STUTTGART, Germany –
Last July, Ryan Jones was slammed with a significantly greater amount of responsibility at Logistics Readiness Center Stuttgart, but for the former active-duty Marine and K-9 military dog handler who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, this was nothing he couldn’t handle.
For the past seven months now, Jones has been serving as LRC Stuttgart’s acting property book officer and central issue facility manager, responsible for the accountability of hundreds of thousands of dollars of organizational clothing and individual equipment items and providing OCIE support to thousands of U.S. personnel in the U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart area of operation.
His normal job at LRC Stuttgart is supply technician, but when his leadership asked him if he would fill this critical position on short notice due to an unexpected manning deficiency, he said he had no problem stepping up and doing so.
“I normally serve as a supply technician, a role that centers around issuing and receiving military clothing and equipment to the servicemembers and civilians within our community,” Jones said, “but since July of last year I’ve stepped into this leadership role within my organization.”
“I accepted this opportunity because I believe this will help our team grow stronger. We are always willing to help each other out, and we work great together supporting our community,” said the 37-year-old husband of a fellow Army civilian who works at the 52nd Signal Battalion as the communications security manager.
Jones, who served nine years in the Marines and now seven more as an Army civilian, said he currently manages a CIF team of five local national personnel who service between 5,000 and 10,000 people a year. His CIF team supports Army, Navy and Air Force servicemembers as well as government civilian personnel assigned to two unified combatant commands, a Special Forces unit and more.
“Our mission is very important because we service and equip military and civilian personnel who work at multiple major organizations in the USAG Stuttgart area of operation, to include the headquarters of U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command,” said Jones who calls Fort Defiance, Arizona, his hometown. “Our team takes great pride in providing exceptional customer service to all our customers while ensuring they receive the best CIF experiences in their careers.”
While having such a weighty responsibility is important to him, Jones said it’s the people he works with at LRC Stuttgart and on his CIF team that make his job most fulfilling and enjoyable.
“The best thing about my job is working with the team we have here at the CIF,” said the father of two boys, ages 8 and 16. “Everyone here has unique talents and experiences that greatly contribute to mission success. For me, it’s motivating to have a team who works so well together while accomplishing complex tasks and positively affecting our community.”
LRC Stuttgart 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, 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 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.