ANSBACH, Germany –
When he started working for the Army in 1989, he knew what it was like to be a soldier – not a U.S. Soldier – rather a soldier with the Bundeswehr.
Now, after more than 34 years with the U.S. Army plus 25 years concurrently in the German army as a reserve soldier, Reiner Bauerfeind is retiring at the end of August.
The Logistics Readiness Center Ansbach lead transportation assistant said he’s going to miss his work and the Soldiers and families he supports, but he looks forward to his new life as a full-time retiree.
“I enjoyed my time working for the U.S. Army, first with the 27th Transportation Battalion and then later on with the 39th Transportation Battalion and now my time here in Ansbach with the LRC,” said the retired Bundeswehr army military police staff sergeant. “I’ve met a lot of good people during my time, and I’ll remember the people I worked with the most.”
Bauerfeind said he held multiple positions at several locations during his 34 years working for the U.S. Army. He first worked at the housing office and the commissary in Illesheim, Germany. He also worked in Nürnberg, Germany, on a movement control team, loading trains and organizing military equipment moves. He then worked in Bamberg, Germany, doing the same type of MCT work until the U.S. Army installations there closed in 2012, finishing his 18 years in Bamberg as the chief of the containers section. And since leaving, he’s been at LRC Ansbach for more than 10 years working in the transportation office.
“I’ve had a lot of jobs and many experiences working for the U.S. Army but primarily in the MCT business,” Bauerfeind said. “At the MCT we were half civilians and half Soldiers, and we were very busy. For example, during the first Gulf War, the Kosovo campaign, Restore Hope in Somalia, and then the Global War on Terrorism, we stayed busy.”
Working side-by-side with his counterparts – the U.S. Soldiers from the MCT – was the ideal situation, said Bauerfeind.
“We worked closely together, and we were all on the same sheet of music,” Bauerfeind said. “We had a commanding officer. We understood what he wanted, and together we got the job done.
Even with all the different jobs and locations, Bauerfeind said he managed to maintain some stability by living in the same area where he grew up the entire time. From a small village just west of Nuestadt an der Aisch in central Franconia, Bauerfeind opted to make the drive to work each day – Bamberg being the furthest at 60 kilometers and Ansbach where he works now at just under 40.
As LRC Ansbach’s lead transportation assistant, Bauerfeind is responsible for arranging the movement of personal property shipments for service members and civilians. He helps prepare the paperwork for household goods and unaccompanied baggage shipments using the Defense Personal Property System, and he traces incoming and outgoing shipments and prepares the exceptions to policy when needed.
“Looking back, there were a lot of exciting times and many good people I worked with,” said Bauerfeind, who is 63 years old. “During the first Gulf War my MCT at Merrell Barracks in Nürnberg was on the news on TV. Merrell Barracks was the home of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and it was the first railhead in Europe going into action following the Iraq invasion of Kuwait.”
“We might have been a small wheel in the gear box, in the grand scheme of things, but without that wheel – without us – the whole thing won’t run,” Bauerfeind said.
The LRC Ansbach transportation office handles all the inbound and outbound household goods shipments for the U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach community. They are responsible for counseling and assisting community members with their household goods, unaccompanied baggage, non-temporary storage, and personally owned vehicles. They also ensure Ansbach military community members are well informed and briefed on their entitlements, whether that’s their personally owned vehicles, storage, or shipments – anything that pertains to personal property and transportation.
LRC Ansbach is one of eight LRCs under the command and control of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade. LRCs execute installation logistics support and services to include supply, maintenance, transportation, and food service management as well as clothing issue facility operations, hazardous material management, personal property and household goods, passenger travel, property book operations, and non-tactical vehicle and garrison equipment management. When it comes to providing day-to-day installation services, LRC Ansbach directs, manages, and coordinates a variety of operations and activities in support of USAG Ansbach.
LRC Ansbach reports to the 405th AFSB, which is assigned to U.S. Army Sustainment Command and under the operational control of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The brigade is headquartered in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and 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.