(Story by Mike Kenfield and Martin Heinen)

WIESBADEN, Germany – Local national hires are the foundation of the U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden workforce and are key to providing institutional knowledge and continuity of operations when U.S. military and civilian personnel regularly rotate out – to new duty assignments – every three to five years.

Hiring booth

Currently, the garrison workforce in Wiesbaden is comprised of more than 475 personnel of which 370 are local national hires – more than 75%.

“Local national employees are combat multipliers (…) they play an important role in our overall mission,” said USAG Wiesbaden Deputy to the Garrison Commander Mitchell Jones.

Despite the many employment opportunities that are available, many local nationals do not know that the U.S. military routinely offers employment to the local population. A chief struggle is finding qualified applicants who want to apply and fill the void.

In a show of support, USAG Wiesbaden, and other members of U.S. Army Europe and Africa units hosted a local national hiring booth at the annual Hessentag State Fair to help spread awareness and possibly help fill the void.

One of the challenges is that “we are short local national hires (…) especially in the blue collar, engineer, technician and administration career fields,” said USAG Wiesbaden Workforce Development Program Manager Thomas Schulze.

Hosted in conjunction with Clay Kaserne and Wiesbaden area tenant units whose workforces are comprised of local national employees, the hiring booth highlighted the opportunities and benefits of being a member of the U.S. Army local national workforce.

“We get a lot of interest from [current and former] Bundeswehr service members who look for civilian work opportunities after their retirement from active duty,” said USAG Wiesbaden Workforce Development Specialist Pierre Fuchs.

Local national Fuchs was hired by the U.S. Army in Germany after he retired from the German armed forces.

In addition to USAG Wiesbaden, the booth was manned by unit representatives from U.S. Army Europe and Africa, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District, 2nd Theater Signal Brigade, Logistics Readiness Center, and Installation Management Command-Europe.

Local partnership

Each year, at Hessentag, the German Armed Forces showcase key capabilities while, also, highlighting available opportunities to members of the local Hessen communities who might have interest in joining the Landeskommando.

The Bundeswehr Complex – hosted by the Landeskommando Hessen – included static displays of military hardware from both the U.S. and German Army which provided the public with the chance see some of the equipment, including combat vehicles, up close.

Some of the on-hand U.S. Army equipment included a M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, a high-mobility multi-wheeled vehicle (HMMWV), a multiple launched rocket system, and communications equipment.

USAG Wiesbaden Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander Capt. Patrick Ledbetter was in attendance at the Hessentag, May 30, after being invited by the Landeskommando Hessen – the Regional Territorial State Command of Hesse – which is the official German Armed Forces partner unit of the U.S. Army in Wiesbaden.

While at Hessentag, Ledbetter stopped by both the local national hiring booth and the Landeskommando Complex, in the spirit of partnership, to help raise the public’s awareness of the U.S. Army in Wiesbaden.

Hessentag is Germany’s equivalent to a U.S. state fair and is held annually at different locations throughout the state of Hesse. This year’s fair was held in the Northern Hessian town of Fritzlar from May 24 to June 2, 2024.

USAG Wiesbaden Berlin Airlift Observance

The partnership between U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden and the State of Hesse extends beyond Hessentag.

USAG Wiesbaden, together with the State of Hesse, will host a public commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift on June 15 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

There will also be a school-focused day on June 17, which is primarily for surrounding schools.

For more information on how to attend this observance, visit the USAG Wiesbaden Berlin Airlift webpage: https://home.army.mil/wiesbaden/berlinairlift

USAG Wiesbaden 75th Berlin Airlift anniversary video: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/920664/berlin-airlift-75th-anniversary

Berlin Airlift fact sheet, visit: https://home.army.mil/wiesbaden/application/files/3617/1508/3557/BAL_75_Factsheet_2024_-_ENGLISH_Final_v3.pdf