strong foundation and structure at LRC Stuttgart is critical to sustaining daily operations, he said.

“I get to be a part of a team, helping to make decisions and doing the critical planning. My director and my plans and ops chief give me the room to grow, learn and progress – and I appreciate that,” said the Brooklyn, New York, native whose heritage is Puerto Rican.

“Service before self has been a major part of my life and my culture for many years,” Gonzalez said. “I love taking care of Soldiers, and I love doing my part to serve the USAG Stuttgart community. I also love tackling challenges, and I work with a great team who looks forward to taking on those big challenges and finding solutions.”

One of the challenges Gonzalez recently tackled involved innovation and technology. He spent many hours creating a new SharePoint page for LRC Stuttgart and a self-monitoring tracking program for all mandatory training within his organization, something he thinks the other LRCs and the brigade headquarters may adopt as a best practice, in the future.

“I love to contribute to make our daily operations more efficient and reduce bandwidth with today’s technology,” said the husband of 20 years and father of two sons and a daughter.

LRC Stuttgart is one of eight LRCs under the command and control of the 405th AFSB. LRCs execute installation logistics support and services to include supply, maintenance, and transportation as well as clothing issue facility operations, hazardous material management, personal property and household goods, passenger travel, non-tactical vehicle and garrison equipment management, and property book operations. When it comes to providing day-to-day installation services, LRC Stuttgart directs, manages, and coordinates a variety of operations and activities in support of USAG Stuttgart.

LRC Stuttgart reports to the 405th AFSB, which is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The brigade provides materiel enterprise support to U.S. forces throughout Europe and Africa – providing theater sustainment logistics; synchronizing acquisition, logistics and technology; and leveraging U.S. Army Materiel Command’s materiel enterprise to support joint forces. For more information on the 405th AFSB, visit the official website at www.afsbeurope.army.mil and the official Facebook site at www.facebook.com/405thAFSB.