BÖBLINGEN, Germany –
It took the native of Cameroon many years to achieve her personal and professional goals, but persistence and hard work paid off when she received a job offer from the U.S. Army to work at Logistics Readiness Center Stuttgart on Panzer Kaserne in Böblingen as a local national employee.
Patience Fru Fomanka was an accounting assistant for a U.S.-based international company in her home country of Cameroon before moving to Germany. Upon moving, she first took a job at the Panzer Hotel doing housekeeping, and she also worked at The Exchange Food Court before getting here first job offer with the Army as a dining facility attendant at the Originals Café on Panzer. And after a short time there, her accounting experience and education level landed her a position at LRC Stuttgart’s property book office as a supply technician.
“I really like the learning environment here at LRC Stuttgart and the property book office. I like expanding my knowledge, which this job certainly affords me,” said Fru Fomanka.
“I’m an accounting assistant by profession. I have a national diploma from Cameroon in accounting, and I worked in the accounting field for about 10 years before coming to Germany,” said the native of Bamenda, Cameroon, who lived and worked in its capital city of Yaoundé before moving to Germany in 2011.
“I enjoy interacting with and helping our customers. Basically, I make sure they maintain their property books in accordance with all applicable regulations, and I help them with their inventories,” Fru Fomanka said. “We have a wonderful team here at the property book office as well as a very good supervisor. The work environment is conducive, we help each other, and the team spirit is high.”
The road to get to this point was long and hard, though, said the 52-year-old mother of three. Fru Fomanka needed to take care of her son and the two children of her late sister. And her husband – who is also from Cameroon – was living and working in Germany. Initially, they spent much time apart in a long-distance relationship but managed to stay committed.
“We got married while I was still living in Cameroon, and I was coming to Germany to visit him during my holidays. I was traveling a lot,” Fru Fomanka said. “We finally decided that I should join him in Germany, which was absolutely the right decision.”
And accepting a job offer with the 405th Army Field Support Brigade’s LRC Stuttgart was another right decision, she said. In addition to landing her dream job, her son is now studying mathematics and information technology in Heidelberg, Germany. Her late sister’s son – who she also loves dearly and considers her own – is now working on his master’s degree in Estonia. And her late sister’s daughter – who is also under her care and love – is currently still in high school in Cameroon.
“I want to thank my team at LRC Stuttgart for helping me and supporting me. I’m really happy the Army gave me and my family this opportunity after a long time struggling. To finally have something like this, I’m very thankful,” Fru Fomanka said.
The LRC Stuttgart property book office, or PBO, conducts cyclic inventories on a quarterly and annual basis as well as sensitive item inventories every month. The PBO also manages and assist units with Financial Liability Investigation of Property Loss, or FLIPL reports, when a property book item is lost or damaged.
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 U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart.
LRC Stuttgart 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.